bali or bust

Today is our final day in Ubud. Tomorrow we head of to Sanur for another week. Got up early and went for a walk on the Campuhan Ridge walk. From the hotel is was a 10 minute walk. The entrance is tricky to find, however, with some help from google i found it ok. After a few twists and turns and across a bridge the walk opened up to a winding track high on a ridge surrounded by long lush grass. The sun was coming up and it felt great walking in this lovely setting. After 1/2 hour i turned around and came back. Great way to start the day.

Had breakfeast at hotel restaurant and then when into ubud for one last time. Gee it was hot. After yesterday's rain the humidity has gone through the roof. Walked around for a while then decided to head back to hotel and chill. Met the hotel manager Surinda for the first time. He had been unwell as of late so we had not met him. Lovely man and he offered us a free meal at restaurant tonight. Score! Had a swim in the hotel pool and relaxed for a while. Then the clouds started rolling in and it started raining. Decide today would be an alcohol free day so watched a movie from the big pile of dvds the hotel supply.
Time for dinner so we headed to hotel restaurant for our final dinner in Ubud. Had a lovely meal thanks to Surinda and the Gaja Biru staff. Back to our room for an early night. Tomorrow is a new adventure as we head to Sanur.

Another early start. Today we are heading to Mt Batur lake for canoeing. Were picked up by our guides Sibran and Rachel. They run c.bali tourism which does canoeing, cycling and cultural tours at Mt Batur which is the volcano i climbed yesterday. We headed off and our first stop was at the tegalallang rice fields which are a beautiful collection of rice fields which have become a big tourist trap. Around these lovely rice fields are restaurants and shops selling tourist stuff. We got there early so nothing had opened and we got to enjoy the view without the show.

Then onto mt batur. Stopped at the top for a view of the lake that we would be canoeing on. Rachel gave some info on the lake and when the volcanos had erupted. You can still see where lava spilled down from the last eruption in the 60s. Beautiful view of the lake and volcanos on either side.
Then down to the lake for a quick breakfeast, banana pancakes, then we got sorted to hit the lake. Sibran came out with us to the lake. Jen and i carried our canoe down to the lake and after a quick brief by Sibran we were off. We were confident about doing the lake on our own so Sibran gave us a meeting place and time and we set off. Great experience to be paddling across this big lake surrounded by volcanos. Had a good look at where i had climbed the day before. Cant believe i did it when we looked at it from the lake. Spent the 1 1/4 hours just cruising around and taking it all in. This is what travelling is all about. We met up with Sibran near a temple on the lake. He told us about the history of the temple and the villages around the lake. Felt great just sitting there in the middle of this lake. Bit more of a paddle then we headed back. Awesome!

Back at base we were treated to lunch. Fresh fish from the lake, rice and salad. Delicious fish and salad. Sibran and rachel joined us and we enjoyed the food and scenery.
Another great experience in bali. Had our last look at this beautiful view then hopped back in the car and back to the hotel. Said our goodbyes and back to our room. Then the clouds came over and the rain came down. It was nice to sit on our verandah with a few beers and watch the rain come down.
Rain stopped and it was time for some dinner. Decided on Cupit Warung we had visited the other night. The ribs there where awesome and tonight they have live music so off we went.
As predicted the ribs were excellent and the music was good. The local guys played covers of radiohead, inxs, crowded house and many others. Had many drinks good food and a good sing. Excellent night. Back up the hill to our hotel with our wobbly boot on. Tomorrow is our last day in Ubud then onto Sanur.

Alarm went off at 1.30am and jumped out of bed ready for my volcano hike. Got ready and met driver at the front of hotel. Off we went stopped to pick up a young couple from melbourne. It was strange to be driving through ubud with no traffic. 45 minutes of driving and we stopped for breakfeast. There were anout 30 people from different tour groups doing the same. Then it was onto the volcano. Arrived and met our guide a young fellow, again cant remember his name, and we set off. He told us he does this everyday. Has not had a day off for 3 months. We set of into the darkness with our guide and our torches leading the way. The start of the walk was nice and gentle through light forest and very flat. After 15 minutes we hit the base of the volcano and this is when the fun started. For the next 1hour we climbed up a very steep goat track covered in loose volcanic rock. Lots of large jagged rocks mixed with loose stones. It was a hard walk and the fact we were in darkness did not make it any easier. Finally made it to the top! Or that is what we thought. Our guide informed us still had another 25 minutes to go. Lets go. The track now turned into an even steeper track but replacing the large jagged rocks was loose gravely volcanic rock which caused your feet to slid all the time.
While walking up this part we came across a group of english girls who we struggling with the walk. Up ahead i see one girl throw her torch on the ground and yell "this is f*****" As i passed another she yelled "i came to bali to find myself not do this s***" We quickly moved pass them and we could hear swearing in the distance. I pity the guide.
Made it! Our guide lay some grass mats on the ground so could watch the sunset. He made some banana sandwiches ,boiled eggs and a cup of tea. Just then the clouds rolled in and the top of the volcano was covered in cloud. This is how it stayed until the sun came up. Bummer. This is why we climbed this volcanic. The guide said that we should move to a different part of the volcano. Good move the clouds lifted enough for us to see this great sight. We had missed the sunrise, however, we could now see the giant crater. It was awesome. While still shrouded in some cloud we were able to see the volcano in all its glory. After half an hour of looking around the volcano we headed down. Getting down was quicker and a lot easier in the sunlight. Got to see what we had crawled up and the great views we missed in the dark. Made it down safely and we were all buzzing from our experience. Bummed about not seeing the sunrise, however, loved everything else. Bucket list moment.


