Blogs from Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 5

A smart man is usually humble… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling to the tranquil village of Sibetan. Locations > Sidemen is a small mountain village in eastern Bali. > Sibetan (our destination) is a remote rural village in eastern Bali. Transport We travelled from Sidemen to Sibetan by minibus, then explored Sibetan by foot. We left Sidemen in the mid-afternoon and headed a short distance (about 12 kilometres) east to Sibetan. We drove along narrow mountain roads with forest on either side. We drove through tiny villages where dwellings had been built right to the very edge of the road. We crawled around sharp corners, and we shared the road with cars, trucks and motorbikes. We stopped at a supermarket and picked up some Bokashi balm for Ren. We suddenly slowed and ... read more

Rippling water shows lack of depth… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling to the mountain village of Sidemen. Locations > Ubud is a bustling mountain town in central Bali. > Sidemen (our destination) is a small mountain village in eastern Bali. Transport We travelled from Ubud to Sidemen by minibus, then explored Sidemen’s peaceful streets and lush rice fields by foot. After lunching at Warung Pondok Bali (a small local eatery on the outskirts of Ubud), we clambered into a minibus and set off toward Sidemen. As we climbed in altitude, the roads narrowed and the distance between villages increased. The villages themselves were remote and small, and there were times when the temple structures outnumbered the actual dwellings. The forest was lush and green, and it occasionally encroached onto the road. Mount ... read more

With only one drop of indigo, the whole pot of milk is ruined… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were exploring the mountain town of Ubud– by foot. Location Ubud is a bustling mountain town in central Bali. Transport Walking. Accommodation Puri Padi. An extensive hotel complex with well-kept gardens. The walk from reception to our room was quite a distance, but enjoyable enough. The room itself was large but basic, with heavy wooden furniture. I loved our small private terrace. The door to the terrace was locked from the inside with a wooden latch, which you had to carefully slide through two wooden staples. It wasn’t exactly secure, but it had an old-world charm. Cuisine …Breakfast (Puri Padi, Ubud)… We enjoyed a late breakfast on our first morning in Ubud, which is very rare ... read more

Different fields, different grasshoppers; different seas, different fish… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling east from Ketapang (Java) to Pemuteran (Bali)– by road and ferry. Locations > Ketapang is a seaport on the eastern coastline of Java > Gilimanuk is a seaport on the western coastline of Bali > Pemuteran (our destination) is a fishing village located on the northwestern coastline of Bali. Transport We arrived at Ketapang’s ferry terminal in the early afternoon. The place was deserted. We breezed through security and didn’t need to show our passports. We were, after all, travelling between two Indonesian islands. We boarded a small ferry via a narrow metal walkway. It was fairly basic. We walked into the bowels of the ferry, climbed a set of steep narrow stairs and entered an open (but covered) ... read more

Five years. I did not even realize it had been that long since we last immersed ourselves in the ocean depths with our scuba gear, until I went to fill out my dive log later and noted the date of our last dive: April 4, 2018. We had been booked to dive in 2019 but had to cancel our dive trip after we both got head colds, as one absolutely cannot dive when congested. In 2020 our dive trip was cancelled as we were required to return to Canada early because of the Covid call back. We had the privilege of being reintroduced to scuba with a refresher course from Phari, the same excellent dive instructor who first taught us and provided us with our PADI Dive Certification in 2014. That was nine years ago. We ... read more