Myself and Annie arrived in Ubud with Cree and Amelia, two girls I met in the previous hostel. We had every intention of not drinking any alcohol after being in Canggu.
The traffic in Bali always seemed to be bad and we arrived extremely hungover around midday and wasted the rest of the day by napping, only to surface for some dinner.
The next day we got up at a reasonable time and rented two motorbikes and off we went in pairs to explore the city that offers the most ‘touristy’ things to do.
We went to Tegenugan Waterfall first. This was a short walk down lots of steps and was extremely overcrowded! This was the first place I realised just how different instagram pictures are compared to reality – mine included!
It was good to see however this probably being my 900th waterfall and the overcrowding spoilt the beauty.
We made friends with two boys in our hostel from Brazil who came with us for this day of sight-seeing who were lovely and extremely funny.
We then went to Tirta Empul Temple which is a Hindu Balinese water temple. It is famous for its holy spring water used for purification.
We hired a guide so he could explain to us the difference in the 13 different water spouts and we then took part in the ritual. Prepare for some very serious looking photographs including one where I was clearly chosen by the light.
We then attempted to find Tegallalang Rice Terraces, unsuccessfully as we got lost just as the sun was starting to set. So we stopped at one of the many rice terraces on the way. We then called it a day after hours of driving in crazy traffic and went to the night market.
Onto one of my favourite Bali experiences… Mount Batur. We were picked up at 2am from our hostel to climb an active volcano for sunset!
The hike itself wasn’t too bad until the last summit which was a struggle! The whole thing was in the pitch black with only a torch to guide you. There was a queue all the way up in which you could see everyones torches and it looked magical. The views from the top made the climb so so worth it!
We then went to have a look at a crater caused by a previous eruption. This was cool however the monkeys everywhere at this part made me completely on edge and a nervous wreck.
The climb down consisted of A LOT of slipping, I also managed to cut my finger on the volcanic rock almost falling over. We managed to get back to the hostel for 10:30am with the whole day ahead of us.
Ubud really did live up to its expectations of having so many fun and interesting things to do!
Time to leave the city and get back to island life!
Wanderlust Adventure 