Tuesday, October 17, Day 4 North Bali continued

After our seaside lunch at Warung Taman Sari where we enjoyed the food and the beautiful blue ocean beside us, we continued East for a few kilometers arriving at our next destination of Air Sanih, where we swam in the fresh water spring pools. There was a temple across the street honoring the holy springs (remember basically any spring or water source is holy on Bali) but for once we didn’t visit the temple but headed straight to the spring pools located right next to the ocean. Wayan waited outside in the car for us. We paid our very reasonable fee and headed in to view the pools and change into our suits. It was a warm afternoon and several locals were enjoying the pools and grounds around the freshwater pools. We enjoyed floating around the pool in the clear water and sunshine before heading back to the changing rooms. Neil took a photo of the (clean) changing room to give you an idea of the full local experience with the squat toilet and bucket! We found Wayan across the street catching a nap and were on our way again.  

We continued East toward our final destination on the North coast. As we drove along the coast, we saw many stony beaches lined with small outrigger fishing boats with brightly colored accents. I got the impression that they fish early in the morning or at night.

Our next destination was Pura Ponjok Batu, a large temple constructed of black lava stone situated right on the North shore of Bali. Some say it was built to balance all the temples built on the South shores of Bali, however, that idea might be misleading. Restoration work was started in the 1960s and statues and carvings uncovered are estimated to date back to the 8th century. Other excavations provide evidence of religious activity as far back as 2500-3000 BC. 

The name Pura Ponjok Batu, means “stone on the edge.” (link) The temple sits on the point of a small peninsula and the structure itself is made from volcanic rock. There is a holy spring coming out of the volcanic rock at the ocean side at the base of the temple and it is only accessible at low tide. A shrine has been built there and all the holy water for ceremonies is collected from this spring. When Neil went to photograph the spring, the priest hovered nearby very protectively to make sure he didn’t get too close.

It was time for us to leave the coast and head back up the mountain. Wayan was somewhat familiar with the area because he has an uncle who owns property a few kilometers away. So, rather than take one of the major highways, he took a small single-lane farm road. We began our climb back up the mountain by driving through a village on an alley that just kept going up and up. There was no traffic and people openly stared at the rarity of a nice car going by. 

We drove up and around a huge stone walled area that Wayan said was a failed resort project funded by local politicians. It appears they ran out of funds before the building construction was completed. It is much drier on the North side of Bali and we were seeing different types of crops in fields and forests. We passed miles of clove trees and we would see tarps laid out beside the road where the farmers would spread out the clove pods to dry before bagging up for sale. We passed what appeared to be wild cacao trees and Neil had us stop for photos. As we drove up and up we were soon ascending right along the narrow ridge top and we could look straight down on both sides of the road. Impressive road engineering! There were villages and houses situated right on top of the ridge clinging to the edge. The slopes on both sides were used for farming and orchards. 

We eventually rejoined the main road we had taken on our downward journey to the coast. A short distance uphill was Pura Indrakila which we had bypassed on our way down. The website states: “Indrakila Temple stands on a hill as a replica of Mount Indrakila, the place of Arjuna in India.” We made a sharp turn up a small road and came into an empty parking lot only to find the temple locked up. However, the views in all directions were incredible and we spent time feeling we were on top of the world. It is said the king used to meditate here; we can see and feel why. In the interest of time, we decided to forgo our backup plan of visiting the megalithic site Pura Puncak Penulisan.

During our planning, we had selected a spot on the Google map labeled Pinggan Viewpoint because the guidebook said it was a good overlook of Lake Batur. But Wayan’s navigation app failed to find the “Viewpoint.” Wayan doubled back a few times and we finally settled on a spot to get the best “overlook” photo. 

At this point our backcountry adventure began. We were winding around country roads among garlic, shallot and onion fields and taking turns Wayan thought would lead us downward. He finally stopped to ask some guys hanging out at a road intersection and they said the turn was back a ways but he could make it eventually the way we were going. Hahaha, turns out they drive scooters, not cars. decided to continue on and the road got much narrower and came down between a steep cliff and a bamboo forest where only motor scooters were traveling. We even saw one scooter that had died on the steep track and been left to rot. What were we getting into?? And suddenly we were out in the light and among garlic fields again. We still laugh about our adventure through the backroads.

