Shanti Travel

Having a villa with our pool was great. We would be delivered breakfast each morning to enjoy at a table next to our pool. The location was good, a short walk to the west facing beaches. There were many restaurants and bars along the beach to watch the sunset and have dinner.

The hotel is in a beautiful peaceful location, a short drive away from the center of Ubud. The room was very nicely decorated. The pool was beautiful. Breakfasts and dinner at the hotel were excellent, with a Balinese dancer at dinner. We enjoyed the spa very much.

This was one of my favorite hotels and I had to request it myself. The agent had originally recommended a place closer to Tumpak Sewu which was more rustic. Since we were staying at Lava View Lodge (very rustic) the night before, we opted for more luxury, but a longer drive. Tugu Malang was beautiful, like a museum. There was a tea house with excellent complimentary afternoon tea. À la carte breakfasts were amazing. The staff couldn’t be better.

The only plus to this hotel is the proximity to Bromo. For sunrise, we needed to leave at 2 am instead of 12:30 am. We had the best room (suite) and the bathroom was like what you would picture at a train station. The bed was comfortable enough but I couldn’t sleep at all because of people talking all night in a seating area outside our room, as well as the lights outside our room.

Beautiful hotel, excellent breakfast. Staying in the section near the pool may have been nicer.

We spent almost all of our time, including meals, on the houseboat, the service and food which was very good. The boat wasn’t the most comfortable though. Instead of staying at Rimba Lodge, which was very rustic, I would recommend staying on a luxury deluxe houseboat and sleeping on the boat.

Our flight arrived early and Kimkim should have booked the room for the night before so that we could check in early morning. Instead, we had to pay at the front desk. The room rate was very inexpensive.

We had arranged on our own snorkeling in Raja Ampat immediately preceding this trip with Kimkim. Nothing can compare to that. For this snorkel trip, we had a private boat and got to see the underwater statue near Gili T and some pretty coral and fish at Gili Meno. There were too many other people at these sites for it to be very enjoyable.

This was a great day, heading north from Ubud to a much quieter region. Probably what Bali was like 25 years ago. With a guide, we paddled an outrigger canoe (he did most of the work) on Beraton Lake. We got very close to the Ulun Danu Temple, built on the lake. On the other side of the lake, the guide led us on a hike through the jungle, pointing out various edible, medicinal plants and spices. We then had a picnic near a waterfall. We didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to spend walking around the rice terraces which were nearby.

This is a unique experience and fun. With a guide, we visit a temple under a waterfall and make offerings along the way. We were barefoot, wearing only a sarong with a swimsuit under. Also this day, we visited Sangeh monkey forest and went to a dance performance at Ubud Palace.

Very beautiful waterfall. The panoramic viewpoint was great and there were many people with drones. I went with the guide down the more than 400 steps to the bottom. Some were a little slippery, but there was a railing the whole way. The guide took photos and videos on his phone and then sent it to me via Airdrop at the end.

We were lucky that most of the clouds cleared as we got close to sunrise. About 5 cones are visible with Bromo constantly sending up smoke. The largest peak, Meru, has small eruptions about every 15 minutes. There are 3 viewpoints and the traffic to get there for sunrise is horrendous. We stayed at the closest hotel (which I wouldn’t recommend) and left the hotel at 2 am. Many jeeps were already there, parked on both sides of this narrow road near the viewpoints. We parked a bit further down the road to be able to make a quicker exit after sunrise. This meant we hiked up the road to the highest viewpoint, breathing all the exhaust from jeeps blocking the road. Once there, we waited in the cold for 2 hours until sunrise. Bring a down jacket, hat and gloves. After sunrise, it took more than an hour waiting in traffic. Some jeeps are just parked in the center of the road, preventing passage. From here, we drove through the sea of sand and climbed the steps to the rim of Bromo.

The waterfall is beautiful and one of the highest in Indonesia. It doesn’t get the same crowds as Tumpak Sewu yet. The problem was that the road leading up to it was washed out and we had to take a motorbike taxi through the forest, crossing a stream over a rickety bamboo bridge. The river was brown which occurs from run off after the rainy season. The guide was very helpful in assisting us to the waterfall navigating rocks while crossing the river 3-4 times. They provide a helmet to wear and a poncho and sturdy waterproof sandals are needed. I’m not sure I would do this again (mainly because of the motorbike ride).

Another place on our bucket list. It’s the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Photos don’t do it justice. It’s not allowed to have private guides We were placed in a group of about 10 people with an English speaking guide who was very informative.

We did this in the late afternoon so did not go to the market with the guide to get the ingredients. Instead, this served as our dinner. We cooked some typical Indonesian dishes, including Gado-gado (tempeh and vegetables), shrimp with spices cooked in banana leaf and rice. Our guide, Yasmin, was great and we enjoyed conversation with her about life in Indonesia.

A Hindu temple from the 8th century almost as impressive as Angkor Wat. Our guide was excellent, explaining the exquisite carvings in the stone. One section depicted the Ramayana story, which helped us to understand the dance performance that evening. The performance is typically done in an outdoor venue with the illuminated temple as a backdrop if the weather cooperates. Our driver took us to a nearby restaurant for dinner before the performance.

This was fun. The jewelry is filigree, using silver wire to make earrings and a pendant. It was a private session and we had a lot of help. You need good eyes. We didn’t have the time to complete the pieces, but they finished them for us and delivered the pieces to our hotel.

We had more than 2 days going up and down the Sekonyer river, which was very peaceful with many birds. We stopped at the 3 orangutan feeding stations where rangers put out food at specified times during the day. We had to cross over about 3-4 boats to get to the docks. There were quite a lot of people at each of the stations, but we were fortunate to see the alpha male, females and juveniles at each stop. At several times, we were able to see orangutans in the wild as we were cruising the river, as well as many Proboscis monkeys. Our guide, Saiful, was one of the best on our entire trip, explaining and spotting wildlife. The food was very good and Saiful gave us information about each of the dishes and snacks we were served.