Bali

Indonesia. South of the equator and the furthest East I had ever been. From Venice to Bali, it was a total flight time of 14 hours plus a three-hour layover in Qatar. When we finally arrived, the warm weather hit us immediately.

Our first destination in Bali was Ubud. Our host had a driver get us from the airport, (which I would highly recommend) so we didn’t have to haggle with the taxi drivers. The drive from the airport to Ubud was about an hour and a half, with high traffic. Once we got in we grabbed a bite across the street and then rested that evening since it had been a long day of traveling.

Our first official day started with the breakfast our Airbnb provided (banana pancakes, OMG!). Then, with some recommendations from our host, we started walking around town. Our first stop: The Monkey Forest.

Intimidated and a bit scared? Yes! But with some precautionary steps from our host and the rules on a sign before you enter, there wasn’t much to worry about. We walked around for about an hour and ended up paying a small fee to feed one and take pictures with. (That whole face your fear… yeaaah, I was still scared!)

After the monkey forest, we walked to the market (I’m sure popular before the Eat, Pray, Love movie). We walked around for a bit looking at all of the different vendor stalls and purchased a couple items. This is where you can practice your haggle skills. The items are pretty cheap and I don’t have the best skills at talking down a already low price, but everyone does it there.

Across the street from the market, is the palace. There wasn’t much to look at there – or maybe we weren’t looking in the right place; but this stop was very brief. We then proceeded to walk down to the area where we were going to a show that evening, so we knew where we were going. The rice fields were right there, so we decided we would go ahead and walk that trail as well.

The rice fields were not clearly labeled with any directions or signs. We were told that there is a street to your right, before the street is lined with trees overhanging and connecting in the middle. So, we took the curvy road up. There was a small food vendor with a few workers there, who unfortunately couldn’t understand us to help with directions. We finally saw a sign, that was very small and not very clear, so we just took a chance and took the narrow path alongside buildings with a wall blocking the street. Even though it was more of a sidewalk, there were many scooters going up and down it, so you had to be alert at all times.

Once you reach the rice fields, it is pretty quiet and beautiful. The rice fields just flow from one to the other. You pass random houses, huts and then some restaurants. We were there before harvest, so there weren’t too many workers in the field. We were told that the path would take us all the way to the Pyramids of Chi, where they do sound healing. But when I looked it up, we still had a little over a mile to go, and we didn’t have time to make it there and back before our show. There was another sign halfway there that said there was a waterfall down another path. We attempted to go down there, but it came to a T and there were again no directions on where to go. A couple men working in their yard provided sticks to hike down, but there was no clear path, so we turned around.

The better decision was to post up at Café Pomegranate and have a couple beers until sunset. We sat there and relaxed until it was time to walk back for the show.

Our host had also recommended this, and thankfully provided a detailed storyline before we went. The performance does not use any words, just a bit of chanting and then a handful of performers. They do provide a handout (also in English) if you don’t have the opportunity for someone to explain it to you. Our host also did advise that every village will have a different version of the story – so each performance will have some differences as well.

The performance was called Kecak Ramayana and Fire Dance and was 80 baht per person. There are several performances all around Ubud at different times in the evening all week, so you could catch one at your convenience. It was a very worthwhile cultural experience, and I would highly recommend it!

The next morning we scheduled the sunrise hike on Mount Batur. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to experience, so I was incredibly happy that there was one available here! Our host set it up for us and told us not to worry if it was raining at our place, because more than likely it wouldn’t be on the mountain.

Sure enough, we woke up at 130 am to be ready for our 2am pick up, and there was a slight rain coming down. By the time we walked out to the street it was in a torrential downpour. And to top it off, our driver did not come until 245. But thankfully we were on the road soon enough. We stopped for a quick bathroom break and tea and were provided our lunch box before we continued the rest of the drive. I think that it was an unnecessary stop, especially because we were already running late, but it’s just part of their plan.

Our troop gathered in the van and made it to the bottom of Mount Batur where we met our tour guides. Had a bathroom break (should’ve just gone in the bushes) and then saddled up for the hike.

Mind you, we went based on the recommendations by our host, so we didn’t read much into it. I don’t know exact mileage up, but out of a 10, I would rate the level of difficulty at an 8. It started off ok, but then quickly went into some very steep inclines. There was at least one person that dropped off from our group and then we had another three that had much difficulty making it to the top. We were almost to the top when our guide didn’t think we were going to make it for sunrise since we had to make so many stops, not to mention the late start. I was not having it, so we pushed and thankfully caught the sunrise.

Because of the rain, there were some clouds, but it didn’t effect our entire experience. Plenty of good photo-ops and they provided sitting mats while we were up there. There were some rats, stray dogs and monkeys running around at the top.

We were taken to the area where steam was coming from the mountain, since it is a live volcano. And shown where you could literally cook an egg in the ground it’s so hot.

There was a different way down, and it of course went a lot quicker. One of our guides picked a few tomatoes off the vine for us to try – and it was absolutely delicious!

After we said our goodbyes and loaded up in the van, we were all pretty beat and many others were drifting into a sleep when our driver stopped at a coffee plantation for a tour. It was an unexpected surprise. It took us a bit to wake up, but it was very interesting!

Because it was such an early day and we only had an hour or two of sleep. We slept for a few more hours before walking around that evening.

The next day our host set up a bike tour. This was probably the most rewarding experience from Bali. Our tour guide, Ring, picked us up plus one other before we headed to the top of a mountain.

The tour started with a Balinese breakfast overlooking Mount Batur and the hot springs down below. We then drove a bit to get the bikes where we started our downhill tour. We stopped in at a home of one of the locals. Ring explained in detail how their compounds are set up and family traditions. Each family has their own craft, so they continuously work on that every single day.

We rode through rice fields and numerous streets. They were all getting ready for their celebration that they have every six months. So they have big, bent bamboo with decorations on it. Along our ride, we actually stopped in Ring’s home compound and got to meet some of his family. His aunt was cooking some rice treats, which were kind of like rice crispy treats in the shape of a rice cake. So good! His families craft is carving wooden doors. Such a beautiful skill to have. Unfortunately, if you don’t want to do that craft, you don’t have much of a choice.

We saw numerous village temples and then our ride came to an end and we were taken to the waterfall. Very nice end to the bike ride, to cool off and have some fun. Then the last item was lunch overlooking the rice fields. Such a great experience!

Our stay in Ubud was a bit short, I definitely could’ve spent more time there. But alas, with this being our first time, we also made plans to stay in Seminyak. We were told this was more of the touristy side of Bali, and they were definitely right. Definitely not the same village feel as Ubud. So we spent the majority of our days relaxing. We rented a scooter for a day to drive up to the Potato Head Beach Club and Ku Da Te. Very fun and different experiences.