Lovina's Hot Springs - The Travel Hack

Lovina, northern Bali, is a fabulous place to relax and chill out. What better place to do this than at Air Panas Bajar Hot Springs?

Air Panas Bajar is just 10km from the center of Lovina so all you need is a map and a scooter. Luckily, we arrived early and beat all the crowds that started to pile in at around midday.

There were 3 pools set in beautiful gardens with bright flowers and shady palm trees. Two of the pools were linked and there was a smaller, hotter pool at the top which was way too hot to stay in for long. There were ornate, stone dragony/snake heads sat in a straight line along the egde of the pool which spurted hot, fresh water and also worked as a lovely, hot massage. This then flowed down into the bigger, slightly cooler pool below which was lovely to relax in. I was a little bit worried about the sulphuric water but it was so lovely and warm that we didn’t want to get out.

We met an Aussie girl and her dad in the pool and it reminded me of how lovely Aussies are. They’re so friendly and will talk to anyone (alot!). We didn’t go in the 3^rd pool because it was starting to get crowded but it had a shower of water coming from much higher up so would have been a great massage. Above all 3 pools was a nice restaurant overlooking the whole area and across the mountains and the gardens.

After the hot springs we visited a Buddhist Monastry called Brahmavihara Arama. It was really beautiful and I love the way these Buddhist places always feel so relaxed and peaceful. We walked through some gorgeous gardens and up a load of steps to a big, ornate room where meditation must be done. And then through some more gardens to the actual temple which was lovely and surrounded by a nice little pond.

We'd also gone to some waterfalls called Air Terjun Singsing that weren't far from the hot springs. Obviously, any waterfall anywhere is beautiful and this was cool but it wasn't spectacular. Plus there was a gang of really intimidating Balinese guys who hung around the track that led to the waterfall and we had to give them money to 'guard our bike'. They then followed us to the waterfall, walking really close but didn't say anything and then wanted some money.

Unfortunately, my camera was stolen after we went to Lovina so I don't have any of my own photos. There were some great ones I took with my underwater camera. Oh well, it just gives me an excuse to go back some day!