Bali Trip Day 2 : Beaches and Temples

We had the full breakfast at the villa prepared by the Baba's restaurant. The continental spread was good enough to perk us up for the day trip to visit some of Bali's famous beaches and temples.

We booked a driver from Sila's Bali Tours to bring us around. Driving in Bali is challenging as there are lots of traffic and road lanes are limited. Furthermore there are not much road signs or street lights on the road. We paid 500K IDR for a full day tour of 10 hours and we could choose the places which we wanted to go.

We took about one and a half hours to reach our first stop which is Padang Padang beach. From the main road, we entered an opening in the cliff and walked down a narrow but short flight of stairs. Towards the  end of the stairs, the passageway opened up to the Padang Padang beach.

The Padang Padang beach is a small cove with clear turquoise waters and soft white sands. It is a lovely place to spend some time swimming, sunbathing or chilling out at the warungs on the beach. 

Next stop is Blue Point. We stopped by Blue Fin cafe located at the clifftop for a drink while enjoying the spectacular view of the shimmering blue ocean. We could see surfers heading down a steep and long flight of stairs to the beach below and out into the sea. Next door is the Blue Heaven restaurant which has a infinity pool and a glass chapel.

We had lunch at Cikgo restaurant located in Uluwatu where we had a delicious serving of grilled pork ribs. The ribs were soft and tender and came with a selection of sauces to complement the dish. 

We moved on to Uluwatu Temple after lunch. The Temple is set on a cliff and commands a magnificent view of the ocean below. As we strolled along the aisle by the side of the cliff, we had an awesome view of the waves crashing onto the rocks below the cliff. We had to be on alert throughout as we heard stories of mischievous monkeys snatching away belongings. Fortunately we did not have any unpleasant encounters. 

After that we made our way to Tanah Lot Temple. We stopped at a supermarket and a bakery shop to get some tidbits and layer cakes.

There was a lot of traffic heading towards Tanah Lot and after what seemed like endless hours, we finally arrived at our last destination for the day. Tanah Lot Temple is perched on a large offshore rock. During high tide, the temple is surrounded by the sea and isolated from the mainland. During low tide, the waves will recede and one can cross the shore to reach the temple.

We parked ourselves at the Galang Sunset cafe located along the cliff which provided a great spot to watch the sunset. Fortunately for us, the cafe was not packed and we were able to get a table right along the edge. The view of the sunset was stunning with the temple silhouette and rolling waves in the foreground.

We had dinner at Sea Circus cafe back at Seminyak. The cafe stands out with bright colored windows as its facade. The interior is adorned in vibrant colors which provide a cheerful and cozy environment for dining.