Bali - Day One

Tim and I woke in our apartment to an early realisation of being without plans. The day before, we'd booked the accommodation in Changgu following the recommendation of a traveller we'd met briefly in Queenstown Airport. We found the room was quite basic, but we realised it had everything we needed while we were in town.

Changgu itself is a fantastic suburb - boarding roughly west of Denpasar, it persists with an interesting mix of poverty and wealth throughout. Fancy guesthouses and temples border beside rice fields in most almost all sections of the suburb. Even in the most established parts of Changgu, this persists.

After breakfast, we set out for the day. Tim suggested we should go hire some mopeds (scooters). This was a brilliant choice! After a quick lap, getting our bearings on the bikes, we headed our bikes North hoping to see something interesting.

In all ways, this is the best way to explore Bali. No plans, no idea, and just see what you'll see. To summarise what we did over the rest of the day would make for full essay - it was unreal!

The road out of Changgu travels up the valley towards lake Danau Beratan, located near the top of the island's volcanic crater. Driving up the roads was a journey that felt like you were being taken back in time! Temples are absolutely littered through these region; even around the rural sections.

Some exploring as highlight was viewing a black buddhist temple past the lake. We were provided with a short blessing performed by the local monk. Finally, we finished the day with some Bintang's before bed.Read more