This year we had organised Christmas and New Year in the Philippines with Lyssa’s family, and as we arrived a little early we decided to take a side trip to Bali as a pre-Christmas treat!

Christmas, however is not one of the best times to visit Bali (rather April – Oct), so if you do visit be prepared for tortuous traffic jams, wet weather and plastic tsunamis…and yet it still makes for a beautiful, tropical and tasty getaway.

At just 150km wide the island is easily traversed in a one week stay, although plan for slow progress as you sit in the incessant traffic jams.

The South is where you’ll find the tourist hubs of Nusa Dua, Kuta and Sanur; the Centre is for temples and terraces; the East for more temples, palaces, and secluded bays; the West is home of more stunning temples, but the further you go the leass touristic and most remote, unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit too far west on this trip. A day trip to the nearby Penida Island should also be on your itinerary.

We based ourselves at the peaceful Sanur beach, away from the more bustling parts of the south of the island and with a perfect stretch of sand that was perfect for a stroll or two.

Our hotel was the Fairmont, stunning colonial style rooms

verdant and tropical grounds

that give easy access onto the sleepy fishing beach out front.

Eat, eat, eat

Just like the Julia Roberts movie you’ll find a three word phrase oft repeated around the island, and the first word of ‘Eat’ is well chosen as the food on the island is well worth the trip in itself.

The satay on your own personal bbq is the goto meal that you can pick up almost everywhere a particularly good one is at Lilla Pantai, just round the corner from the Fairmont hotel.

Babi Guling – the local suckling pig competes with even the lechon of Cebu in the Philippines with a spicy, crispy taste. Just stop off at one of the many roadside eateries whilst doing your day tours. Try Depot Betty in Putu Bayu as you journey to the centre of the island.

Ubud’s crispy duck is a must whilst in the centre, where you can enjoy lunch in rural surroundings.

Naturally on an island you would expect that the seafood would be good…head to Seminyak Beach for a filling seafood buffet quite literally on the beach.

Something to wash down all this tasty food…how about some pricey coffee that has made its way through the bowels of a local cat? Yes, Kopi Luwak. There are plenty of tourist stops (traps) where your driver will be keen to drop you off for a visit and a taste. It is actually quite a nice visit, so don’t get perterbed that you are in the clutches of tourism as you’ll typically get a good guide around the gardens, followed by a number of different tastings of coffee. We’ll let you decide about the Luwak…

The Southern Peninsula

Unless you are already locked up in one of it’s luxurious prisons (aka resorts) then a day trip around the peninsula should do.

Nusa Dua – fight through the private property of the big hotels and you’ll find a nice stretch of beach, white sand, fringed with palm greens and

promontories of vegetation to explore.

Further around the coast you’ll come to the dramatic entrance of Pantai Pandawa, with a road cut through the rock to get down to the sea.

When we visited it seemed to be a national school trip to the beach to see and interact with that most mythical of creatures…the tourist!

Padang Padang beach is a well known secret cove, just follow the trail of bikinis and speedos that head down the rocky steps and through the cave like facade to a nice little beach.

In the afternoon head back down to Ulu Watu temple, a stunning temple complex, that despite all the tourists is still a gem to visit. Set on cliffs above the sea, you can spend an easy couple of hours exploring,

Playing / fighting with the local monkeys

and finish with the wonderful Kecak Dance (Fire Dance). A combination of ritual, dance, drama, clifftop setting and (allegedly) sunset.

Even though we did not get the sunset it was still so worth it, plus you get a free poncho to combat the rain!

The East

You may have to fight with your driver a bit to get them to take you out East, as the commercial opportunities for them are not so great; but stick to your guns and head out east.

Our destination of the day was the Blue Lagoon for some snorkeling. Even with a downpour and sea swell it is still worth the trip.

Heading back there are a number of interesting stops , start with Pura Goa Lawah (the Bat Cave temple)…thousands of bats crammed into the natural cave ceiling above the altar of the temple.

Next stop is the Klungkung Palace, home of one of the nine kingdoms of Bali that is now open to a bit of a visit.

A final stop of the day should be the Blangsinga Waterfall, blissfully refreshing from the heat of the day, with swings

and interesting little carvings spread across the area.

Ubud

Start your day with a visit to a Barong Dance – a play that represents an eternal fight between good and evil – the mythological animals of Barong, representing good

and Ranga representing evil makes for a colourful and entertaining show.

There are plenty of tourist curios to stop off at on your way up north – batik handicrafts and silver workshops seem to be the main business plied along this route.

Keep your eyes peeled as you head into the hills for the rice terraces, in between the shops and stalls you’ll catch short glimpses of the stepped agriculture. It’s nice, but if you want real rice terraces then you’ll have to head to the North of the Philippines and Banaue.

What will make the trip north fully worthwhile is a visit to the Tirtha Empul temple, probably the main highlight of Bali.

With its holy waters it is the destination for pilgrims (and tourists) to wash away their sins…and snap a few good photos.

Temples of the West

Travelling from the eastern side of Denpasar to the western side around Christmas is not a trip for the faint hearted. It can easily take several hours to fight through the traffic, so make sure you time this part of the trip well.

Nonetheless the west has some major spots to visit that would be a mistake to miss. Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, set on lake Beratan.

Built for a Balinese water goddess nearly 400 years ago. Even with crowds and over-sized swans a serene place to visit and explore.

Another sea temple – Tannah Lot – will ignite your inner child’s desire for exploration, amongst the rocks and coves and temples…

just add the masses of tourists and their selfie sticks.

Nusa Penida / Lembongan / Ceningan

Bali is not just a single island, but also has 3 smaller islands just off its coast that make for a pleasant day trip.

Picking up a boat from the beach by Tima Pura is an experinece, as you wade out into the sea with all your belongings on your head, along with locals and tourists alike who us the ferry service to the islands.

Travelling across the sea will give you perfect views of the foreboding Mount Agun…which looked all the more menacing on our trip as it was in the throes of an eruption…but just a little burp!

A trip across to these islands is really to do some snorkeling in the lovely waters that are in the surroundings.

Aptly named Crystal bay and Manta Point…however the recent storms we had experienced whilst on the island meant that conditions were not optimal so we once again missed out on seeing manta.

The strong current did allow for some great drift snorkelling where we were swept along the coast with little effort, to be rescued by our speedboat once the fish were all ticked off.

So after these few days of excellent food, lots of rain, traffic jams and amazing temples we were back on the plane to Manila…for yet another adventure that we shall tell soon. Enjoy!