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Writer's pictureKatie Johnson

Ballin' Out In Bali, Indonesia: Part One

Bryan returned home after a three-month deployment and was ready to scratch his travel itch, so we took off for a week in Bali during my spring break! After porting back in Sasebo on Monday, March 27, we rushed him home to shower, wash his clothes, and pack his suitcase because Tuesday we were off to a new country: Indonesia!



Tuesday, March 28: Bali Bound!


Tuesday morning we started our day with a pit stop to the ship to pick up my international treasures: my shisas from Okinawa and my baskets from the Philippines! On the way off the ship, I noticed the legit board in the middle of the quarterdeck and had to snap a picture with my handsome husband beside his Dental Officer Department Head photo! How legit!!!!



Then it was time to drop our car at Meg and Mike's for them to use this next week, before catching our city bus up to Fukuoka airport!



Fukuoka Airport


After dropping our suitcase off at the check-in counter, we headed through customs and grabbed our last Japanese meal for the next nine days! Then it was off to board our 8:20 pm plane bound for the Philippines!



Ninoy Aquino International Airport


Yep, that wasn't a typo- we had a layover back in Manila, Philippines! We landed at 11:25 pm and had to go through customs and immigration to check in at the flight counter. This was all just to confirm our suitcase was, in fact, headed to Bali. While this was a huge waste of time, Bryan was happy to have an official Philippines stamp in his passport now- even if the arrival stamp and departure stamp were mere hours apart!



Wednesday, March 29: Ubud Exploring


We then killed our four-hour layover by napping across chairs and eating an entire bag of sour cream and onion chips between the two of us. Let me just say, great decisions aren't made at 3 am at the Manila Airport! Eventually, we boarded our plane and were off for our final destination around 3:45 am. Nothing like a few red-eye flights to begin a vacation!



Ngurah Rai International Airport


Those naps that started across Manila's airport chairs continued once we boarded our final flight! We slept most of the way until we landed at Bali's international airport at 7:05 am! While still a little sleepy (ok, I lied, very exhausted) we made our way through Bali's customs.


Bali actually encourages you to get your visa upon arrival, and the process was very easy; after a $67.58 charge on our credit card, we received our passport visas and made our way out of the airport!



While waiting on our hotel driver, I sent a quick text to our parents letting them know we landed safely. Then I had to follow up that text with a screenshot to my mom so she knew what part of the world we were in! (To her credit, she did just mix up Bali and the Maldives, but it was still a funny conversation!) One way or another, we were far away from home!


Lucky for us, our hotel offered a free taxi from the airport! During the ride, we told the driver that we were really excited to get Bryan an Indonesian batik, so he was kind enough to swing by a local Batik shop. You may remember that we did a Batik class during our time in Malaysia last summer, so batiks have a special place in our hearts! Unfortunately, we didn't see any that Bryan loved so we continued our way inland to our hotel!



Suarti Boutique Village


Around 10:30, we made it to our hotel and enjoyed our welcome drink in their open-air lobby! By 11 am, we were checked in and in awe of our two villa set up with a private pool! While we didn't need the double villa suite, it was nice to have one room for our luggage and the other to actually sleep in. With open-air bathrooms, we were happy that the AC worked GREAT in the bedrooms! Best part, though, was by-far the private pool overlooking the rice fields!


This place was breathtaking- and only $80 a night. Yep- ballin' on a budget in Bali!!



La Baracca Bali


After a morning swim to start off our day in Bali, we showered and headed out to explore Ubud! First stop: food! During my research, I learned that Bali doesn't have a famous cuisine. Indonesia is known for rice and noodles- similar to almost every other Southeast Asian country we have visited- so we changed our focus to just eating GOOD.


In comes La Baracca, a delicious Italian restaurant that came highly recommended by Meg and Mike. The gnocchi and pizza we split were to die for and the cappuccinos were perfect to fuel our lack of sleep!



Ubud Art Market


I wasn't missing a chance to find local art, so Bryan agreed to explore the Ubud Art Market. While not what I was expecting, this art market was pretty touristy. I did luck out with finding a handmade, wooden Mickey-shaped serving dish! Bryan bartered it down to less than $6 and makes a perfect addition to my kitchen counter!



Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary


Next stop on our Ubud adventure: the Monkey Forest! Similar to Japan, Bali is known for their monkey forests. Bryan and I have been chased by monkeys in Kyoto, jumped on in Bio Park, and nearly attacked at Batu Caves in Malaysia!


We were able to get pretty close to these macaque monkeys; they are clearly used to a lot of tourists! If you paid $3, locals would help you get a "selfie" with a monkey: the macaques willingly jump in your lap for a treat so you can pose for pictures with it.





Bryan and I were good. We have endured enough close calls with monkeys for our lifetime! But I did end up getting some good pictures of these Balinese Long Tail Monkeys while walking around the park!



To end our day, we headed back to our hotel for a dinner at the hotel restaurant! The food was clearly good because I forgot to take pictures! (We could also blame the sleep deprivation too!)



