Fun things to do in Bali

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I really enjoy rafting since my great Australian rafting expecience on the Tully river. So Bali offer me another opportunity to ride 16km of white water on Telagawaja river with numerous rapids and small waterfall... what an exhilarating and refreshing adventure. No timeout during 2 hours as you will need to paddle, reverse paddle, bump, scream, laugh, fishing some overboard paddler as I did... no worries you will be safe with your experienced and very professional guide. At the end you will be rewarded by a last uphill walk accross rice fields before taking a warm shower at the camp base and enjoying a large buffet to retreive forces.

So let's go rafting!

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Bali is a very fertile island thanks to irrigation and volcanic soil. Nature is generous and you will be able to taste some nice exotic sweet fruits as the snake fruit (the scaly skin is like a snake) or the smelly but tasty durian. Enjoy the scenery.

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On the shore of Lake Bratan at 1'200m above sea level (Bedugul area), you will find the stunning "floating" Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (Lake Bratan Temple). This temple was built in 1663 and devoted to the water goddess Dewi Danu.

An small entrance fee is requested to visit the temple.

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Balinese underwater world is amazing. Around Bali you will find some great diving spot as Kubu, Tumlaben, US Liberty wreck, Amed, Blue Lagoon, Padang BaiNusa, Shark Point, Candidasa, Nusa Penida, Manta Point...

Colorful soft coral garden contrast with the black volcanic sand and impressive volcanic walls (called drop off) full of marine life. My great day & night dives let me meet many of locals as anemone, clams, ringed piperfish, scorpion fish, blue spotted stingray, puffer fish, nudibranch, clown "Nemo" fish, lion fish, box fish, pigmy seahorse, trumpet fish, garden eel, bird wrasse, angel fish, octopus, cattle fish, moray, barraccuda, spider crab, orang outan shrimp, arlequin shrimp, humphead parrot fish, napoleon, mola mola (sunfish), manta and even an unexpected swordfish!

The "cleaning station" at the house reef of my resort was one of my favourite dive... just let your hand be taken care by dozens of little friendly shrimps for a free funny and tickle mancure ;-)

So Dive now, work later ;-)

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Right across the road from the Northern end of Kuta beach is The Hard Rock Cafe Bali easy to see with the large guitar that stands out front....being a really hot day this was just the place for a cold beer and as I always do my best to visit any Hard Rock Cafe in any city wherever I may be.
This was on my list of things to do here in Kuta Beach....as usual with any Hard Rock Cafe the staff are always extremely courteous and after a quick chat I exchanged a few spare "Sydney" guitar pins that I was carrying for that reason...The bar here has a huge wooden guitar above the bar and is the standout when you walk in although at the moment under renovation I think the interior is going to be changed somewhat..There is a large amount of musical memorabilia located within the dining and bar area and as is the case with all Hard Rocks, they certainly have their share of some great memorabilia on display here...I took many photos and then visited the Rock Shop to buy my Bali Hard Rock Cafe guitar pin for my collection.

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When I was staying in south of Bali in Kuta Beach just after my arrival I was advised that a good place to visit was The Hindu Temple at Aluwatu..I decided along with two friends that it was really cheap to get a taxi on a "day hire" the rate was very inexpensive...also we could stop along the way and see other places of interest...here also the Taxi driver was not only helpful but great company..The cost for the day was very inexpensive divided three ways and also the hire rate will depend on your bargaining skills.The large Hindu Temple of Uluwatu is located precariously on the cliff top and makes for a wonderful photograph.
When at the Temple there is a modest entry fee and that is for the hire of a "sarong" that ALL visitors must wear at the temple.There also is a small fee for entry to the site and also for the guide who will show you the various points of interest and who carries a slingshot to scare off the troublesome monkeys that are in abundance here...

A word of WARNING here also to be very careful of the monkeys here..they will jump at you and steal anything that they can quickly grab and then run off with...so..hats,sunglasses, jewelry,wrist watches,cameras, ANYTHING.. and also their favourite is your thongs (The rubber footwear type)..these animals also are very aggressive and they bite..be very careful as some have rabies..if bitten seek immediate medical attention..

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Mas
The village of Mas lies on the main road, 20 km to the north of Denpasar and 6 km before Ubud. The village is known for its wood carvers. We’ve seen many wood carvers throughout our travels but these are some of the best. We fell in love with a wall hanging of an intricately carved forest scene with elephants and gods. But after much discussion we decided against it as we were unsure which wood was used. Canada has very strict laws regarding importing exotic wood. One thing to note is the various colours have to do with the shade of shoe polish being used. Don’t pay extra for “mahogany” or “ebony”.

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Next on our agenda was a stop at Celuk , known for its gold and silver works. We visited three of the seemingly hundreds of manufacturers/shops.

For years Celuk was known as the place where craftsmen made bowls for religious ceremony in silver leave called " bokoran " It wasn’t however until the 1930s when gold and silversmiths arrived in Celuk.

The work they do is wonderful. Many of the designs are truly unique. The prices listed are automatically reduced by 50% and a bit more can be had with a bit of haggling .

I bought a silver and pearl set of earrings with a beautiful intricate design for $28.00. My favorite shop was Semadi Gold and Silver