DIESER ARTIKEL IST AUCH AUF DEUTSCH VERFÜGBAR

Bali, 04.05. – 13.05.2017

Bali – the perfect example of holidays, relaxation, beautiful beaches and culture.
That was my opinion, when I thought about this holiday destination. And that was what I wanted, after exciting and thrilling days in the mega-metropolis of Singapore.

What can I say – as dreamy as it was in my thoughts, so it went out finally and I could spend 10 fantastic days in bright sunshine on the Indonesian island paradise.

I relaxed on white beach, visited a cocoa and coffee plantation, had countless monkeys on my shoulder, was riding on an elephant and felt the power of nature under a huge jungle waterfall. What more do you want?! 🙂

You will find more details in the following article – enjoy!

DO´s

• Leave the everyday stress behind you on one of the amazing beaches – pure relaxation!
• Experience the beautiful sunset in Uluwatu – unforgettable!
• Drink coffee, cocoa and tea in the heart of the plantation – absolutely unique!
• Visit as the Kecak-dance, as the Barong dance – impressive culture!
• Feel the force of the Tegenungan-waterfall on your own skin – and enjoy every single moment!

The 3-hours flight from Singapore to Denpasar was operated by Singapore Airlines with an Airbus A330.
Click here for a separate review about my flight.

In Bali I stayed in the 5-star Ayodya Resort in Nusa Dua – in the south-eastern part of the island.
Click here for a separate review about my stay in this hotel.

My first highlight in Bali is reachable within 30 minutes from Nusa Dua – Uluwatu.
The name is composed of the words Ulu „end of the land“ and watu „rocks“.
The temple complex Pura Luhur is located on a 70 meter high rock and has become the home
for many monkeys.

But the main reason for going to Uluwatu was a different – I´ve heard about a stunning sunset above the cliffs – fortunately I wasn’t disappointed 🙂

If you look closely, you can even see a monkey on the rock, enjoying the sunset 😉

Just a few meters away from the temple, there is an open-air theatre where the traditional Indonesian Kecak dance is performed every night, also known as the „Monkey dance“.
50 men with a bare upper body sit on the ground during the 1 hour performance and make a „chack-chack“ noise in trance – extraordinary impressive!
Afterwards, the main dance begins with elaborately designed costumes and masks – Sita, Rama, Ravana and the monkey-god Hanuman (in the center of the picture) conquer the arena, which has been filled up to the very last place.

Another traditional dance, the Barong dance, was performed in Batubulan, near Ubud.
Although this is not as spectacular as the Kecak dance, as the performance as the whole story is very impressive, especially due to the Barong, the mystic lion. This dance is musically accompanied during the 1 hour performance – about 20 musicians play different sounds and melodies on different instruments.

It´s obvious and everywhere to feel that Bali has different climate conditions than Germany.
Because of that, I wanted to know what exotic plants are growing here and so I visited a plantation in the middle of the island. As mangos, vanilla, cocoa and papayas are growing there as different varieties of coffee. Even a very special one, grows there…

… the Kopi Luwak –  the most expensice coffee in the world.
Several lemurs (called Luwak) live on the plantation and eat the raw coffee beans.
However, the Luwak can only digest the pulp and excrete the beans – enriched with enzymes. These beans are fermented in the cats intestine and then lightly roasted.
I´m definitely a coffee junkie, but I couldn´t recognize a big difference to a usual good coffee, which would be worth to pay up to 300 € / kilo…

Also in the heart of the island, surrounded by rainforest, is the beautiful Bali Zoo.
In the middle of the zoo, there is the possibility to touch, feed and even ride on elephants.
In Dubai I´ve already ridden on a camel, but Molly´s back was definitely more comfortable, calm and relaxing 😉

Some of the monkeys are so trustful that they climbed on me to grab a banana.
If you look closely, you´ll even recognize the little baby on the monkeys belly 🙂

Bali is also known for its cultivation of rice – so I visited the famous rice terrace of Tegallalang.
25 percent of the island is used for rice cultivation and besides the probably most famous cultivation area in Tegallalang, there are still many more. Especially in the south of the island, as in the area around Ubud.

It doesn’t look particularly spectacular here, but finally it has become my personal highlight in Bali…

Even if the water of the local river isn’t crystal clear, I´ve never experienced something comparable so far, which let my happiness hormones spread out in such an intensive way 😉
When the huge masses of water are plunging into the small valley from 25 meters, the volume of the bouncing water reminds me of the turbine of a starting airplane and my cheeks can´t stop grinning.
It´s hard to put this feeling into words – „absolutely happiness“ might be the correct description.

I have to say goodbye to the varied island of Bali with a great sunset over a rice field in Ubud.

The 10 exciting and at the same time very relaxing days have gone too fast and the return flight via Singapore and Zurich to Munich is almost ready for boarding.

The main reason for my trip to Bali was relaxation. That’s why I´ve spent most of my time at my beach resort in Nusa Dua. However, next to my experiences, the island has so much more to offer that I won´t say no to a further journey to the Indonesian island – as soon as possible. 🙂