We wound our way around the North end of Lake Batur into the town looking for our hotel: The Ayn at Toya Devasya. Wayan was unsure of the location and finally asked a security guard at the “day visitor” entrance to Toya Devasya who pointed us to the main lobby. Once the staff was assured we had reservations, everything happened quickly with our luggage being unloaded, goodbyes said to Wayan, and we were sitting at the hotel lobby front desk. It had been a long day driving and I was ready to get to the room and then into a hot pool! A few things were explained (lots of flies due to the agriculture fertilizer in the area and wristband needed to charge things at the resort), some arrival papers signed and then the bell boy and our front desk agent were carrying our luggage down, around trees, and up steps to bring us to our lovely villa named Gerbera. (All the villas are named for flowers.) 

The villa was marvelous. After photos and videos, we quickly unpacked to get our bathing suits on and get out to the hot water infinity pool for sunset overlooking Lake Batur and Mount Abang. Neil was antsy while I unpacked a little longer than necessary and we just made it out in time for the last of the light and color. It was still beautiful and fun to be hanging out in the pool and watching the light fade on the lake and mountain. For dinner, we decided on pizza because they had a wood fired oven. They even delivered it to the room. Unfortunately it was made by Balinese who’ve seen photos of pizza, but never tasted one. Imagine an undercooked soggy crust with no flavor in the sauce and you have the right idea. We ate the whole thing anyway! We took a night time dip in our private pool and slept well in the big comfy bed. Neil dreamt of going into the restaurant kitchen and teaching the chef how to make a fantastic pizza from scratch (which he could totally do). In his dream it made the resort a tourist destination for the pizza alone.

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!

Intro

After a busy few weeks of holidays, work, and birthdays, we are back on the job of writing and we hope to finish postings of our October trip in the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them.

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.

Monday, October 16, Day 3 East Bali

Our driver, Wayan, picked us up at 7:00 a.m. We’d been up about an hour by then, having our morning matcha green tea as usual, along with a to-go breakfast of a couple hard boiled eggs and some fruit. The hotel made it up for us and delivered it the night before and we kept in our mini fridge, very convenient.  

Even though distances were short, traffic is terrible on Bali and our driver estimated a 10-hour day for us to make a circuit of a few important stops in southeast Bali. First on our list was Pura Besakih, also called the Mother Temple since it has been the most important Hindu temple on Bali since at least the 1400s, and it was an ancient holy place before that. Neil had visited it in 1995 and had a beautiful experience. Back then he drove up on a motorbike, parked by a side gate and wandered right on in with nobody else visible.

But first we had a pleasant surprise. Wayan knew Neil wanted to see waterfalls. Our original wish list for the day’s itinerary had included some waterfalls, but they were up side roads and we had eliminated them to bring our planned route down to only 10 hours. However, Wayan knew of one waterfall we could swing past on our way. Air Terjun Tibumana had a lovely swimming hole and would be great for afternoon heat. Since we were there in the early morning before 8 it was almost empty. We enjoyed visiting the beautiful spot but didn’t take time to swim. 

A short way down the road we briefly stopped to see a rice paddy being planted. It was one of those beautiful moments of serendipity to be in the right place at the right time. It looked like an extended family that was accustomed to coming together to help plant each other’s crops. Keep this rice paddy in mind because we ended up driving past it days later and got a few pictures of the happy little seedlings.

About an hour later we finally arrived at Pura Besakih. We were both blown away at the modern high-capacity infrastructure which had built up to handle the high volumes of tourists and worshipers. A huge multi-level parking structure for at least 1000 cars, plus special areas for dozens of large 50-passenger buses. Luckily for us, it was a very quiet day and the vast spaces seemed almost empty.

We paid our fees and were assigned an English speaking guide. We then rode a shuttle about a kilometer up the hill to the temple gate area. Our guide explained how every family lineage on Bali (26 of them) had a small family temple adjacent to the public temple. He took us inside his family temple and showed us the various shrines and structures, some of which go back 14 generations or more. He then handed us off to a cousin who showed us the public temples.

