Sight-seeing in Bali (Part 1)

We hired a driver for 2 days to bring us to the sights of Bali. Our driver is Made (pronounced as Ma-De), a cheerful, reliable and honest driver. He is contact-able through his mobile phone 08123608229. I do highly recommend him as he charged a very reasonably price, was punctual and very accommodating.

Unlike my usual tight travel schedule, I decided to slow down to Balinese pace this time and only visit a couple of sights each day. We started out to visit the Four Seasons Resort in Jimbaran, en route to Uluwatu. There was a strict security check at the entrance to Four Seasons due to the recent bombing within the vicinity. We got in all right and had a look around the luxurious resort. The staff were all very friendly and made us feel really welcomed although they did realize we are not guests of the hotel. I even received a little souvenir flower from the little girl who dressed in traditional Balinese dance attire.

After Four Seasons, we drove to Tirtha Bali where my dream wedding location is. Tirtha Bali did look as good as what I've seen in magazines, if not better. It has a glass chapel overlooking the Indian Ocean below. It was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

We still had some time to kill before sunset and the Kecak Dance show in Uluwatu, so we visited some other small hotels around that area. We headed to Uluwatu around 5pm to stroll around the temple first. Do beware of monkeys when you go to Uluwatu as the monkeys are more cunning than snatch thieves! They snatch away whatever that can be removed from you, cabs, glasses, even cameras! Some of the monkeys are as big as a dog! No kidding!

Perched on top of a cliff with magnificent view of the open sea, Uluwatu has the perfect location to house the Kecak Dance performance. The show starts at 6pm everyday. If you only decide to watch one cultural performance in Bali, this should be it! I would recommend watching the show in Uluwatu because the open-air theatre here did really make the show even more interesting, especially when you can watch the beautiful sunset over Uluwatu while enjoying the show. It was cheaper too, as compared to Ubud.

After the Kecak dance show, we headed to Tanjung Benoa for a famous Balinese restaurant - Bumbu Bali. From my opinion, I think this restaurant is totally overrated. It was a complete waste of time to detour all the way to this part of the island for the overpriced yet disappointing food in Bumbu Bali.

Made brought us safely back to our guesthouse in Legian for the night, where our nightmarish accommodation experience was about to begin