Kedi-vegas

Women bathing in the holy water
see all photos »

With our scooter loaded up again, we rode into the wide green yonder heading for the crater area of Ganung Batur. We knew it wasn't going to be a long ride so scheduled in a stop at Tirta Empul (Holy Spring Temple), our second temple. It is one of the six most important temples in Bali and the name signifies a crystal clear stream which is used as the holy water for various religious ceremonies. We entered through the locals entrance but were called back to pay the Rp6,000 pp entrance fee. Again there were beautiful carvings everywhere and good use of gold in some places. And of course there were the springs. Holy water poured into a long pool in which women were bathing, and we could see the springs bubbling up from underground in another pool. We declined the invitation to wash in the baths.

Ogah Ogah being prepared for Nyepi (see the next blog entry)
see all photos »

The road to the crater was an easy ride, but obviously uphill most of the way. We hoped our wee bike would handle it. The police stopped us for a routine licence and registration check - thank goodness for the $20 international drivers licence we had both bought before leaving NZ! A bribe would have been forked out otherwise.

A bribe would have been forked out otherwise

We reached the crater rim in Penelokan and were greeted with an amazing view. Below us was Danau (lake) Batur and in front of us was Ganung (mount) Batur. The area was formed by an eruption of an enormous volcano 30,000 years ago, so within the old crater is a lake and another volcano.

Mt Batur at sunrise
see all photos »

After sending off the old ladies trying to sell Sean t-shirts (he has too many at home!) we rode down into the crater to look for a bed for the night. On our way down the steep road, we wandered if the scooter would get us and our pack back to the top again. We didn't have long to test out our bike as we headed the wrong way around the lake and encountered not only monkeys but small, steep hills. We decided we'd be sweet. Back in civilisation we were lead to Hotel Surya in Kedisan where we got a room with breakfast for Rp30,000. Adrienne almost vomited after smelling the water when she was about to wash her hands. It was definately local water full of sulfur. No showers for us the next morning!

Detail of doorway in Tirta Empul
see all photos »

We had read about an easy, but more importantly for us, free, way to walk up Ganung Batur. Locals and a tourist agency run by the government offer sunrise walks that start at Rp300,000 pp, more than twice our daily budget for both of us! The only problem with this supposed free walk was getting to the starting point. The road got VERY rough and while it was exciting for Sean, Adrienne was digging her nails into his sides.

Worried about getting stuck on that road after nightfall, we headed back to the lakeside road and cruised to the end of the road where we found a temple. It was right up against the crater wall with lush foliage threatening to envelope it. Upon exiting we were almost convinced to take the 15 min walk up the crater wall. We were actually keen to do it, it's meant to have a great view, but we were asked for a "donation". By "donation" they meant anything above Rp20,000 without a guide. We decided it wasn't worth it, especially because half of the view was over the other side of the crater and clouds were creeping over from that direction.

Fish
see all photos »

We took a ride along the crater rim and got some good views on both sides (we were looking in a different direction) but after stopping for some dinner, we discovered how cold it can get but we still managed to get a beer in for St. Patty's Day!!  With ice breakers and long pants on, we still needed a Balinese coffee to warm us up before bed. It must have been, like, 20C! While drinking the coffee, a French couple were looking for a phone to call ahead to Ubud for what we thought was accommodation. As it turns out they were calling a restaurant to pre-order a dish that has to be ordered the day before, crispy duck!

Ganesh
see all photos »

Very early the next morning we rode up to the crater rim for the sunrise. It was cold, and not particularly spectacular, but we could imagine what it would have been like atop the higher point of Gunung Batur with a view over Bali and even to the neighbouring island of Lombok.