Beach'in it in Bali

After Ubud we headed to the west coast from some sand and sun action. We spent a lot of time walking down the beaches between Seminyak and Kuta admiring the surfers and the huge waves. Everywhere signs were posted stating that it was two dangerous to swim so you weren't allowed past your waist unless you were attached to a surf board. We didn't mind though as the under toe was really strong and and it was easy to understand the caution.

Legion Beach

 We also took a tour of the south coast visitng Nusa Dua, Pandang beach, Ulu Watu temple and a sunset dinner at Jimboran. A perfect way to end our stay in Bali.

Nusa Dua

Sunset dinner in Jimboran

yum!

Bali Biking Tour

Our last day in Ubud we signed up for the cycle tour which consists of about 85% downhill riding through villages, forests and rice fields. We had a very talkative guide who explained a lot about Balinese life and customs including how all the children are named by their birth order (1st to 4th) so there is no need for baby name books!

Rice Terraces

To ride down we first had to drive up so we started with breakfast at the edge of a giant crater that overlooked Lake Batur and the Batur Volcano.

Breakfast view

 Second stop was a local tea and coffee plantation that demonstrated how different coffees are grown and harvested including the famous Kopi Luwak which is produced by the "Toddy Cat" who looks like a ferret more than a cat. The cat eats the raw coffee beans which is then digested and collected by locals and brewed into coffee. It can be sold in North American for $60 a cup but we could sample it for just $6. We decided to pass and just go with some of the undigested tea and coffee samples.

Tea and coffee sampling

Now for the bikes! We were fitted for a bike and helmet and set off on the downhill tour. They weren't lying about the downhill part and we didn't have to peddle much but we were really thankful our brakes worked! Along the way we stopped at some villages and at various rice fields in different stages of growth and processing. We were even able to help some of the local women harvest the rice.

Rice planting

Rice harvesting

At the end of the bike tour we were giving an option 45 minute uphill ride to get to lunch. Feeling like we hadn't really earned our lunch yet we decided to go for it. I can say that the ride was humbling as riding uphill in sun in 40 degree weather is not something I have experienced before, but we made it and lunch was even more delicious. 

A few of my favourite things

Our forth day in Ubud we signed up to take a organic cooking class that was organized by a local Balinese man and his wife. The day started of by visiting a local market where we bought some ingredients and learned how the market is set up. The market has a whole section just devoted to daily and special offerings that people can purchase to lay out in their homes and shops. 

Daily offerings

Next it was back to the local village to see the rice fields and pick vegetables from the family garden. Hardly any of the fruits and vegetables have seasons so most can be harvested year round. We picked serval things including water spinach, cassava leaves and lemongrass.

The cooking class was small, just the two of us and a german lady. We made several things all revolving around the basic spice of garlic, shallots, chili, tumeric, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, salt and galangal. This mixture or variation of it is used in almost all the Balinese dishes.

Spices

Working away!

Fish Satay

By the end of the class we had made sambal tomato (which is kinda like salsa), Gule ayam (coconut chicken curry), tempe manis (fried tempe with sweet and sour sauce), jukut nangka (pork and jackfruit soup), jukut urab (vegetable with grated coconut), tuna fish satay and black rice pudding for dessert. It was a feast!

Some of our finished dishes

 To make the day even better we went to a evening yoga class at the Yoga Barn in central Ubud. It was great to stretch our tired and sore muscles from travelling.

Yoga Barn

Bali - East Coast Tour

To get a better feel of Bali we decided to take an east coast tour from Bali Eco Tours which took us to Amed, the water palace, Candidasa beach and a local village tour.

First stop was snorkelling south of Amed at the wreck of a Japanese submarine from World War 2. The current and waves were strong so we couldn't actually reach the site of the wreck but we got to see many tropical fish and coral near just off the shore.

Snorkeling Site in Amed

 The second stop was at the water palace that a Sultan built for his concubine. The fountains, pools and structures were damage in a volcano eruption but everything was rebuilt and the palace was turned in a restaurant and hotel. All of the pools are fed by a local spring but the spring is isolated in a temple not open to the public.

Water palace

 Third stop was a beach in the Candidasa province. It was one of the nicest beach I have ever been too and the waves were great to swim in.  There is no local accommodation so everyone has to find their own transportation and not much has been developed besides a few seafood resturants. We stopped here for lunch, sampling grilled mahi-mahi and prawns and decided to stay a bit longer for a swim.

Candidasa Beach

 Almost everywhere we went we saw roosters caged for cock fighting. We were told that it is part of a temple ceremony where alcohol, gambling and cock flighting are done to please the evil spirits.  I am not 100 percent how much of that is true as people really just seem to enjoy the sport.