We carried with us some Canang Sari, small trays of offerings for the temple, which we purchased from some pushy women at the shuttle stop. We planned to pay our respects to the island and people of Bali by doing a traditional offering ceremony. As part of the preparation, Neil bought a ceremonial udeng, the traditional headwear for Balinese men. We got it from a little family run stall where we had fun interacting with the newest member of the family who helped Neil pick it out. Sadly, the little guy was not happy going out in the bright sunlight for a photo. 

The main temple complex is large with wide vistas looking out over the island. With 86 public temples in addition to the 26 family temples, it seems like there are side temples and beautiful carvings everywhere. Evidence suggests the earliest temples may have been 2000 years ago. The meru towers were beautifully eye-catching. We made our way along, trying to look at everything. We could feel it was a sacred holy place with the serenity of hundreds of years of prayer infused into the stone. There was a funeral limiting access to an area they used, but at a side shrine our guide led us through the process of giving offerings in thanks and gratitude to the beautiful land and people of Bali.

Incense lit and offerings complete at Pura Besakih, we proceeded another 350 meters uphill to Pura Gelap, or the Temple of Lightning, which is much less visited. It felt like a much more holy, peaceful place. I found out later it is often used by those who wish for the holy light of the universe to guide them for the benefit of humanity. I still feel slightly transformed by the experience.

Our next stop, about an hour away, was Pura Lempuyang, often called the Gate of Heaven. It is a breathtaking place, both because of the beauty and because of all the steps to climb. On a clear day you can see Mount Agung in the distance (nice photo at the link above), but Agung was mostly hidden by clouds the day we were there. The courtyard and temple were busy with tourists so we didn’t experience it as a sanctuary of the universe as it was originally intended. 

From this perspective, the hot springs resort where we stayed at the end of our trip was located on the far side of Mount Agung, and later you’ll see pictures from that direction. Neil vaguely remembers news of the 1963 eruption which killed about 1900 people. More recently it was active 2017-19 spewing lava and ash and causing the airport to close. Nevertheless, Neil said there’s no lava in the forecast and we could hike to the top of Mount Agung as a day trip (please, please).

Not far away from Pura Lempuyang, and on our way back, we stopped at Taman Tirta Gangga, a beautiful spring-fed water park. While the spring itself has been considered holy for hundreds of years, the water gardens are privately owned by the descendants of the Raja of Karangasem, who began construction in 1946. We hadn’t planned on swimming, but the pools sure looked inviting. There was an area where some minor construction was underway and we were intrigued to see them move a large mound of soil not with wheelbarrows or motorized scoop loaders, but with a line of about a dozen women who balanced large baskets of soil on their heads. In two trips they moved a truck load of soil (almost 80 cubic feet)!

Since we were close to the east side of the island, Neil asked to get pictures of a beach. Wayan knew a great spot and drove us to a white sand beach called Virgin Beach. It looked so inviting we both got out our suits. I just enjoyed the cool breeze and took pictures. Neil swam out beyond the shore break, floated for a while as he saw the beach moving along, and got some good exercise as he fought the rip current to make it back to shore. He was pretty worn out. Someone with less strength or swimming ability might have been swept out to sea. We picked up dinner at a very local take-away with Wayan’s help and ate in the room at sunset. I took a dip in the pool to cool off before dinner. No life-threatening rip current. Nice.

Sunday, October 15, Day 2 Scooter exploration

After another wonderful breakfast, we prepared for our scooter safari. Our briefing on local riding regulations included specific warnings to not park on the street in central Ubud town If we did, the police would likely deflate our tires and we would have to call for help. (Later in the day when we passed though central Ubud, we did see the police impounding a couple scooters improperly parked by tourists. Traffic is so horrible there they are really serious about this.)

We packed up water and our sarongs, put on our helmets and I pulled up our planned route on Google maps. One of the wonderful features about maps is you can download an offline version. And even though I wasn’t on Wi-Fi or cellular data, it still tracked where we were on the map. (I have to look at the positive because otherwise it’s scary that they always know where you are even when you’re not ”officially” connected.)

