Ubud, Bali Travel and Mt. Batur

Once out gear was packed, we headed to the front of 2 Fish Dive Resort to square up our bill and get going.  A taxi took us to the fast boat ferry, and we rode back to the big island of Bali.  The crossing was smooth and comfortable with a gently breeze blowing through the boat.

We arrived at Sanur and found out that our ferry ticket included transport all the way to Ubud, a city in central Bali.  Bonus!  For $35 we had transport of over an hour on both ends of the return boat trip, which we thought was a pretty good deal.  From Ubud, our first order of business was to hike up Mt. Batur and check out the active volcano.  This is an extreme early hike and the taxi would be there to get us at 2:30 AM!!!  The days get very warm, so to beat the heat, do it early.  Also, it makes for a great sunrise viewing.

K on the ferry from Nusa Lembongan to Sanur, Bali.

View from our room at Sania's Homestay in the center of Ubud.

Our homestay was right in the middle of Ubud, close to everything.  The housing arrangement was quite interesting.  Just like most places we had seen, there was a temple area for offerings and a fancy entryway.  But, what I found a little weird was all the rooms.  This place was old and not built for tourists.  It was more like a family commune with lots of rooms for small family groups.  

Tommy being awesome at dinner.

Everything around is beautifully decorated!

K cruising down one of the main roads.

More fancy offerings.  I guess these are there to keep the driver safe?

Typical street view.  The drooping bamboo posts were all over the streets, no matter where you were on the island.

K with a bucket of rice.

The taxi driver was there promptly at 2:30 am.  We loaded into his car and started the long journey to the volcano.  Driving at this hour on Bali, no one is out!  These drivers like to drive fast, but when no one is on the road, they really open it up.  I didn't feel unsafe, but if a dog were to have jumped in front of us, we would have surely demolished it.  I was watching on my phone's map just where we were and which route we were taking.  The driver knew all the secret roads the fanned out from the volcano.  

Once we got to the trailhead, we met our hiking guide, Jerorald.  Our driver said he was going to take a nap, since it was 4 am, and he would be waiting there when we finished.  Understandable, but we had to hoof it up to the top of a volcano!  He had plenty of time to get some rest.

The hike was smooth and cool due to the altitude.  At times, motorbikes would pass us on the steep dirt trails.  The locals will charge to drive people up as far as they can, making the hike faster and much less strenuous.  I noticed that many Balinese people were on the trail, or even riding the motorbikes up as tourists.  This mountain is popular with the locals as well, we were told. 

Looking east for the sunrise with Mt. Agung in the background.

Tommy, Katherine, and ME!

Cool panoramic shot of the sunrise

Kleine Maus says, "I need my sleep!"

G+K

Michael, Tommy, Katherine, and Garner on the very top.

The sunrise was truly spectacular!  We were in location to watch it so early that we actually got cold.  Our guide brought us coffee and a breakfast of bananas, hard boiled eggs, and egg sandwiches, which was nice and unexpected.  He said that he has hiked this volcano every day for 2 years straight.  Wowza!  That's a lot of sunrises.

From our viewing location, we continued to hike around the rim of the volcano.  On the rim, there were exposed steam vents belching out hot and moist steam.  It was super impressive and we had to check all of them out.  The trail was moderately crowded as it is a sight to see!

Michael and Tommy

Katherine doing her steam vent model pose.

This is looking into another caldera basin off the main mountain.  Pretty cool stuff!  You can even see the early morning mist hanging around until the sun burns it off later in the day. 

At times the trail was narrow.

Jeroald insisted on helping K down the crumbling steep trail.  The volcanic sand got in all of our shoes.

Tommy thought is was cool to get up close with the monkeys.  One of the monkeys immediately jumped up onto his shoulders.  It was all good fun for the first couple of seconds until he tried to take a selfie with his new friend, and the monkey went right for the USA passport in his zippered backpack.  Luckily, he wasn't trying to go to the USA and just threw it on the ground.

Good move Tommy.  Way to let your guard down!

On the way down the trail we ran into a mini chicken farm.  The roosters are used for cock fighting in the local area.  The locals found it strange and interesting that we wanted pictures of their beautiful chickens.  

Hey, these guys had the swastika first!

At the end of the successful hike, we had to take the obligatory "groupie."

We arrived back in Ubud around 11 am and were beat up!  It was time for a nap before we could do anything.  So we did.  Once we woke up and began to feel alive again, we thought it would be a good idea to get massages.  I was waiting for the perfect time to give the Balinese massage a whirl, and now was the perfect time.  My legs were a little torn up from the hike, but "oh well," let's give it a go.  

Massages on Bali are an interesting thing.  Everyone, everywhere gets them.  You can pay anywhere from about $7 an hour, up to the 5 Star resort price that will be more expensive than USA prices.  We decided to go for a middle priced place that came highly recommended all for the bargain price of $12 for an hour.  Yes, please!  It was relaxing and pleasant.  We kept going back for more each day we were in Ubud. 

These flowers were everywhere!

At Sania's Homestay, the place was littered with carvings. Unbelievable!

Let's talk coffee.

We have all heard of coffee from Sumatra and Java, but Balinese coffee is a treat as well.  Right next to our guest house we frequented a special tiny coffee shop.  On our last day there, we ordered a large amount of coffee since it was so good.  Specifically, the luwak coffee.  You may know this coffee as the most expensive coffee in the world.  You may also know it as poop coffee.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Wild luwaks eat the coffee beans which are then partially digested, and then excreted.  The bean are then collected, cleaned, and sold.

Luwak Coffee Explanation

You might be saying "Animal poop coffee? Ok then.  No, thank you."  You should giving a try though.  It's great!  Plus, we bought a kilo of the beans for about a third of the price we can get it at home.  The local Bali coffee and the Toraja coffee from Sulawesi are both excellent also.  For the price we could not resist picking up a kilo of each of them.  They each have a distinct flavor, which tastes even more divine after drinking the powdered coffee that is served all over Bali.  It is quite maddening that some of the best coffee in the world is grown on the island, and yet it is not served everywhere.   

The crew with the local barista.  He asked us twice, "You want how much coffee?" Seven.  Yes.  Yes, we are sure.  He made sure to take our money before roasting up that load of beans.

While we are on the subject of buying things, if you would like to pick up some souvenirs in Bali, Ubud is a great place to accomplish this task.  There are handicrafts galore.  The wood carvings and teak wood products really caught our interests.  There are many very neat shops and street market stalls for every budget.  Shoppers can be kept busy for days.  Be sure to ready your bargaining skills.  Everything is negotiable in Bali.

The backyard area of a restaurant we stopped in for brunch.

On our way to Tulamben, Bali, on the north-east coast, where the Liberty Dive Resort is located.  Back to the ocean!