Packed up and on the road after a decision that she herself did not expect, Rachael Nguyen (25 years old, Binh Thuan) took full advantage of the time Vietnamese citizens can travel to Bali without a visa to roam the island for 30 days. On May 15, the young girl ended her journey to explore Bali with many unforgettable experiences in the island paradise. Let's follow Rachael to visit 5 destinations not to be missed when traveling to Bali.
Rachael Nguyen is currently an English teacher. She started backpacking abroad alone when she was 19 years old.
Explore Hindu worship in Amed
Amed is the name given to the villages located along the east coast of Bali. Amed is not only known for having one of the most beautiful coastlines in the island paradise, but also possesses many impressive natural landscapes such as rice terraces and majestic mountains.
25 minutes from Amed, Tirta Gangga - a unique temple with natural spring water of Hindus is an interesting place you should visit. Literally translated, Tirta is the holy water of Islam, Gangga refers to the Ganges River in India. You can freely enjoy the scenery outside or change into traditional sarong (a tube skirt wrapped from a piece of cloth tied around the waist) to visit the inside of the temple.
The temple is important to Hindus and is the most famous place of worship in Bali.
The people living in Bali are mainly Hindu. They live a slow, quiet life, spending a lot of time worshiping the gods. Walking along the village roads, she saw people carrying trays of offerings to the temple every day, along with offerings displayed all over the roadside. When asked, she learned that, in addition to offering offerings to the gods, Hindus here also sincerely burn incense for wandering souls to keep the spiritual world balanced.
Hindus worship the sea god.
Snorkeling to see coral at Lovina, a peaceful town
Lovina is one of the suitable places for diving activities in Bali with colorful coral reefs. The coral reefs in Lovina grow at different depths, with unique beauty that will give you many interesting experiences in your journey to explore the sea. Lovina is also extremely famous for watching and interacting with dolphins that you should not miss when coming here.
Located in Banjar Dinas Bhuana Sari - Buleleng, Banyu Wana Amertha is an ideal destination for those who love natural waterfalls. To reach this waterfall, you need to walk through the forest for about 20 minutes. The fresh air and tranquility here bring a feeling of relaxation and gentleness, dispelling all the fatigue and stress of life.
A waterfall located in the Banyu Wana waterfall cluster.
Meeting and chatting with a little girl while enjoying the coolness from the waterfall, Rachael was surprised when she came close to hold her hand and slowly placed it on her forehead when leaving. "I was very touched to know that this is the way Hindus show their appreciation to the person in front of them. At that moment, everything seemed to stop," Rachael said. Hindus value good feelings between people and treat everyone around them kindly, so wherever she went, she received sincere help from the locals.
Immerse yourself in the emerald green of Lembongan & Ceningan Islands
Nusa Lembongan & Ceningan are two pristine islands located next to each other, 30 minutes from Bali with many beautiful attractions. The only way to get to Nusa Lembongan is by fast boat from Sanur or Kusamba port.
The natural landscape on Nusa Lembongan Island with many majestic cliffs, bays, beaches with calm waves and beautiful emerald green color, along with many attractive surfing and diving activities, along with a variety of accommodation, entertainment and dining services are the reasons why this island is always on the list of must-visit places when traveling to Bali.
Blue Lagoon with its emerald green water stands out against the surrounding cliffs.
If the beaches in Bali do not satisfy you, then surely when you come to Ceningan you will be fascinated by the countless beautiful beaches with white sand and clear blue water. For those who are passionate about surfing, Coconuts Beach on Ceningan Island and Mahana Point Bay are the two best places to learn surfing because there are many instructors here to teach you how to surf.
An interesting activity worth experiencing when coming to Ceningan is seaweed harvesting. You can easily see seaweed plants spread out to dry everywhere on the island because about half of the population living on this island collects seaweed. Most of the seaweed after being dried will be sold to cosmetic manufacturers.
Seaweed harvesting is extremely popular in Ceningan as more than half of the population is involved in this profession.
Enjoy surfing and watching the sunset in Uluwatu
The surfing scene in Uluwatu is so vibrant that almost everyone who visits the southern resort of Bali wants to experience it. Bingin, a real surfer beach, is located in the south of Bali, in the village of Pecatu. From Bingin, you can see the Indian Ocean with big waves.
Uluwatu is considered a "paradise" for many digital nomads. This destination was chosen because Uluwatu is not a very famous tourist destination, there are not many tourists, many businesses so it is almost always peaceful and comfortable.
Watching the sunset at Uluwatu is an experience you should not miss.
An interesting cultural activity in Uluwatu is watching Kecak dance at Uluwatu temple, which is built on the cliff of Pura Luhur. The traditional Balinese Kecak dance shows start around 5:30 pm, last for an hour, and attract many tourists to join.
Enjoy the majestic natural scenery at Nusa Penida
Almost everyone who comes to Bali wants to take a photo with the dinosaur spine in Nusa Penida. But this island has many more magnificent scenes waiting for you to discover with countless beautiful beaches such as: Diamond Beach, Dolphin Beach, Angel's Billabong, Atuh Beach, Smoky Beach. You can ride a motorbike to conveniently explore the beauty of these beaches because they are quite far apart.
Diamond Beach is as beautiful as a diamond on the island of Nusa Penida.
Among them, Smoky Beach is the beach that surprised the young girl. "I was ecstatic when I witnessed the waves crashing against the cliffs, creating white foam to create a fragile wall of smoke. Under the shimmering sunlight, a rainbow appeared, stretching across the extremely impressive cliffs," the girl happily told about her interesting experience at Penida.
Note that, Nusa Penida is a famous tourist destination so this island is almost always extremely crowded. If you want to feel the beauty of this island in a quiet way, you should come here around 7 am. This is also a great time for you to take pictures of the complete landscape without being crowded.
The rainbow appeared after the white smoke stood upright.
Rachael took a 30-day trip to Bali with a total cost of 20 million VND. Some suggestions to minimize the cost of the trip are shared by her as follows:
For accommodation, you can choose dorms or hostels booked through apps like Agoda and Booking.com. You can also stay for free if you find a host on the Couchsurfing app.
Regarding food, you can choose affordable restaurants with prices ranging from only 30,000 to 50,000 VND. Bali is also a paradise for vegetarians because there are countless vegetarian restaurants here.
Regarding transportation, you should rent a motorbike to explore the island in the most convenient way. The longer you rent, the cheaper it will be. To travel to some islands, you should buy tickets directly at the counter to get a better price.
The cost of visiting destinations in Bali ranges from 15,000 to 90,000 VND. The cost of experience activities will be higher, from 150,000 to 200,000 VND.
You should remember to bring enough cash, or withdraw money from centers like Ubud before moving to the islands because there are not many ATMs here. Before the trip, you should also register for the service of receiving messages from domestic network operators while abroad to handle transactions with OTP codes or some other arising issues.
