Continent: Asia
Capital: Jakarta
Official Language: Indonesian
Population: 283.5 Million (2024)
Currency: Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
About: Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
My Visit: I spent 5 days in Bali at the InterContinental Bali Resort. This place was beautiful! Prior to arriving in Bali, I had already decided that I wanted to spend most of my time resting and relaxing around the resort. And this resort was the perfect place to do it. The grounds of the resort were so big, I never got around to visiting each area. On my side was everything I needed. I had a view of the ocean, and was closely located to one of the restaurants. Although I mainly ate breakfast and dinner at one of the executive lounges (they had 3) for free. Most days I had lunch at the poolside restaurant.
I had 2 excursions planned; one was the ATV quad bike ride through tunnels and waterfall. The other excursion was to the Lempuyang Temple (Gate of Heaven). The ATV bike ride was in Ubud, which was about a 2 hours ride. I was a little apprehensive about riding an ATV but once I got there and on the bike, I felt a little better about it. There were 8 of us in the group and because my driver was friends with the ATV guide, I was placed in front. This also gave me the opportunity for some great pictures. The guide kept my camera and was sporadically taking pictures of me. Once I got a chance to view the pictures, I saw that he also made a couple of great videos, especially while riding through the waterfall. This was a nice experience.
After the bike ride, my driver and his wife suggested I see some of the sights in Ubud. I saw my first rice field, had a strangely made coffee (opi Luwak). It’s produced from coffee beans that have been eaten, partially digested, and then excreted by the Asian palm civet, a small, cat-like mammal native to Indonesia. Yes, I tried the coffee and it wasn’t bad.
Because the ride to Ubud seemed to long just for an excursion, I decided to cancel the trip to the temple. I really wanted to see the temple area and take that great Tik Toc photo, but the ride there would be 3 hours there a 3 back. And I found out that there are over 100 steps to climb before reaching the temple and the lines wait time is normally about an hour. And you’re given 5 minutes at the temple gate for a picture. I was told that things in Bali are stretched out but this was a little more than I would want to venture.
Bali is a one and done for me.
