|
Back in March, my husband Matt & I headed over to Kuta, Bali for a week's worth of holidaying. We stayed right in the hustle and bustle of Kuta, our hotel fronted on to Jalan Legian, I mean you can't really get any more hustle and bustle than that! We walked everywhere around Kuta, down to the beach, to the shops, up and down alleyways exploring. We also made time to get out of the craziness of the city and into the countryside; to ride elephants, have lunch overlooking a volcano, visit temples & rice fields, silver factories and so much more. We had a fantastic time away, experiencing a very different culture and environment to what we live in, it was great to take the time out to appreciate each other, enjoy some good food, the warmth of the sun, a few traditional Balinese massages & the friendly locals. My highlights of Bali included riding an elephant, getting harassed by people trying to sell you something (because that's what Kuta is all about!), yummy fresh coconut water, our hotel swimming pool and getting to spend quality time with my husband away from everything. Here's a compilation of the snaps I took from our time in Bali. It was fun to photograph like a tourist, just snapping anything that took my fancy!
Our hotel which was beautifully quiet & peaceful even though right in the heart of the city. Check out some of their interesting security: shards of glass cemented in the high wall!  
Kuta beach, famous with surfers for it's waves, but littered with so much rubbish.
The colourful & tangled streets of Bali.  Looking at those power lines you really have to wonder how the infrastructure copes but we only had one short power cut our whole holiday. 
The memorial at the site of the old Paddy's Pub & Sari Club where over 200 people died in October 2002 in the famous Bali Bombings.
We saw some incredible sights on the streets of Kuta while sitting in roadside bars sipping on Bintang and fresh coconut water. Whole families on scooters, people selling anything and everything from their vehicle, tourists trying to learn the chaotic road rules & so much more! Watching the world go by became one of our favourite past times. 
We hired a driver & tour guide for a day & escaped Kuta to the more rural parts of the island, where we visited a Batik factory. Here they handcrafted amazing fabrics with beautiful & elaborate designs.
We looked through a local art gallery & watched a Balinese man painting the most intricate painting I've ever seen.
The entrance of an ancient temple we went to in Ubud. There are temples big and small everywhere in Bali, our hotel even had it's own temple. You must wear a sarong into a temple to cover your knees and if you're a women you shouldn't enter a temple if you are pregnant or menstruating. At least 3 times a day the women in Bali prepare offerings to the Gods, further below is a picture of a lady with many offerings to place around the temple we visited. These offerings come in all sizes and contain a variety of things including fruit, flowers and incense sticks. 
Bali's active volcano, Mount Batur. This was our view from the restaurant we had lunch at.  Other amazing things we saw; a Balinese dance show, a coffee factory, rice fields and the elephant safari park. 
Now, looking at these photos can you tell that I actually was ill just about my whole time in Bali?! Haha yes, I contracted not only a stomach infection 3 days into our trip but I also got the flu just before I came home! Although it really wasn't much fun being sick in a foreign country away from all my home comforts, I think it's pretty evident from our photos that we still had the best holiday. Plus I've ticked riding an elephant off my bucket list.  |
