Intro

Remember, to see larger versions of the photos along with their descriptive captions, click on the gallery photos at the bottom of the webpage. You can conveniently use the arrow keys to go forward and back through them.

To enjoy a nice soundscape while you read and view photos, you can listen to the Balinese instrumental music playlist Neil created a on Spotify. We listen to it while writing to help us get in the proper mindset. Accounts on Spotify are free and you’ll need one to listen at this link: Bali Soundtrack.

Tuesday, October 17, Day 4 North Bali

Today was moving day. After staying four nights in Ubud overlooking the tranquil rice paddies we were happy to be heading to Toya Devasya Hot Springs on the shores of Lake Batur to stay at a five-star resort villa at for my birthday! But to get there, we planned a day of adventure.

We awoke at sunrise and took a final walk along the narrow paths among the neighboring rice fields. We enjoyed the morning light on the flooded fields. Neil talked to the farmer of the field that was right outside our room and found that he was having a villa built on one of his fields. It was the one we could see straight out our window. Once it is finished, he will probably make more money renting it out than he would by farming rice in the same spot. Also, he was getting old and the passive income would be far less work. But I think he was wise to still farm some of his land and stay diversified while the villa bookings got started.

We finished packing and headed for our last Ubud breakfast. We still had a few ball caps left and Neil offered a hat to our manager and his two staff. The manager snatched up the octopus hat immediately and was so excited. The others were more shy but eventually chose one and all were beaming as they put them on. We could hear unusually happy chatter coming from the kitchen while they prepared our breakfast. 

Our driver Wayan, who was also delighted to receive a nice hat, was ready to drive us to some North shore temples, stopping at other sights along the way. He said he hadn’t ever been to some of the temples we had in mind, so it was to be an adventure for him as well. He had me text him the Google Maps route we had figured out and that was what he followed for our drive North. At least in concept since he took some narrow backroads we could use to avoid tourist toll stops on the main road.

Our first destination was Pura Ulun Danu Batur on the crater rim high above Lake Batur. On the backroads going there, we passed a variety of interesting fields, greenhouses, and grow tables raising crops suitable to higher elevations. Eventually, we made it up to the beautiful Pura Ulun Danu Batur, a Hindu temple dedicated to the Lake Goddess Dewi Danu. The temple had originally been located down on the edge of the lake but was damaged by volcanic eruptions. In 1926 the temple was moved and rebuilt on the rim to overlook the lake.

We parked across the street opposite the temple and Wayan helped us tie our sarongs. We paid our fee in what seemed like a community social center where women were gathered visiting with one another while doing their handiwork. Children and grandparents were also there. Without all the toys and electronic devices Western kids take for granted, children on Bali are delighted to play catch or goof around for a few minutes with grey-haired tourists. The grandparents doing childcare watch with huge smiles as they get a brief respite. Helpfully, an elderly guard halted traffic for us to safely cross the busy street to the temple.

The Balinese consider water as sacred as it is essential for life. Temples are often built on springs and natural watercourses, which are absent on the dry rim, so we were happy to see several fountains and ponds as we walked in the entrance of the temple. I’m sure the burbling cascading water features were welcoming to Danu, whose statues were prominent. The temple complex was large and there was a lot of activity going on. 

Next, we drove down to the north coast and proceeded to Pura Maduwe Karang which is a small local temple dedicated to the rice god Dewi Sri. There was a father, mother and small toddler in the pavilion when we entered the first courtyard. The man came over to be our guide and spoke fairly good English. The temple is known for its reliefs and when I asked about the one that made it famous, he smiled and said we would get there. He took us around explaining many of the carvings and then we ended at the carving of a man on a bicycle. Our guide told us that when he was a child he was filmed by an Australian film crew doing a feature on the bicycle carving believed to be W. O. J. Nieuwenkamp, a Dutch artist who brought the first bicycle to Bali in 1900. After it aired in Australia, the temple became a popular tourist stop and for a while our guide was often recognized by visitors who’d seen the video. Neil found the whole thing whimsical. 

As we drove along the North coast, we passed an open air restaurant right at the seaside, and smoke was rising from an outdoor cooking fire just being lit. The setting looked so enticing we pulled a quick U-turn and stopped for lunch. Seafood was on the menu as well as chicken satay, grilled over a coconut husk fire. We had Wayan join us for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed our break by the beautiful blue ocean.

We have so many photos, I am going to divide this travel day into two posts. More shortly!