Blogs from Kintamani, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

I think we were surprised to learn that Bali was not typically Indonesian but an unusual island with a mixture of Hindi and indigenous culture. Bali is an anomaly – not only is it the only Hindu enclave in the world’s biggest Muslim nation, but the Hinduism practised here would be unrecognisable in India, flavoured as it is by Buddhism and, more significantly, animism. The people of Bali worship the big things - the trees, rocks and, most importantly, the mountain. We left the boat by tender and landed at a resort village where we were greeted by an extremely friendly reception organised by the ship's agents, but also to unbelievable levels of hassle by local sales people, of which more later. We were herded onto the coach for the tour (we had used some more ... read more

After a few days we were ready to head back to Ubud. Our journey back lead us high up into the mountains close to Kintamani. We drove through slopes where there were several varieties of fruits, coffee, and cloves are grown (plantations). We enjoyed freshly cut mangos (Sanjay’s favorite), passion fruit (Kyle’s favorite), and tamarillos. Also on the way back we stopped at the Tirtha Temple close to Tamparksiring where many people come to bath in the holy water that pours forth from a natural spring. ... read more

What an amazing place. A large rippling grey lake within a huge 300 year old blow-out caldera surrounded by several little poor vilages living on the edge in the shaddow of the active mountain: Gnung Batur. The volcano last errupted in 2002 I believe, but there was also a small 'leak' last year the bubbling lava from which I should be able to walk by when I trek up to the smaller active crater early tomorrow morning. I can't wait. A lovely man - Nyoman - (pronounced N-yeoman), accosted me when I entered the Kintermani region and took me to his losman, sorted me out with a discounted room overlooking the lake and a bargin guided tour up the mountain starting at 4am tomorrow. (The Aussie girl also staying at the home-stay has paid 50 US ... read more