Day: May 31, 2020

Sharing this long overdue video blog about our CNY experience last. We took a quick 3-day holiday in Bali so to optimize our time we got the Airbnb packages for a hassle-free tour/adventure day.

Lempuyang Temple

The first stop of our Day 1 tour was the Lempuyang temple, also named as the “Gateway of Heaven”. It is one of the oldest and most sacred temples, located in the easternmost part of the island – in Banjar Purwa Ayu.

True enough, since we visited the place during a holiday, it was so crowded that we need to park our car far away from the jump off point, where motorcycles would bring us up to the temple’s main gates.

Since Lempuyang temple is a major place of worship, this gets crowded whenever there are important festivals celebrated in the island. During our visit, it was also the time of Sasih Kauli or the eighth new moon and, in Balinese Hinduism, offering rituals are usually done in New Moon Ceremonies.

As for tourists like us, you may have heard the famous mirror lake photos taken in Lempuyang Temple. Yes, it was a deception and real mirrors were used to capture those. Nonetheless, this spot is still worth a visit because, when the weather is good, the scenic view of Mount Agung is still impressive. It is just a matter of how dramatic you can get with that portrait photo. Unfortunately, we were not able to take those. We did not explore the temple thoroughly,  just to pay our respect to the people who are doing their rituals in the said worship place.

Tirta Ganga

In Balinese Hinduism, the waters of the Ganges river or Gangga, are considered sacred. “Gangga” is where the name of our next stop was taken from – “Tirta Gangga”. The place is what remained of a former royal palace in eastern Bali.

Tirta Gangga was built during the mid-90’s by the late King of Karangsem. However, since the complex sits near Mount Agung, an active volcano in the island, it almost totally got destroyed during an eruption in 1963.

Tirta Gangga’s water is considered sacred and is represented by agricultural abundance, recreation, and economic prosperity. This significant historical complex remains as the pilgrimage and holy water site of the Balinese tradition.

Before heading down to our next and final educational stop, we took our lunch in a restaurant situated at the foot of Mount Agung. The establishment is exactly right beside rice fields and is overlooking the panorama of the majestic volcano. Unfortunately, she was quite shy as she did not show up almost the entire day.

Tukad Cepung Waterfall

We also took a very quick side trip and trek down the hidden Tukad Cepung- one of the many best waterfalls in the island.

This waterfall is within a cave and when the timing is right, shows a magical illumination of lightrays that is simply perfect for an Instagram post.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces

And where else should we be going to when we talk about Bali? Of course, the famous rice paddies of the island should not be missed out, right? So, we also went to Tegallalang Rice Terraces in Ubud. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this stunning rice field is carved in cascading levels on the mountain slope so that water can run through channels and be evenly distributed, giving a good quality rice produce. Tegallalang Rice terraces is said to be the rice planting landscape created by the early settlers of Bali during the eighth century A.D.

Several restaurants and cafes along the main road overlooking Tegallalang rice terraces, offer good spots for a charming capture. Almost all these establishments also have their own Bali swings to add up to an “instagrammable” experience.

Santi Agro Coffee Farm

To wrap up this 10-hr day tour, we visited Santi Coffee Plantation – just one of the many coffee farms in Bali specializing in the production of the famous Kopi Luwak.

Kopi Luwak consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the palm civet, native to Bali Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Unlike any other coffee farms, when you visit this plantation, someone will come and approach you to explain how the different varieties of coffee and other products are made in their farm. You will also get the chance to taste of all them – from the regular one to the unusual ones like the chilli-infused chocolates. So here is the summary of our experience in Santi Coffee Plantation.

There are a lot of private tour packages available in Bali that you can customize depending on your preferences. For me, this 10-hr day tour was so worth it since all I wanted to do is only to fly my drone and some “instagrammable” captures. LOL! Well on a serious note, this tour was also educational and we were lucky that our driver/guide was also entertaining and talkative as well.