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As the land of Balinese tradition, culture, art, and centre of healing, Ubud vibrates a very charismatic aura that significantly differ from the southern Bali beaches. This region nestled in Bali’s highland, surrounded by tropical rainforests and rice fields terraces that gives instant cool vibe to this little town. Spending some few weeks grounding in a villa Ubud Bali is the best to explore this charming region. And with so much things to do and see, you gonna need a little guidance to get the most of Ubud!

Choose A Villa Ubud Bali with A View

There are hundreds of villas, small hotels, and guesthouses you can find in Ubud, but we highly advise you to stay out of town. Move several kilometers away from the main Monkey Forest streets to near the outskirt. The hidden gems are usually a little bit out of reach. Do not settle until you find a good villa Ubud Bali that offers jungle or rice views from the balcony. Staying in a house with view will definitely be one of your biggest holiday highlights!

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How To Get Ubud Villas Rice Terrace View?

Visiting the Temples

What is Ubud without its strong ties to the culture and religion? It’s time to take a visit to several Ubud’s famous temples.

Saraswati Temple

The Saraswati Temple, located in the center of Ubud, is a water temple with beautiful lotus blooms on either side! Follow the blooming walk to marvel at the stunning Balinese architecture and vibrantly colored doors.

Tirta Empul

Titra Empul is another shrine not to be missed! Locals and tourists alike queue up to immerse their heads under one of the nine holy spring fountains and leave an offering for cleansing. The pool area is frequently packed with people waiting in line just to get in. There are also beautiful gardens and a large Koi fish pond.

Give yourself some time here because it’s a huge temple with a lot to see, especially if you intend to participate in the ceremony.

Puri Saren Ubud

The Ubud Palace is located just across the street from Saraswati Temple (Ubud Water Palace). To say the least, this magnificent temple features ornate stone doors with flowers, monkeys, and “strange” faces. Wooden doors with golden etches of more exquisite Balinese art stand in that doorway. Ubud Palace is also free to see, so I recommend adding it to your itinerary.

Do Yoga Anytime

Whether it’s morning, afternoon, or sunset yoga, anytime is the best yoga time in Ubud.

Ask the Villa Ubud Bali to Rent You Motorbike

The easiest way to see the landscape around Ubud is to rent an automated motorcycle. You could walk or ride your bike, but riding on the back of a bike is much cooler. It’s also inexpensive—only 50,000 IDR ($3.70) each day, with no deposit or license required. However, renting a motorbike can be quite a hassle. Ask the owners or housekeepers in your villa Ubud Bali to arrange a motorbike for you. They usually get a good connection and can give you the best price! If you are new to motorbike, you can also ask them to teach you for few days.

Also Read:

Villa Sanur Bali: Living in The Island’s Classic Resort Area

Go to the Monkey Forest

No visit to Ubud is complete without a little trip to the land of the monkey, the sacred Monkey Forest. The Sacred Monkey Forest is a must-see on any Ubud tour. You don’t want to miss this place unless you’re terrified of monkeys. Over 700 highly cheeky monkeys and three temples may be found amid the thick jungle comprising 186 types of flora. You will be in awe to look at huge trees grow over the bridges and structures, giving it a ruin feel.

Join A Cooking Class

There are lots of cooking class in Ubud—your villa might actually hold one! The cooking lesson usually covers a market tour, preparing Canang Sari (offerings basket), and plenty of hands-on cooking. Some of them even had an unique vegetarian menu, and invite you for the final supper.  

At the end of winter in each year, we are always ready to welcome the spring. It is the time where we can appreciate the seas of colorful flowers. In some countries around the world, the spring flower blooms are even travel-worthy and have become touristy places to visit. Spring flower blooms make every spot look more whimsical and magical somehow. They can turn even ordinary place like park like something out of fairy-tale. 

