Inland Bali

I’ve just returned from a familiarisation tour of Sideman and exploration of the mountainous interior of the island of Bali Indonesia and discovered there is so much more to see and do than only the popular tourist, coastal Bali destinations.

I stayed in cheap, good quality, ie good value accommodation in Sideman set among green rice terraces, about a 1-hour drive east of Ubud. Sideman is a quiet area of Bali famous for its traditional Balinese culture still intact and spectacular scenery.

From there my professional photographer and I explored waterfalls in Bali and dive spots in Candi Dasa.

Car Hire Bali

To get to so many places when we wanted, we hired a new car @ $40 per day. It is owned by a Balinese consortium. The first car hire place didn’t exist. I guess they were another Covid business victim. We used the Google Map of Bali to navigate to places we visited.

Google Business Profile Bali

We discovered that Google’s Google Business Profile for many businesses in Bali needs improvement. There were many Balinese restaurants (warungs) that did not exist or were very small. Some had a few 5-star reviews, I guess from the owner and his family.

Street Food Bali

How to avoid Bali Belly.

On my previous trip to Bali my Thai wife, as usual, wanted to stay and eat at a 5-star beach resort accommodation on Kuta Beach. We got Bali Belly because of that she didn’t want to visit Bali. With a mother born and raised in Indonesia, I prefer street food in Bali. It is cheaper and safer. Watching satay cooking over hot charcoal confirms that bacteria is killed. Yes, you could still get another type of food poisoning, even after cooking, from bacteria passing toxins but that type of food poisoning, unless the food is totally rotten, is much less likely. 

Bali Road Information

Because of heavy rains and heavy use including many rice trucks using Bali roads, the narrow windy roads of Bali cop a hammering and therefore are in poor condition. We saw rubble washed onto roads, pot holes and washed out bridges.

Toll Road To Airport

We discovered at 3 am that the toll gates on the toll road to the airport were not manned. We thought we could pay with cash. Reversing from the boom gate would have been dangerous. When a motorbike stopped in front of the toll road boom gate, the driver kindly let us use his swipe card to open the boom gate.