Volcano, rice, temples and wave surfers – part II

We took our leave of the monkeys and continued the windy way toward the mountains of central Bali. The best thing when renting a car is, you can sleep in it if you can’t find a boarding house. You just stop and doze off. But not even a bungalow owner in Munduk could turn down four pleading girls to spend a night here. During the season it’s hard to find a sleeping quarters in small towns and the price can really rise – even 15€ or more per night (which doesn’t really fit the budget travel). Still, spending the night in Munduk, surrounded by volcanos, is worth every rupee.  The sunset sinking into the volcano lake is priceless. From Munduk we went trekking to a few volcanos and the morning walk to the waterfalls (near the town) is always a good choice for unexperianced hikkers, which still brings many joys of exploring the green inside of Bali.

Each village on Bali has at least three temples called pura, which in Sanskrit means a place surrounded by a wall. The first temple is dedicated to the founders of the village, the second to the spirits protecting the villagers and the third is the temple of the dead with a cemetery. Despite Indonesia being Muslim, Bali is dominated by Hinduism (about 93% of people), which is seen straight away, for the people of Bali daily bring gifts to numerous gods. There are quite a few temples on the island, worth a visit.  Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is a Hindu-Buddhist temple built on a lake among volcanos in the 17th century. Dedicated to the goddess of water it stands on little islands in the lake. The rule at the entrance might be surprising, for it prohibits women with menstruation to enter, for they are considered impure. You have to pay for entrance, but it’s not much. They never charge more than a Euro. It’s also worth to visit the temple of Pura Tanah Lot, especially during the sunset, which will bring forth romantic feeling in visitors. It’s the most visited and photographed temple on Bali and also the most crowded. A part of it is built on a rock in the sea and the other on shore. The people of Bali hold it in high regards, for there are many legends about it. A story says that if an unmarried couple comes here, the partners will end up divided as both parts of the temple are. We can’t deny nor confirm the legend, for it was only us girls, with no potential husbands around.

Southeast from Bali are three islands of – Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida. Boats leave there twice a day from Sanurju on Bali towards Nusa Lembongan. It’s a small island that attracts surfers and divers with many coral reefs around. Simple bungalow rooms are the only board. Nusa Lembongan conceals beaches you can see on postcards. White sand, torques sea, palms and a cocktail on the beach. 85% of people on this small, rarely populated island is collecting sea weed, which is dried on the beaches and sold. They are rich with substances used to make ice-cream thicker, cheese and other dairy products thicker. From the boat already, you can see the small gardens the locals made to grow sea weed. When the tide recedes you can walk among them. Nusa Ceningan, the smallest island, houses only a handful of people, who fish or raise sea weed. The Nusi Penidi, largest of the three islands, has some capacity for spending the night, but only a few people decide to visit. Probably because the island offers nothing but lazing on the beach. However, if you decide to visit these islands, you should carry enough cash with you, for there are not PTA machines there.

Surfers are constant visitors to Indonesia. There are more than 20 hot-spots for surfers on the south of Bali alone, where surfers can hit the waves every day. Some are so enthusiastic, they have the whole map of Indonesia tattooed on their body. From early morning, even after a drunken night, they go hire a scooter to pull them to the surfing waves. So us girls met three Americans from California,, who spend a few months each year on Bali, checking out where they can glaze the ice and ride the shiny tunnel. While waiting for real waves, they thought beginners such as ourselves by torturing us on the waves. They succeeded in teaching us how to catch a wave and another and another… and the feeling was fantastic!

Bali suffered a big shock during terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005, for tourists were avoiding this destination for a while. But not for long. Five years after the last attack Bali got the award for the best island in the Travel and Leisure magazine. The movie I already mentioned – with Julia Roberts walking down Ubuda and Padang-Padang beach, also did a great favour to the island. Less demanding travellers can live on 300€ a month on Bali, but there are also luxurious hotels here. Sport stores of all brand names are just around the corner and between them locals are trying to sell clothes, footwear and jewellery on stands, at much lower prices. For a real adventure you need to go around the island, decorated with volcanos, lakes, waterfalls, rice fields and numerous temples. Hospitable natives are not faking their hospitability and are the icing on the cake of beauty this island offer.