Check out Part 1 of this post here.
We woke up next day from the smell of pan-fried bacon and
instant coffee. Thanks to my hubby
who woke up early to prepare brekky with the stuffs we bought from Bintang
Supermarket the previous day.
Nothing beats dining in an open-air kitchen with lovely friends around,
who all woke up on the right side of the bed.
Although it was pouring, we still prepped up for a long day.
We were greeted by a stern-faced man outside our villa who looked at his watch
by the time we climbed up our rented van for the day. We were a bit late from schedule (and yes, we apologized) but
I didn’t think we deserve that kind of treatment. It must’ve been the gloominess of the day that affected his
mood, somehow. Instantly, I regretted
having hired him a day before we left Singapore. We could only wish he was the
friendly Ketut instead.
Celuk Village: It houses gold and sterling silver jewelries. We had a short tour inside to see how
every piece of jewelry was made by local, skillful artisans. Our eyes feasted on the sparks of the
finished products displayed in the gallery. We didn’t buy anything. :)
Goa Gajah / Elephant Cave: A mystical place. We were given “sarongs” to wear before we entered the park. It was also bizarre that a woman who
has her monthly period is not allowed to enter. I wasn’t sure if it has something to do with their religious
belief or simply, they just did not want to stain the sarong. Luckily, girls were safe and we all
went in!
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| Goa Gajah |
The cave entrance once thought to depict a picture of a
giant elephant, hence the name.
However, the carving was said to be the mouth of a demonic creature.
Scary, but it was believed to ward off demons and evil spirits from the cave or
sanctuary. Aside from what looks
to be a small version of mausoleum, there’s nothing much to see inside the
cave.
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| Facade / Entrance of the Elephant cave |
Bathing Temple: This is located at the park where the Elephant
Cave is. It was excavated and
built few steps down the ground.
The water is shallow. There are human-rock figures lined up by the
wall. Each has pots of water that
served as fountains. We enjoyed
taking photos here but it’s always a struggle to climb up the stairs! Hahaha!
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| Bathing temple |
Kintamani Volcano / Lake Batur: We enjoyed the buffet lunch
overlooking a majestic view of volcano and Batur lake. It was drizzling when we arrived and the
place was all foggy. We took a
break from taking photos for a while and enjoyed the spread at the
restaurant. The group especially
enjoyed their version of banana fritters
with milk and beef barbeque / beef
satay. As soon as we tasted them, we were thankful they were unlimited! :) With happy tummies, the fog gradually cleared up
and we said hello to a lovely view!
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Just realized, we do not have a good photo of the volcano :(
On the right: Zero visibility 'coz of the fog! |
Wedang Sari Agro Wisata: This is a medium-sized coffee
plantation where we got to taste different kinds of coffee and tea, including
what they term as “ecological coffee”.
This particular kind (they call it Luwak coffee) is chemically treated
and fermented inside the tummy of a civilized animal called Paradoxurus or Luwak (in Bali). It was kinda cool to learn such a
thing, although I am not able to remember its taste now or to even recognize
the distinct greatness of this coffee from the others. It might just be me, though.
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| Coffee & Tea tasting at Wedang Sari |
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| They also sell spices! |
Tegallalang Village / Rice Terraces: It was such an attraction
and I’m glad we managed to get our tour guide to bring us out here! By this time, our driver seemed to be
in a hurry and was already a bit cranky… Still, we enjoyed the scenery!
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| Oh so lovely green! |
Tanah Lot: It is home to a pilgrimage temple. True enough, the place was so packed
with worshippers when we arrived at the place. We were informed that there was an ongoing event at the
time. We braved the long walk, the
heat and the craziness of the crowd – All paid off after seeing the “mighty”
temple set on a huge rock, sculpted by the tides of the ocean surrounding
it. It’s more like a floating
temple, very dramatic. Of course,
we all swarmed to the best photo spot… uhh,... with hundreds of tourists
around, at least we managed to get one.
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| Tanah lot |
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| The faithfuls |
After a long drive back to Kuta, we treated ourselves with a
Balinese massage and a Japanese dinner at Ryoshi Restaurant. It was the best way to end our
adventure, although we wished we could stay a bit longer. We still missed a lot of places during the trip and if
I will be asked, I’d want to go back.
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| At Ryoshi Japanese Restaurant |
Early the next day, we bid farewell to our newfound friend,
Ketut. Yes, we’ve spent a good 40
minutes with him again. He drove
us back to the airport. :)
Our trip back to
Singapore was another adventure… or misadventure! :)
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