Tanah Lot used to be a very famous destination for locals and foreigners. I can confidently say that almost many Indonesians visited this place during their school trip, at least once in a lifetime. It’s a beautiful temple that sits on top of rocks that looks like a mini island. I have been to this place so many times in my life and I noticed some changes today.Firstly, the most noticeable change is the volume of the visitors. Secondly, a lot of stores are still closed and even torn down. Some stores couldn’t even seem to survive during the whole pandemic situation. Visiting the place was a different experience unlike what I normally see around canggu.

The reason I am checking out the place was because I found out that Tanah Lot was only a 20 minutes ride from my accommodation and the road there looked very easy on the map but when I actually rode around, it wasn’t as easy as expected. But one thing was, it was so empty and there were almost no buses and cars that went to the Tanah Lot temple. So, it was somewhat safe to drive around the area.

In Tanah lot, not only the temple, you can also see sacred snakes which are poisonous and also beautiful rock formations along the shore. It’s equally as beautiful as Uluwatu temple which is located further south of Bali. I went to the place at around 2PM when the sun was so high. It was very hard to ride in the heat and in an unfamiliar place. I have a habit of only checking the map a couple of times because I would memorize it fairly well. From Canggu, it’s only about a 20-30 minutes ride depending how fast you’re going. For me, it took about 25 minutes because I drove the bike a little faster when it was on an empty road. But before getting into the temple, I stopped at the local's Warung to eat. It was by far the cheapest food I’ve eaten during my whole trip. I even told the girl who attended the Warung to just keep the change but she told me to pick some crackers. I took some crackers and now I don't have to order crackers if I want to eat later on.

After I got the fuel for the adventure, I continued my journey. It was about 5 minutes before I reached the place. Tanah Lot is a very organized place and convenient if you want to park and everything. It costs about 23000 IDR/person + the motorbike parking but it costs 60000 for foreigners to enter the complex.

In the past, this place was bustling but at that time, I could only see 5 motorbikes and stores that were closed. Before getting into the temple, you will pass through souvenirs shops that are really more reasonable than other places, especially around the Canggu area. It is quite a walk to go to the temple, so always prepare drinkable water and also shades and hats as it can get quite hot during the day. When I got inside the place, there were many Balinese people who offered picture service using their traditional clothing. They are mostly men and women, wearing the Balinese traditional clothing, selling knick-knack such as bracelets, keychains, and many more. It’s quite festive what they’re selling. I got approached a couple of times and I ended up buying some bracelets because I needed them to mark my bags and also my keys so that they don’t get lost. It was quite pricey to be fair but I felt fine because I think they needed the money more than I do. The place was so quiet that I think it was the best time taking as many clear shots as you wanted because there were not many tourists around. I saw only a couple of locals but not too many foreigners. I enjoyed the scenery and I hope that tourism is back so these people can make more revenue.

Funnily enough, though I am bringing a camera, I still got approached by people who are offering the picture service. One told me, “ I could take your picture, it’s only 20k”. I refused politely because again, I have my own camera and I don’t like being photographed alone. Maybe if I was with my mom or someone, I would take that.

The infrastructure itself is more developed so I was a bit surprised. It is now easier to also visit another temple which is called batu bolong temple. It’s literally because the rocks have a hole in the middle and there’s a temple that sits on top. If you are tired of walking, you can sit on one of the benches and shades around the park.

In the past, when the tide was low, I could cross the rock and visit the temple on the small lot nearby. But today I came during the high tide and all the fences are closed and I couldn’t pass through it. So, I could only take pictures just until the fence, nonetheless, the view was amazing. If I could recommend 10 places to visit in Bali, though Tanah Lot can be a touristy place, the view is really breathtaking and should be on your list.

Let me know if you have questions about living in Bali!

Mac's Pinmapple Travel List

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