Neil loves waterfalls. We were on our way to our first temple when we passed the sign for Manuaba Waterfall. We made a U-turn and parked in a dirt lot, then walked up a hill where we encountered the entrance booth and paid our admission fee. They also kindly loaned me a walking stick which I found very helpful going up and down on the hike to view the two impressive waterfalls. The waterfalls were definitely flowing and it was fun to walk through the stream which was actually part of the trail to climb back out to the road. I don’t know if I’d want to do it in the rainy season as the flow was already strong enough at this time of year! 

A side note is that all the tourist destinations, temples and attractions like waterfalls, now charge entrance fees. But it does help maintain the temples and grounds and in the case of our waterfall hike, the trails were very well maintained.

Our next stop was Pura Tiata Empul, known for its holy springs. It was packed with visitors but it was also Sunday and many of the locals were there in their beautiful temple finery. The pool with the Springs itself was so beautifully clear and you could see the water bubbling up into the pool. That was definitely my favorite part. 

There is another sacred springs temple very close by: Pura Gunung Kawi Spatu. It was much calmer and more serene walking through. Neil makes friends wherever he goes and there was a group of girls that were having trouble getting everyone into a single selfie. Neil offered to take pictures for them and they really enjoyed that with lots of coy giggles. 

Our next stop was the Ceking rice terraces. It was time for lunch and we found a lovely restaurant overlooking the terraces. We didn’t feel the need to walk out into these ones since our beautiful bungalow is nestled among rice fields. 

Just west of Ubud is Pura Gunung Leban, a temple made sacred by its position at the confluence of two rivers. By this point Neil started using the cell phone holder on the motor scooter, so he could actually watch the route and see the directions without me having to hold the phone in my hand and tell him in his ear. But that still didn’t help us find the turn off for the temple because it was one of those instances Google got wrong. When we finally did find the entrance, we found the temple locked up. A few of the little stalls were open, though, selling offerings and souvenirs. In chatting with one of the owners Neil found out to everyone’s amusement they happened to be cousins to the man who rented us the scooter! Small island. Even though the temple was closed Neil was still able to go down and explore the river! The confluence of clear water and muddy water was fascinating.

The Sacred Monkey Forest that is south of Ubud now feels like a metropolitan zoo. There is a huge Welcome Center and large parking lots for motor coaches and vehicles. What we remembered as a completely open rural area surrounded by forest and rice paddies is now surrounded by hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. They even had a full-time cop on the busy street directing traffic at the entrance. We parked and saw several monkeys including a baby on our way to the Welcome Center. It was already mid-afternoon and really hot, so I opted not to go in and told Neil I’d wait for him. He decided to skip it too. 

The temple of Goa Gajah is referred to as the elephant temple. There is a cave with carvings around the entrance and inside a sculpture of Ganesh. Outside, Neil explored a pretty stream and a path to the waterfall and the ruins of a Buddhist temple while I set to rest and meditate. Venturing further, Neil found some good photo spots and an unmarked pathway used by locals leading to a Hindu temple and a neighborhood on the opposite side of the sacred site. 

Neil did an incredible job driving the scooter with me on the back in the insane traffic on the streets of Ubud. He was zooming around passing and swerving among the cars along with all the rest of the scooters. He was gripping the handles so tightly that he would need to flex his grip when stopped at the few stop lights. He said his buns were also tight from gripping the seat. He said the traffic rules were pretty simple: drive in such a way as to make other drivers yield to avoid you. 

We decided to have dinner on the way back (and not take the scooter out again in the dark.) We found Warong Ikan Bakar dan Kolam Pancing Sawah Indah, a beautiful restaurant overlooking rice paddies. We dined as the sunset light reflected off the fields. We though at first it was an Indian restaurant but it was turns out it was very good Indonesian food. A lovely end to a full day.

Onward to the island of Bali, Indonesia. The town of Ubud in the central part of the island north of the airport was our first destination.

