I thought that I've always been self-contained in terms of spending time alone. But being far away from my friends and my family made me realize how important they are in my life and that I would long for their company if I was far away from them for a long period of time. 

This kind of affected my mood a bit and thought of not having another trip the next day and just stay in my room and sulk it.

But then I thought, I went all the way here not to just sit and lie down in my bed like it was another weekend. I'm here to discover a place I've never been to and I'm doing it alone. So I grabbed a couple of beer, picked up a pen and paper, opened my laptop and plan my next Bali adventure.

I was told by one of my friends who've been to Bali to not miss Ubud. There are a lot of amazing places to see there and since its the farthest out of all the places I wanted to visit, I listed it down first. My planned route was this:

Tegenungan Waterfall in Ubud → Goa Gajah, Elephant Temple in Ubud → Tanah Lot Temple in Tabanan → Uluwatu south of Kuta

It was a very ambitious plan but I finally felt excited about it and slept for the next day.

DAY 4

I woke up early to finish a few things for work. Once I was done, I decided to look up for a driver in Bali online and after reading reviews on Trip Advisor I came across http://patrickbalidriver.com/.

I sent a WhatsApp message on the number that was in the website and after a few minutes, I got a reply. I explained to him that I wanted to do a full day trip ending in Uluwatu. He explained to me politely that the trip would be a long day and we might not be able to visit all the places since they are all far apart. So I decided to drop Uluwatu and thought that I'll definitely visit when I come back (which surely I will!).

We agreed that the entire trip will cost IRD600,000 ($44/AED165) which is not even half a cost to pay for taxi from Abu Dhabi to Dubai and back! Imagine if you're a group or 4-5 people, this trip would be more cheaper!

The driver Patrick sent arrived 10 mins before the time we've agreed. The car was a mini van which is super cool considering that I'm alone in this trip and it would mean that I'll have a lot of leg space. lol!

My driver's name is Nyoman. He's super kind and very informative! There was no dead air during the trip and he answered all my questions about the places we'll go to, the culture in Bali and Hinduism and even told a little story about his family. Was a really good experience travelling with him.

Our first destination is Tegenungan Waterfall. We reached there about 10:30AM and the number of tourists are already starting to build up. Before you enter, you need to pay a small fee of IRD10,000. It was a sunny day so few minutes after I left the car, I was already starting to sweat.


The route was steep and it was quite challenging to reach the waterfall but I had fun. I first reached all these cool rock formations just almost beside the waterfall.


Once I reached the falls, I was so awestruck. This was my first time ever to see a waterfall in person. I only see them in TV shows and YouTube videos and now I am finally there just right in front of it. I took a moment and saw that there's more to see above.


I climbed up the stairs just beside the waterfall to get more closer and take some shots. I'm not gonna lie, it was quite challenging because there were already a lot of tourists around the area and I have to take time to set up my tripod and camera in the right position and wait for the other tourists to leave. I climbed a little bit further and found a lovely water stream just above the falls with more of those little rock formations.


I was on schedule so I did not stay long. After taking all the photos I need and a few sight seeing, I decided to go back but did a bath on one of the natural spring water coming from the falls first before I head back to the car. The stairs going back up is no joke! Good thing all the work out paid off and was able to conquer the route back to the parking lot.

When we reached back on the road we've decided to have a nice lunch at Warung Dewa Malen. It is a lovely restaurant overlooking a rice field. The food was great and the service was prompt yet very courteous. Definitely go visit here if you're in Ubud!


Next destination is the Goa Gajah, Elephant Temple. The entry fee is IRD15,000. Before you enter the temple, there is a fine art market around the entrance. However, I don't suggest you buying your souvenirs here just yet so keep that money in your pocket and keep reading.


Before you enter you must first wear a sarong, both men and women. You may buy around the shops that are there, I borrowed mine form my friend who went to Bali so I did not purchase my own (that I am now regretting, I should have also decided to buy one for myself).


The temple is surrounded by huge trees! The first thing you'll see is a pool with Hindu statues which I believe are angels sprouting water. Continuing through the temple, you'll see a huge stone carving and a small, narrow cave underneath. Enter the cave and you'll find the three stone idols. Its quite dark inside but still an interesting sight to see.


When I was in this temple this is the place where it felt like I was in the game called Uncharted. All are ancient and out of this world! I also took some shots in the middle of these two humongous rocks and a photo under one of their ancient trees.



I really appreciate all the nature that surrounded this place and I learned a few things about Hinduism and their beliefs. I really admire their huge respect with nature and all the other creatures in this world.


