About 5 minutes away from Pura Bratan in Bali lies a spot that increasingly popular in Bali – almost to a point that it’s become something of an iconic landmark in Bali (you see it and you know the photo was taken in Bali) and that spot is, get this – an entrance to a golf course.
No seriously, it is!
I can’t tell you how many times I’d seen images and wondered where those gates led to – just to find out it was an entrance to a golf course.
A bit of an anti-climax I’d say but once we found ourselves driving past it after lunch, we had to stop to check it out properly.
For what it’s worth, in person, those gates are actually quite impressive to look at. It’s detailed, impressively towering and makes for quite the entrance piece to what promised to be a grand estate.
Thing is though, all that it is a gate and unless of course if you’re here to golf, there’s not much else to do here. This both makes it very easy to swing by and not necessarily a sight worth taking a huge detour to visit.
Thankfully, this spot was actually on our way to somewhere exciting – Banyumala Twin Waterfalls!
From the photos I’d seen, the waterfalls looked absolutely incredible but if there’s anything I’d learnt in Bali so far, it was that waterfalls usually involved a fair bit of a trek to go to and from.
This one was no exception.
You drive off-road for what feels like hours on a path that can barely fit one car (it was probably more like 20 minutes) and eventually arrive at a tiny little village. I saw village but it was just like 4 or 5 hours around the spot where you stop.
The trek then takes you right into the jungle, through uneven steps on a path you’d probably be advised to take a walking stick on (I didn’t take one because it was already a hassle to hold two cameras – one for photos and one for videos without carrying an extra stick).
Eventually, you arrive at the Twin waterfalls!
For how off-beat they are, the pay off is how you pretty much have them just to yourself!
The water here is cool and refreshing and considering the sweat you’ve just worked up getting here, it makes for the perfect cooling spot!
Suffice to say, we spent the next hour or so just splashing around here and pretty much just basking in its beauty. (*I know that sound so naff but you’ll be impressed when you visit it).
Once we finally decided to leave, something funny happened. We got out, changed into dry clothes during which Chris noticed he had a leech on his foot. Screeching like banshees, we all stripped naked right there and had at least one person check us for leeches! Oh, the terror was real.
The leech was still fresh on Chris so he could get rid of it straight away but if you leave it long enough… well, you know what happens then!
It was only after we calmed down, laughing hysterically that I finally googled more stuff about leeches and found out they’re not likely to have been in the water. Instead, you’re more likely to have gotten the leeches from trekking through the forest (which corroborates what we’d heard about hiking in Nepal where the super leeches there can somehow go through socks and find their way onto your skin).
Leech-gate over, we snoozed the entire way back to our villa in Ubud, where after a quick dip in the pool, we headed out to see the show at Ubud Palace.
I think I’ve said this before but I’m always kinda sceptical about shows – it’s bad enough paying money for something that isn’t great, without having to sit through the entire thing.
Thankfully, the show at the Palace wasn’t the case for me. I read the entire leaflet they give you (which sets some context as to what you’re about to watch) and so I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Lloyd and Georgia, on the other hand, had no clue what they were watching and I constantly had to explain what each scene was to them (Chris couldn’t make it to the show – he stayed behind at the villa).
Truth be told, with Lloyd and Georgia, it’s no different to watching Game of Thrones with them (half the time spent watching it is explaining who the characters are, why one person hates/loves/distrusts the other one…etc) so I came to this show pretty well rehearsed.
Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and I’d recommend it as a bit of light entertainment on one of the evening (plus it doesn’t cost a whole lot so it’s all good).
Show done with, we headed down one street whose name I can’t quite remember for dinner (in fact, I don’t think I ever really knew the name, I just remember we stumbled on it in search of drinks and massages one evening).
The rest of the evening was spent straight-up chilling with food and beers, interrupted with lots of laughing, especially when we remembered “Leech-gate” from earlier on.
Days like this are truly why you come to Bali (leech-aside 😆).
Check Out The Very Best Of Great Britain!
