Adventure at Bali - The different cultures and places (^_^)

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Despite our late night, we had to be up at 2am for our drive to Mt Batur. It was very exciting and exhausting at the same time. Both of us slept through the bumpy car ride to the base of the mountain. When we got there, it was about 4am and I was freezing cold. I was so glad that I wore jeans and a jacket. We quickly embark on our hike as we hoped to reach the summit before sunrise.

The initial trek up was very easy. However, more than 3-quarter up the slop, I was hit by altitude sickness, and it was so awful. It was at that point that I realized how terrible for my preggy friends to be feeling constant nausea and my heart decided to be more gentle and sweet towards all my preggy friends.

I had wanted to give up so many times, as both my body and shoes were working against me. With much encouragement and patience from the guide and my gf, we eventually made to the rest point near the summit, just in time to catch the sun peeking out from the clouds. It was such a beautiful sight. My gf was more physically fit, hence she continued further to the summit of Mt. Batur.

We stayed there to rest and to catch our breathes. It was an amazing sight. Simply love the freshness and coolness of the air, and this was a time where we found out more from our guide and the little guy who joined us on the trek up the mountain.

I felt really bad about myself. Our guide and the little guy with us, were so much younger, but yet, they have to go through such a tough life of trekking up every morning to sell things to tourist, before going off to school or work. I really need to re-think about my life and to be more appreciative of the things I already have.

The descent down was very fast, but the guide enjoyed talking to us so much that he took us on a detour to look at the other scenery near the mountain. It was really beautiful and we learned more about their living lifestyle - no electricity, no direct water source and heat. It was just them and nature.

Although it was beautiful, I did wonder to myself if it was ever possible for me to live like this and to be disconnected from the rest of the world. I still don't have an answer. Maybe I can't now, but maybe one day I could. I never know. I'm still learning more about myself.

By the time we got back, Komong was so worried about us that he nearly had wanted to come looking for us. It seemed that we were the last to come back to base. I was really touched by his concern and worries for us.

Thereafter, we headed for our next destination - coffee luwak. However, we were so exhausted from the trek, we requested for the postponement of the visit, and asked him to let us sleep in the van while waiting lunch our lunch restaurant to open.

Our lunch was near Mt. Batur. We were treated to a magnificent sight of Mt. Batur. The weather was cooling and the view was awesome. However, the flies were irritating us so much, we decided to sit indoor instead of outdoors. Lunch was buffet style, and it was simple and nice. After that, we headed off to the coffee plantation. My gf wasn't very happy as we are both animal lovers, and we know how coffee luwak was made. But I was open to see what it was really like - another culture education.

Our guide admitted that he had a crush on one of the girls working there. He was acting so cute like a little boy having an infatuation. He was always with us, explaining the different types coffee and the different types of plants on the coffee plantation - ginger etc.

The thing that caught us by surprise was the coffee and tea tasting. There was 7 different types of coffee and tea for us to try. It was so interesting and fun - enjoyed the different types of coffee and tea. However, we did not buy anything, as we felt that they were too costly.

Even though we were supposed to have a tour of the art centre at Ubud, we decided to give it a pass and to head back to our hotel instead. Moreover, the constant rain made us want our bed even more.

As we were very exhausted from the climb, we only came out when it was time for dinner. We didn't go too far before deciding to try out at this cool looking place - Warung Mina. It was very cozy and the food was nice and reasonably priced.

Due to the fatigue, we didn't go out any explore the night, but headed back to the hotel promising ourselves that we will explore more of Kuta tomorrow.

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

BALI
Nice blog...interesting it can be so cold at night or maybe altitude in the tropics...love the collages...not a skill I possess.

[Jaunty Jul]

Bali
Hi Dave, The coldness was mainly due to the high altitude. But halfway through the climb, I was wishing that I had something light instead. Trekking was one tough activity. Nevertheless, I was grateful to the jeans, as it was very cold and windy at the summit. Moreover, the decent was treacherous and slippery, I fell down and skinned myself a couple of times. It was a wonderful experience (^_^)