THE BEST 4 DAYS IN BALI: Day 3 - Stereotypical

After 2 days of jam-packed itineraries, you'd think we'd simmer down but Day 3 of The Best 4 Days in Bali was as full and as fun as the others. Putra couldn't make it for our second day of tour due to temple commitments but he had a friend drive us around using the same Toyota Avanza. His friend wasn't as well in English but he was just as nice as Putra. 

Our first stop that day was The Bali Elephant Camp. Marla and I went on an elephant trek of which Irish passed on as she'd already had the ultimate elephant experience in Chiang Mai. She said the elephant parks in Chiang Mai didn't just let you ride these gorgeous creatures, they let you bond with it first by bathing it, feeding it, scraping its poop - just like any ordinary pet! It's something I'd want to try too as this elephant trek feels a tad commercialised in comparison but I believe that commercialised or not, it's best to support businesses that actually care for these animals and not just abuse them. I was pleasantly surprised that the our guide and the other employees were quite knowledgeable about elephants and its proper care. Mar and I drilled our guide, who's been Mary (our elephant)'s handler since Day 1, on how they ensure the elephants' well-being. We were pleased to know that the elephants have "off days" and they had a farm adjacent to the camp that's meant for growing their food to ensure they are well fed and properly nourished. It was a pretty quick ride followed by lunch that's included with the package. 

We really wanted to try the Babi Guling that even if we just had lunch, we had to stop and buy coz it was on the way to Tanah Lot. We had 1 order minus rice to go just so we can taste it and munch during our car ride. It's somewhat like our lechon only it was dressed in more herbs and spices. 

We finally arrived in Tanah Lot where we did more souvenir shopping than temple-seeing. Trivia time! They say that unmarried couples who go to Bali will suffer from the Bali Curse and break up soon after. A variation that's more loose and allows couples to visit this paradise say that the curse is limited to Tanah Lot alone. Please share your own personal experience below as I'm very curious!!

We were supposed to check out Uluwatu Temple but our underwhelming experience at Tanah Lot made us reroute and change our plans. We ended up going for... yoga! Upon a quick Google search, we chanced upon Desa Seni, an ecovillage resort that offers daily yoga classes. To be honest, I was quite hesitant as I was mentally, physically, and outfit-wise unprepared. But I'm glad we went through with it! We still have laughs up to now because of that experience, hehe :) Plus there were some quotable quotes too by our yoga instructor!

Come dinner time, we made our way to Naughty Nuri's. We felt quite guilty as we made our way to the famous barbeque place after just sweating our butts of in yoga, but it quickly dissipated as soon as we smelled the yummy ribs. It was packed and we had to wait for a table but it was worth it! We had nachos and ribs and ended the night with a bottle of white at our hotel room.

So that wraps up our third day in Bali. It was spent immersed in the local fare that people visit the island for - food, elephants, temples, and yoga (aka: stereotypical touristy stuff, haha). To be honest, this has been one of my most active and memorable trips. We did so much! And there's still Day 4. :)

Oh, and just in case you're wondering about our Bali transportation, you may reach our driver, Putra at dek_uci@yahoo.com or +6281 338 204026 (Whatsapp).

For Day 1, click here

For Day 2, click here.
Day 4 coming soon.

xx