Day three in Bali consisted of an all day tour through the North part of the island.  It was stunning and I definitely recommend a tour; it is incredibly cheap for a private air conditioned tour, the guide was so knowledgeable, and you could end up seeing a once in a lifetime local ceremony just like I did!!

I did a lot of research before deciding and choosing which tour company to go with.  Deciding to go with the “luxury” aspect of the trip, I booked a private tour.  I mean, come on, for $89 up to 4 people for an all day private tour is practically nothing!  I chose Bali Traditional Day tours since there were exceptional reviews on TripAdvisor. They definitely exceeded my expectations.  Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly.  I even decided to book a massage at their family owned and highly rated spa. I felt very taken care of the entire day and even all the way until we were dropped off at our hotel. I would definitely recommend this to our company if you want to visit the island a bit more.  The tour I chose was called the Bedugul tour.

That day we headed to a local market, a coffee plantation, Lake Batur which has the Puru Ulu Danu temple sitting on its waters, UNESCO Jatiluwah rice fields, an unexpected yet memorable stop at a local village ceremony, and a two more temples after that.  Whew! That’s a lot just even typing it out!

First stop was the local market where they had these beautifully delicious mangosteens. If you’ve never had one, and you come across them in Asia; eat it! Its so refreshing and sweet.

We didn’t stay too long at the local market, just enough time to browse around. The next stop was a coffee plantation, which almost seemed like a tourist trap, but hey I was a tourist and I went with it. You can  try the famous kopiluwak coffee here for a small fee; I’ll just let you Google why its so famous (or should I say infamous?).  I did end up trying kopiluwak, but more so just to give it a taste.  The plantation is small, but a nice little stop and break from all of the temple sightseeing.

Tip: I wouldn’t reccomend buying any of the teas they sell in their shop.  Its a bit overpriced, and the taste is nothing like what they give you when you try all the different flavors.

The next stop was The stunning Lake Batur.  This lake and temple is actually pictured on their currency.  It was a bit cloudy when we went, but gorgeous nonetheless.

We spent quite of bit of our time here; there’s a good amount of space to explore.  Even with people around, the view of the lake and temple was relaxing.

Tip: You will probably spend about an hour or more here.  There is a restaurant you can eat at, but I would reccomend trying to wait until you get to the Jatiluwah rice fields to eat some amazing local food!

So this concludes the first half of this all day tour.  Its just so long to be able to fit it all in one post!  So I’ll see you in the next post, with more of Bali day three to commence!