Tap into this post to read about some of our sightseeing, fun facts, travel tips and many pictures of our time in Bali. We encourage you to get out and see the world if you are able, and if not, we will bring it to you through our posts. We hope you enjoy!
National Flag of Indonesia
The flag of Indonesia has a simple design has important meaning to its people. The red stripe stands for blood of the people and the human body while the white stripe represents the soul and the spirit. Together the red and white represent a complete human being. The people of Indonesia call it ‘Sang Saka Merah Putih’, which translates to ‘exalted (or lofty) bi-color’.
It was Bali, Bali good!
Our cruise ended in Singapore and since we had toured that fabulous city a few months earlier we headed directly to the ‘world’s best airport’–Singapore Changi–and boarded a short flight to Bali, the most popular of the 7000+ islands that comprise Indonesia. Upon exiting the airport in Denpasar, Bali we immediately felt the warm tropical breezes and found it to be less humid than Singapore or Malaysia. We took a taxi to our hotel in Sanur Beach located on the southeast coast of the Indonesian island, known for calmer seas as well as attracting calmer tourists. Our resort, the Prama Sanur Beach Resort, was a beautiful facility with manicured gardens, a bamboo bar on the beach, large pool, large amount of beach front with very comfortable lounge chairs, 5 restaurants, and sea view rooms with balconies (see pics below).
Ubud Monkey Forest
From our resort, we booked a guided day trip to Ubud in a modern comfortable van guided by a very nice Indonesian man named Gustav and a driver. Ubud was about an hour from our resort, mostly due to traffic, and we winded our way into the hills to the visit the famed Monkey Forest, followed by a visit to the Satria Luwak coffee plantation. The Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature and wildlife preserve with a Hindu temple complex dating to the mid-1300s. The stars of the attraction are the macaque monkeys, also known as the Balinese long-tailed monkeys and they were everywhere!! The preserve is a hilly jungle with many walking trails with bridges across a steep ravine that houses a rocky stream. It is a very picturesque and well maintained preserve. We definitely recommend a visit while in Bali.
Satria Luwak Coffee Plantation
While in the Ubud area we visited the Satria Luwak coffee and tea plantation, known for their world famous ‘poo coffee’. Claimed to be the most expensive coffee in the world, this coffee is produced from coffee beans eaten, digested, and pooped out by the Luwak mongoose. The digestive system of the mongoose produces fermentation enzymes that are absorbed by the coffee beans. After the beans are pooped out, they are harvested, cleaned and processed into this unique coffee. We found the taste to be very strong, similar to Arabic coffee. The plantation also grows many other varieties of tea and coffee and their tour offers a free tasting session where visitors are presented with a tray of various coffee and tea including ginger tea, Bali tea, vanilla coffee, etc. We really enjoyed tasting some of the samples and then we bought several packs to bring home. We are still enjoying them!
Travel Tips
— We found taxis and guided excursions around the island to be quite reasonable
— As a former member of the British Empire, Indonesians drive on the left; we would not recommend renting a car as taxis are plentiful and good value for money, or you could rent a scooter
— The southern coast of Bali is a surfer’s paradise and the towns in the area (like Kuta) are busy with bars and ‘active’ nightlife; other beaches are reef protected (like Sanur Beach), which keeps the surf much calmer as well as the clientele
Facts & Figures
— The nation of Indonesia is comprised of over 7000 islands!
— Bali is an island province of Indonesia with a semi-autonomous government structure; Denpasar is the capital of Bali province
— Bali is located in the southern hemisphere only 1260 km (750 miles) or so to the northern Australia coastline
— Indonesia’s unit of currency is the rupiah (IDR); the exchange rate is almost comical where upon arrival we drew out about £100 ($130 USD) from a cash machine and received about 1.7 million IDR, becoming instant ‘millionaires’
1 Corinthians 2:9 – New Living Translation (NLT)
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
If you are a world trekker like us and want to become more ‘worldly’, then you will want to try our books below. Thanks to the former British Empire and current Commonwealth, the English language is widely spoken across the world, however it is spoken quite differently depending on where you are traveling. We believe the books below are essential to worldly trekkers and think you will find them both fun and informative. The books include a dictionary of everyday words and phrases, traditional cuisine, some history and culture, and other handy information.
Simply click on the book covers below to find out more:
