This was my first trip out from my base in the Philippines. While Southeast Asia has a reputation for being highly navigable and interconnected-Puerto Princesa is not an easy place to depart from. There are almost no direct flights to other countries from PPS and therefore nearly all flights connect through Manila. So while in the same global region as Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, it took us 12 hours to get from Puerto Princesa Airport to Denpasar.
We arrived around 8am and were greeted with a vibrant, colourful, airport curated to feel like a tropical paradise. The architecture is a flawless marriage of opulent temples and lush jungle oasis. The Airbnb we were staying with hired us a driver to get us from the airport to where we were staying in Ubud. I realized the decor of the airport mirrored the reality of the island. There were classic signs of city life like impossibly full motorbikes, food stalls, and the bustling of pedestrians. However, there were also adorned doorways modelled after Hindu temples and many of these establishments sold beautiful carved statues, handmade baskets, and glass wares that would have filled my home had fitting them in my New York apartment been a remote possibility. I later learned that most homes also had the ornate entranceways because most had a small temple built within their homes to worship.
We arrived and found that we were around a 15-20 minute walk to the city centre. We dropped off our luggage and wandered into town. We found a cute restaurant called White Ginger. We lingered and ate our fill of nutrient-dense, healthy food that my body had been craving-dragon fruit smoothie bowls, packed salad with chickpeas, chicken, and tons of fresh vegetables. We finally decided to indulge in the $12USD massages at Jaen’s and had an experience that can only be described as blissful.
We then went back to enjoy the Airbnb and settle in for a bit until we went back into town to eat at a greek place Olivia was craving. Overpriced in my opinion, but a welcome opportunity for familiar vegetarian-friendly food. We waited for Shemesh to arrive at midnight and woke up promptly at 4am for a full-day tour we booked through Airbnb.
With another night of nearly no sleep, we loaded in a van at 5am and headed to Candidasa Beach to watch the sunrise. It was obvious this itinerary wasn’t unique to our tour as there was another van pulling in just as we exited the van. But we still beat the crowds and had the dock to ourself for a good 10 minutes. It looked like a place that was once a hidden gem with pink sunrises behind the coastline, wooden platforms on the edge of the dock to watch from. It was becoming crowded with kitschy picture props, but was still a peaceful good morning.
Our next stop was probably the most highly-anticipated on all Bali travel itineraries-Heaven’s Gate at Lempuyang Temple or Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyan. From the top you can see panoramic views of Mount Agung and it truly looks unimaginably picturesque. When you arrive, you can borrow sarongs for free-mandatory for EVERYONE in coherence with the “no bare shoulders or knees” rule. It took TWO hours to get our turn at the heavenly gates which absolutely shocked me. It was so sad how overrun with tourists this once holy place had become. However, I still wouldn’t trade the chance I had to see it.
*TIP*: If I could do it again, I would just hire a driver to get here at sunrise. I can only imagine what the temple looks liked bathed in the early morning glow. Its beauty is unparalleled in anything I’ve ever seen before.
The next place was the Tirta Gangga Royal Water Garden. I was absolutely floored with its beautiful blend of architecture and art. There were gorgeous tiered fountains and intricate sculptures out of animals carved out of stone. You get the chance to feed beautiful koi fish which are of course massive from overfeeding. Again, a place that I’m sure is incredibly peaceful when not overrun with tourists. I could sit on one of those park benches for hours with a good book just reading and people watching. I kind of wish there was a limit on how many people could enter each day.
After a buffet lunch of delicious Indonesian foods at d’Alas, with an amazing view over a rice field, we headed to Tukad Cepung Waterfall. A supposedly hidden waterfall inside of a cave. Again, over crowded and a bit underwhelming-would skip. However, the next two stops were to ride a swing over a rice field and a coffee tasting to try the famous “poop coffee” Kopi Luwak.
The swing was incredible. I was LIVING. I had never felt so carefree. I loved every second. We were able to observe and learn how the Kopi Luwak was roasted and prepared for consumption. I was little nervous, but how could I not try it?
The last stop was Tegalalang Rice Fields which was incredible. I’d never seen anything quite like it-so much green, the terraces truly just carved out of the earth. We were able to wander through the terraces for a good half an hour before sundown.
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Later on the three of us met up with my friends from McGill at Kismet. One thing Bali definitely does well is cater to the vegan-hippie crowd. I loved it. There were delicious vegetarian food options everywhere. While not a vegan/vegetarian, I definitely love fresh health foods and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went to a vegan ice creamstand which again was lovelyyyy (lactose intolerance problems).
We also managed to squeeze the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary into our time there and perused the shops along the way. It was truly quite beautiful and the macaques are free to roam-even in the streets of the city. It was cool to be able to observe them just living their lives even though it’s still nowhere what it’d be in nature
My favourite memory from this trip was our hike up Mt Batur. We slept 4 hours to be ready for a 2am pick up to Mt Batur. We planned to hike up for 2 hours at a near 45 degree angle through the jungle to watch the sunrise from the top. It was incredible. You know that feeling when you’re so out of breath and exhausted and your legs are burning with lactic acid and you know you almost gave up nearly 5x and had to poop in the woods, but you see the sky start to change colours and you are floored. THAT feeling. I realized how much I have been missing the mountains. I haven’t been on a hiking trip in almost 2 years now! Absolutely much needed. I got a big dose of that high on this hike and watching my friends, from two different stages of my life, laugh with tired but bright eyes backlit with the rising sun induced a type of nostalgia even though I was right there with them. It is absolutely one of my favourite memories of my entire life. I am so humbled and know I have to go back just to do this hike again.
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COURTSNEXTSTOP 
Great photos! Only feeling a teeny tiny bit jealous ha ha 🙂
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