Ubud and Candidasa | Bali

Ubud is known by every tourist visiting Bali. Most tourists stay in Ubud during their whole holiday, we decided to discover the island instead. Of course, we would also be visiting Ubud on our road trip. We’ve visited Ubud and Candidasa in 2 days.

P.S. Check out my Instagram for more photos!

1) Tegalalang rice fields

We did a small stop at the Tegalalang rice fields in Ubud. We didn’t enter the rice fields because it was already 5 PM and we were exhausted. As explained in another post, we had visited the waterfalls that day. I did take some photos from the parking lot and of what I saw, I found the rice fields in Jatiluwih more breathtaking. The rice fields in Ubud are much smaller. Of course this an opinion based on the view below. Oh, and the rice fields of Jatiluwih are also UNESCO protected so that means something no? What do you think?

2) Goa Gajah Temple

The next day we visited the Goa Gajah temple, also called the Elephant temple although there were never elephants in Bali. The Goa Gajah has been established in the 9th century and is still standing today. The cave isn’t made for people with asthma or claustrophobia because the cave is filled with incense. Walking around the temple will give you an awesome vibe. There are lots of greens and temples to behold.

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3) The Klungkung Palace

The Klungkung Palace, or Puri Agung Semarapura, is a historical building complex. The palace was erected at the end of the 17th century but destroyed during the Dutch colonial conquest in 1908. The palace, that consisted of many tiny houses made from bamboo, caught fire and spread very quickly. Only the structures consisted of stone remained; the court of justice, the main gate, and the Kertha Gosa Pavilion.

4) Traditional salt mining

When in Kusamba, you need to see the traditional salt mining process. The miners pour the seawater onto the sand to let it dry. When the sand is crunchy, they scrape off the top layer (which is already shimmering from the salt) and put it in a drawer. They re-pour the seawater on top of it so that the water and the salt are drained from the sand. The saltwater is then poured into barks. The sun will evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind.

Sad/Fun fact: Candi Dasa was developing very quickly. To build some hotels and restaurants, they decided to destroy the coral reef of Candi Dasa. Nature took revenge and big waves took back those beaches. The hotels in Candi Dasa don’t have beaches anymore and have now installed dikes to break the waves and to protect their hotels. Karma is a beach 😉

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5) Goa Lawah

Goa Lawah (nickname: Batcave) is near the salt mining field. The temple lies in a cave that is believed to be connected to Mount Agung with underground tunnels. More than 10.000 bats are living in the cave and it also smells that way. If you visit the temple at sunset, the bats will fly out of the cave which gives you an amazing experience.

P.S. No sign of Batman. 

6) Tenganan Pegringsingan

When in Candidasa, you can also visit Tenganan Pegringsingan, an old village that is practicing the old rules of the Bali Aga (original Balinese). You can only stay in the village when you marry someone from within the village. You must leave town if you want to marry someone from outside the community.

An older rule of finding your wife in the village was as follows; all girls had a particular flower that was left behind in the room of the boy. The boy had to choose one flower. The owner became his wife. Talking about a real blind date… In the present day, the flower still has the symbol of love, but people can freely choose their wife/husband.

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When staying in Bali and you have a couple of days left, you can easily take the ferry to the Gili Islands, Lombok or the Nusa islands. We did all three of them, but that is for another post.

Life of a Passion