Bali is a small but compact island in Indonesia – with so much to see and do there, and such a strong local culture, it almost seems like a country in itself. To see and do everything you need at least one month, but today we’ll show you some highlights for a short trip to Bali.
The Artist Villages, Ubud
Ubud is known as the artist center, it’s the hub where people from nearby villages come to sell their art. Many of the local artists live in the outskirts of Ubud, and every village has their special art specialty.
Painters live in one village, wooden craft people in another, and jewelry makers in a third etc.
Visiting these places one by one is a great experience, as you get to meet the whole family of artists (the art form is normally inherited from father to son) and see them work. Also make sure you check out the nearby monkey forest!
Visit Tenganan
Tenganan is an ancient village in the middle of nowhere, 5 km off the road from Candidasa. It’s the oldest village in Bali, where the people have also kept their old pre-hindu customs.
This village is a Bali Aga village (from the people who were there before the Hindu Javanese came to Bali).
It’s a really charming place to visit for a day.
You can walk around the village, visit a local’s home, let them weave you something using their traditional technique, or paint you something (like a traditional Aga story). They normally just ask you for a small donation on entry – which goes towards keeping the village running.
Relax in Amed
This is a place MOST people don’t even know about – we didn’t meet a single tourist while there for 7 days. It’s easy to understand why celebrities choose this place as a drug-rehab location for a few months – no one will be able to find you!
If you want to relax in a place in the middle of nowhere, snorkel and enjoy some solitude, then Amed is the place to go. There is not much to do here, but just relaxing and enjoying the green nature and good swimming.
WARNING: there are no shops, ATM machines or anything there, so make sure you bring enough cash before you leave Kuta – we made this mistake! :p
Shop and Surf in Kuta
If you’re into surfing and shopping – then you’ll love Kuta. The shopping here is cheap, and all the main surf brands have set up huge stores full of surf clothes- plus the beach is nice and the surfing can be awesome!
You can easily hire a surfboard on the beach and go play in the water – Kuta is also the center for partying in Bali.
Rice Fields
Bali is the greenest place I’ve ever seen. Nowhere else have I seen so many different shades of green, in such a beautiful scenery.
The best way to enjoy the nature is to visit a rice field and walk through the middle of this green heaven.
There are some beautiful photo moments to get there.
A Balinese Dance Show
A show full of colors, amazing dresses, dances and humor – the story is the same but they always change their approach depending on the audience.
If you for example watch when the audience is full of teenage school classes, they will put in more childish humor and sex jokes, while for an older audience they stress other things.
Tanah Lot Temple
Tanah Lot Temple is a temple built on a rock by the sea, in the most beautiful setting. Coming here during a celebration or ceremony is a great experience.
When we went there – there was a huge party where locals had traveled from long distances (many of them had walked the whole way), bringing food and other sacrifices, dressed in their special outfits.
Balinese music was playing, they were singing and there was golden decorations and dragons everywhere.
Well these are some of the best things to do next time you are in Bali – also a great way to see many of these in 1 day is to hire a taxi and tour guide for the day (it’s really cheap!) – we got one guy and he took us for an 8 hr tour around Bali, which turned into 14 hrs for the same price – amazing and really great to have a local tell you about everything.
