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The island of Bali is a truly unique place, unusually beautiful and interesting. Many bright colors and a marvelous landscape are pleasing to the eye, and local residents captivate visitors at a glance.

This place is called Puri Gading and is located in Jimbaran.

The traffic in Bali is very dense, there are a lot of scooters, but it’s much more pleasant to ride than in Moscow, since all drivers know that these two-wheeled vehicles are constantly nearby. Drinking at the wheel, in principle, is possible. The Balinese themselves do not drink, so the police have no way to check you. Restrictions impose each for himself.

If someone learns to surf, I can immediately warn that training waves in Kut are usually around 9 in the morning, although it happens, of course, in different ways. But I had to get up at 7.30 for 4 days out of 6, so it’s better not to count on night parties. For 6 days, it’s quite realistic to learn how to get up on the board and even ride a little, but on big waves, where you will be taken out on the last day (depending on your abilities), of course, it’s scary.

There are a lot of restaurants in Bali. You can eat very cheaply and not very. In principle, 50,000 can overeat. Nasi-goreng, Mia-goreng, etc. are very tasty. Local dishes of rice (nasi) or noodles (mia) can be with beef or seafood or something else, can be boiled and fried, but in fact they are always very tasty and very cheap (an average of 20-25 thousand rupees). Freshly squeezed juices - from 8 to 20 thousand rupees, it must be borne in mind that in 95% of cases the juices will be mixed with water or crushed ice, but they will still be more saturated than Moscow :) Seasonal fruits in winter - mango, pineapple, watermelon, avocado, everything else will always be sweet. It is better not to order orange fresh there at all - you will not like it.

Right before the New Year, we left for the east of the island at Candi Dasa. When calculating the distance and time, it is worth considering that you will have a maximum average speed of 40-50 km / h, since there are a lot of cars on the roads and everywhere in almost the same lane, and winding.

Candi Dasa is a very calm and comfortable place. We settled in Bali Santi Bungalows. The hotel was almost empty, we got double bungalows for 250,000 per day (first announced 300, but we bargained), and superior - for 450 thousand (and this includes breakfast).

The place is wonderful, with a beautiful pool, near the ocean. Going down to the ocean itself is quite problematic, since there is a stone coast below. But there you can 3 days just do nothing, sit, look at the ocean and drink some juice or a cocktail. Very cool place.

There is also the Water Palace Taman Ujung (Ujung Water Palace), a beautiful place, especially for panoramic shots, but there is something there that was brought in by the locals. This is something - garbage, jogging athletes on the tracks, boys asking for cigarettes, some kind of scruffy. In general, it is beautiful from afar, not very close.

The path I started, in fact, from Jimbaran, that is, from the south coast, where the main tourist resorts are concentrated. The first stop was Tanah Lot Temple, located near Canggu. I think this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bali.

Usually crowds of tourists are brought there, they offer you to take a picture and immediately give photos, they’ll give some garbage, etc. In general, it’s worth a look, but for a long time there - no. By the way, if you get hungry, literally a kilometer along the road towards the highway from Tanah Lot there is a good and cheap cafe.

The path lay to the northwest of the island in the National Reserve (Bali Barat National Park). The road there is difficult, many turns, about 120 km along the winding coast. We drove about 3 hours, the main direction of the signs is the port of Gilimanuk, connecting Bali with Java. It should be borne in mind that there are a lot of Muslim settlements along this road and it will be almost impossible to buy beer, for example, which is frustrating in such hot weather. Also in Gilimanuk. Therefore, if you are traveling in that direction, it is better to stock up immediately.

Our final destination was the hotel (although not sure if this is the correct name) Menjangan Resort. And not quite a hotel, because this place implies accommodation in villas, or in the so-called Waterfront Gazebos (costing $ 60, including a good breakfast). It's just a wooden (almost) tent with mosquito nets stretched to the sides and sliding there are doors in front of Gazebo, there is a platform on which there are two sun loungers, the sea is splashing beneath you (unless, of course, the tide is at the moment), and mangroves surround the sides. The toilet and shower are a bit distant.