Travel-worthy spring flower blooms around the world

If you are planning to have a vacation or trip during spring, might as well include spring flower blooms trip into your bucket list. The are the best places to take picture as well so you get the type of photos that look beyond beautiful. And here are some of the best spots to find spring flower blooms:

Mount Fuji, Japan

Of course Japan has one of the most whimsical spring flower blooms. Pink0hued flowers can be spotted every April and May in Japan. They blanket the meadows at the base of Mount Fuji. There is also The Shibazakura Festival to mark the occasion. People visiting this festival usually stroll through the park fields and snacks on variety of local foods such as ramens, buns, soup, etc. This spot is one of the best and photogenic places in Japan and the world. 

Keukenhof, Netherlands

If Japan is known for their sakura, Netherlands is known for their tulip. Spring is the best time for you to witness beautiful flower blooms in Netherlands. The countryside is the better place to go hunting for the spring flower blooms. It usually takes place in May where you can see fields of bright tulips in Netherlands. Public garden like Keukenhof is the most favorite among so many spots in the country. It is in fact, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world as well as home to over seven million flowers. 

Death Valley, Southern California

So contrast to the name, Death Valley is one of the best places to spot beautiful spring flower blooms. Parks in Southern California are home to many different types of flowers and Death Valley National Park as well as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are famous for their purple and yellow desert flowers. They can be spotted as early as March. You can also spot a sea of yellow, red, and orange poppies blanketing The Antelope’s Valley’s California Poppy Reserve. As you may have known that orange poppy is the national flower of California indeed. 

Kew Gardens, England

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens is the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in London, England with standing at 300 acres housing 27,000 colorful plants, poppies, tulips, and cherry blossoms. In spring, they bloom so beautifully, making it looks more magical than ever. For those who are interested may join online educational horticulture courses to identify wide variety of species of many plants that the gardens offer. If you plan to visit London somewhere in the future, don’t skip this beautiful spot. 

So, you are interested to explore the jaw-dropping underwater during your time in Bali? With its warm water and bright sky, this tropical island in South East Asia is just perfect to learn scuba diving. Plus, a lot of dive sites here has very slow currents with unbelievably wonderful marine life. It’s everything beginner divers could ask for. Scuba diving is a relatively new activity, and for any new diver, acquiring this skill is both exhilarating and demanding. Joining a scuba diving course in Bali is the right thing to do if you want to start underwater adventure.

Understanding How Bali Scuba Diving Course Works

When you first start reading about diving, you may become overwhelmed with the impression that it is too difficult for you, but don’t give up. Learning to dive is doable and consists of two parts: theory and practice. You’ll have access to all of the theory resources you’ll need to study and learn in the classroom, as well as a competent diving instructor to teach you the necessary practical skills. Do not worry too much. Though scuba diving could be quite difficult and frustrating for beginners, you can pass with flying colours if you do that right.

Acquiring the Practical Skills You Need to Master

Learning the fundamentals of scuba diving is a step-by-step process that you will be guided through before entering the water. Once you’re ready, you’ll study and practice your skills in a confined body of water, such as a swimming pool’s shallow areas.

Taking Your First Breathe Underwater

It may seem unusual to think that you can breathe via a mouthpiece while staying under water using air from your tank, but you will learn to do just that! One of the strangest yet enjoyable aspects of the diving experience is discovering this sensation. Instructors will demonstrate how to use a regulator to breathe with scuba mouthpiece.

Go Slow during the Dive

Little by little, add air to your Buoyancy Compensator (BC). Wait a few seconds and notice how the air changes your buoyancy. Reassess after a few puffs, a few breaths, and a few fin kicks. Slowly filling your BC prevents your dive profile from resembling zigzags on a saw blade. To rise, keep in mind that you should not add air to your BC. Instead, use your fins to slowly release the expanding air.

A Well-Fitting Mask Changes Everything

Masks is a minor thing that can cause major discomfort for divers. We’ve seen this happens in Bali scuba diving course more often than you think. Especially beginners who just learn how to adjust underwater—but being constantly disrupted by leaked water inside the mask. Nothing is more inconvenient than a leaking mask that slams into your ears or face. Diving is all about seeing what’s going on under the surface. If your mask is constantly leaking, it is a nuisance and obstructs your view. Start by getting a mask fitted by an expert for the best scuba experience. A correctly fitted mask helps you stay focused and absorbs the other techniques you need to learn smoothly.  

