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When at the Bali Zoo Park, you may want to try to pat a friendly python. All of us shirked away, but my little 8 year old daughter was keen to have a try. Later, seeing that it was less icky than we had thought, we also gave the python a little stroke. The skin was amazingly soft and silky, or a cross between silky and satiny! Fortunately for us, the python had already had lunch and was not too bothered by our presence!
Tirtagangga, meaning “holy water of the Ganges” in Balinese, is one of the world's most romantic and timeless gardens. Gushing springs flowing from beneath an ancient Banyan tree and holy temple fill the myriad reflecting and swimming pools that grace the Water Palace. The prominent 11-tiered lotus fountain has become the symbol for Tirtagangga since its creation by the late Raja of Karangasem in 1948.After a tour of the Versailles Palace in France, the Raja was inspired to create this, his second Water Palace in the mountains overlooking his kingdom. The waters of the holy spring have been praised by island healers for their healing and youth giving powers. Thus the Raja named them after the holy river Ganges in India which is famous for these qualities. It is said that if one bathes in the waters of Tirtagangga on the full moon one is blessed with lasting youth and all illnesses will...
Negari is a small town south of Ubud that's famous for both egg painting and kite making. The painted eggs are from ducks, geese, swans and ostriches, though you can also find wooden ones. Prices seem to range from about 70,000 rp to 2,100,000 rp. Kites here definitely offer more variety than what you'll find in Ubud.
You may get tired of visiting so many temples, which all are unique in their own way. Pura Maduwe Karang or the Temple of the Owner of the Land at Kubutambahan is out of the way for most tourists. But if you spend time in northern Bali I think you should not miss it, together with the pura dalem in Jagaraga. Here you can see carved in stone the impression modern transport made on the Balinese mind.Pura Maduwe Karang features a man on a bicycle, said to be a portrait of the Dutch artist W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, probably the first to ride a bicycle in North Bali. A typical Balinese innovation is the rear wheel of his bike.When you stroll around the temple, a bunch of children will follow you, and at the man-on-a-bike they will start a sing-song in several languages (English, German, French, Dutch, ...) to explain what you are seeing. Of course they expect some reward for their...
The orphanage is run by the Franciscan Sisters and like others subsists totally on the support of kind people.About 100 young girls and boys are cared for at one time, no religious criteria apply for entrance. While we were there, we met up with the sisters who mentioned that the children are allowed freedom to choose their faith may it be Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc.The Tuka Orphanage is a very special place. With your first few steps inside you begin to realize that this is not just a place for kids to sleep and eat. Lives are changed here, and not just the lives of the children but surely the visitors as well.We arrived in the morning and many of the children were at school. However do email the sisters to ask for directions and the best time to visit (pasidhiastu@yahoo.co.id). We instructed our driver Mr Webee to drive us here and it was quite an easy ride. The map to the orphanage...
On 20 January, 1933, a tragedy struck, in the form of a fire that raged through the Tower-wing of the Bali Beach Hotel. The fire that started in KLM airline office at 13.15 at that day, lasted for more than 9 hours and destroyed 315 rooms in the Tower-wing with their contents. It was most certainly the largest fire ever witnessed in Bali. No killings, and the people of Bali grieved over the loss of the Bali Beach Hotel.Something strange happened! Following the blaze, the Bali Beach Hotel was but a blackened shell of its former self. When fire-men and safety-people started to clean the mess, on the third floor one single room had not been damaged at all. Following suit to fire, blessings of the Gods were invoked by Hindu, Islamic and Christian priests. It is whispered RATU KIDUL, Javanese Spirit-queen, had protected the special room by the element of "w a t e r"! Sukarno, Indonesia's...
This is definately off the beaten track, and really only for the adventurous, however it is a great way to see and discover parts of Bali, still untouched by tourism.It is something we must do with care so as not to spoil the ecology and the natural beauty of this unspoilt area of Bali, therefore there are only a couple of companies that do this properly.However if it is something you feel you would like to do, then a very enjoyable day awaits you, exploring the flora and fauna in one of the most dense rainforests in Indonesia, through coffee plantations, cocoa plantations, there is a chance to see wild orchids and huge fern trees.All in all a very special trip that not too many people do.Remember "All you should leave behind is your footprints"
It is not that easy to find a place in Bali that is still off the beaten track, and if there is one, we might keep it as a secret.Not this one, I have been there twice this year and every time I was the only one, and still, it is that interesting, I want to share it with you.In 1997 they have opened an amusement park on Padang Galak beach, a few kilometers north of Sanur. I remember well, I went there about a month after the opening, had to pay an entrance fee, but actually nothing was really ready yet, everything still under construction. The operation has stopped a few months later, after Suharto was pushed off his chair as Indonesia's president. I guess the owner of the park was somebody from Suharto's family.Anyway, I went there again this year, just to see what has happened with that place. Now, almost everything is destroyed, but it still gives you a good idea, how it was supposed...
Made "Leo" Mardika is a guide who used to work for a German Travel Agency and lost his job after the downsize due to the bombings on Bali. He is now an independent tour guide and provides Tours in English and German. He will drive you around in his own car, so you don't need to worry about transportation. We paid about 40 EUR for a day trip. He is very knowledgeable and will show you the nice spots on Bali.
The temples of northern Bali are famous for their elaborate reliefs carved in the sandstone of which they are built. Most tours bring you to Pura Beji at Sangsit, but fail to go the short distance inland to the pura dalam at Jagaraga.Here on the outer wall is depicted modern transport of the 1930's: cars, a bicycle, airplanes seemingly in a dogfight, and a steamer at sea.Directions: Sangsit is 5 km east of Singaraja. Here turn south for another 4 km to the pura dalem which is on the left side of the road.
8 Reviews and 841 Opinions MY WIFE AND I STAYED IN THE SHERATON LAGUNA FOR THREE WEEKS IN JULY 2006. THE HOTEL HAS JUST GONE...
Anantara Seminyak Resort & Spa, Bali Bali
290 Opinions
The Ubud Village Resort Spa Ubud
12 Reviews and 204 Opinions A normal view here...one of the locals working on the rice field located within the resort itself...
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Q: Hello, im 22yrs, british and female. Im thinking of doing about three weeks in march, im not wanting to spend alot, and a little...
A: For culture and authenticity, the UBUD area is ideal. Easy to arrange tours from this area as well if you want to travel deeper into Bali. Having said that, it is not...
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