Candi Dasa, Bali

We then moved from Amed, Bali after being there for 2 months. The wifi was too spotty for us to work. We moved about 45 minutes south closer to the city, but stayed in a small village (Candi Dasa) outside of it. Our next place was a lot nicer, 2 buildings. Building 1 had the master bedroom and ensuite upstairs, private balcony, then a living room, full kitchen and laundry down stairs. Building 2 was a guest bedroom with an ensuite. Private garden, bbq, covered patio and a private pool. It was a 3 minute walk to the beach (we did the walk regularly to go fishing) and to the corner store. This place costs us $636 /month, normally it went $175/night but covid.

Being aboard during covid-19 was showing some benefits, accommodation costs were cut, along with everyone being open to negotiation. Do not get me wrong it was great but the restrictions and trying to stay up to date in a different country proved to be a bit difficult and frustrating (it changed daily sometimes). This new place bumped our monthly budget to about $1,700 CAD for both of us. We did spend more time fishing ($12/ trip per person boat, equipment and guide) and diving (this cost varies on spot, amount of dives etc). This spot also was a great starting point for day trips, whether it was just us or all for us going to Ubud or Denpassar (both were about an hour and a bit scooter ride).

Living in Candi Dasa worked well for us, we still went to Amed weekly or Josie and Ruben came to visit on weekends so we still got our meat from Ketut. When it came to fruits, vegetables, tuak and beer we had a local lady 5 minutes up the road who gave us local pricing on everything and took very good care of us. We really liked living in Candi Dasa it was a quiet little village, close to the big sights and great diving.

The early morning fishing trips were normally when Ruben and Ryan had bro time. Leaving Josie and I to wander the beach, walk around the lagoon, sleep in or just hang out by the pool.

Once we moved to Candi Dasa, the boy's fishing luck changed quickly. Almost every time they went out they caught a Mahi Mahi and the morning Ryan and I went out I caught one too. I was not prepared for the way we would be fishing or the fight the Mahi Mahi would give.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Photo Credit: Ruben

First the fishermen gave us a piece of line with multiple hooks and that was it, as he drove we just kept feeding the line out and then when we actually hooked the fish you gave it more line? Yup, if they bite the line, give them more line to run and tired themselves out opposite of what I have been taught to do. Then the fight comes, you have a fishing line and your bare hands so when he starts to fight you, better not have that line wrapped around your hands. I honestly had to ask Ryan for help to pull my fish in, it was a lot more work than I expected but once we got home and cooked the fish it was worth the early morning and fight to pull it in the boat.

Photo Credit: Ryan C.

When Bali started opening back up mid June 2020, we started being able to do more tourist attractions. We found HoneyBee Coffee and Tea tasting, which was 10 minutes from our place.

Ryan and I took a morning ride up to HoneyBee's and took part in the tasting, walking around and seeing the animals and gardens there that they had to offer. It was a beautiful place and everyone was so friendly it was worth the time to do a tasting. Bali has lots of different teas and coffees to offer.

Photo Credit: V.Gray Photo Credit: V.Gray

Another stop we made was going to Virgin Beach and Asha Hill. You can camp at Asha Hill giving you walking access to Virgin Beach, honestly there is not much to see here but for us it was being able to get out and walking around again that excited us.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Taking the scooter out for a short ride during times when tourist attractions were shut down was something we did once a week to pass the time, this gave us the ability to scoot out to the place we wanted to go when things started opening back up. We had heard about Pura Goa Lawah (Bat Cave Temple) from Josie and Ruben, so we took a day to tour around this area and temple. This temple took all of 10 minutes to walk around with a guide, it is home to over a "million" bats and the cave is over 50 metres deep.

Photo Credit: Temple Guide

A different trip we took with Josie and Ruben an hour and a bit into the mountains to the Gates of Heaven. Gates of Heaven is another Temple in Bali, however the gate to the temple are the attractions.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

As you walk up to the temple the sheer size and architecture put into these gates is baffling, the view when you turn around to look behind yourself over the valley is breathtaking. You really do feel like you are standing at the Gates of Heaven. People line up to take pictures standing at the base and between the gate. The guys taking the pictures have a mirror to hold under your phone to make the appearance of water at your feet even though there is no water.

Photo Credit: Guys in the Temple

Before we left Candi Dasa and started our week or so long tour around the island of Bali, we did one last day trip to Samur. We had travelled back to Samur a couple of times to go to the mall or local shops but there was one last attraction I really wanted to do there, the Abandoned Taman Festival.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

This came up on TripAdvisor a couple of different times and after doing the Abandoned Water Park in Vietnam we thought it would be a fun outing.

Taman Festival was built in 1998 but never opened, it has everything for outdoor and indoor theatre and festivals on the beach. This is another place that is said to be haunted and has a man eating crocodile (we never found it). The festival is still a creepy,eerie feeling as you walk around, everything is overgrown and walking into the theatre there is a smell of bats and other animals that are now calling it home.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

What really drew me there was the street art that people have done throughout the festival and I wanted to see it first hand, it did not let us down.

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Saying goodbye to Candi Dasa was hard, we really enjoyed our time there and really it is the perfect location to stay or live. It's far enough outside the city that it's cheaper than the city, the city and some tourist attractions are within an hour or 2 away by scooter, there are lots of local food options and the fishing and diving is fantastic here. When it comes down to it, there is no bad place to stay in Bali, heck it's Bali! This is one of the cheaper and nice options.

Cheers!

A map of the places we travelled in Bali.

**Please note that all opinions and views expressed in this post are my own, from my own experiences. If you would like to see more pictures follow me on Instagram vikki.gray **