Eat. Pray. Ubud

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.

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.

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 9^th 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.

Babi Guling

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.

The land of Volcanoes and Bollywood fans

Batur lake at sunrise

Indonesia welcomed us with open arms. So much so, that they even have a visa exemption for Indians. We only realized that after paying the $35 visa fee. Grabbing a blue bird taxi from outside the airport was fairly easy. We passed by sky scrapers of all shapes and sizes as we hit central Jakarta, each of which had a minimum of 50 storeys. I tried to grab some shut eye on the way to the hotel; it took longer than expected as the driver lost his way and even got fined as he inadvertently broke a traffic rule.

After a quick change and a long wait for our taxi (thanks to Jakarta’s notorious traffic), we headed to the National Museum. They were giving free entry to everyone on account of some festivities; I seem to be getting my luck back, I thought. Spread over four levels, the museum gives a detailed account of human evolution, history of the islands and their formation, their people and way of life. All in all, it was a good starting point for our ten day tour of the archipelago nation.

Mount Agung at sunset

I had my first glimpse of Indonesia’s famed volcanoes while waiting for the sunset at Gili Trawangan, a small island off the coast of Bali. Mount Agung, Bali’s highest peak stood prominently in the backdrop as I watched the sun set into the Bali sea. It was an incredible sight, one I went back for the next day as well. While in Bali, we went on a sunrise trek to another volcano, Mount Batur, 1717 mtrs above sea level. It was supposed to be a fairly easy trek according to various travel websites and blogs. It wasn’t. Our guide, Putu was of great help during the last, extremely steep stretch up to the crater. The misty view of the mountains, lake Batur and the rising sun from the top was worth all the effort.

On the trip, I also realized that the Indonesians love Bollywood. Whenever we got talking to any local and informed them that we were Indian, they replied with an excited ‘Shahrukh Khan’! EVERY local that we met loved him. At first, it was funny but then it happened everywhere - from Jakarta to Bandung and the Gilis to Bali. As the first Hindi movie that they ever saw was a Shahrukh Khan one, he is their favourite Indian movie star.

Throughout the trip, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s song Despacito that I had been tripping on even before my trip had begun followed me everywhere there. Once while we were waiting at a traffic light in Bandung in Java, a young Indonesian boy appeared out of nowhere with a guitar and started singing this for me. It was one of the most surreal moments. Of course, I sang along with him.