2 Days in Bali 🇮🇩 Escaping the Crowds | Uluwatu to Amed

When most people come to Bali, they check into a villa in Canggu, hit the beaches in Uluwatu, and take a day trip to Ubud, then think they've seen the island. But Bali is so much more than that. So today, we're changing things up. I'm leaving Uluwatu, riding across the island to Ahmed on Bali's east coast, and starting to discover a different side of Bali most people have never seen. Ahmed is the first stop. Let's hit the road. So we just hit our first little speed bump, if you will, for our road trip. Right now in front of me is the Gabor Ngororoi bridge that goes over the water and takes us over to East Bali. But you need to have a local card in order to pay the toll. There's no like toll people collecting. So luckily I met this guy right here behind me and he said he'll take me through for the best. Wow, I am so glad that we pulled off the road for this. It's absolutely gorgeous. The black sand here is like nothing I've seen in such a long time. It's actually shimmering with these little looks like pixie dust on it. There's surfers out in the waves, the crashing sound. I'm so glad that this is where we are right now. There's almost nobody on the beach. There's a couple of little restaurants here and it already feels totally different than southern Bali, even just an hour and a half away. So let's go hop back on the motorbike because there is a lot more to discover today and we still have quite a ways to go. Hello. So we just arrived at a very special stop. This is the Bua Lawa temple, which is one of the six holiest temples here in Indonesia. And as soon as I pulled in, I got hit with a barrage of sellers. I got myself a new pair of sunglasses for 150,000 rupiah. A nice lady gave me a necklace so I can go in because today there's a special ceremony and they informed me that I do have to have my legs covered to go into the temple, which is true to any temple here. I have a sarong, but the lady was really nice. I purchased a pretty one for 150,000 rupiah. I'm gonna throw this on and then let's head in. If you didn't know this, Indonesia is predominantly a Muslim country and that's spread over the thousands of islands, but Bali is one of the last Hindu strongholds that's left in the country and it's such a beautiful culture. Goa Liwa, I'm sure I'm saying the name wrong, actually means bat cave and there's supposed to be an amazing cave that the temple is inside. So let's go find where we buy our ticket and check this place out. This temple is so beautiful. Today there's a cremation ceremony that's going on. They cremated the bodies one month ago and today on the anniversary they come here with the ashes and they spread them in the ocean and they come inside and pray and you can see the people partaking in the ceremony. They're all kneeled down putting their hands above their heads with flowers between their fingers. You can see the brahmin up at the top leading people in prayers. It's very special. So behind me right here is the actual bat cave. No batman but a bat cave and there are thousands of bats inside hanging from the ceiling flying around and they actually believe that the cave which goes about 50 meters in if the brahmin goes into it that it will connect with the mother temple that connects all temples and unlike most of the other temples I've actually been in Bali where Hindus are the only people allowed inside, here they allow us into the inner courtyard. It's really amazing. Let's go get back on the road and get some food because temples make me hungry. Maybe I'm the only one. I'll see you there. Oh hey fancy meeting you here. So I left the temple and drove about 20 minutes up the road and saw a sign for Bayas Tugel Beach. So I took the road because I like to take random roads and I walked 15 minutes down through the jungle which was absolutely beautiful. You can see the blue water through the green canopy and I emerged on this amazing little white sand beach. I got a beach chair for 50,000 rupiah and a little bit of pineapple from a lady over here in the corner which is absolutely delicious. We were on a black sand beach an hour ago driving and now we're on a white sand beach all on the same coast of Bali and I don't think I've ever been anywhere that's like that before so I guess it is true what Michael Jackson says it don't matter if you're black or white. Anyway this beach has some really cool little rock formations on the side. There are restaurants along the top. You can also watch the boats cruising in here to the harbor on the next beach over. Bali has changed so much since we left Uluwatu this morning. I mean after that black sand beach the traffic kind of just thinned out. The roads had these beautiful forest canopies over them so you're not driving in the sun all the time. They also have some really cool farms and rice paddies. There's temples up on the tops of the the mountains. They're selling watermelon on the side of the road and it just feels so different. So different than what I'm used to and I'm absolutely loving it and while the driving has been much better while you're out farther away from those tourist areas you still do have to be really careful. So I recommend getting a good motorbike like when I'm driving an MX155. It's got enough power to give you the little zip zip that you need especially in traffic. Get a good helmet because you want to protect that brain. The ones they give you at the rental agencies aren't always the best and if you're going to be here for more than a couple weeks it's definitely a good investment. And also make sure that you have good travel health insurance not just here but wherever you go. I use Safety Wing. They have been great to me for the last 10 years. It's good in over 180 countries. The prices are really reasonable and it's just nice to have that peace of mind. So I will put a link in the description below if you want to check it out. And if you click the link that I put there it also helps to give the channel a little more money towards creating more adventures like this. I'm going to finish up my coconut, eat some more of my delicious pineapple so we can stay fueled up. It is so sweet like sugar. And then we'll hop back on the road and head to our next spot wherever that is. So I'm all