Kuta-Kintamani-Ubud: Day 2

Morning    -Barong Dance & Batuan Temple

 

Batuan Temple


Barong Dance 

So we checked out after having very heavy breakfast at "Padi-Padi". We went straight for the Barong & Keris Dance in Sanur District. To be honest, it wasn't really my cup of tea. The entrance fee was a bomb; Indonesian Rupiah 100,000.00 per person. Spent almost an hour before heading for a little shopping at Sukawati. Next time, I will not go for Barong Dance anymore. We stopped by Batuan Temple (open for public), paid for the entrance fee and was given a sarong to wear. Most of the temple visits require visitors to wear sarong (if you are wearing short pants) or simply to tie a yellow coloured band around your waist (if you are wearing long pants).

-Sukawati Market


For those who love to shop for souvernirs and whatnot; Sukawati Market is a must. You can get loads of t-shirt for only Indonesian Rupiah 100,000.00. I, however; did not shop anything there (Kinda regret it..tsk..tsk..tsk) as I prefer to stroll around the market and discover weird looking souvernirs like penis-looking keychains, mirror plates and again; penis-like memorabilias.

 

Noon -  Tirtha Empul Holy Spring & Kintamani GeoPark

Tirtha Empul Temple

After Sukawati & Batuan Temple, we stopped by the famous Holy Spring...(Tirtha Empul Temple) And like most Indonesian temples and places of interest.... You will have to pay a small amount of money for the entrance fee. However, when we got there; the temple was packed with local Balinese as it was an Auspicious/Prayer day(Full Moon Festival). The park aka temple was awesome. There are beautiful ponds and huge and colourful Koi fish in it.

Balinese Family

&

not so Balinese person...


After the temple stop-over, we headed up to Kintamani GeoPark. Again, entrance fee of about 70,000.00 Indonesian Rupiah. It has a cool climate because it is high up on the mountain. The view is to die for!! Stopped by the roadside and took some pictures. One reminder to every tourist; you will be harrased by street vendors and do not; I repeat DO-NOT touch or strike a conversation with them if you are not interested to buy the souvernirs. They might shout at you if you did not buy anything from them...Just a kind reminder. We had lunch at one the restaurant and spent about 1500,000.00 Indonesian Rupiah. The so called buffet was a let down, the food wasn't that delicious and the place well....hmmm...so-so...I guess everyone was actually paying for the picturesque view of the majestic volcanic mountain.It was Indonesian Rupiah 210,000.00 per person. Next time, if I were to go to Kintamani I would just sit by the roadside and enjoy the view.No lunch for me next time.
Kintamani

Afternoon   -Tegalalang Paddy Terrace & Ubud Market


After that horrible luncheon, we headed down to the Tegalalang Paddy Terrace. It is very beautiful and yeah; entrance fee upon arrival. I have no problem with that though as long as it is worth it. And indeed it is!!! Lotsa tourists thronged the paddy field and souvernirs shops around the area. From my observation, Tegallang folks are famous for the beautiful rice terrace and their craftsmanships in producing wood carvings and souvernirs alike. We spent almost an hour there before we proceed to Ubud.

A beautiful tree at the Paddy Terrace
Ubud Street

We stopped by Ubud Market area and boy I was in awe! There are lotsa shops! Quaint looking cottage/family run businesses. Ubud is of course famous for its Pork delicacy (Ibu Oka's Babi Guling). We walked around and the town is huge! It is easy to navigate around Ubud because there is only one major road and it leads us to almost every shop in Ubud. We spent almost an hour, wondering like the rest of the tourists in Ubud. My plan for tomorrow would have to be Ibu Oka's Babi Guling !

Casa Ganesha Hotel in Ubud

Checked into the hotel at 12.00 noon earlier before headed up to Kintamani. Casa Ganesha Hotel is strategically located ; the Ubud major road. It is a small hotel of 12 rooms but it is very beautiful! The staff are as friendly as ever and the Balinese hospitality is at its best there! We arranged for a full body massage with the receptionist and a masseur came over to our room at 8.30pm. We spent Indonesian Rupiah 150,000.00 for the massage.It was fantastic!I slept throughout the session and only woken up by Santi the masseuse. She is very professional and her hands work like magic! My cousin had hers first while I was swimming happily in the hotel's swimming pool. I was the only hotel guest who swam in the pool at night. haha...After the massage, we slept like babies. It was a fruitful day because we spent the whole day travelling to all the interesting places in Ubud and Kintamani.
 All by myself...floating in the pool

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