We then went back on the road and was supposed to see Ubud's Rice Terraces. I wasn't really keen on this one because I've already seen one in the Philippines back when I was in College. So in the middle of the trip, I asked Nyoman to turn around and go straight to Tanah Lot because I was afraid I might miss the sunset.

When we turned around we were actually at the Jalan Raya Ubud Shopping Street. I asked Nyoman to stop on a few shops and got a good deal on the small dream catchers there. I bought 15 pieces for only IRD150,000 ($11/AED40).


Along the way we also visited this place with a lot of vintage items. It was so lovely that I had to quickly go back to the car and take photos immediately. I then realised that Balinese people are so artistic and really good with handicrafts and Nyoman even said that most of the items made in Bali are being shipped around the world. If only I could I would have bought a ton of furniture! Most of the handmade furniture in this area are also really cheap.

Now we reach to the pinnacle of this day, the Tanah Lot.


Entrance fee is at IRD60,000 ($4/AED16). This is a huge area with A LOT of tourists in the afternoon most likely also waiting for the sunset. I arrived at the area at around 4PM so the sun is still high up. High tide was already starting so most of the temple in an island is already submerged in water. I did not dare go in because there were a lot of tourists already in the area. I would suggest to go here early in the morning before sunrise during low tide so you can appreciate the temple more and there will be less tourists.


In my quest to find the perfect spot to take a photo of around Tanah Lot, I reached this small area with a lot of rocks and beautiful views of the sea just east of the island temple.


This was a special time for me as I was waiting for the sun to set and I am starting to reflect on the things I have done in Bali.

If I hesitated to book this trip I wouldn't be there sharing this story now with you. I realised that honestly, there are much more important things in life than material things and that I should spend more of my money into creating more meaningful memories I could look back to and say to myself "I did that."


I realize that I could be brave enough to do these things and that dreams could really come true if you're persistent enough to pursue it. That if I have stayed there in my comfortable hotel bed, I wouldn't be there in that moment enjoying the beautiful Bali sunset. I imagined myself telling this story to my grand children sharing this blogpost with them, and hope that it will put smiles on their faces and maybe even inspire them to do all the things I did here.


It was such an overwhelming experience and I was so convinced that this trip was meant to be and something that I needed. I discovered more things about myself in only a few days.


And then that was it, the end of my Bali joyride.

We went back to my hotel and I thanked Nyoman for an amazing day. I went straight back to my room, drank a few bottles of lemon flavoured Bintang and slept soundly.

D A Y   4   &   D E P A R T U R E

I woke up and decided to have a breakfast in a nice coffee shop near my hotel.

Before my friend left I remembered that he told me to go to the Kumbasari Art Market to get the best souvenir deals so I took a cab and went there.

 Man this place is huge! I was only there for 40 mins and I got a lot of nice things.


I'm not exaggerating everything there was so cheap! The business owners wont rip you off and you can even haggle prices. I went to a mask dealer, a very sweet old lady and bought a 2 masks and  bamboo chimes that was all worth IRD110,000 ($10/AED30) I did not haggle because the prices were affordable and I have a very soft spot with old people but she still gave it to me flat IRD100,000 I did not argue and thank her for being so nice. I had such a great brief experience at the market and left very happy.


My last activity in Bali was to get a new tattoo. I had it done at the Primech Tatto Co Shop. The tattoo artist was so professional and the procedure was not really that painful.


I got an arrow-compass-clock tattoo which basically symbolises my awakening spirit of adventure and direction, and of course all the wonderful memories I've done in Bali.

After a short but lovely day, I went back to my hotel room to pack my things, rested a bit and left early morning to the airport and flew back home to UAE. Side note: A 14 hour stop over at the Brunei airport was not cute. lol!


In conclusion, Bali is a fantastic destination coming from a first time traveller. I would say though to bring at least a friend with you or maybe someone you cherish cause this place is much more special shared with someone.

The people in Bali are the real winners here. They were so nice, very hospitable, courteous and helpful. I admit I'm kinda jealous cause from my experience, Balinese people are more hospitable than Filipinos!

Bali as a destination reminds me of three destinations in the Philippines in one: A mix of Manila in the early 90's, Boracay and Tagaytay. There's a lot of things to discover in Bali and I wish I could have stayed more.

I thank all the people I've met in Bali for giving me such a memorable trip! I will surely come back soon!

Hope you guys liked reading my Bali blogposts and since you sticked with me till the end I have a special giveaway for you!

In partnership with du and Sony Middle east, we are giving away a brand new Sony RX100 mkIII!

Be sure to be on my Instagram this SUNDAY and tune in for my latest post on how to join the competition!

Follow me now on Instagram @locloset

Have an awesome weekend!