Mt Batur

We woke up at 2am in order to meet our driver at 2:30 for a ride to Mt Batur, the second highest mountain in Bali. We planned to hike the volcano so that we could summit by sunrise.  You have to go with a guide, so we met him at the base of the mountain around 4am and started the dark climb.  It was quite uneven footing in my chewed up shoes on the volcanic rock, and it got a bit steep towards the top.  But it only took about 2hrs to summit and the view was totally worth it.  We could look out over the largest lake in Bali and Mt. Agung, Bali's tallest mountain, also an active volcano.  Of course the morning wouldn't be complete without some sunrise acro and yoga poses which may have gotten more photos from the other tourists than the actual sunrise.  There was also a pack of puppies at the top who were rather shy until I started basing and my hands were occupied, then they starting licking my ear and sniffing a centimeter away from my face.  Kinda like Tally, likes to be in on the Acro action.  The monkeys also came out in the daylight to check everyone out.

On the way back we stopped off for some Luwak coffee which in crude terms is basically coffee beans shit out of this ferret kitten looking animal.  Apparently these Luwaks subsist on a diet of coffee berries, which pass through their digestive system intact.  They are pooped out, collected, roasted, and then presto, your local Balinese barrista delivers them as a cup of joe.  Apparently they are some of the most expensive coffee beans in the world.  Here in Bali it cost $6 a cup, which is ridiculous when you can get a full meal for that price, but isn’t much more than a grande latte back home.  I’m not much of a coffee connoisseur so it was hard for me to find it that amazing, but it tasted good for sure.  According to Wikipedia, prices can go up to $160/lb so that was probably my one and only taste of this ‘shitty coffee’.

After checking out the local hot springs, our final stop of the day was  the Pura Ulum Danu Batur temple.  The second largest in Bali.  It also had a beautiful panoramic view of Mt Batur and the lake, and the carvings and temples were just magnificent.  They dressed us in traditional saris and scarves to enter the temple, so we stuck out quite easily as tourists.  Most of the temples are Hindu, though this one also had some Buddhist aspects.  The women make beautiful offerings all over Bali out of woven palm leaves and flowers.  

Near the hot springs with Sarah and Marissa!

Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva

tacky tourists!

Bali is such a beautiful country.  I was stuck by the warmth of the people—generous, laughing, thoughtful, considerate.  In Ubud, no one is in too much of a hurry, there is space to explore and space to just sit.  They are ecologically conscious, using banana leaves as plates, and no plastic straws or bags for food.  They pay attention to how much wattage they use, and they compost, and when internet or power is out, you simply decide to do something different.  A nice place to slow down and take it moment by moment.