Neil and I had each visited Bali in the early nineties and both stayed in Ubud as well as other places on the island approximately 30 years ago. You can’t help but compare and reminisce about what it was before. We remember staying in little guest houses out in the middle of the rice paddies in the center of Ubud. Those rural places are now a dense commercial area. We remember the open air airport that is now thoroughly enclosed and modern and full of storefronts trying to see you SIM cards and transportation. And we remember that you could walk safely in the streets of Ubud with only a few cars occasionally passing. Now it was solid traffic from the airport to the center of town (and it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to go the 25 miles from airport to hotel).  But then I reflected on how much Maui has changed in the 28 years I’ve lived here and I know that everything changes in both positive and negative ways.

Maui is still magical to me and Bali is still a magical island as we explored it deeper.

The first wonderful thing was that our hotel, Ubud Luweh, which Neil had booked online, is a guest house right out in the middle of the rice paddies. We had an end room and were able to open our windows to a view of newly planted rice paddies bordering the guest house.

So what was the negative?  The guest house was 4 km away from downtown Ubud and too far to walk to any restaurants. We shared a taxi with 2 other guests into the center of town our first night for a local Balinese dinner. We walked around the corner to view the Pura Tamam Saraswati water temple. The positive is that it was absolutely beautifully lit and looks very well maintained. The negative is that open air restaurants are now inserted into the edge of the temple grounds and while we were there, loud piped music (non Balinese) started to play and a synchronized multicolor light show began. This formerly sweet beautiful sacred water temple now reminded us of garish Las Vegas. Neil pointed at the sign that was asking visitors to respect the Balinese culture. We just shook our heads at each other.

Our room was lovely with a king size bed complete with mosquito net. It had beautiful Balinese furniture including a large wardrobe. We settled and were soon in Dreamland. 

Saturday, October 14, Day 1  Planning Day

We woke to the sunrise coming in our windows over the rice patties. We watched the swallows swooping over the rice at dawn (and later at dusk) feeding on the mosquitoes. (The bats took over the night shift.) They can have all the mosquitoes they want! And they must do a good job because we were not bothered by insects at all.

The hotel included breakfast. The manager offered us the menu the night before at check in to make our selections for the following morning. They have 5 choices including selections of both Western and Indonesian breakfasts. Neil chose nasi goreng, fried rice and egg, and I chose Mei Goreng, fried noodles and egg. They cooked it fresh for us when we arrived for breakfast in the morning and it was delicious. We had fresh juice and fresh fruit and a lovely cup of tea to accompany it. 

This first day, we planned to take relax and do some planning for what we wanted to see. The manager arranged for a driver to come and meet with us to coordinate a trip to the East side of Bali for the following day. We set up contact info on WhatsApp and then our driver Wayan called later to request our tour move to Monday.

Google maps works even in Bali, almost. It showed an ACK Chicken restaurant right near us by following a path through the rice patties and along a narrow alley across the stream. We thought that would be great for lunch and a fun little exploration. We found our way to the street going the most direct route through canyon-like sidewalk alleys but then we started going left and right looking for the restaurant. We finally were able to ask someone and they said oh no, they moved another kilometer down. With it being so hot, we decided to just go back to our room and eat some of our snack supply for lunch.

Late afternoon seemed the right time for dip in the pool. The water was warm and refreshing.

We decided to rent a motorbike for two days so we would have transportation into town for dinners and we could do some touring around the Ubud area on our own for Sunday. Somehow our request to the manager was lost in translation and the motorbike did not appear that evening and by the time they called for it, everyone had left the office so we wouldn’t get it until 8:30 the morning. We decided to try again to find the ACK Chicken restaurant. Rather than go to the street and walk a kilometer dodging traffic, we walked a dirt path among the rice patties as the sun was setting. The light was beautiful for photos. Our path eventually got to the main road that basically has no sidewalks and is full of traffic. We found the ACK which turned out to be a tiny open air KFC type restaurant. We later found that it’s a chain all through the island.

The walk back was the real adventure of the night along the busy street with 2 way traffic and sections of no sidewalk with large open drops. So glad we had our flashlights.