September 2019 [by Bill]
This morning I left Jakarta, Indonesia on a 2-hour morning flight to Bali, where I’ll be spending the next week.
At the Bali airport, there was a number of people shouting for taxi service. Quotes started at 300,000 (roughly USD $22), and, as I walked away, dropped to 200,000, and then 150,000, all within 15-20 seconds or so. Outside of the airport I paid 120,000 (Roughly USD $8.50) for an 8 mile drive.
The temperature on arrival was 82 degrees, sunny, with a very nice breeze.
I took a Grab (like Uber) to a large grocery store 6-miles from my apartment. The cost of the ride was USD $1.35.
While I’m sure I’ll do some sightseeing, I’m going to spend most of my time in Bali just relaxing, recharging, and starting to plan out where else I will visit over the next few months (Komodo National Reserve is next on my globetrotting insanity- to see the Komodo Dragons).
My apartment in Denpasar (population: 897,000) is less than 1-year old, very modern, well appointed, and has a killer pool and deck on the 3rd floor (right outside of my apartment). Fabulous- just what I was hoping for. I’m sitting outside at 8:00 PM, 75 degrees, with a nice breeze – bingo!
Gunung Payung Beach:
After spending all day yesterday relaxing by the pool at my apartment complex in Bali, I asked the owner what beach he likes to go to, which hopefully wont be very crowded.
He recommended Gunung Payung Beach, which is about 40-minutes away, and he told me very few people visit this beach, as it’s fairly remote, and attracts no tourists at all.
I took a GRAB taxi to get there, approximate cost was USD $6. On the way, I saw a absolutely huge statue or monument towering way, way far off in the distance, so I asked the driver to take me there first (I told him I’d pay him extra, plus I wanted to stop by a mini mart to pick up a large bottle of water and something to munch on).
The monument turned at to be part of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, which looks to a a large temple complex. As I walked up to the entrance, there’s a sign saying it’s closed today and on Sunday, so all I could do was take some photos from a fair distance away. I hope to be able to go back to this place when it’s open, as it looks really interesting. From Wikipedia: The 75-m tall, 65-m wide statue was designed by Nyoman Nuarta. It sits atop a pedestal to bring the total height of the monument to 121 m (397 ft), which is nearly 30 m (98 ft) taller than the Statue of Liberty in the United States.
The driver asked me if I really wanted to go to Gunung Payung Beach, as it’s quite isolated. I said I did, and he dropped me off at the dead end of the narrow street.
I looked around a bit, and saw some older shacks and a few people selling drinks and street food (to whom I have no clue). Beyond them was what looked to be an old amphitheater, which is clearly past its prime. Walking down through it, I could see the beach below from the top of the ridge, and eventually found some concrete stairways, that switched back and forth down the side of the hillside.
At the bottom, I walked onto the beach, which was maybe 1/4 mile long. There were 5 large lounge chairs and umbrellas, and a young local lady who was renting them out. She said about USD $2 for as long as I wanted to stay.
The beach area was nice and interesting. Once you got to the edge of the water, there was a mix of sand, rocks, seaweed, and a few other sharpe coral like stones beneath the water. The water was cold at first, but I quickly got used to it.
About 1/4 mile from the shoreline, there’s a small sandbar and rocks, which the waves where breaking into. Between the shore and this natural levy, there is 1-4 feet of water, and no waves at all. The water is crystal clear.
A few small monkeys scampered by while I was lying down, plus a few hang gliders were overhead. After about 1 1/2 hours, I decided to walk along the shoreline to see what else is around.
Walking between the cliff side and the water for about 1 1/2 miles, I walked into a much more public beach, called Pantai Pandawa, with a hundred or so umbrellas and lounge chairs, as well as a number of eateries. Surprisingly uncrowded.
I had a late lunch, a noodle dish, shrimp tempura, and a sprite, total cost USD $6
It was overcast for most of the day, which was OK with me. 75 degrees, and a very nice breeze.
A Quad Buggy Adventure:
So today I decided to book a tour which includes a quad buggy vehicle for some morning outdoor mountain trekking, and in the afternoon, white water river rafting as a secondary adventure.
I’ve never driven a off-road buggy before. It has 1-seat, and was both a new experience, and a lot of fun. Besides the instructional safety video, and helmet, they also gave me a disposable mask to put over my nose and mouth. They offered goggles, but since I wear glasses, I passed on the goggles. The mostly dirt path was dusty, lots of dips, bumps, tight turns, and through a couple of small rivers and associated muddy areas. I can see how people get hooked on these, as I’ll do this again in the future. All told, I road the buggy for just under 3-hours, with 1 other Australia couple, who rode a quad. We were all covered in dust and dirt (my blue shirt was completely covered in dust, as was my face, arms, hands).
Afterwards I was served a buffet lunch, and then driven 40-minutes to the location to meet up with a separate tour company, who would guide me down the Auung river. I have done some white water rafting in the past, and have always enjoyed the adventure and experience. Today was no different.
