We love a good botanic garden. We have certainly been to some of the best in the world (Cairns and Singapore spring to mind more than others).
So when we were asked if we wanted to visit the botanic gardens in Bali, we just couldn’t say no. They are huge, I mean not just walking huge, but needing a car to get around huge. We started off by visiting the cactus house. For me, this was the highlight on what was a very disappointing experience. As with everything in Bali, there is a cost to enter here. Around 20,000rp to 30,000rp per person.
This was followed by the ‘orchid’ house. I say ‘orchid,’ as they were none existent. We were told this was because it was too cold. Too cold! Excuse me; I was melting in like a million degrees (ok, maybe that’s a slight lie. But it was bloody hot). If I could have removed my skin to cool down, I would have.
A Bamboo forest! Cactus house and a Orchid Garden!!
Our final stop on this whistle-stop tour of the Bali Botanic Gardens was the bamboo forest. A bamboo forest? Why yes avid reader. Did you know, bamboo over here (most likely all over) can grow 1m per day! Craziness. But they do use bamboo over here as scaffolding and propping up concrete floors while the rest of the building is being built. However, once a bamboo tree has been cut down. It shall never grow in the same place again. Instead, they tend to spread out (even growing underground during the colder months). Mother nature is such an incredible woman when you think about it.
Anyhoo, back to the gardens. Having been there, done it, and got the t-shirt. We would not go there again. I would go so far as to say we wish we had spent our time going elsewhere instead of the gardens. But alas, had we not. We would not have been able to tell you to stay clear and explore elsewhere. I know, we took one for the team there, and we accept your thank you.
What has been the best botanical garden/s you have been to? Argue it out in the comments section below.
