Bali - Monkey business

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Dive Dive Dive (27/9/2013 to 30/9/2013)

I decided to do my advanced open water diving certificate, so Bali seemed as a good place as any, as I wanted to also dive to the World War II wreck there. I chose Padang Bay which on paper shouldn't be a great diving place as it is a ferry port. The first dive was the deep dive to 30m, and after doing some maths underwater the rest of the dive was just a fun dive. The maths is to see if I had narcosis which is like being drunk and can be dangerous on deep dives - but I didn't have it at this depth, although doing maths underwater wasn't easy. Spotted a blue spotted sting ray and the tail fin of a Wobbegong shark hidden behind rocks. The next dive was a navigation dive, using a compass I did some exercises underwater. It was difficult as the current was strong and it wasn't a level bottom. The rest of the dive was just sight seeing, the visibility wasn't great here and there where lots of concrete blocks and other rubbish underwater, despite this it turned out to be one of the best dives I've ever done. There where lots of blue spotted sting rays sitting on the bottom which would swim away when approached. Also colourful Black Juvenile Emperor Angelfish with swirls on their bodies, prawns, slugs, went past a small ship wreck and spotted a fish eating another fish. The smaller fish was fully in its mouth. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera on this dive!

The next day I did my Peak Performance Buoyancy dive for the advanced certificate - lots of brain coral at this site and more sting rays. Second dive was back at Jepun but this time with my camera. Lots of Blue spotted sting rays, and eel and a cuttlefish which got a fright and shot away quickly. The third dive of the day was a night dive for the advanced open water certificate - another Cuttle fish, lots of crabs, Snake Eel and glowing plankton.

For the final day of diving we headed to the Liberty wreck, this was a US ship which was torpedoed by the Japanese in World War II. It didn't sink at first and an attempt was made to sail to port, but it was picking up too much water so they ran it aground on the beach, later an earthquake pushed it deeper into the ocean where it is now. We had a short swim from the pebble beach to the wreck before descending underwater. The wreck is huge and reminds me of a cathedral but underwater. Lots of colourful fish everywhere. We made our way around the structure finding the remains of guns and round wheels for closing doors. A mud bank was full of Garden eels which would hide when approached. The way back has a colourful coral reef. We did a second dive at the same wreck.

Sunsets at Volcano Agung (1/10/2013 to 2/10/2013)

I got a car from Patang Bay to the Pura Besakih temple which is the start of the Gunung Agung climb, unfortunately I was dropped of at the ticket office which is another 2km walk to the temples. I got my ticket there and the guides and staff insisted I would need a guide, which after bargaining was still 4x more then the one at the Rinjani volcano in Lombok. So I told them that I would just see the temples and maybe get a guide there. I had a quick look around the temples and then decided to start going up the volcano, other people told me that I could do the hike without a guide. The trail passes some temples before going through farm land. One final temple followed by a pine forest. Eventually the pine forest turns into more of a rain / cloud forest. The trail was very dusty for most of the way and gets fairly steep making it hard going with the larger backpack. I managed to reach around 2400m at sunset, stopped to take photos. It was a spectacular sunset with clouds below. I continued on deciding to get as close to the summit as possible before setting up camp. Came across a rock face with a small Hindu shrine. The trail was very hard to follow here as it was all rocks so no clear path like earlier and also dark. So I decided just to head for the GPS location of the highest campsite located on my map, this involved scrambling up a couple of rock faces but they where both only around 2-3m so not too bad. At 9pm I finally found the campsite at around 2800m, it is in closed on three sides and just big enough for my one person tent. After setting up I went to sleep setting my alarm for 3am.

I had a good rest and at 3am, started packing things up. Ready to go by 3.45am, the trail was now once again easy to follow as its a well trodden path. Had rests every couple of hundred meters to prevent overheating as I had a t-shirt, jumper and rain jacket on, which was ok while stationary but hot when moving. Reached the summit just before 5am, sunrise colours where already slightly showing in the East. Spent the next hour taking photos and admiring the view. At around 5.30am a couple arrived with a guide - he was a bit surprised that I didn't have a guide. The way down was quite slippery in the loose sand so I took my time, making it back by around noon. I had a look around the huge temple complex, hiring a guide to explain the site. Most of the site is quite new. I ran into the head guide, he was upset that I didn't hire a guide... I arranged a scooter ride back to Patang Bay which was a quick ride and from there a shuttle to Ubud.