packed up on the motorbike, got everything ready to go. I put the key in the ignition and the bike will not start. I just called my mechanic and he said to just get a new battery but the guy at the front gate here just said there's no mechanic in this town. So the joys of travel. Honestly though this kind of stuff does happen. I had some very friendly and helpful Indonesians come up and offer advice, try to help me start it, push it around a little bit. And one of the guys that works here offered to go and get his friend in a different town and bring him back here so he can install a new battery for me because they're pretty sure that the battery is dead. Dead. Dead. So it looks like he's jump starting it. He thinks what happened is sometimes with these motorbikes when you take the key out if you don't turn it all the way off first and you pull it out it actually stays a little bit on so it must have been draining the battery while I was down at the beach there. That took about two hours for me to not start him to come out do the do the work and I still have almost two hours to drive to Ahmed so I'm gonna get back on the road see what else we can find and hopefully we can make it to Ahmed before the sun sets. So let's go hit the road. And you know what we got stuck but there is this very cool procession coming by right now that's more traditional Balinese and I'm so excited for it. You see sometimes things don't work out so other things can work out. It feels so good inside. All right let's go let's go get back on the road. Nothing like a nice cold bintang after a hard day riding. As you can see it's already dark out I didn't arrive here until the sun had already set but on the ride seeing the mountain with the sun setting behind it was absolutely stunning. Right now I'm sitting down on the beach I got myself a nice little meat pie. It looks delicious I can't wait to jump in because all I had was that pineapple today and yeah I'm glad we made it. It's unfortunate that some things went wrong but you know what that's what adventure is things go wrong. You're not on a tour it's it's like going to the zoo versus going on a safari. You don't know what's gonna happen. I think I'm gonna finish up my food head back to the hotel room. I'll take you out tomorrow and show you around Ahmed because it's one of my favorite places in Bali and I can't Good morning and welcome back. I just walked out of my room and this greeted me and it's so beautiful. You can see the first rays of the sun spreading down Mount Agung in the distance. There's still a full moon. This entire hotel the Agung Inn is completely surrounded by rice paddies so there's just farmers out doing their morning work and it is so peaceful. So I'm gonna go and grab my stuff we can go and head down to the beach and see what this place is really like. This is so beautiful. The black sand is shimmering in the sunlight as it's coming up. It looks like the ocean is on fire. There's almost nobody down here on the beach just a few people walking. There's some dogs playing. Locals are sitting up in the boats just having that morning chat and you can actually see the boats coming back in. It's really cool they just kind of like race them right up onto the shore and then they have like a little wench and they pull them up into their places and I feel like when you get away from those tourist areas this is what you get. You get like a more personal kind of experience and I absolutely love it. It's about 7 30 right now and I think it's the perfect time to go and grab some breakfast with a view before I take you out to experience this amazing ocean in a way more intimate way. Love that first cup of coffee in the morning and what a morning it is. Look at this view. You have Mount Agung on the left, the bay down below, the waves are breaking on the shore, the boats are coming and going and you have this Bali blue sky. We're surrounded by flowers eating a delicious breakfast at the Blue Earth Lodge. So last night we arrived after dark and I just wanted to give you a little bit of Ahmed. So there's 13 fishing villages that run down the coast here and right now we are in Ahmed proper. There's one road that winds through this lazy little town, there's rice patties on both sides, there's restaurants, a few convenience stores, and a ton of dive shops and snorkeling shops which is one of the things that Ahmed is most known for. So as soon as we finish up breakfast we are going to head right down here to Jemaluk Bay which is one of the most popular places to go snorkeling. You can actually go right off the shore here and we are going to go and experience it for the first time together. So let me finish up my breakfast and I'll see you down there. Well that was a nice easy two-minute ride down to Jemaluk Bay and it is gorgeous out today. There's a little bit of a breeze, the water is pretty calm, you can see the divers and snorkelers leaving from the shore and going out diving just off the coast. But I thought why not do something special because we only have one day here. So we're going to actually rent one of these traditional fishing boats and go out to three of the top snorkeling spots here in Ahmed which I am super excited for. It's 800k for the entire boat with a guide and equipment and while they do supply equipment I always like to bring my own mask and snorkel when I travel because they don't take up much space and they make a huge difference. And while masks are easy, a snorkel can be tough and mine is a very special one. It's called a Nautilus and it pops out and you have a snorkel which makes it really easy for packing. I'll put a link in the description down below if you want to check it out. Let's go hop on the boat and go out and experience some of this Ahmed magic underwater. So our first stop is Turtle Point. We're going to look for turtles and if we can't find them there we're going to go someplace else. Five turtles, that's amazing! You're a good guide. And now we're heading to Lipa so I will see you underwater. Wow that was so beautiful. I mean thousands of fish swimming around. The coral was so nice and healthy. They also had the coral reef project that they're doing there that is so important because the coral reefs are like the heart of the ocean. So always protect