The third leg of our trip took us to Bali. I remember being at home in 2002 when I heard about the nightclub bomb in Bali. It was sad, sad news but I remember the feeling I had of Bali being so, so far away and almost inaccessible to some 18 year old from Barnsley. 12 years later, with nothing but a backpack and a small Chinese girl, I landed in Denpasar. We were met at the hotel by a driver from our hotel holding a sign for 'Ms Adam Fletcher' which I thought was quaint but Winnie thought it was hilarious... cue the Snapchats!! After allowing us to get a smoothie, we sat back for a scenic drive from the island's capital Denpasar, to the small mountain town of Ubud, where our hotel was.
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| Statue in Denpasar |
Up until now, we had been staying in hostels to enable us to save money and explore the cities. We decided that in Bali, we'd treat ourselves. We booked a 'wooden room' at the Tegal Sari, Ubud and we were very glad we did. Set back from the road, amongst peaceful rice fields, our room was in a shack suspended on poles and overlooking the crops. The room was wonderful, 4 poster bed with white linen and a reclining bed on the balcony. I don't want to turn this into a hotel review, but the Tegal Sari was wonderful. I also have to mention that the staff in this hotel, particularly Wayan (?) wonderful and beyond helpful .
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| Winnie on the walkway towards reception |
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| Our bedroom |
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| View from the balcony |
We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and walking around the area. We ate at the hotel's restaurant at the other side of the field. It was very nice. I had a steak and beer for about $5. We'd told ourselves that this part of our travels will be the relaxation and recuperation, however we are both very similar in that we can't sit still for long. We both woke at 6am the next morning to catch the sunrise over the rice paddys, then ordered breakfast to our room. We decided that we wanted to explore this wonderful island in the short time we had there, so we booked the hotel driver to take us to Mount Batur, an active volcano with a lake beside it. I would have liked to hike it at sunrise, which is a popular thing to do, but we were trying (and failing) to relax.
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| Breakfast, delivered to the room |
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| Our morning view |
At this time, early August, the weather in Korea is sweltering. Daegu is known in Korea as being the hottest city due to the surrounding mountains forming a stifling basin of heat. The climate in Bali was cooler and temperate, which Winnie and I both welcomed. The hotel had assigned a driver named Putu to us for the trip to Mt. Batur. He spoke good English and was young and recently married. He asked us if he can recommend some places to visit along the way, and we were more than delighted to accept. First he took us to Turta Empel, a Hindu water temple set in the forest. The architecture was beautiful, lots of dark red bricks and grey stone carving and ornate doorways. These were built around various pools of water, some clean and some containing fish. We happened to be there on an important day of the religious calendar (I forget what), so we were able to witness many people bathing in the water. The procession of people would get into the water, offer spices, petals and incense to the gods, then proceed to wash themselves under running water, cleansing their bodies and soul. This was humbling to witness. I even tried it, without getting my rented sarong wet, of course.
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| Me and Winnie being all spiritual haha |
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| One of the pools |
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| People preparing to wash in the water |
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| Washing away his troubles |
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| My turn |
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| Children wait while their elders pray |
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| Some random sweet kid |
Onward to Mt. Batur. The next stop that Putu suggested was at a coffee plantation. There, I was able to grind my own coffee beans and we both took turns roasting them. We were told of the Luwak coffee, which uses beans that have gone through the digestion system of some Asian cat (palm civet)... yes... we're basically drinking poo!! We went on to a balcony which overlooked a wonderful valley of tea fields and offered some different varieties of coffee. Winnie isn't a big coffee fan, but we tried them all. I also opted to pay extra for some Luwak coffee and it was actually very good!!
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| Cheers! |
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| Winnie waiting to drink poo ;) |
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| Coffee tasting overlooking the valley |
When we reached Mt. Batur we stopped near a look-out point and headed to the rails to take in the view. To the left, you could see the volcanic form, contrasting against the midday sky and to the right Lake Batur, sitting still surrounded by the green and grey hills. We bought some postcards off the locals and had some pictures with Putu. I found it hilarious that the women balancing 15 t-shirts on their heads would not let Winnie move. She somehow got out of the situation without buying a t-shirt or funding child labour, so we were pleased about that!
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| Mt. Batur |
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| Winnie being hounded...hahaha |
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| The mountain and the lake |
On our way back, we stopped at some rice terraces and at in a restaurant on the hillside. We invited Putu to join us and paid for his meal. He was very humble about it and initially refused. He seemed to be so thankful that he took pictures of us with his phone so he could show his wife. He later stopped at a stall in the middle of nowhere to buy us some fruits, most I'd never seen before. He also wouldn't let us pay for them. That night we treated ourselves to 1 hour:$5 massage and pedicure (Winnie).