Roosters for Cock fighting

 We happened to have our tour on the celebration of "no moon" allowing us to to witness some preparations including pig roasting and the women dressing up and bringing the food and offerings to the temple. We learned that every community or village in Bali always has three temples, one for Brahma, the creator, one for Shiva, the destroyer, and one for Vishnu the protector. Each temple is used for different Hindu ceremonies.

Women bringing offering to the temple

Ubud - Attack of the Monkeys

After a morning in Sanur we decided to make our way to Ubud where we planned to stay the next 4 or 5 days. It was easy enough to get there and settle into the hotel so we went to check out the monkey forest. 

Warning these pictures of monkeys are going to make them seem cute and harmless but they are actually kind of bullies who will attack if then sense food or weakness. 

Reclining Monkey

Licking the wet moss

So right after I took this picture this monkey decided that he wanted to see what I had in my purse. He swiftly hopped onto my leg crawled up my hip and opened the zipper at the top. My passport and memory cards (the only thing I have of value) were in a plastic bag so of course he grabs it and when I try to move he bears his fangs. Luckily he didn't think that it was very interesting a dropped in on the pavement a few minutes later. The guides told me I should have some bananas so that I can trade him back from my passport. Somehow carrying around bananas so I can trade a monkey for my valuables seems like a messed up idea.

About 15 minutes later I swear the same monkey came up to an America women and opened her backpack and took out her bug spray and dismantled it with his teeth and hands.  He kept spraying himself in the mouth and making a funny face but he still wanted in the bottle. I think the moral of the story is even if they say you bag is safe done bring one, even if you don't have food because bug spray and passports are still interesting.

Like mother like daughter

Okay this one is really cute

From Bromo to Bali

We made some changes to our plan and we had to cut out journey across Java short. We only gave ourselves two days to get from Yogjakarta to Bali meaning two days mostly on a bus. We started out at 7:30am and driving for about 13 hours with two stops to get to the base village of Bromo where we promptly ate dinner and went to bed since it was another 3:30am start to see the sunrise. 

Well 3:30am came soon enough and we packed into a jeep and headed to the lookout point. We could only jeep about half way so it was about a 20 minute climb to the view point which have been easier if we brought head lamps and weren't also trying to dodge horse manure from the ponies they use to bring some tourists up. The view point was a little crowded but well worth it. Sometimes pictures can't quite capture it and I don't think that this one does it justice. 

Sunrise at Bromo Crater

The second part of the tour consisted of hike to the top rim of the crater (you can see on the left of the picture above). The landscape was really different and interesting in comparison to Malaysia and the parts of Java that we have already seen, reminded me a lot of Mongolia. Also it was also cold! So we didn't bring our jackets and pants for nothing. 

View from the Crater

Our day continued with a public bus to Bali, and as many things in the southern hemisphere it was far from on time and our plan to get into Bali by 8pm quickly turned into 1am. This would not have been a problem if the taxi's weren't so scarce and by the time we bartered down to a reasonable price and arrived at the hotel it was closed. Luckily a 24 hour hostel was right beside and they had two very helpful and accommodating guys who helped us find a room.


Welcome to Bali!

Yogakarta and Around

 First stop in Indonesia was Yogakarta located in the middle of Java island. Our time here was short but we managed to get in a few things before we headed east to Mount Bromo and Bali. We spent our first afternoon after the plane ride settling in and figuring out the itinerary for the next few days. I had a really hard time getting use to the next currency and paying someone 10,000 rupiah for drink (this is about $1 Canadian). Somehow it just feels weird to try and take out 2.5 million out of a bank machine.

Trishaws

We quickly found out that Yogakarta is not really that condusive to people walking. The lack of sidewalks and the tricycle rickshaw drivers yelling out if you want a ride every 5 seconds and laughing when you say you just want to walk. In the end we did end up taking one trip to the sultans palace with them, but it felt like someone was trying to push around 300lbs in a baby carriage. I think that it is faster sometimes just to walk. 

Borobudur Temple

The day after we arrived we woke up at 3:30am to head to Borobuder to view the sunrise from a hill top overlooking volcanoes and the Borobuder temple. We couldn't really see the temple from where we were but it was nice to hike through a village and learn about the traditions that have been mixed between the Javanese and the muslim culture. Once the sun was up we drove to the temple site and spent 2 hours viewing the temple grounds. The temple was humbling how big it was constructed to be. It took us over 45 minutes to get to the top walking and we took some short cuts. At the top we ran into some local students who wanted to practice their english for an upcoming exam. After some akward personal questions they wanted us to join them for a Indonesian dance. We were already tired and exhausted from a full day - it was only 10am.

Borobudur Temple

Of course we also enjoyed the food of Yogyakarta, chicken curries, beef randang and fruit juices.

Beef Radang