the reefs people. And right now we are heading back to the start point in Julamec Bay to do our last spot. But on the way I wanted to mention that as much as I love snorkeling, there is another way of experiencing the ocean here that will just blow your mind and that is scuba diving. They have so many different sites and you can swim with massive schools of fish. I mean like get right inside with them. You'll see turtles down there, electric clams, so much sea life and the coral is pretty amazing too. And what's also nice is that you're actually down there. So there's no like up and down holding your breath and I just love scuba diving. They also have an amazing dive site here called the USS Liberty which was a 120 meter American fighter that was torpedoed by a Japanese warship in World War II and they scuttled it on the beach here. Then in 1964 when Agung, the peaceful mountain that we're next to, actually erupted, the ground shook so violently that the boat rolled down to like 10 meters of water. So now you can go and swim on it and honestly it's like swimming through an underwater museum. It's so amazing and probably one of the best shore dives in the world if you ask me. You literally just show up, put on your equipment and then walk down into the water and go inside the wreck. Such a cool place. Have we arrived? Jamaluk Bay. Jamaluk Bay. If you come to Ahmed, must be big snorkel here. Okay, all right, well we're about to do it. Let's jump in. That was such a good snorkel there. I can see why this was his favorite spot. So many fish, great reef and if you didn't know there was that that underwater structure that's actually a temple that they put underwater. So cool. I've definitely never seen that before. And we even got to finish with a turtle. That's six turtles today in just a couple of hours. Amazing. So what was your favorite snorkel spot? One, two or three? On the count of three. One, two, three. The first one. Turtle Point by far. I love turtles. They're so awesome. And yeah, this was totally worth the money. You know, you can snorkel right from the beach here like I mentioned before but I feel like with the boat you just kind of get right into the action and having a guide was so helpful and he was a really good guide. Right now I am going to go and hop back on the motorbike but don't take off your board shorts and bathing suits yet because we are going to a very special and sacred place where we're going to get wet again. I'll see you when we get there. Welcome to Tirta Ganga. This is the former royal water palace that was built by the last king in the 1940s and is believed to be fed by a sacred spring. Tirta means water and Ganga is the translation for Ganges like the sacred Ganges river in India because the Hinduism here and there are tied in many ways though they do have different gods here in Bali. But this place is so much more than just that. This is also one of the most iconic photo spots in Bali. They have this amazing pool right behind me that is filled with lots of different statues and fountains with the fish swimming through it. You can walk on the stones and go through it and get some pretty amazing photos. And the other big one is the 13 tier fountain right here that is one of the most unique fountains in Bali. There are swinging benches that you can sit in. They have sacred swimming pools that you can go in and get cleansed. They also have multiple tiers here so some of the tiers even have places where you can take boat rides through them with bridges going over the water and even a restaurant if you want to grab some food. And you can purchase fish food on the way in and feed some of the thousands of carp that are here. Here carpy carpy carpy carpy carpy. They are absolutely massive. Oh hey I almost forgot about you guys. What a magical place. This is definitely something you should do when you come to Eastern Bali because I feel like it's the perfect mix of everything that you want. It's got culture, food, things to do, relaxation. And while I would love to spend the rest of the night here relaxing, you can see it's starting to get towards sunset and I really want to take you to a very special place down in Ahmed. So give me a few minutes and then I'll see you down there. Now that is a Negroni that we deserve. What a great adventure we had. It was so much fun leaving from Uluwatu, watching Bali change, and then getting to Ahmed and being in a totally different Bali than most people know. And I absolutely love it here. I've actually been coming maybe three or four times over the last 20 years and it's definitely changed. But it still has that magic especially with sunsets like this. We are at the Sunset Viewpoint restaurant which is by far the most popular place to come and watch the sunset. It actually wasn't even here the last time I came to Ahmed so it's definitely getting busier. I'm so glad that we decided to take this trip together because I think that it's easy to go to the tourist places, it's easy to take a tour, but you lose the adventure. And I was starting to feel like that being down in Uluwatu. Like I needed something to like jumpstart my adventure in my heart and this definitely did it. I mean even with the motorbike breaking down it actually made me smile because it was something that you can't expect. It's not like you know when you go on a tour it's like you're gonna do this, this, this, and this at this specific time. And with an adventure like this you don't know what you're gonna find. You know like that random parade going down the street on the way here. That's so cool and that's like the essence of what travel is and what Bali is. And from here we're going to be heading north into the northern region of Bali to start exploring. We'll probably have a base in Lovina where they have some amazing dolphin swimming or so I hear. I've never actually been. We are going to go and find the Bali that other people haven't discovered and I really hope that it inspires you to go out there and get out of your comfort zone to see things a different way and to just experience this amazing island for everything that it is. So if you enjoyed this video please give me a big thumbs up, comment, subscribe, and don't forget I will see you soon on the road to the north. Terima kasih.