First impressions
Unlike the glamorous experience on screen, recently, Trong Nghia - a photographer in Saigon and his girlfriend had a trip to Bali lasting 6 days and 5 nights with both funny and sad situations. During this trip, he visited Ubud, Nusa Penida and Uluwatu, each place has its own impressive and attractive points.
Ubud is a town on the island of Bali in Indonesia, located among rice fields and steep ravines in the central foothills of Gianyar regency. It is also one of Bali's main centers of art and culture.
Recently, Trong Nghia - a photographer in Saigon had a trip to Bali lasting 6 days and 5 nights with both funny and sad situations.
Trong Nghia shared: “I am very impressed with the architecture and antiquity here because it is partly associated with the religious life of the people. They perform daily religious rituals at the temples. However, the roads here are quite small and always in a state of traffic jams. In my opinion, perhaps that is a trade-off, because these architectural works were built a long time ago and if we want to widen the road, we will have to destroy them.”
Balinese people perform daily religious rituals at temples.
Holy water bathing ceremony at Tirta Empul temple
With Nusa Penida - a small island of Bali, to get here you need to take a 45-minute speedboat. This place is famous for places such as dinosaur spine, diamond sea... But if you want to take pictures here, sometimes you have to stand for an hour to get your turn. Therefore, Trong Nghia decided to switch to the experience of diving. The sea here is very well preserved so the marine life is extremely diverse, you can easily see dolphins, turtles... In particular, Nusa Penida is famous for the giant Manta ray. This is a highlight and attracts tourists from all over the world.
Trong Nghia said, to get to Manta point (Manta's home) you need to take a speedboat for about 1 hour, riding on the rough waves of the sea. There are 2 main types of tours here. One is diving with fins and snorkel for 350,000 Rupiah (RP), about 550,000 VND, with this form you need to know how to dive and hold your breath for a long time. The other is diving with oxygen, this way is easier for all tourists and the time underwater also lasts about 15-20 minutes. However, its price is quite high at 2,500,000 Rupiah (RP), about 4 million VND.
Diving experience in Nusa Penida
Laughing and crying when traveling in Bali
Unlike traffic in Vietnam, in Bali, motorbikes are driven on the left lane. “At first, when I was not used to it, I was scared a lot when I kept going the wrong way on the right side. The price of gasoline here is quite cheap, only 14,000 VND/1 liter. In particular, the color of gasoline is sky blue, which is quite eye-catching. Perhaps because gasoline is cheap, the price of renting motorbikes and cars here is also very cheap. The whole day only costs 100,000 VND for a motorbike and about 700,000 VND for a car,” Trong Nghia said.
According to him, Balinese cuisine is mainly chicken-related, very salty and has few vegetables. Compared to Vietnam, the food is not as diverse. Balinese cuisine and beliefs have similarities with India.
According to him, Balinese cuisine is mainly chicken-related dishes, very salty and with few vegetables.
When visiting the temples, visitors will be given a cloth to wrap around their waist called a sarong. If female visitors are on their period, they will not be allowed to enter this temple.
During his 6-day trip to Bali, Trong Nghia’s unforgettable moment was literally experiencing the waterbus ride to Nusa Penida Island. “It was pouring rain and the boat was constantly being flooded with water. There are many boat service companies but perhaps I was not lucky enough to choose this boat. There was no air conditioning, no rain cover and in return it smelled bad and was hot,” Trong Nghia humorously recounted.
When visiting temples, visitors will be given a piece of cloth to wrap around their waist called a sarong.
When he arrived at the island, it was raining heavily, Trong Nghia quickly got on the car he had booked earlier to go to the hotel. Another surprise was in store for him. The hotel where he was staying was deserted, with no guests, no wifi, no receptionist, and no phone signal. It is not an exaggeration to call this place “a haunted house on the prairie”. He had to go very far to get a phone signal to contact the driver to pick him up and find another hotel. After the rain, the sky cleared up, the next day was a sunny day with a blue sea, Trong Nghia was lucky to dive with giant Manta rays, sea turtles, and a school of dolphins.
Roads in Bali
Bali has long been known as the "cultural cradle" of Indonesia. What the male photographer clearly felt was that in Ubud, the streets were truly ancient. Riding a motorbike through small alleys with architectural works and rice fields on both sides of the road gave him a nostalgic and exciting feeling. Balinese religious rituals are performed daily in these temples. However, outsiders will not be allowed to enter through the temple gates.
According to Trong Nghia, when staying at a hotel, people often place a tray of flowers in front of their house or room when performing a ceremony. This tray of flowers is called "Canang Sari" - one of the most popular offerings in Balinese Hindu culture, used to offer to gods and ancestors to express gratitude and pray for peace and luck. "Canang Sari" is usually made from coconut leaves, flowers, rice and sometimes spices or snacks. This offering is often placed in temples, in front of houses or at sacred places and you are not allowed to step on it.
Bali has long been known as the "cultural cradle" of Indonesia.
Notes for Vietnamese visitors to Bali?
- When coming to Bali, bargaining is very important, no matter what you buy or use. When they give you a price of 100,000 VND, feel free to lower it to 40,000 VND.
- Traffic jams are a specialty here, so traveling often takes a lot of time, and the tourist attractions are also very far apart. If possible, you can rent a motorbike to make it easier and more proactive in moving.
- Food is also an obstacle, because it is quite difficult to eat and not diverse. Tourists can eat European dishes such as pizza and pasta at the restaurants here.
