Bali, Die Paradiesinsel

I have actually been to Bali when I was 16, but my trip was a mess. A long planning, but it didn’t run nicely. That’s why I really want to go to Bali wieder. I want to feel the real Bali, which people usually talk about. Die Paradiesinsel, das sehr sehr schön is. I want to go to all the places I’ve been to before in Bali and the other beautiful places there. I have been to Tanah Lot, Tanjung Benoa, Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Galuh, Sukawati Market, Kuta Beach, und Bedugulsee. Here is my story.

I stayed in Bali for about 3 days and I went there by bus, it was such a tiring trip. I arrived in Denpasar at 10 and I immediately went to Tanah Lot beach. I bathed there; I was worn out after a long journey. But; the scenery was awesome, the wave was high but not much so it was not dangerous, the weather is perfect, so much nice all there, and I let my tiredness forgotten.

Tanah Lot is very beautiful. It is kind of coral beach, which is surrounded by coralline. There is a cave in one of the corals in where stays a white holy snake that you can see only in the low tide; you got to be very lucky. Hindu people believe that you will get fortune if you can see the holy snake. I was not lucky; I didn’t see it so I missed my fortune hahaha. There are a lot of Balinese clothe -not traditional clothe, but it is more similar to Hawaiian clothe, beach clothe- store along the way to the beach. The beach is far away down from the entering gate. You have to walk about 10 minutes to get to the beach but it is worthy because the beach is pretty awesome. I want to go there once again, relaxing, and enjoying the beach.

I had not gotten enough with Tanah Lot, but I had to check in to hotel so I left. I stayed in Denpasar, in a cheap hotel that I can’t name because I forgot the name hahaha. After checking in and having lunch, I went to Tanjung Benoa. From Tanjung Benoa I was heading to Penyu Island, which you can reach 20 minutes by boat. I had to pay about 45.000 IDR for boating from Tanjung Benoa to Penyu Island. Auf dem Insel, kannst du sehr viele groβe Schildkröten und einige groβe Vögel sehen. I took a picture of a turtle, hawk, and myself but unfortunately I lost the picturesL.

I don’t recommend Tanjung Benoa to traveler who loves enjoying beautiful scenery because it is not beautiful. Trash is everywhere, the water is brown-colored, and the boats are not in a good condition. At least, that’s all that I have seen. But, if you love water-sport, this beach is highly recommended to you. There you can do parasailing, flying-fish, banana boat, etc. Each sport costs about 45.000-175.000 IDR for domestic tourist, für Internationaltouristen kann ich nicht genau sagen. Outside the beach area, there is a beautiful Pure (re: pu-re,place where Hindu people do their pray) and you can take picture there.

The last place I visited on my first day was Garuda Wisnu Kencana. I arrived there around 7 p.m. and the Balinese Ramayana Ballet was started already. I didn’t get any seat but I got a good place to stand by and enjoying the ballet. Not all of the onlookers got seat indeed. The ballet was incredible. That was such a misfortune to come late. After the ballet, I went seeing the enormous Garuda (eagle) and Wisnu (one of Trimurti, Hindu’s Gods) statue. It was, wow idk what to say.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a place where you can see Ramayana Ballet and enormous Garuda and Wisnu Statues. The statues were designed by Balinese artist, I Nyoman Gunarsa; I wrote about him for my art-paper when I was in senior high school. Vor den Statüen gibt es einen Hof, which is surrounded by giant stone walls. I don’t know what the Hof is used for but it is pretty large. The ballet is played three times a day I guess, and I think the perfect time to see it is at night because there is a fire-play within the ballet. The ballet is combination of Balinese dances such as Rejang, Baris, Kecak, Barong, etc. It is backsounded by Balinese traditional music instrument, Balinese Gamelan. I studied about it when I was in language stream of senior high school. It is not quite different with Javanese Ramayana Ballet, but Balinese style is more energetic and dynamic.

I woke up very early on the second day because I had to finish my breakfast before 7 and leave before 7.30 so I was in hurry. The first place I visited is Galuh. There I bought some Balinese souvenirs for my family and after that I enjoyed Ramayana Ballet –once again. I sat on the second line, between Chinese tourists (‘original’ Chinese, they spoke mandarin!). It was funny because they didn’t understand what the players said. The play is played in Balinese language and it is a little similar with Javanese so I understand a little bit, ganz ganz wenig. Besides, we got a paper in which there is the dance’s description and story but I think they didn’t understand English. I’ve tried to help them by showing in which part of the script the ballet was playing on, in English for sure, but they didn’t understand. Poor them, haha.

Galuh is an art-galery where you can buy Balinese artistic handy-crafts. The price is nice, not cheap, but not too expensive. There is a stage outside the store where the Ramayana Ballet is played. Ramayana Ballet in Galuh is different with Ramayana Balet in GWK. In GWK the play is played in a serious style, but in Galuh, it is humorous and more alive. There is a dialog in Galuh’s Ramayana Ballet but GWK’s is a silent play.

The second day was a shopping-day. After Galuh I went to Sukawati Traditional Market. I only bought a tiny handbag for my mother. I didn’t buy anything else because it was pretty crowded and ich hatte keine Lust. Oh no, I also bought a leak mask for my friend’s brother, he begged for it so I bought him one. I almost forgotten, there was a seller who held my arm tightly and forced me to buy her merchandise until then I bought a t-shirt “I <3 Bali” WITHOUT bargaining weil ich genug hatte and she finally let me go. Wuffhh I hated it. That’s all I bought, nur drei! And I didn’t really want those stuffs.

