Around the island in 3 days

After one week in Kuta, it was time to see the rest of the island.  We hired a driver to take us on a private, 3 day tour of the less-touristy Bali we heard existed.  We had a very full itinerary, and would have a difficult time relaying all the details, but there are definitely some highlights to share.  

Day 1:
We began the tour traveling from Kuta (West Coast) through the center of the island to Lovina, at the Northern tip of the island.  The roads run through endless small towns and villages, winding their way up, down and through mountain valleys.  We visited 2 temples, a huge waterfall, a coffee plantation and fed monkeys on the side of the road.  

Entry Gate to Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot Temple

The monkeys were surprisingly gentle

Awwww...

At the plantation we had a tasting of numerous Bali coffee and tea, including "Kopi Luwak" coffee.  This is the world's most expensive coffee as the beans are harvested from the droppings of Luwaks.  That's right, these little animals eat the coffee berry, it ferments in their belly for a few days (or weeks...??) and then is returned to the forest floor.  The droppings are collected, cleaned, and then the beans ground into this amazing and expensive coffee.  It is actually really delicious coffee...very smooth.  :)

Roasting coffee beans

The BEST smell!

Grinding the beans

And sifting

The white cup on the right is the Luwak "Pooh" Coffee, around $4.50/cup

Black sand beach at Lovina

Day 2:
We left Lovina, traveling down the east coast to the village of Amed.  Amed is a narrow fishing village built along the coast where the mountain meets the ocean.  Along the way, we drove up to Penginapan Volcano.  Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and photo ops were limited.  We had the most scenic drive down and once we were below the cloud line, there were rice paddies as far as you could see.  We also stopped to visit the Royal Water Palace and the Pura Ulun Danu Batur temple.  The last stop was a natural hot spring shower/pool (not very refreshing after touring around in the 30+ heat all day....).  At the end of the day we found accommodation at a small guest-stay with an amazing view.  Aside from the power outage and loss of our cooling system (a fan), and endless entanglement in the mosquito net, it was the most peaceful stay we've had in 4 months. 

Beautiful Rice Paddy fields

Natural Hot Springs

Royal Water Palace at Tirtagangga

Nothing like morning coffee with a view like this

Day 3:
We woke up to a gorgeous day with a thermos of coffee waiting for us on our veranda.  Had we not had another day of touring ahead, we may have been convinced to stay.  But onward to Ubud!  We had a light itinerary planned for day 3...thankfully, I'm not sure we could have pretended to be excited to visit another temple or palace or historic site.  So, we grinned and bear-ed it through a tour of a wood carving operation and yet another temple.

Hand carving wood sculpture from Hibiscus wood

The ladies do the sanding and finishing work

Puto (our guide) and I at Candidasa

The king sized bed and hot shower awaiting us in Ubud was enough to brighten our spirits for a 4 day stay.

So this is Bali?

Hello from Bali, Indonesia!

We finally arrived on one of the islands we were most looking forward to visiting.  The first thing I will say is that first impressions AREN'T everything.  

Like most tourists, especially our Aussie friends, our first stop was Kuta Beach.  Kuta is best known for the unbelievable surfing and Poppies district for guesthouses and bars.  We made our way to the beach the first evening, weaving our way through numerous market-style stalls filled with "I love Bali" souvenirs and "Ray Ban" Sunglasses, only to be welcomed by a pile of garbage running the length of the beach.  We embraced this first impression with hopeful optimism as we continued our walk further up the beach.  I mean, it couldn't ALL be like this....could it??  

Our first Bali sunset

Day 2, second trip to the beach.  Ok, so they attempted to rake up some of the garbage, at some point in the night.  Now there were piles dotting the beach, but only part way down.  We found a couple of chairs and an umbrella (further down), with a good view of the late morning surfers.  I settled in with a book and a beach front pedicure while Andre went in search for a rental board.  

Surfing...Day 1

Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!

Maybe the next one

Up on the first wave!

My "Wade, Splash, Exit"

We repeated this itinerary a few times throughout the week.  Andre had fun working on his self-taught surfing, with some friendly and valuable tips from the locals.  And I continued to bask in the sun.  To clarify, one does not swim at Kuta unless you are so hot you can't stand it any longer, in which case you wade in to your knees, quickly splashing yourself before making a quick exit back to your sunning spot.  Clearly we were able to see past Kuta's downside and have a very enjoyable time there.

Surfing...Day 2

Bigger waves, smaller board, more excitement

Another hard day at the office

Doing what I do best these days