So I know you’re wondering, “what should I do in one of the most beautiful places in the world?” Well, I am here to help! Welcome to Bali!
I had the pleasure of staying at the beautiful Rumah Luwih Resort located in Gianyar, and they made it very easy for me to plan my days out. They offer a list of fun activities and daily tour packages for you to choose from. The resort is central to so many different things, and they offer a free shuttle service to the busy tourist areas. Putting together a game plan of “to do’s” day to day was swift and easy. Below are all of the things I got the chance to do, take a look.
Morning Yoga
For all of my yoga fans, you are going to love this! Yoga is held early morning under a beautiful chapel located at the resort and it overlooks the ocean. I am not really a yoga person but if I was, this would be the way I would want to take yoga every day. Take a look!
The instructor was very knowledgeable and versatile. He can teach a beginners class for the newbies like me or an advanced class for the masters that have been doing yoga for years. I can see why a lot of people love yoga, I felt so relaxed after my session and the view was exhilarating. I still think about that view every day.
Cycling Tour
Rumah Luwih’s mountain bike tour was a life-changing experience. It starts at 5:30 in the morning, and I know that sounds like it’s way too early to be up riding a bike, but I promise it will be totally worth it. The resort provides the bikes for anyone that wants to experience this exciting outdoor adventure. This short drive takes you past numerous sites of rice field, temples & village compounds: Medahan Village, Keramas Village, Serongga Village, and Lebih Village. There are also many picturesque plantations to see when cycling through these small villages.
I got to explore real day-to-day Balinese life and witness many wonderful things like rice threshing and many other local sites along the way. This bike ride was one of the best workouts I’ve had in a while. My legs were so sore after, but all of the beautiful sites motivated me to keep pedaling. The tour ended with a breathtaking ride on a path along the beach. The waves crashing up on the shore were the most serene and peaceful way to end the bike tour.
Turtle Release
In collaboration with Saba Asri Turtle Conservation, the turtle release is a beautiful experience, a small self-funded sea turtle conservation run by a group of local fishermen. It’s offered by the Rumah Luwih to all guests, so they will transport you to and from there. Sea turtles are endangered mostly because of humans and pollution, so protecting these turtle eggs from predators helps increase their survival rate. The eggs get moved into a large sea turtle hatchery, where they stay until they are ready to be released. The hatchery is also the meeting point for people that want to help release the baby turtles into the ocean. When nests are reburied, a flag is placed above them, indicating the predicted hatching date.
Once the turtles hatch, they’re placed in large bathtubs full of seawater where they stay until they are released into the ocean.
Anybody can come help with the release (although children have priority). Each person gets to choose one baby turtle, and it’s placed into a small bowl which makes it easy to carry them to the beach for release.
It was seriously one of the most magical moments of my life. They’re so tiny and wave their little flippers so fiercely as they head towards the ocean to begin their journey across the world. This non-profit organization is doing such an amazing job so make sure to give a donation before you leave, I definitely did.
https://www.facebook.com/SABA-ASRI
Sea Salt Making Farm
Salt farming represents a centuries-old tradition where farmers utilize a traditional technique to produce 100% natural sea salt by sun and wind evaporation. Rumah Luwih also provides a free shuttle service out to this fascinating attraction. Despite the intensive process of sea salt making, Kusamba’s salt farmers live in modest huts on the beach with shiny-black and mineral-rich sand.
I got the chance to see the whole process from beginning to end. The farmer carries large buckets of seawater from the ocean back to the beach to wet the sand and prep it for the sifting process.
This process is so cool, it creates the purest form of sea salt so I could not leave without purchasing some to bring back with me. I have been cooking with it since I’ve been back in the states and it really gives food that extra zing!
Monkey Forest
The Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Ubud. The resorts free shuttle service will transport you to the Ubud area, and you can walk over to the Monkey Forest from the drop off point.
Around 120,000 visitors visit the Monkey Forest every month. The Monkey Forest has three temples inside, the Dalem Agung Padangtegal Temple, Holy Spring Temple, and Prajapati Temple. There isn’t anywhere else quite like it, inside is a beautiful escape from the busy bumper to bumper street traffic.
The monkeys are really cute and playful, they will keep you laughing at some of the silly things they do. The biggest thing is to use your common-sense while inside. Keep your distance and just enjoy being able to see these amazing creatures so closely.
The workers in the temple do a good job of keeping them fed, so they are all healthy looking. If they know you don’t have food, they are happy to let you observe them from a distance. Now if you’re lucky like I was when I visited then you might get some up close photo time with the monkeys.
Also, be sure to stop at the water fountain in the main area. I was able to witness many monkeys playing and swimming in the water.
www.monkeyforestubud.com
@monkeyforestubudsanctuary
Shopping & Sightseeing
You can never go wrong with a day of shopping, especially if you’re enjoying some of the most outstanding views in Indonesia while you shop. Everywhere you go in Indonesia you will most likely find people selling great things, like jewelry, clothing and small keepsakes to help you remember your trip. I was able to buy many cute souvenirs for friends and family.
The most enjoyable part was all of the magnificent pictures I got to take. Thanks to my amazing tour guide that was also my personal photographer, I was able to be a part of many of those great pictures. Take a look.
Thank you, Indonesia for being so good to me! I hope it’s good to you also!
Naomi is a stylish, adventurous traveler. She’s a bit of a daredevil that loves excursions. Those that know her, call her a shoe connoisseur. She is also obsessed with music and has a playlist for just about any mood. She’s a foodie that loves a good vegetarian/vegan spot. Want to know where she is headed next… stay tuned to find out!
