Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia

3rd May – 5th May 2018

Once the boat pulled away from Gili Air, we had a quick stop at Lombok, before carrying on towards Bali. The boat back was so full: we had to sit separately, but at least we weren’t on the floor like some people. To pass some time, we both napped but it wasn’t very comfortable and I just wanted to be back on land.

Over two hours later, we arrived back in Bali. We got off the boat and it was complete chaos. There were people crowding around a load of bags that had already been brought off, waiting for theirs, but people couldn’t get to the ones on the floor – it was crazy. We had already paid for a transfer to Uluwatu, but as it was so far, nobody seemed to want to take us. At first, we were passed from person to person, before we finally ended up back at the office. At one point, we were told that we would have a four hour journey on a thirty-seater bus unless we paid more to go private – we refused to pay more, and rightly so as we had already paid extra. We were eventually put into one car, and told to wait for more people, before then being told to move cars as there was another couple in their going close to where we were going. In the end, it was us and one other couple and the driver still moaned the whole way to our hostel.

After a long drive, with lots of traffic, including school leavers, and a broken down coach, we made it to the hostel at about 6.30! As soon as we had checked in, we dropped our bags, did a little research for dinner, and headed straight back out again. We had only eaten pringles all day, so we were so hungry! Plus, we wanted to be out of the room for as long as possible as it was hot in there, and there was only a fan.

Even though we had done some research, we weren’t sure where to go for dinner, and as it was dark, it made it a little more difficult. We walked in the direction of what we thought was a beach (thinking there might be some cafes or restaurants down there) but it was so dark and didn’t look like much, so we turned around. We were about to head back in the other direction when we spotted a row of shops and restaurants. We ended up in a place called ‘The Station’ where I just had a panini as I had started to feel quite sick, and Joe had a burger with chips.

Once we had eaten, we walked back to the hostel. I still wasn’t feeling 100% so we chilled out and got an early night.

As we were only having one full day in  Uluwatu, we wanted to make the most of it, so we were up early ready to make the most of our day. After the 6.15 alarm, we got ourselves up and dressed, ready to set off for a yoga session.

After about a ten minute walk, we arrived at Uluwatu Surf Villas, which looked like beautiful accommodation – we were just there for the yoga session unfortunately. We were shown to the outdoor studio, where we waited for the instructor. We were one of the first there and it looked pretty quiet to begin with, but lots of people turned up by 7.30, when the session begun. We thought at first that the chances of Joe being the only male, were pretty high, but there were lots of men there, including a man who was getting married later that day. The rest of the people in the class seemed like his whole guestlist, as it was packed full of people who knew each other.

The session lasted an hour and a half and it was such a good workout. We both worked really hard, even if I did struggle to control my laughter whenever I looked over at Joe and saw how unrelaxed he looked during the relaxing sections because he couldn’t stretch. We enjoyed it though and all got a bonus free cold coconut at the end, which was actually much nicer than the one that Joe tried in Ubud.

After the session, we chilled out in the studio for a little while and drank our coconut water, before heading back to our hostel.

When we got back, we had a quick change and cool off, infront of the fan, before setting off again. Our next stop was the Uluwatu temple, but not before stopping for some brunch on the way. We stopped in a café called ‘Land’s End Café’ which I expected to have views of the sea because of its name, but it didn’t. This didn’t matter though, because the food was so tasty, as were the smoothies!

After brunch, we carried on to the temple. We arrived at about 10.30 and once we paid our entrance fee and put on our sarongs – something Joe was genuinely so happy about, as he’s wanted to wear one since we arrived – we made our way to the entrance. For some reason, still unbeknown to us, this wasn’t a simple task, as Joe became a celebrity with the Indonesian school children.

He first of all had one guy ask for a photo, which I though was strange but I had heard it happens sometimes, so just stepped aside while it happened, getting my own version of the photo. However, as soon as he had got his, two girls came running over asking for their pictures – they had selfies and individual photos with him. I found the whole thing hilarious and it was even better when the girls asked me ‘is he my boyfriend?’. Assuming that they meant to ask ‘is he your boyfriend?’ I answered yes, but they got so excited at my answer, so I might now be sharing Joe! Neither of us had any idea what the whole thing was about but Joe definitely loved his two minutes of fame.

Once we finally made it into the grounds of the temple, we put everything inside the bag, as there were monkeys lurking around. We wandered around the grounds and up to the temple, but we were both a bit underwhelmed by what we saw. We expected a big temple building, but instead there were lots of little temples on the cliff edge. The views were impressive and the position of the temple was impressive, but we were a  little disappointed with the temple itself. We dodged the monkeys and wandered around until we had seen it all.

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On our way out, we asked about the Kecak dance which happens at the temple every night, but we were told to just turn up on the night and hope for tickets, but were warned that it gets busy. We had already messaged someone about some tickets anyway, as I had read on the website this is a good thing to do but hadn’t heard anything back, so we made our way back to the hostel to get some wifi, to check on this.

