This gallery contains 16 photos.
This morning we got picked up by a local guide for a walking tour through Sidemen and the surrounding areas. First we made it from our hotel into the village with a stop at our guide’s house and the local … Continue reading
We finished the bike ride close to Sangeh Monkey Forest; before lunch we had a guided tour through the forest, passing by the temple, buildings and (yes …) monkeys.
After a fairly ant-y lunch we continued by van to Sidemen – our next stop for the night. On the way we stopped at a weaving mill to first see the production process and then (of course) get an opportunity for shopping. We made it to Sideman after some more hours of driving, where a nice pool was waiting for us – plus some very nice surroundings (green just got a new meaning) – – as well as some heavy rain.
This morning bikes were waiting for us; so we jumped on them and got going – first passing by Ubud’s Monkey Forest to our first stop – the Birth Clinic of the Bumi Sehat Foundation, a project supported by Intrepid.
We got an introduction to the project and a tour of the clinic before we continued our bikeride. Our next stops (only like 20 minutes later) was for the true intrepid traveller … we stopped at a local vendor and had a chance to sample a locally produced fermented, alcohol-free coconut based drink … it had a somewhat funny taste, though pretty refreshing.
We continued on … with the occasional break here and there … to finally finish the ride close to the Sangeh Monkey Forest.
In the evening the group got together again to visit a performance of traditional Kechak and Fire Dancing. Footage below …
This gallery contains 20 photos.
The tour fully started with a group meeting this morning. From the group meeting we went straight for the first activity: by van we were brought to a village outside of Ubud; from there we enjoyed a walking tour of … Continue reading
I made it to Bali with Singapore Airlines through (somehow to be expected) Singapore; with the arrival in Denpasar mid-day. Immigration and customs went smoothly and efficiently, same for the drive to the hotel in Ubud (around 35 km away).
After arrival I started my usual exploration of town to get some first impressions of town.
In the evening the group (or the part of the group that had already arrived) met up the first time for a first impression of Balinese culture – at the Gianyar night market. Dinner based on what the stalls had on offer … some of it tasty, some of it interesting and some of it surprising.
Today was our last day in Minsk. During the day we continued to explore Minsk and its parks. In the late afternoon we met up again with the team for bowling and pizza.
When the two hours of bowling were over and we had to leave the lanes, we made our way back to the office (ten minutes by foot) for a farewell.
Sasha joined us on the way back to the hotel, showing us, what is probably the best place in Minsk for deserts and cake. After that we went for a trip in a pedal boat (at 22:30) on the Svislach river. We made our way back to the hotel then by metro … said good-bye to Sasha – and Minsk.
A big Thank You to everyone, who helped us on this trip and made it more enjoyable – благодарю!
Today was our sightseeing day; we had taken the day off and made our way through town. We started at the train station, walking from there to (and visiting) the National Art Museum, then heading back to the prospekt and the office – passing through squares and parks on our way. We took it easy with plenty of stops in cafes. At one stage torrential rain started – we were lucky enough to sit in a cafe with cake in front of us 😉
We even made it all the way out to the Minsk’s newest attraction – the National Library, a diamond shaped building – sometimes called Chupa Chups (think … lollipop). We tried almost every entrance of it – until we found the right entrance to get us to the viewing platform on top.
We made it back into town by metro – our restaurant of choice was once more in the Old Town area – so we had a closer look at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit located right at the metro exit.
When we got back from Dudutki, Pilar, Norman and myself asked to get dropped of at Gorky Park; we still had a trip on the Ferris wheel on our list. We arrived at the park and made it into a cabin of the wheel well before sunset.
This gallery contains 24 photos.
Today – a Sunday – we headed out for the Dudutki Folk Museum, around 30 kms South of Minsk (actually we nearly made the trip twice …). The whole host team did join in for this trip, making it a … Continue reading