This gallery contains 24 photos.
This morning – the morning of our last full day on Bali – we started with a visit to the Bali Botanical Garden. For me this garden seemed not to be more than a usual park; the garden of most … Continue reading
We left the coast again and made it back into the heart of the island, Bedugal being the destination of the day.
On the way we had numerous stops, the most notable one at a durian vendor to try this king of fruit. Reactions were … hmmm … mixed … those who know about durians will understand, for the rest of you, I suggest to have a read through the “Flavour and Odour” chapter of the durian article in wikipedia (which is actually quiet fun to read).
We left the high mountains behind and made our way to Bali’s north coast at Lovina – well in time to see a fabulous sunset.
Today I went for a diving trip – we headed further East along the coast, to then take a boat over to Menjangan island – one of the best diving spots in the region.
After I made it back to Lovina, there was yet another sunset to enjoy – this time the British way … with tea followed by a Gin Tonic.
Dinner today was at a local family’s home – with home-cooked Bali specialities – and the Lovina-typical offers (Massage, massage … want a bracelet? … want to see the dolphins … ) with only the offers for sarongs missing.
This was the earliest morning during this tour.
We left the hotel as early as 03:45; first using the vans to get to the starting point of the climb – and from there by foot uphill for around 1.5 hours.
I was part of the first group from our bigger group to make it up. The rest eventually arrived just 20 minutes later – as did the clouds that also did come in around that time.
On the way down the clouds moved and we could actually see that we were just getting down a volcano within a volcano.
After the hike we had earned a refreshing dip into the pool of a nearby resort (with additional smaller pools fed by hot springs.
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.
