Honeymoon: Day 6 - Village, Water Palace and Best Restaurant EVER

Day 6 had us leaving Candidasa and heading back to Ubud to wrap up our time in Bali. We hired a driver to show us the sites and to take the very long way back to Ubud. Our first stop was Tenganan, a village that still lives the old way. Our guidebook raved about. We do not. But we enjoyed some of the buildings, the ladies carrying things on their head's (I can never get enough of people carrying things on their head!), and these ferris wheels.

The guidebook told me these wooden ferris wheels are used just a few times a year for special festivals. The maidens are set on the swings and the men of the village spin them around. Why? I don't know. But I made sure to take a picture with one!

Babi Guling. Since day one in Bali Bryan decided he wanted to eat Babi Guling. It's the most famous food of Bali. It's suckling pig. The WHOLE suckling pig, every single part. For that reason, I decided I did not want to try Babi Guling. Unfortunately we never found the time to get Bryan Babi Guling but we did see it being cooked up in Tenganan.

Our next stop was Tirtaganga. A water palace built for royalty a long time ago. The water is said to be healing. And it's a very beautiful place to relax and enjoy the views - and the milkshakes!

Bryan makes swimming look like fun! We decided to actually try out the healing waters. Nice. Cold!

Taking a break from swimming to pose with Barong. We sure can't get enough of Barong. We just like that we actually know its name and significance!

Bryan takes a stand with the Barongs.

Beautiful Bali!

Our driver took us along a windy road for what seemed like hours, delivering us to this absolutely tourist trap restaurant with an expensive mediocre buffet but a view to write home about.

During lunch I dared to taste the snake fruit. Our driver had talked about it at length and had even stopped to show us the trees. Why? I have absolutely no idea. How's snake fruit? Like a bland grape-apple blend. But sure looks cool!

We arrived back at Ibah and felt like we'd returned home. Oh Ibah, you've spoiled us! And I just love these pictures of us because I think we look thoroughly relaxed and on vacation.

Happy on my honeymoon.

That night we had the absolutely delightful treat of eating at Three Monkeys. We love Three Monkeys. We went back the next two nights for their lime and mint drink. The atmosphere was perfectly amazing. I hope my backyard looks like Three Monkeys some day. Can you grow rice in your backyard?

Honeymoon: Day 6 - In the Water and at the Beach

Our second day in Candidasa was our only real beach/ocean day. Which is sort of a shame because, you know, Bali is an island surrounded by beaches and water. But at the same time, we get a lot of beach/ocean time at home.

In the morning we headed out on our chartered double outrigger sailing vessel. Actually, first we got harassed by a boat owner who thought we should go with him. I was hitting my limit with pushy Balinese salesmen and I almost snapped at him. Instead, I refused to acknowledge he was practically yelling at us and I walk on to greet the Nemo.

Nemo, our boat.

Bryan and our boat captain pushed the Nemo into the sea and we were off! Along the way Bryan got a lesson in Balinese fishing. It was basically, "here, wear this glove and trail this line." We all had a good laugh when the boat man tugged on the line hard and Bryan thought he had caught the big one.

Our first stop was a snorkeling location called the Blue Lagoon. We had been told it was gorgeous and had a beach for resting. Uhh, it was nice but certainly no beach. I jumped in first and was immediately and then constantly attacked by these fish. Like seriously surrounded by them. They liked to run their little scaly selves against me and may have even bitten me! Needless to say, I did not enjoy them. We had fun snorkeling, enjoying the pretty coral and some fish.

bubble..bubble..HELLO!..bubble...bubble...

While the snorkeling was nice, we decided to pay out boat man another $15 to take us to a second location. On the way we had a spectacular view of the volcano from the water. This was a perfect reminder to enjoy Hawaii. Sort of like the world saying "hey Jenni, you like ocean and volcano? Look around!!"

And so we cruised. All three of us in a line in the skinny boat.

Hi Bryan!
Our second stop was a very pretty deeper area near some tiny rock islands. Nice and interesting but we got worn out and called it a day. Snorkeling in Bali? Did that! We headed back to the hotel for a rest, a massage and a swim in the pool. Vacation is wonderful.

Later in the afternoon, after I got in a fight with a driver but finally negotiated well. $10 for more than three hours of transportation!! We headed to a beautiful beach the locals call White Sand Beach. It was a beach from a postcard. Just perfect. We relaxed and swam. And Bryan enjoyed a Bintang!

Happy White Sand Beach!

Later in the evening we had dinner at one of the cutest restuarants you ever did see. The food was just okay but the service was delightful and we entertained the entire restaurant when the world's largest beetle decided to take a seat next to me. I kept my cool but the beetle took it's last breath that evening as a waiter stomped on it. I'm sorry Balinese beetle!