Monkey Business at Ubud (3/10/2013)

After breakfast I headed for the Sacred Monkey Reserve. Just before the entrance I purchased a chocolate bar and drink holding them in my hand. A monkey jumped on my back to try to get the chocolate out of my hand. We struggled for a while but I managed to hide the chocolate in a pocket. Spent a long time in the reserve, lots of visitors but still very green and peaceful. Stunning bunya fig near the spring temple over a bridge. Another monkey there jumped on my back and stole my sunscreen lotion out of my day pack pocket, then climbed high up on a temple so I couldn't get it back. Pura Dalem Agung is quite a picturesque temple. I did a final look around the reserve before having lunch.

Next I did a village walking tour. Some of the roads are very touristy with almost every house catering for tourists in some way ie restaurant, home stay, travel agents, spa etc. Most of the houses have a large gate with gargoyles outside it, and lots of plants. Kicked a football for a while with a goofy kid, he looked very happy. Passed a bridge, lots of wood carving shops around here - some really nice wood carvings to be found. It finally starts to get a little rural around this spot. Passed a cock fight in progress at one spot. Stopped at the Museum Puri Lukisan - Indonesian art is quite distinct - most featuring rural scenes or religious scenes. Quick break at the hotel before returning to the palace for a traditional dance performance. Very colourful costumes, the dances relied heavily on hand and head movements.

Agung Batur (4/10/2013 to 5/10/2013)

Got a shuttle to Kintamani which is on the crater rim of the Agung Batur volcano. The plan was to have a look at the temple and then watch the sunrise from the crater rim. Kintamani only has two guesthouses so ended up heading back down to the junction which we passed earlier in the shuttle. It turned out that the guesthouses around the intersection aren't marked for tax reasons so had to use a tout to find a guesthouse for me for an inflated price... The guesthouse I settled on had a great view of the volcano.

After a short break I headed back up to the Pura Ulun Danu Batur temple, hotel lady tried to charge 100,000 for the short ride which I ended up paying 20,000. They seem to have ripping of tourists refined to the next level in this area which is a shame. This is one of the few temple into which I was allowed into all three of the court yards, usually only the 1st is open to tourists. The 1st court yard is quite spectacular with its golden door and high gates. It was also full of colourful figures. The second courtyard was fairly empty. The third and most sacred courtyard was full of people praying, tables filled with offerings. Easy walk back to hotel as it was down hill. Ran into a man offering me the Agung Batur hike for a very cheap price - so decided to do it. Had dinner in his families restaurant and got ripped of by being overcharged for items not on menu like rice, soft drink. Dinner ended up being double what it should have been.

Early start at 3:30am, for scooter ride down to start of hike. Fairly easy hike took only about 1.5 hours to reach the summit. One of the guys in my group broke his thong so had to go barefoot through the volcanic rock. Nice sunrise but not as spectacular as Agung and many people on summit. We made our way down to a newer crater which is lower down, steam could be seen in some places coming out of holes in the ground.

Beny the tout which arranged the hike would take me on his scooter back to Ubud. On the way back we stopped at "his family" coffee plantation for what was supposed to be a free tour and samples. They had a small caged animal which eats the coffee and then poos it out. The poo is washed and processed into coffee. Since I didn't buy anything, Benny now wanted me to pay for the free samples - I declined pointing out that he wanted me to visit the farm and that he said it would be free. We continued on past some spectacular rice terraces. From Ubud I made my way to the Tenah Lot temple by shuttle and then Taxi.

Tenah Lot Temple (6/10/2013)

Watched the sunset behind the Tenah Lot temple, unfortunately it was not very colourful. Lots of souvenir shops on the way to the temple. The next morning went back to the temple in the early morning to see the temple in the early light. After taking photos of the temple I did a short walk along the coast. Passed an arch which has a temple on top and made my way to a small waterfall which drains into the sea. When I returned to the temple the tide had come in and now the temple was cut off by the sea. Made my way to Kuta after the temple visit.

Shopping in Kuta (7/10/2013 to 8/10/2013)

Decided to stay in Kuta for a couple of days to do some shopping and have a rest. Many shops but most seem to be very similar ie t-shirts, singlets and not many wood carvings. Ubud would have been a lot better for buying wood carvings.

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