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| Putu and I eating lunch |
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| Rice Terraces |
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| Fruit |
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| More fruit |
It just so happened that a group of girls from Korea were staying in a homestay in Ubud this night too, so we arranged to meet them for food and drinks. We had a wonderful meal followed by beers, cocktails, hooka dodgy photographs!
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| Grace and Meabh |
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| Grace's drunken idea for a pose |
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| The king of the table and the girls :) |
The next day we woke early and left to catch the boat to Gili Trawangan, one of the 3 Gili islands off the coast of Lombok. These islands are said to be relatively undamaged as there are no motor vehicles allowed. This makes these islands quieter than usual and was another welcome change from the other places we'd been this trip. The boat we got was the Marina Srikandi. We were seated inside which was pretty hot and nauseating with the movement of the vessel. After the 2 hours, I was glad to get off. Gili T looked great, a peaceful sandy beach greeted us, after we'd stepped through the clear blue water.
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| Stepping off the boat |
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| Beach on Gili T |
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| The Main street on Gili T |
Our hotel was close to the beach. It was recommended on most of the websites I'd seen for Gili T, however I found it was more interested in being a diving school than a hotel and the pool was almost always being used for dive tuition.The room was nice though. We chilled out in Gili, had some food and went to the gorgeous beach. Winnie then found a yoga studio and did some yoga while I went for a nap, being the old man that I am. I was, however, up for having a massage after our dinner.
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| Our Hotel room |
The highlight of the trip to Gili for me, was an Indonesian Cooking class that we did. We'd signed up the first day and did it the second. We made about 5 dishes. There was Winnie and I, a Canadian Mother and Daughter, and an Aussie guy who was dating the daughter. We got along really well so it was a really nice atmosphere. The class was fantastic and I'd really recommend doing it if you visit. It's on the main strip and it called 'GIli Cooking Classes'. Most of the food is laid out for you, you only have to cook and present it. Then later, we all went upstairs and all 5 of us enjoyed our fresh food together. The highlight of the day was discovering that Winnie knew what a pan, knife and kitchen was. haha.
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| Proud of our efforts. |
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| He's obviously impressed! |
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| Breakfast |
We chilled in the afternoon and booked our speedboat back for the following day. The only one available was 7am so we were a little bummed about that. That night we had some food in a beautiful restaurant then bumped into our friend Kaleena. We sat around drinking and eating some pancakes in the bar/market area before going to bed. The next morning was an early start. So early in fact, that there was no-one on reception at the hotel to take our payment! So I guess we got the 2nd night free (despite me joking here, we did try to find someone to pay). The speedboat back to Bali was much better than the one we took to get there, we could sit on the deck and enjoy the breeze.
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| The beach just before sunset |
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| Speedboat back to Bali |
Once back in Bali, we were driven back to Ubud. We had a day to kill as we didn't fly out of Bali until around 5am the following morning. So we decided to head back to the hotel we'd stayed in. We asked if we could use their pool and shower there that day. They were happy to oblige. We went for a walk around the markets and then into the monkey forest, where we were both bitten (mine drew blood). I was convinced that I would die of rabies, but thankfully I'm still here to tell the tale. We also bumped into our friends from Korea, Emily, Linh, Tessie and Carlos in a temple in the forest. Small world huh? Arriving back at the hotel, little did we know that they were going to go above and beyond our expectations. Not only did they allow us to use the pool, towels, showers and restaurant, the receptionist (Wayan?) said that he'd arrange for us to be driven to the airport at 3am by the hotel's driver AND he made a bed of cushions in the library above the reception so we could sleep there, for free, for a few hours before we flew. I had never been so thankful and humbled by a person's service before.
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| Temple in Monkey Forest |
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| So cliché!! |
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| Not-so awesome |
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| The day's damage |
Once we were clean, we took the shuttle to see a traditional and colourful Balinese dance performance, then had a wonderful italian meal. Back at the hotel, despite Winnie being feasted on by mosquitos, we had a decent rest and left Bali with wonderful memories of great food, rich culture, beautiful landscape and generous people.
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| Traditional Balinese dance |
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| Balinese instrument (Gamelan) |
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| Those eyes!!! |
Next stop - Yogyakarta (Java).
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