Volcano's and Temples and Rice Terraces, Oh My!!

We had a big day on the 25th! We hired a driver for 500k IDR to see some of the sites in the northern part of Bali. We started out at 8:30am with a drive to the Rice Terraces north of Ubud. The picture attached to the posting doesn't do it justice with a significant elevation change from the bottom to the top! Laura and I did some mudding and climbed down and up the other side to truly see of it is better over there! It wasn't, but we got our cardio in for the day none the less. What surprised me was the 10k per person admission price, that was collected from some guy at the side of the road, about one km away from where we ended up parking. I think if we were on scooters, we would have not been charged so I think it was something the tour operators have in place with the locals.

Next stop was the volcano, Mount Batur, a UNESCO global geo-park. Last active in 2000, the Balinese temples reflect the nature of the volcano with its roof styles and open air concepts. At an elevation of 1,717m, this active volcano has a lake at its base, supplying water for the rice paddies to almost the entire island. In the picture, you can distinctly see the blackened area where the last eruption took place.

After the volcano was a trip to the water temple or Tirte Empul. The earliest known reference to the temple was in 960AD, where a king had ordered the people to repair the temple. The fountains are believed by the Hindu community to be for mind and soul cleansing. We figured after all those folks had been in the pool, the water couldn't be all that cleansing!!!

While we were there,Balinese women would come up to Laura and ask to have their picture taken with them like she was some kind of Hindu goddess of tall blonde women...indeed!

The line up was rather lengthy to get wet, so Laura and I opted to walk the temple instead and take pictures, that, and the camera (and Laura) doesn't like water so much! After the water temple was a chance to slow down and have a cup of coffee, or Cat Poo Chino (aka Kopi Lewak). Sivet cats eat the ripe Balinese coffee beans and their stomach acids break down the acidic nature of the coffee resulting in a smoother taste. Personally, I am not a fan as I love the more acidic tastes of coffee, but at $1500 a pound, how can rich people be wrong!

The tour itself was free as this is a working plantation, they only ask that you buy something at the store. The tour guide was a lovely Balinese lady who had worked at the plantation for a year, but was a bit iffy on the details like how much coffee does the plantation make each year, to which she replied, tons....a fountain of information she was! At the end, Laura and I bought about 380k IDR worth of tea, chocolate, and nick nack type stuff which will be used a stocking stuffers next Christmas, assuming it lasts that long! The chocolate is quite good.....

Our last stop was the Pura Gunung Kawi temple. If we didn't get wet at the water temple, we sure got soaked here! At the start of the tour, the heavens opened up and poured on us! Laura and I were soaked to the bone, but pushed past the water (we are not made of sugar) and toured the temples and took a couple of pictures without getting the camera too wet. The main attraction here for us was the carvings in the granite walls. This is an 11th-century temple and funerary complex east of Ubud in Bali spread across either side of the Pakerisan river. It comprises 10 rock-cut candi (shrines) that are carved into some 7-metre-high sheltered niches of the sheer cliff face. These funeral monuments are thought to be dedicated to King Anak Wungsu of the Udayana dynasty and his favourite queens.

It was good to get into the higher elevations and get a reprieve from the almost oppressive humidity. The drive back took us through plantations of oranges and more coffee. As much as we appreciate the creature comforts that development and tourism brings to places like this, it is a little sad to see such a beautiful island slowly being eaten up by roads, villas, and the associated hawker stalls. We can't help but wonder what magic these places held before the tourists drove the spirits away.