My apartment has an agreement with a couple of different tour operators for the guests to get a 25% discount off the tour price (sweet!). The tour company is Baliquad.com and the cost was USD $142 (After the 25% discount).
On the drive back to my apartment I saw what appeared to be a kite festival with many very large brightly color kites.
It was a very long day, filled with 2 very different physical activities. Loved every minute of both, but I’m tuckered out, so I took a brief dip in the pool at the apartment, fixed dinner and settled in to watch a movie on Netflix.
Weather was in the mid 70’s, overcast, and a very nice breeze.
I’m here at the end of the “dry” season (ends towards the end of September), afterwards, the “wet” season starts in early October.
In Indonesia, just about 90% of the people are Buddhist. Every home or apartment has a dedicated temple, many more than one.
Lempuyang Temple:
I went away for a few days to take lessons to become a certified scuba diver. Today at 4:45 in the morning (Early even for me, as I’m usually up around 5-5:30 AM each morning) I took a private full day tour of various sites and places.
In Bali, you can hire a driver, who’s also a guide, to take you to specific places, sites, or attractions. My driver was very talkative while we were driving between locations, but at a specific site, he left me on my own.
The first stop was at the 400 year old Lempuyang Temple complex, which is located on the mountain side called Lempuyan. It’s known world wide for the “heavens gate”, which is a must visit to have your photo taken standing at this iconic and historic place. Behind heavens gates, you can see the top of the Agung mountain off in the distance, with most of the base of its covered in clouds and mist in the morning. Since there was a constant breeze, you get a different look every time you take a photo. Later in the morning, you can see the entire Agung mountain from the Lempuyang temple. The lines for the temple were long, about 2-hours to get to have your photo taken standing between the gates, but everyone seemed to enjoy relaxing, taking in this sacred place, and catching their breath from the very steep walk to get here.
While I was waiting, I walked around the rest of the area tourists are allowed into. Just down the hill, one of the buildings has a platform on its roof for viewing Eung Mountain, which was great.
I was walked up to the top of temple complex and was fortunate to be able to watch the local Buddhists walk right by me with the morning offerings (behind large doors, which tourists aren’t allowed to go into).
When it was finally my turn for a brief photo opportunity to stand between heavens gates, the guy taking photos with my iPhone, used a mirror, to make it look like there’s water leading up to the gates (there isn’t any). I think these photos are stunning (even with me in them).
The weather today was fabulous, low 80’s, clear sky (except in the mountain region), and a nice breeze.
Total cost for the 12+ hour private tour was USD $84
a Grand Tour of Bali in a Day:
Today is September 17, and I’m back on Bali after the 6 night boat tour of Komodo National Reserve. I hired the same guide as I had last week, but since this was a direct hire Vs through an agency, it was only USD $54 for the whole day (I tipped him USD $6).
After a 50 minute drive from my apartment in Denpasar our first stop was to walk down the 150 steps to check out the Tegenungan Waterfall. On the way down there’s a very picturesque smaller waterfall. Overall, it’s a really beautiful area. There is a entrance fee of about USD $1.50
The next stop was at the Taman Ayun Temple, also called the Mengwi Royal Temple, which is located in the small village of Mengwi. The temple complex is surrounded by a big fish pond, and a large moat. It’s famous for its many storied roofs and Balinese architecture. There is a entrance fee of about USD $2.50
Up next was a visit to the Jatiluwih Rice Terrace, with breathtaking views of the rice terrace from the foot of the mountain (clouds covered much of the mountain), going all the way to the coastline. Some of the rice grown here is naturally red in color. There is a entrance fee of about USD $3.60. I had lunch at Billy’s Terrace Cafe (all you can eat for USD $2.80 + a USD $.35 tax of some sort.). Seems appropriate since it’s my birthday today – 61 years young!
I then went to the Ulun Danu Temple, which is located in a different small mountain region, situated on the edge of the Beratan Lake, with very panoramic views. So tranquil. There is a entrance fee of about USD $3.50
And as if that wasn’t enough for 1-day, we also drove to the Tanah Lot Temple, which is in the coastal region of Tabanan Regency. The temple sits right on the edge of the Sea of Bali, on top of a very large rock formation. To get to the temple you pass through a maze of stalls, small stores and other tourist related businesses. There is a entrance fee of about USD $4.
Garda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park:
This morning I took a “Grab” (think Uber but much cheaper) to the Garda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, which is about 12 miles away. Transit time was just about 1-hour. Total cost just about USD $6. You can also ask the Grab driver for slight travel changes, stop at a store…, and they do so without complaining or charging you anything extra. Traffic in Bali is chaotic, hectic, crazy, but the locals have developed a flow, whereby you seldom see accidents or drivers getting upset. As I sit in the back seat, I marvel at the way vehicles navigate, cooperative, and interact with each other. While sidewalks aren’t common, they are fair game for motorcycles and scooters, as they zip through the maze of traffic. Flip flops, sandals or no footwear at all seem common place for 2-wheel vehicle drivers. As a sign I got in the correct Grab, the tissue holder has Spider-Man looking back at me.
