Bali Day 1: Arrival, Pura Taman Ayun, Tanah Lot and Naughty Nuri’s

So after waiting forever, our holiday to Bali finally came. Yes, yes, I know, everyone else has been to Bali except me…

But anyway. Most of you can see the larger set of photos posted on facebook, but here’s my post with a little more description. We left KL early in the morning, and this was our first sight of the Island of the Gods.

We booked our hotel through AirAsia, for an el cheapo RM100 per night. This was our hotel.

The hotel is ok, located some 200m from the famous Kuta beach. It’s very low density with rather small rooms. Quite a lot of mosquitoes if you leave the door open tho. First time i’ve slept on a four poster bed.

Our driver Ketut picked us up for our tour and we enjoyed taking in the sights, sounds and smells around us. One thing about Bali that most people know is the many thousands of temples. Even other buildings like schools and offices tend to look like temples. Even this church looks like one.

Anyways first stop was Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi. We didn’t think we’d have time to visit here, but our fantastic driver managed to squeeze in time for us.

Our guide told us Taman Ayun used to be a burial ground for the Mengwi kings before Hinduism came to Bali. Later the meru (layered towers) were built on top of their graves and became a temple.

Sitting on the steps to the inner court of this beautiful temple.

Erm, how DO they check for it…?

After that we travelled to the west to Tanah Lot. Since it was the day before a holiday, almost every village temple had procession and ceremony going on.

All the ladies in their ‘uniform’.

The men were sitting down on the road facing the temple. ON THE BURNING HOT ASPHALT ROAD. IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY JUNCTION!

Reached Pura Tanah Lot at about 5 plus. The path leading up to the temple is lined with hundreds of stalls and shops. I’ve no idea why posh shops like Ralph Lauren open here when there are dozens of their outlets elsewhere?

The oft-photographed temple at sunset. As beautiful as it is, the beach and tide is very dirty, littered with rubbish. I really wished they had kept it cleaner to make a good impression.

A shot of the cliff to the north of the temple.

Sunset at Tanah Lot.

For the first dinner, we drove an hour plus up to Naughty Nuri’s in Ubud.

I can safely say this was the best meal i had during my stay there. The pork ribs were juicy and well marinated, and tender it slid off the bone.

So that was our tiring first day. Next: Northwards to Batur and Kintamani…