Sukawati is one of bekannte traditional market in Bali. There you can find tons of low-price artistic handy-crafts and paintings but about the quality, you have to think twice. If you go to Sukawati, you will see a lot of sesajen (things that Hindu people serve for their God every day) on front of the main gate. You also have to be careful and keep your eyes open because I heard that there are a lot of pickpocket set eyes on your pocket. You also have to stay away from the seller if you don’t want something just like what happened to me also happen to you. Bargain the price in a half-price or less! Ah I have to tell you about my friend’s experience. Umm also she wanted to buy a bed cover, the seller bid up 160.000 IDR for one but finally my friend got three bed covers for the same price. It means that the price could be three times higher than the original price and we have to bargain smartly. Oh and also you have to check the whole thing up before you pay it because I got a bad experience. The handbag I bought for my mother was already broken and the seller didn’t tell me about it, she just sold it so and when I told my friend about it, he laughed and said, hey where do you think you shopped? It was Sukawati! You must be careful because they are dishonest! Oh, it pretty sucked!

Hey, I was going to Kuta Beach! Yay! I arrived at Kuta at 4 I guess and I was there for at least 2 hours to see the sunset. I went there by bus and the bus had to stop in the main parking area. To reach out the beach I had to pick a public transportation which is always over loaded. The vehicle is yellow-colored and it was like a single railway coach. Vom Parkplatz zum Strand braucht man etwa 15 Minuten and I got off the vehicle on a shopping area, davon muβte ich noch nur 5 Minuten laufen.

Well, Kuta is not the best beach in Bali indeed, but it is the most popular beach among tourists. There you can swim, badegehen, sich sonnen, fly up the kite, play volleyball, build sand-castle, run around with friends, everything. My Australian friend said “Kuta is sick!” It is. What Kuta has to offer is the wave –for surfing-; unfortunately the sand and the water are brown-colored. In Kuta you can also find some andong  oder Kutsche or gharry. Along the way from Kuta to the main parking area stand viele stores and restaurants, die bekkannt unter dem Namen Legian sind. Most of the visitors and consumers in Legian is international tourists. No wonder because the price is very high but I love passing along Legian at night because there are a lot of lamps there hahahaha.

The last place I visited in Bali was Bedugul Lake. On the way to Bedugul, I dropped in the well-known modern Balinese store, Joger, for shopping. I bought some t-shirts and bags for my family. It was pretty crowded that I couldn’t buy too many things. I did a fast shopping, quickly left the store, and went off to Bedugul.Hey, ich führte an einer gruseligen Villa, die zu Tommy Suharto gehört. It was already afternoon and foggy when I arrived in Bedugul. I had my lunch in a restaurant there and took some pictures. Bedugul was the best place I visited in Bali. The scenery was awesome but unfortunately I run off money so I couldn’t get on the boat, whereas if I could get on the boat then boated to the other side, I would have been in an orchid park and I believe it must be beautiful. Wuffhh I regret it, that’s why I really want to go back to Bali.

Also, Bedugul liegt im Tal von einem Berg auf Bali, leider kenne ich den Berg nicht. Wenn du zum Bedugulsee fährst, kannst du wunderbare Landschaften entlang die Straβe sehen. But, it is scary to pass the road because the road is snakey (hahahahaha what kind of word is it? pokoknya jalannya kaya uler) and my bus broke down when we were passing this scary road, omg. I am pretty thankful I am still alive now haha. You can also find some monkeys along the road. There are some souvenir stores and restaurants on the edge of Bedugul Lake. There is also a stage where a group plays Balinese gamelan. I always remember my trip to Bedugul because it was really nice. A large lake surrounded by green slope, artistic souvenir stores, cozy restaurants, Hindus architecture, and Balinese gamelan music; sehr sehr relaxing, oder? Hmmm I really have to go back there!

On my way home,I dropped on Pulaki beach. Pulaki liegt im Norden von Bali. People say that we can see dolphins in the morning, but I dropped on there in the evening so I was not lucky. The good thing was I can see the sunset in Pulaki and it was totally awesome! The sky turned light orange-blue and oh it was the best sunset I’ve ever seen. I am thinking about going there in the morning so I can see the dolphins and the sunrise, it would be pretty cool! Who wants to come with me? Raise your hand!

Well, that was my entire trip to Bali. Now it’s time to tell you which places I want to go in Bali.

First I really want to go to Ulu Watu. Ulu Watu is a big Pure which is located next to the beach. I really want to enjoy the ballet in Ulu Watu because it’s different. The ballet is not played on the stage, sondern among the zuschauer. Actually we had planned to visit Ulu Watu in my trip, but it was cancelled because there was not enough time. Schade! Second is Ubud, a Desa Seni (desa: village seni: art). Viele Internationaltouristen dort hinkommen. Am meisten sind die Dorfbewohner Küntsler von Beruf. I think Ubud is the real Bali, that’s why I really want to go there.

That’s all I can say about Bali. Actually kenne ich noch sehr viele Platze, die ich besuchen möchte. But I don’t know much about them so I will only mention it here. I really want to go to Nusa Dua, Lovina Beach, Berg Salak, Sangeh, Batursee, the biggest Pure that I forgot the name ;p, Dreamland beach, Art Museum, Pablo Picasso’s gallery, Sanur Beach (to fly up a kite), and many more. When will I go there? As soon as possible haha.