Day one in Bali was a huge success! While exhausted, we called it a night and enjoyed a long night of rest before our next packed day!


Thursday, March 30: Lovely Day with Leon


Our first full day in Bali began with our free hotel breakfast; I ordered a local rice dish and Bryan got fluffy banana pancakes! The best part was the freshly squeezed Dragonfruit and Mango juices!



At 9 am, our hired driver for the day arrived to pick us up for a full day of exploring! Leon came highly recommended, and he blew us away with the day trip he planned for us!


Tegallalang Rice Terrace


The first stop was the picturesque Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Leon dropped us off, told us where to stand for the best photos and went up the road to make a U-turn. By coming here first thing in the morning, the rice terraces were empty of people and allowed for great pictures. Leon also told us that since we come from Japan, the land of rice terraces, we could save a few bucks and just snap pictures from outside, rather than paying to go in for close-up pictures. Leon is the best!



Nukuwera & Pandawa Tubing Adventure


After snapping a few pictures at the rice terraces, we jumped in the car and took off for our first major excursion of the day: cave tubing!


When planning this trip, Bryan voted for no crazy ATV adventures because he didn't want to risk a broken leg in a Bali hospital, so we opted for the more chill cave tubing adventure! We told Leon we wanted to book this, and he planned it all for us- at a legit Japanese-created tunnel from WWII!


After placing our belongings in a locker and spraying down with sunscreen and bug spray, we joined the other tubers in a golf cart that drove us up to the cave entrance! Once in our tubes, we enjoyed a leisurely float down the river through these snug hand-dug tunnels! While the tunnels were tight and packed with birds, lizards, spiders, and all types of moss and greenery growing over the tunnel walls, our guide was hilarious and full of energy, making this float a super fun experience! Bryan compared it to a really narrow Brevard River float- with deeper water!



Our guide was fantastic and he even took my phone in a waterproof bag and became our personal filmographer/photographer for the trip!



After our tubing adventure, we enjoyed a local lunch of rice and noodles. While we were still full from breakfast, we snacked a little before posing for some final pictures and meeting back up with Leon!



Dewa Putu Toris Gallery


As we continued our ride with Leon, we mentioned our love for local art, so Leon added a stop at his favorite local gallery. Here, Bryan and I were escorted around a huge maze of different artistic styles of Balinese paintings! We found one small enough for our collection and purchased a beautiful watercolor painting of Balinese women walking through the jungles of Ubud- perfect for our trip! After some bartering, we left with our painting for 400,000 rupiah, which converts to roughly $26.50 USD.


With our painting in hand, we posed for a few more pictures and enjoyed watching some local artists work before joining up with Leon!



Bali Artika Silver


Leon's next stop for us was a silver shop, where they make all kinds of jewelry! We started by learning about the silver-making process and how jewelry is made, by hand, at this shop. Then it was time to look around their store!


While we aren't big jewelry collectors, I did find some beautiful elephant studs that reminded me of our Thailand trip with Ryan and Cady, so those were a must-buy!



Sari Amerta Batik Shop


One of our top must-dos with Leon was Batik shopping. We told him how we visited a shop yesterday that felt very touristy and fake, so he promised to take us to a more authentic shop this time around. Leon explained that Batiks aren't made on Bali's island- most are imported from other Indonesian islands, where Batik-making is taught by older generations.


When we pulled up to the Sari Amerta Batik Shop, Bryan and I were already feeling better about this place. People were weaving their own fabrics in a breezeway and the shop wasn't packed with tourists!



We spent an hour shopping for the perfect Batik! Bryan may hate shopping, but he loves collecting Batiks so he was more than happy to try on every Batik in the store! In the end, we were disappointed that the Batik swim trunks were sold out in his size, but he settled on a single teal Batik purchase for today! Costing 777,650 rupiahs, Bryan's Batik cost about $52 USD and was his favorite purchase throughout our whole trip!



AlamSari Agrotourism


By this point in our day, we were in desperate need of coffee. Reading our minds, Leon's next stop was at AlamSari Agrotourism, where we got to try Luwak Coffee for the first time in our life! We started by learning about the coffee-making process. The way it works is local farmers all over Indonesia and Bali grow coffee in huge fields. Their neighbor farmers also grow tons of coffee beans. Then they allow nature to do its work- the wild civets visit their fields and eat the coffee cherries (that contain raw coffee beans!)


Now civets can't digest the coffee beans, just the fruity exterior surrounding the beans, so they poop out the coffee beans. This makes it so local farmers don't harvest from the coffee plants- they harvest civet poop in their fields! Yep, that's right, luwak coffee is made from civet poop.

So once the poop is collected, it is sent to this location to be made into coffee- which is what we got to see happen! These ladies clean off the beans, roast the beans, and then crush them into a fine powder. This is the product that they sell- powdered coffee!


During our tour, we got to see a few of the rescued civets. Last place we saw these animals was in the San Deigo Zoo!