Back in the car for the trip back to the hotel. Got back to find Jen kicking back on our balcony having had nice a sleep and a lovely breakfeast.
Was famished so went to Mesari warung only a few minute walk next to a rice paddy. Excellent food.
By now my legs were aching so i went to hotel spa for a foot and leg massage. 30 minutes of bliss. I floated out of there feeling like i could climb a volcano (well maybe not). Time to relax with a few bintangs and rest my old weary body.
Zzzzzzz needed that nap. Woke up feeling a little groggy but not to sore. Made our way to a local bar for a couple of happy hour cocktails then back to hotel for an early night. Have got our canoeing expedition tomorrow.

Another good nights sleep. Breakfeast at the hotels restaurant good as usual. Then getting the hotel shuttle into Ubud town. Our main port of call today is the monkey forest. As you can imagine this is a forest full of monkeys. The breed of monkeys are known as balinese longtailed monkeys (macaque). The forest is a sacred site and as well as the monkeys there are temples in the grounds which can only be accessed by locals. There are about 600 monkeys living in the forest. The forest is a dense jungle with paths throughout for tourists to see the monkeys in action. You need to make sure you take off any hats, glasses ,jewelery etc which the monkeys can grab. If they decide to jump on you they will grab anything loose. We saw a couple of people freak out when monkey jumped on them, however, this was because they had food. Once the monkey got the food they were off. It was very hot and steamy in there and of lot of bugs. We enjoyed getting up close to the monkeys, however, we always kept out distance. Cool experience and a must do if in Ubud.

After the monkey action we had a wander through the streets Ubud looking at some shops. Stopped for a cool drink.
Then it was time for some lunch. One thing Bali is famous for is its suckling pig. Being a big fan of the oinker i knew we had to visit the famous warung babi guling ibu oka 3, translated into place where they sell heaps of suckling pig for you to eat, i think. We found the place in a back alley, very secret stuff. The menu was not huge just paying homage to all things suckling pig. We decided on the special, a bit of everything, fried pork and 2 large bintangs. We have stopped ordering the regular bintangs and go for the long necks, who are we kidding. I liked the fried pork and jen enjoyed the veggie serving and the pork white meat. One bummer was the lack of crackling. One little bit of crackling. WTF! We did enjoy it and have decided to visit again before we leave ubud. Next time we know what to focus on.

While at the restaurant jen made a new friend.

Then back to the hotel from some rest (code for bintangs and a swim in the pool).
I love being on holidays and the biggest decisions you need to make are when i should have a drink, anytime, and when i should eat. Decision time. Didnt feel like going to far. Check out mr tripadvisor for help and bingo. A restaurant within 3 minutes walk. Bajus kitchen.
Jen and i made our way the 3 minutes and stumbled across a restaurant full of pensioners. Not that there is anything wrong with pensioners just... they had a band playing dire straits sultan of swing. Love the song... menu was mainly indo. I ordered mie goreng and jen ordered ma s soup? If ma was in the kitchen i couldnt see her. Meals artived and all was good, as the band launched into a credence song, cant remember name. Food was tasty and hit the spot. Couple of bintangs and time for home. Have to get up early for volcano walk. Later.

Early rise this morning for our cooking class. Our driver was on time and we set off to our cooking class at the bali organic farm cooking school. Driver was very cautious so we travelled at a slow pace which suited us. We were waiting for him to pick up others, however, to our joy we realised we were the only ones doing the class, happy days!
First stop was a local market were we met up with our guide/cooking instructor Made. Nice young fellow in mid 20s. He took us around the market showing and sampling different foods. Lots we knew and lots we didnt. Asian markets are dominated by women who push and shove , with a smile, their way through the markets to get what they need. I coped a few shoves in the back and turned around to a smiling 45kg lady on a mission. Move out of the way or else, with a smile.
Next it was on to the cooking class. We made our way out of ubud and into rural bali. This is more like it. Rice fields and jungle for the next 30 minutes. Through some windy roads and down a dirt track and we here.
The bali organic farm cooking school is as the name says an organic farm which also does cooking classes. This place is beautiful. It has been an organic farm for over 40 years and doing cooking classes for 3 years. Made took us on a tour through the farm. While he talked about the different foods and techniques they use on the farm we collected food which we would use in our cooking. This place is a little slice of heaven.

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After the tour it was time for cooking. All the food we picked was prepared by Made assistant and we got into it. Our cooking area was a large covered area with work stations for up to 12 people. We were to make 6 courses. 5 meals and desert. For the next 2 hours we chopped, sliced, diced, boiled, fried, bbq and ate our way through some amazing dishes. Wont go into each meal, pictures below, but we enjoyed each and every one of them. Quick highlights. Jen was tuna sambel matah and mine was bali sate lilit (satay skewers). AWESOME!

With our tummys and hearts full of good feelings we said goodbye to bali organic farm cooking school. Great experience and would do it again in a heart beat. After saying boodbyes we headed back to ubud. Back at the gajah biru for some afternoon bintang action.
Got our hunger back after a few beverages and decided to hit cupit warung bbq which has a good reputation for ribs. Being a person who loves some carcass i thought this would be perfect. A short walk from our hotel and we were settled in with more alcohol, this is a recurring theme, and a plate of ribs each. Excellent ribs falling off the bones with some great bbq sauce. Managed to devour mine and some of jens. Sometimes i love that jen cant eat as much as me. We will revisit this place next when they have some live music.
End of another day.