Take Your Time to Learn Buoyancy

You’ll hear a lot about buoyancy as a beginner scuba diver, and it’s something you’ll continue to understand and learn to regulate throughout your diving career. Don’t worry, you’re not alone; every diver has their own BCD, or buoyancy control device, to use when diving. This incredible underwater gear will let you manage your buoyancy (the capacity to float up and down underwater) so that you can dive comfortably and calm.

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Don’t Feel Pressured by Your Peers at Bali Scuba Diving Course Center

When you join a scuba diving course in Bali, you might see other newbies who happen to swim better than you, dive smoother than you, succeed at some skills quicker than you. Be calm; no need to compare yourself with others. Focus on yourself and what you can improve.

Scuba diving is an excellent opportunity to test your personal limits. While you may desire to try new things, don’t let people push you into doing something that doesn’t feel right to you. Don’t do what others want you to do; instead, do what you enjoy.

Are you ready to join your scuba class now?

Many people say that travelling will be so much fun if you do it alone, with partner, or friends but not family. Many horror stories about how travelling with family is such a nightmare. Fight with sibling, boring elders, or boring activities are some of the reasons why many people refuse to travel with family. However, it is not as daunting as you imagine.  Travelling with family can be fun and there are so many benefits you can get.

Best things you can get from travelling with family

Travelling with family can help strengthen the bond. Everyday’s life can make everyone in the family feel dull or exhausted. Long working hours, endless school projects, broken relationships, can put everyone in such a bad mood causing a hiccups in the family. By travelling together, you can share such rewarding experience that can make you feel closer to each other. With better spirit, you can create new adventures that all members of your family love. 

Travelling with family promotes global education. You see, we can learn from many resources anytime and anywhere. Travelling can be a learning opportunity for your family especially the children. It is great opportunity for you to introduce them to the world. Teach them how to socialize, adapt with new environments, etc. 

Experiencing new cultures can help a lot in their self-growth and development. Your children are in golden age where they can absorb language well through experiential learning. They may pick up new skills or understanding during the trip. Travel also teaches them how to respect and appreciate the environment more. 

Travelling with your family that consist not only your children but also your elderly parents is advantageous. It can help lifting up their mood and spirit. They might have experienced many things but travelling with the entire family will feel new. It can bring out their youthful spirit, making them smile and laugh more. 

Travelling teaches you how to enjoy the experiences and live at the moment. Sometimes we are all to focused on the future that we end up falling into stress. You might not be the only one in the family who experience it. Travel allows you to feel the moment and forget about the stress. It helps you relax while having fun with high spirit at the same time. No surprise if you return with new spirit and higher motivation. 

Travelling with family is enriching in so many ways. It promotes independence, togetherness, self-confidence, as well as interpersonal skills. Not to mention that it promotes health both physical and emotional. By having outdoor activities together such as hiking, camping, or climbing, you promote healthy lifestyle and appreciation of the nature. 

Travelling with family creates unforgettable memories especially if it is something rare you do with them. It will become something you cherish forever. Every fun and not-so-fun moments will be great stories you can recall in the future. Travelling with family can be such a sweet and wonderful experience depending on how you do and enjoy it. 

Observing the ocean’s tinier species brings joy to certain divers. They aren’t easily intimidated by the large and bold, such as patrolling sharks. They are especially proud to discover unusual, small, and well-camouflaged creatures hidden in a quiet nook of a pinnacle, as their attention is always based on the minute and mysterious. In reality, macro diving has a devoted following among divers. Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, is one of the best macro diving sites. While the Tulamben is best known for the USAT Liberty Wreck, it also has other hidden gems that provide incredible macro opportunities. Prepare to be blown away—you may forget to return to the land as you become engrossed in these enthralling microorganisms.

