We got into Ubud late evening.
After checking into our garden home stay – D’Ubud House Homestay in the heart
of town, we freshened up and grabbed some dinner at Ibu Rai restaurant. The
atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxing; I ordered Ikan Babur Bambu Bali
which was fresh, along with grilled fish cooked in mild Indonesian flavours.
For dessert, I had tiramisu and wiped my plate clean.
We were pretty tired and went off
to sleep soon after. I had booked us on a very early morning trek to Mount
Batur, Bali’s second highest volcano. I woke up with a start around 2.30 am; the
alarm had not gone off. I ran out of the room towards the reception and then
the road, but the minivan that was to pick us up was nowhere in sight.
Thankfully, it pulled in two minutes later. The trek was challenging as the
climb was very steep, full of loose volcanic rocks. Putu, our guide was of
immense help along the way, motivating us and pulling me up at difficult
stretches. We made it in time for the sunrise. It was a spectacular sight; the
sun rose through the floating clouds and Batur lake at its bottom.
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| Sunrise at Mount Batur |
We passed through sleepy
villages, vegetable and fruit orchards as well as coffee plantations on our way
back to Ubud. It was a very scenic drive, I tried to keep my eyes open while
the others in the bus slept. Soon enough, the driver stopped at one of the
coffee plantations where we sampled a variety of coffee. The world famous Kopi
Luwak was available at Rp. 50000 a cup but we decided to avoid it.
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| Ubud Palace |
The rest of our only day in Ubud
was spent sightseeing. We went to the Palace for a quick tour, Ubud market for
souvenir shopping, tried the famous Babi Guling at Ibuoka and finally to
Elephant Cave, a 9th century sanctuary full of bathing pools,
fountains and rock wall carvings. I found the last sight to be the best one. We
also got some good bargains on souvenirs and paintings in the market right
outside this historical Hindu site.
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| Babi Guling |
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| At Elephant Cave |
After a hectic day, we decided to
unwind with a relaxing massage before heading to Kuta, our final destination.
The Balinese massage at Sari Spa at our home stay was the best way to end an
exciting day.
