Bali II

We woke up and got ready for the long day ahead. I had a shower and ate breakfast below, delicious fruits and pancakes. Frida was our designated driver, we were using a scooter to go around Bali's hotspots but the first order of business was getting some cash exchanged. It was quite a bumpy ride as Frida wasn't used to driving a scooter anymore, we had a lot of close calls and I'm sure she was quite stressed. We went to Tegallalang Rice Terraces first, it was blistering hot and we used my anti-UV umbrella which really saved our skins.

We went to Tirta Empul Temple next, we had to wear sarongs, a colorful fabric to wrap around our waist, to enter the place. Some trees even had them. Tirta Empul was a huge complex featuring pools of water and numerous temples around. It was a very spiritual area and it was our first encounter with Balinese culture. We walked around for a long time making sure we didn't miss anything. We saw people praying together and people cleansing themselves in the pool. When we got out of the place, we were recommended a restaurant by one of the guys who touched Frida's crystal necklace. We then went with him and we ate one of the best traditional Balinese meals I've had in front of a rice paddy field. It was truly one of the best meals with the best view.

Next up, we drove to Gunung Kawi. Here, it also had its own rice terraces. But more than that, there was also a rainforest, waterfalls, and caves. There was a temple complex deeper inside as well as carved sculptures on the mountain walls. We had to take our shoes off to enter the holy areas but the energy in this place was simply divine.

As they day went on, traffic started to get bad and Frida was getting too nervous driving around such tight spaces. We had to get off and walk towards our next destination, the Goa Gajah aka the Elephant Cave. It was quite small to be honest, but the surrounding area was very fun to explore.

We went back to our place to rest for a bit, surprisingly unscathed. I was chilling by the hostel's second floor balcony on some beanbags, talking to this girl who was eating some food, she came to Bali to do some yoga. We exchanged stories about our plans to go to Gili Trawangan. From there, we walked towards the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, the were hundreds of monkeys, some were quite naughty, destroying motorcycle seats. The sanctuary itself was a temple complex situated inside a forest that's inhabited by hundreds if not thousands of monkeys. With both culture and nature mixing, the experience of the place itself made it one of the best highlights of Bali.

For dinner, we found a quaint restaurants and I had some delicious Nasi Goreng, Indonesian fried rice. There were indeed a lot of bugs, and giant geckos. Such is the island life.Read more