The Garda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park is a sprawling brand new site,46 hectors, just opened last year (over 25-years to create the first stage). Since it’s fairly new, it was developed with tourists in mind. This includes several large parking lots (parking at the historical sites can be challenging), free shuttle buses to the entrance, a gauntlet of high end designer stores, eateries, novelty shops and other side attractions along the way.
The whole hillside is basically made out of lime stone. They have carved out huge corridors of limestone, which you can walk through. I’m guessing the height of these carved out canyons to be between 25-50 feet tall.
As you get off the bus, you notice a large set of decorative eggs, which is where you find the official entrance. You take a short walk up some stairs to see several large statues and monuments, before walking up a slight incline to the main “monument”, the Garda Wisnu Kencana statue. It’s really the only tall structure for miles and miles, and can be seen 20 miles away. They say it’s currently the 4th largest statue in the world, the largest outside of India, China and Myanmar. The statue and pedestal are just under 400 feet high, and 180+ feet wide (as a reference point, it’s almost 40% taller than the Statue of Liberty, and substantially wider). It’s built to mimic an ancient temple statue, just at a gargantuan scale, with the look, feel and patina aging to place you back hundreds of years ago.
I went on a Thursday morning, and the site wasn’t crowded at all. As I was leaving, around 11:30, a number of tour buses unloaded, and hundreds of tourists entered. The base of the monument is very plain, just concrete, with no decorations or images. To me, it’s so plain that it doesn’t really look right with the incredible copper statue on top. There appears to be a floor dedicated to viewing, but this is only for conferences or special events.
For an additional USD $10, you can take an elevator to the highest point a tourist can go, which is just about at the same height as the gold crown of the main goddess. When you get out of the elevator. There are copper covered viewing ports on all sides, plus some glass bottom floors, so you can look straight down into the insides of the construction.
The entrance ticket price USD $8, hours 8:00 AM to 9.00 PM. There’s a secondary ticket price to go up inside of the monument, USD $10. No photos are allowed inside.
There are many planned future additions to this site, including a huge waterfall and many more statues and smaller attractions. Currently about 1,000 people per day visit, but it has the capacity to have 10-20,000 per day when fully functional.
Wrap-up:
My time in Indonesia started off with 6-days in Jakarta, which I found had little to offer in regards to cultural sites, natural parks and other important landmarks. The city has outgrown its infrastructure, and is just plain chaotic, not in a good way. Also, the weather was in the low 90’s, very humid, and felt even hotter (just uncomfortable).
I then spent 7-days in Bali, which is just the opposite of Jakarta. There is so much to do and see in Bali. Seemingly endless numbers of temples and other religious sites, beaches galore, beautiful terraced rice fields, waterfalls, and many other go to sites. The weather all week was in the mid 80’s, sunny, with a gentle breeze. My apartment was fabulous, especially at USD $32 per night.
I then took a 7-day/6-night small boat tour from Bali to the Komodo National Reserve, to observe the legionary Komodo dragons, which only exist on 2 islands. Truly memorable. As part of this boat tour, we also visited a number of other islands along the way, went swimming and snorkeling numerous times on different secluded beaches and coves. We hiked up into the hillsides for some great views downward, and overall had a great time (except for the sleeping arrangements, which left something to be desired).
I returned to Bali for an additional 12-days, staying in the same wonderful apartment, for more sight seeing, got my scuba diving certification (passed a 4-day course), and also spent time at my apartment, planning my travel for the remainder of 2019. I normally do not do a lot of advanced planning.
But I Over-stayed…
I got an unpleasant surprise as I was going through the customs clearance station at the Denpasar (Bali) airport, as I had thought you could travel to Indonesia on a visa free 90-day period, but its actually only 30-day visa free period.
The customs officer indicated this was a serious breach of Indonesian law, I was required to pay a fine, and was told I would need to meet with his supervisor, and was lead off to a small set of offices nearby the customs area.
I spent about 10-minutes talking with the senior customs officer, and was told once again that I would have to pay a fine, in the amount of 1,000,000 IDR per day, or a 2,000,000 IDR fine in total. This is roughly the equivalent of USD $143. They only accept cash in local currency. He held onto my passsport until I came back to pay the fine (it never feels good to give up control of your passport, as without it, I wouldn’t be able to travel going forward, as least not without a lot of hassle).
Last night I had swapped out almost all of my left over IDR, so I had to walk to a currency exchange office to get enough IDR to pay the fine (never exchange money at airports, as they have the worst exchange rates).
After returning to the senior customs officer, paying the fine in cash, I was given my passport, and a cash receipt.
A bit nervous through the short time this took.
Ultimately it was my fault for not paying closer attention to the free visa policy. I will check more carefully going forward, as with all of my international travels, I’ve never been fined (been detained on a couple of occasions, nothing serious).
Life lesson!
Small Wide World 