Melasti, the Hidden Micro Diving Sites in Tulamben Bali 

The Melasti is one of few amazing muck diving spots in Tulamben Bali with amazing critter life. This location is snugly nestled along the Seraya coast, sometimes as blurred as the Seraya Secret itself. In fact, many divers have dived here without realizing it was the Melasti. Mantis shrimps and harlequin shrimp can be found hiding behind piles of coral heads or feasting on starfish. It’s also the best place to see Melasti’s two signature nudibranchs, the Donut Dorid and the Shaun the Sheep. They are frequently requested by divers—and they are not particularly easy to find, making them all the more rewarding!

Seraya Secret, Famous Site for Micro

Tulamben is only five kilometers away from the Seraya Secret. It’s a simple dive with gentle currents and great visibility. You can get to the site from the beach and descend into the 10 meter deep ocean floor. The seafloor is dominated by black sands. Other divers may find it uninteresting, but macro enthusiasts will adore it because it is teeming with life! An underwater macro photographer can spend hours scouring the seafloor for strange small creatures. The abundance of crustaceans and nudibranchs on Seraya makes it ideal for muck and macro. Expect to see Harlequin shrimps, which are a common sighting, as well as tiger shrimps, boxer shrimps, Bumble bees, Coleman shrimps, zebra crabs, and thousands of other species! Patience is a virtue; good things come to those who wait.

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Best Diving Places In Bali and How To Plan It

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Off the Beaten Path in Batu Niti

Not everyone is familiar with Batu Niti, another hidden site for macro diving in Tulamben. The location is past the Seraya Secret, in a headland and reef formation. The Batu Niti is a nudibranch paradise. During the nudibranch mating season, the site becomes even more active. Thousands of nudi will be seen all over the place, getting into action. Frogfish and coral fish are occasionally spotted. Corals and spongers of all sizes and shapes bloom in the area, adding to the beauty of the site. If you want to see something other than the macro, there are schools of barracuda, jacks, trevally, and even whale sharks nearby.

Travelling solo is fun and there are benefits you can gain from it. However, there are also the downsides too and one of them is feeling lonely. Travel alone can make you prone to feel lonely because don’t really have anyone to company. Also, not everyone is comfortable talking to strangers especially when they are alone because they feel more vulnerable. Yes, letting strangers know that you travel alone can out you in vulnerable position sometimes. 

Tips to not feel alone when solo travelling

Choose your transport well. If it is possible for you to reach your destination by train then do it. Many travelers find trains more social compared to plane for example. The setup can give you more opportunity to get socialized with other passengers. There are usually people who travel in group consisted of family or friends. They are fun to talk with and they even often invite solo travelers to join lunch or dinner.

Choose your accommodation

Usually, hotels are less sociable so the opportunity to sociable and mingle with other is very small. Instead of hotels, you can book a room in hostel or B&B. they usually have common rooms you can use to meet other travelers and have a cup of tea together. Join communal tables for breakfast and share stories with other travelers you meet there. So you don’t have to eat alone all the time. 

Seize the day

Make the most of day tours you take while travelling. There are times when you like to spend time alone. However, there are also times you feel like you need to meet with other people and socialize to feel less lonely. Then, you can join an evening tour for example during your trip. There you will meet new people you can talk to and get to know with. Who knows maybe you can even make friends for life. 

Talk to strangers

Small talk with people you meet might not be your cup of tea but you there is always room to improve. You can learn how to talk with strangers. Socializing even just by simply have a small talk with strangers is challenge for introverts. However, you ca learn how to do it and gain more confidence to do it well on your own. 

Join a class

Take a class during your trip can help you meet some companies. If you travel alone for short period, there is very little chance for you to feel lonely because you spend your days doing many things. However, it can be different when you travel for long-term. There will be times that you feel lonely and need companies. Hence, taking a class to learn something new in a place you visit can be a whole new experience. 

Go local 

It is also suggested that you go local when you travel alone. Go to local coffee shops, diners, or even flower shops. Be friendly with the locals to build trust and connection with them. They will slowly notice you as regular and treat you like one of their friends.