Bali, Indonesia

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is a Hindu temple complex deep in the jungle of Ubud, home to around 700 long-tailed Balinese macaques that have lived here for centuries alongside the temple priests. The forest itself — ancient banyan trees, moss-covered stone temples, stone-carved demons guarding the pathways — is extraordinary independent of the monkeys. The atmosphere is somewhere between sacred and genuinely wild: you are walking through active religious sites where monkeys outnumber people and have absolute right of way.

The macaques are curious, bold, and entirely unafraid. They will sit on your head, inspect your bag, and steal anything shiny or food-shaped from your hands. Don't bring food, sunglasses, or anything you aren't prepared to lose temporarily. Go early morning (opens 9am) before the day tours arrive — the forest in the first hour, with low light filtering through the canopy and the morning sounds of the jungle, is one of the finest versions of Ubud available.

Mt Batur is an active volcano rising to 1,717 metres on the edge of a vast ancient caldera, with Lake Batur glittering 700 metres below. The hike starts before dawn — depart Ubud around 2am, reach the trailhead at 3am, and summit just before sunrise at around 5:30am. The two-hour climb by torchlight is steep but manageable, and the moment the light breaks over Bali and Lombok to the east — the caldera below, the Indian Ocean beyond, Mt Agung across the valley — is one of the finest sunrise views in Southeast Asia.

At the top, guides cook eggs and bananas in volcanic steam vents in the ground while you eat breakfast on the crater rim. The descent is faster and easier, and you're back in Ubud in time for a second breakfast at a warung. Book a local guide — they're required, knowledgeable, and inexpensive. The whole tour including pickup costs around $35–50.

Ubud is the yoga capital of Southeast Asia — a town where the density of serious studios, experienced teachers, and genuinely beautiful practice environments is higher than anywhere outside India. Morning yoga here is practised in open-sided bamboo studios perched above rice terraces and jungle rivers, with the sound of cicadas and water and gamelan from the temple across the valley. The combination of the setting, the climate, and the quality of teaching produces something consistently extraordinary.

The Yoga Barn is the most established and well-known studio — a large complex with multiple daily classes across all styles and levels, from dynamic Vinyasa at 7am to restorative Yin in the evening. Radiantly Alive is smaller and arguably better for experienced practitioners. For something more atmospheric, Kula Collective offers classes in bamboo platforms directly above the jungle. Book classes at least the evening before during high season.

Gili Meno has some of the best accessible snorkelling in Indonesia — the water is warm, clear, and shallow enough around the island's northern and eastern reefs to snorkel directly from the beach. Green sea turtles are a near-certainty on any morning session: they feed on the seagrass beds around the island and are completely accustomed to snorkellers. Drifting alongside a 150-year-old sea turtle in water clear enough to see the bottom at five metres, in the middle of the Lombok Strait, is one of the finest simple pleasures in Southeast Asia.

Gili Meno also has an underwater sculpture garden — a circle of human figures in various poses, placed on the seabed at around 4 metres depth, now colonised by coral and surrounded by fish. It's accessible by snorkel or shallow dive. A glass-bottom boat tour covers the turtle spots, the sculpture garden, and the coral gardens on the island's east side — or hire fins and a mask from any beach shack for $5 and go independently.

Gili Meno's west-facing beach has a handful of simple beachfront bars with low tables, cushions on the sand, and an unobstructed view of the sunset over the Bali Sea — with Mt Agung and the Bali coastline silhouetted on the horizon. The sunset from the west side of Gili Meno, with a cold Bintang beer and nothing but sand and ocean ahead of you, is one of the most effortlessly perfect evening experiences in Indonesia. Nothing is forced, nothing is organised. You sit down, the sun goes down, you order another drink.

The island has no motorised vehicles — it takes about 40 minutes to walk the entire perimeter on the beach path — and the absence of traffic noise makes the sunset unusually quiet. After dark, Gili Meno goes almost completely silent: a couple of small restaurants, a beachfire, and the sound of the Lombok Strait. It's the point of coming here.

Canggu is Bali's best all-round surf destination — consistent waves, multiple breaks for different levels, excellent surf schools, and a beach scene that's genuinely enjoyable between sessions. Batu Bolong is the main beach, with a reef break producing consistent 1–2 metre waves ideal for beginners and intermediates. Echo Beach, a 10-minute walk north, is slightly more powerful and better for surfers who can already read waves and choose lines. Both breaks face the Indian Ocean swell and are best in the early morning when the offshore wind is clean.

Surf schools are everywhere on Batu Bolong beach and lessons run from 7am to 11am — the best window before the onshore wind picks up and conditions deteriorate. A 2-hour beginner lesson with a patient local instructor costs about $25–35 and includes the board. Most people are standing up on small waves by the end of the first session. The black volcanic sand, the coconut palms, and the quality of the café scene between sessions (Canggu has some of the best coffee and breakfast in Southeast Asia) makes three days here a genuinely excellent way to end a Bali trip.