Candidasa was a nice sidetrip but we're so glad we still have some more time back in Ubud!

Honeymoon: Day 5 - To the Coast in Candidasa

When I planned our trip I purposely didn't allocate much time on the coast. Mostly because we live in Hawaii. We also don't dive (Bali is great for diving) or surf (same, awesome surf!) and I'd heard many of the famous beaches were over-developed. Even still, I wanted to experience some coastal time since most of Bali actually does border the ocean. I chose Candidasa based on reviews in our guidebook. It was described as a sleepy little beach town with charm and a nice beach fairly close.

We hired a driver and spent about an hour and a half in a minivan without AC. Oh my god, it was torturous! But we quickly arrived in Candidasa and found it to be a VERY sleepy town. It's somewhat charming but didn't have nearly the intrigue or the friendliness of Ubud.

One of our first views of the coast. Oh Bali, you charmer, you!

Cruising along the beachfront. Notice, absolutely no people around us.

So nice to feel the ocean. Feels like home!

We enjoyed a nice dinner with the restaurant all to ourselves and sunset worthy of the 15 pictures I took.

Oooh...

Honeymoon: Day 4 - Can Rice Really Be Beautiful

On Day 4 we decided to try one of the nearby walks we'd heard about (and read about in the guide book). Just behind our hotel Ibah was a path that started at the village's local temple and continued on along the ridge between two small rivers. We walked and walked, and got pretty sweaty. Eventually we found an oasis of a hotel that offered food and we enjoyed a milkshake (we love Balinese milkshakes!) and something called a jaffle - basically a pressed sandwich. And then we walked some more, meeting artists and cruising through a village. Hours later we were still walking but very happy because the zen of rice had us in a trance.






The walk ended up being a bit longer than we anticipated so the rest of the day was spent by the pool. Eventually we ventured out for dinner. And the lights went out. We heard the power was out throughout all of Bali. It was a fun, crazy experience.

Honeymoon: Day 3 - All About the View

Early on Day 2 we met Komang, our adorable waiter at the hotel. He offered to drive us around Bali to see some sites and we happily took him up on the offer.

Early on Day 3 we hopped in his car and headed out for a nice tour on the crazy Bali roads. First up we visited a Barong dance. Belck. Not for us at all. But here's a photo...


Then we went to what Komang called the Rice Temple. One of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. Unfortunately, that's when our camera battery died. Boo. I'm comforted by the fact that the photos wouldn't have even begun to do it justice. It's down a steep set of stone stairs and then built into a wall overlooking a river and terraced rice fields. It felt like a nice place to spend any entire day just taking in the beauty. We stayed for just a few minutes because I needed a bathroom and it was so damn hot!

Here we are as Komang helps Bryan wear his sarong properly (necessary to visit a temple) and then enjoying the view down the steps.





Komang then took us up to a look out at the volcano with a terrific view of a lake. We removed ourselves from a bizarre tourist trap restaurant and enjoyed a great $5 lunch as we took in the view and soaked up Bali. We also paid way too much for a disposable camera because I couldn't bear not to document the day. As soon as I remember how to develop film I'll share the pictures.

Next we drove back down to a sacred water temple. A really awesome cultural experience and proof that Komang was out best driver of the trip. The Balinese bathe and drink water from this temple because they believe it comes from a sacred source and can cure ails. We didn't bathe or drink but we did soak it all in.

Finally we returned to Ubud and after treated ourselves to a fantastic pre-dinner drink with a river view and then a yummy Indonesian dinner with a gorgeous temple view. And to cap it all off, we took in a Legong dance show. Which we loved!







We were just loving life at this point and glowing that each day got better and better!

Honeymoon: Day 2 - Ahhh Ibah, Oooh Ubud!

Our first official day of our honeymoon, we woke up early, delighted in our beautiful hotel and then set out exploring Ubud for our first glance at Bali.

We stayed at the Ibah hotel and loved it everyday!






Don't you just want to move in?

We had planned to just enjoy the day and relax at the hotel but being the ambitious travelers we are, we hit the road to explore Ubud. Udub is inland and more or less centrally located in Bali. It's considered the art and cultural center of Bali. While we didn't necessarily get to the heart of Ubud on our first day, we had a great time exploring. We cruised the two of the main roads (there's only about four anyway), checked out the Monkey Forest (eh), caught our first glimpses of rice, and enjoyed some yummy food with friendly service. It was just the beginning of so many wonderful experiences in Bali.








After a few hours of adventure we were hot and tired. So we headed back to the lovely Ibah to enjoy the pool. The pool is the single reason that I booked this hotel. It didn't disappoint. And we were lucky enough to get there in time for the daily tea service. So nice to be so spoiled!!






Such a great day and so happy we have eight more!