Back at the hostel, there was still no news on the tickets, so we researched what to do to guarantee some, as we still weren’t 100%. The man at our reception told us that they no longer pre-sell tickets, despite what the website says, we just have to turn up, pay entry into the temple and get tickets inside. It sounded risky, but we decided we would just get there early. After some research, I found myself having a little siesta in the coolish air the fan was blowing on me. I didn’t nap for long though, we were soon up and back out for the afternoon.

As we wanted to get back to the temple early enough to get tickets for the dance show, we only had a couple of hours to fill. We decided to head down to one of the beaches that Uluwatu is well known for: Suluban beach. What we didn’t realise, was that it was a surfers ‘beach’ and there wasn’t really a beach there. It was a pretty cool spot though, after walking down lots of stairs, we were in a cave that led out to the sea where there were so many surfers! We didn’t stay down there for long, we soon made our way back up the stairs and into a warung for a drink.

After a very brief stop, it was time to head back to the hostel again. We had a quick change, again, before headed back up to the temple. The man earlier in the day had said to get there for 4.45 at the latest, so we planned to leave at 4 to give us plenty of time. We left a little later than planned, but we were still there for half past. Luckily, we didn’t have to pay entry again, we just showed our tickets from earlier, which was good.

Once we entered the temple grounds, we went to the area to buy tickets. The ticket sales hadn’t begun yet, but there were already so many people waiting. We decided to wait in the ‘queue’ – it definitely didn’t qualify as a queue though. When the people came out to sell tickets, the chaos began! There were so many people pushing and shoving and waving money in the ticket people’s faces, it was so crazy. I had to stand my ground and hold fully grown men back, while Joe made his way to the front, otherwise we would have never got in. I got shoved a few times and I played on it, pretending to fall just to make them feel bad – I don’t think it worked though.

After getting two tickets and a programme in English, we left the fighting crowds and went to the arena. It was an outdoor amphitheatre which was already filling up quickly with people. We had read some reviews that say they pack the place full of people, and the reviews were definitely true. We managed to find ourselves a seat in the corner on the back row, which we thought would be ideal as we wouldn’t have people squashing us from both sides and we had room behind us to lean back or stand up if we wanted. Fortunately, the guy next to us had the same idea, as he didn’t squash too close to Joe when the men were telling people to move up – it just wouldn’t have been comfortable.

About an hour after sitting down, the show started. This was after hundreds and hundreds of people had filled the tiny arena, sitting in the stairways and on the stage floor itself – it was so busy! The show was amazing though. It started with a group of 78 men coming in, as the orchestra, using only their voices. They stayed on the floor throughout the performance, while the actors came in and out doing their parts.

It was a good job we grabbed a copy of the programme, as the songs were all in Indonesian, but we could get an idea of what was happening, by reading it. The actors were all really good and the monkey towards the end was really funny. I’m not sure it was part of the storyline but it was really good, and he got the audience involved.

Towards the end, lots of people started to get up and leave, which we found really rude, as it was only a small arena and the actors were still on the stage. The show lasted around forty-five minutes, and afterwards, the actors stayed on the stage to get photos with the audience which was good; although the monkey was much scarier up close.

After the show, we left the temple and made our way back to the hostel. We stopped off at a restaurant called ‘U-Food’ on the way, which we had researched. We were the only ones in there, and both ordered Mexican, but we weren’t overly impressed with what we got. It was fine though and fed our hunger.

Once we had paid up, we went back to the hostel, where we chilled out and tried to keep cool in the hot room we were staying in, before falling asleep.

The next morning, I was awake at about 7.30 despite the fact we could have had a lie in. I left Joe sleeping for a while, while I did some research for the next leg of the trip. Joe woke up around 9, and once we managed to get up, we packed our bags before heading out for some breakfast just after 10.

We had originally planned to eat in the place next to the hostel, but we went in and looked at a menu and no one was there to serve us (which is very unusual over here), so we left. Instead, we went to ‘Corner Café’ which was about five minutes away, to eat there instead. We ordered our food, but they didn’t have the food or drink the Joe wanted (this has happened to us at least once a day so far), so he wasn’t happy. He found alternatives instead and the food was okay, but not as good as Land’s End Café.

After we had eaten, we made our way back to the hostel, to finish packing, and to check out. I had ordered us a ‘Grab’ which is a version of Uber, but I ordered it to the warung next to the hostel, as it was 15,000 IDR cheaper. We walked to the warung but nothing came for us. When I walked back to the hostel to get wifi, it had been cancelled and nothing else was available, apparently. Luckily, there was a taxi driver at the hostel collecting some girls to take them to Kuta, as we were going to the next town over, they agreed to share with us, for a cheaper rate, after some haggling with the driver. We loaded up the taxi, squeezed into the back, and off we went to Seminyak.

Uluwatu seems to be a quiet little surf town. Besides the temple and the yoga, we struggled to find things to do, so were more than happy with only one full day. The Kecak dance show was a bonus for us and we both enjoyed it so much. These little visits to places are making the trip fly by now, as it’s already time for our last stop in Bali!

To travel is to live, Katie x