Bryan and I enjoyed learning about Luwak coffee, but we were more excited to try it! The ladies brought us a sampling tray of all their coffees and teas and Bryan and I enjoyed ALL of them! We were shocked to learn that the way they crush the coffee beans and tea leaves to form their drinks makes it so they don't have to filter out the beans or leaves; they are ground so small that they dissolve into hot water and allow for that much more caffeine intake!


In the end, we purchased a small bag of Luwak coffee and a few of their teas. In the States, a single cup of Luwak coffee can cost as much as $50 for a single cup. Instead, we bought a small bag for about $20 so we can share it with family during their next international visit! Yummy previously-poop water! Yum!



While driving out to our next excursion, Leon stopped at a roadside stall after we told him we had never tried "snakeskin fruit." He bought us each a small salak, which tasted like an apple with large, black seeds on the inside! Bryan wasn't a fan, but I thought it was tasty!



Sky Swing Bali


The next stop was Bali Swings! Now, you may have seen the Bali Instagram swings all over social media, where you pay $40 for them to dress you in these long, flowy dresses and then you pose on these beautiful swings with stellar views behind you for the perfect social media photo shoot.


We told Leon we didn't want that. When sending him our day trip wish list, we told him that we enjoy adventurous activities off the beaten path- and that's exactly what he planned for us! This Bali Swing definitely didn't meet OSHA standards- strung up between two palm trees, we were strapped into this rope swing by a carabineer and a spare piece of rope- but boy was it exciting!



While the pictures turned out pretty Instagram-worthy, the coolest part is seeing the guy swinging us! Using pure muscle and gravity, this guy would climb stairs and use his full body weight to launch us far out over the cliffside! Once high enough, we could spot a waterfall in the distance! This was an adrenaline junkie's best activity!



Pancoran Solas Sangeh


The last request for today's adventure was an Indonesian Hindu Water Blessing. After our Cambodian Buddhist water blessing with Cady and Ryan, Bryan and I wanted to add another water blessing to our repertoire! I had found a water temple during my research, but Leon (being the most perfect guide EVER) replied asking if I wanted the Instagram spot all the tourists go to, or if I wanted to go to the water temple he visits.


You know my answer. So our last stop of the day was at Pancoran Solas Sangeh, where Leon walked us through the steps of our first Hindu water blessing ritual. First, we changed into sarongs and then brought our offerings to the priest. After blessing our offerings, Leon walked us through the proper steps of placing our offerings at each of the 11 statues.


Then it was time to get in the temple pool. Wading out in the cold water was refreshing after a long day in the humid heat. Leon explained the proper protocol: at each of the 11 statues, we had to bow three times under the running water, then sip water from the fountain, before bowing one final time and then moving on to the next statue in line. (For those wondering, no- we did not actually drink the water; instead, we brought it to our mouths and blew bubbles. We weren't risking Bali Belly, no matter how "blessed" this water was.)



As you can see in the pictures, this water temple is clearly a local favorite- we were the only tourists in the area and it was pretty cool experiencing a local custom with true locals.


After completing our water blessing, we went back to the Hindu priest, who finished the blessing and placed wet rice on our foreheads and chest before tying a bracelet to our wrists. Another water blessing is in the books!



Cilantro Ubud


With the sun setting, Leon took us back to our hotel for the night! I still can't get over how much he packed into a single day of exploring Ubud and the surrounding countryside! Feeling pretty worn out, we walked up the street to Cilantro Ubud for a delicious dinner of Mexican food before calling it a night!



Not pictured was the night swim we enjoyed back at our hotel before showering and hitting the hay! What a wonderful day in Ubud!



Friday, March 31: Tlaga Singha


Our last full day in Ubud started with style! Bali is known for their floating meals, so we were sure to book a floating breakfast in our room! Filled with flowers, more pancakes, and an American-style breakfast, Bryan and I started our morning off with a dip in the pool and a floating breakfast! THIS is how to vacation! Oh, and it cost us a whopping $10- really breaking the bank!



Tlaga Singha Bali


Then we were off to spend our day at Tlaga Singha, a day resort that is famous for its stunning jungle view, amazing two-story pool, and awesome service! I booked a cabana for half a day in the afternoon, but we arrived right as the place opened and they took us straight to our reserved spot! Bryan and I spent the entire day soaking in the sun (me), napping in the cabana (Bryan), and enjoying some amazing drinks and food poolside (both!) The view was also stunning- Tlaga Singha overlooks a dense jungle, making it a beautiful place to spend the day!


You may think that we really "balled out" on our cabana, but -in true Bali fashion- this reservation only cost us $30 for the day. Ballin' on a budget! We are living the life, I tell ya!



When I say we spent the entire day here, I mean it! We arrived right as they opened at 10 am and left after the sunset! This was a perfect, relaxing day!



Tlaga Singha was a great way to end our time in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia! Just wait to see what else is in store for the Johnsons in Bali! Next stop: Nusa Penida!


--Katie

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Stacy Hersey
Stacy Hersey
Apr 20, 2023

The amount of anxiety I had watching you on that swing!!! 😱 And then you let your hands go!! I'm glad you enjoyed it-and the pics were great.

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