Manjangan Resort is located inside the reserve, paths from gravel lead to it, around not very dense thickets where you can see some birds, monkeys, butterflies and small deer. Nature seems completely untouched, the feeling that I almost came and put up a tent in the forest. If you are going there, take mosquito repellent, alcohol (if needed, so as not to pay extra) and have something to eat, because there are restaurants there, but not very budget (dinner for two will cost 200 rupees).

Dinner and sunset are best served at Bali Tower. This is a wooden tower right in the middle of the forest, offering a gorgeous view.

One of the strongest impressions for me was a night swimming in this sea. The fact is that it is teeming with microorganisms that glow when you “excite” them. It is indescribable when there are a million luminous points around you. I was told that similar things exist in the Black Sea, but somehow I came across this for the first time. Peerless.

Actually, the next day, our journey continued along the northern coast, towards the former capital of the island - Singaraja, and the end point was the resort of Lovina, famous for a more relaxing holiday, black sand and morning boat trips to watch dolphins.

The path to Lovina ran along the north coast and was rather difficult due to heavy rain. It started literally as soon as we checked out and ended somewhere already in front of the place of arrival. There were mountains and mountains to our right, but there was no photo of them, because the speed was high and I did not want to stop. Upon arrival, we ended up in a nice Adirama hotel with a large room with good beds, a pool downstairs and breakfast included (the night cost 350 thousand at a price of 400).

In the evening, we had dinner at the main restaurant street of the resort, which has a lot of all kinds of establishments, but it was completely empty in them.

There are many beautiful boats on which tourists drive to watch dolphins at 5-6 in the morning. This photo, however, was taken in a completely different place.

There is also a nearby Sing Sing waterfall. There is definitely nothing to do there, only you will lose time. There is practically no water (and it is unlikely to be), it is also muddy, the path is so-so, well, and the height is minimal. It is better to go to the Git Git waterfall, it is located on the path from north to south of the island, not far from the former capital of the island of Singaraja. There are two points from which you can look at the waterfall, they are at an altitude of 300 and 600 meters. What I visited, I don’t know for sure, but I can say that it is very profitable to buy all kinds of souvenirs there.

Further our path lay to the lakes Bratan, Tamblingan and Buyan (the last two lie very close), which are actually in the center of the island. Along the way, one could meet monkeys who were as shy as they were curious. They didn’t come close, but they were very interested in all kinds of sweets and water thrown into the trash. They say that the monkeys in Uluwatu unscrew the lid with their fingers, the same ones bite the bottle from the bottom and drink greedily.

If you turn off the main road to Lake Tamblingan, you can come to a beautiful ancient temple. It is also surprising that there will be strawberry beds to the left and right of the road. Yes, strawberries are grown there. On the way there we asked us to collect a couple of kilograms, and on the way back we took our packages. I honestly don’t remember the price, but something like about 20,000 per kilo. The entrance to the local churches is usually closed, at least for tourists, it happens, of course, that you will be allowed into some room, but this is only if you are with accompanying people.

On Lake Bratan is the most frequently photographed place in Bali (this is exactly the phrase I read in the guidebook). This is the Ulun Danu Temple. In fact, this is not a temple, but a complex of temples, some of which are in the water. A very beautiful place. It was just a problem to find a sane restaurant nearby. Therefore, we had dinner already somewhere in the mountains on the way home.

The last day was rainy enough, and the ocean was of some unimaginable color (the photograph conveyed the whole reality of what was happening). This is on Dreamland Beach.

This is my Bali. From the unwritten, I can add that first of all you need to visit the main temple of the island - Besaki (Besaki). Really worth it. And nearby there is Kintamani volcano with a beautiful mountain lake.

By the way, if after Tanah Lot you turn somewhere into a village, then in addition to the locals who will point your finger at you, you can see beautiful beaches with black volcanic sand.