Cycling around rice terraces

When Alfred Russell Wallace (more about him later) first arrived in Bali in 1856, he wrote: 

"I walked out into the surrounding countryside to catch insects, shoot birds and spy out the nakedness or fertility of the land. I was both astonished and delighted as I had never beheld so beautiful and well-cultivated districts out of Europe. There are luxuriant rice-grounds, watered by an elaborate system of irrigation that would be the pride of the best cultivated parts of Europe."

The Balinese have obviously been cultivating their land for hundreds and hundreds of years. There is a trend for resort developers to offer a lot of money to the rice farmers for their land, so they can build more resorts. Mum and I think we stayed in last night might have been one of the resorts, because there were terraced rice fields all around it. We cycled to explored the local area - no tourists in this area, just locals and temples sprinkled everywhere. 

This was our balcony!

Easy to see epiphytes from the balcony!

Jungle Terraces Civets

We moved out of Ubud to a hotel in the jungle and in the hills. It's far away from anywhere. 

The view from our hut balcony is just jungle.

We explored the rice terracing and a coffee plantation, but the coffee place was mostly wanting tourists to buy. They were showing off the special coffee made by civets eating coffee beans, digesting them, and after they got rid of them, the beans are dried and roasted. We weren't interested because the civets were kept in small cages and were pacing up and down monotonously which is a sign they are distressed. There was a sign saying "Don't touch: these animals are aggressive" - of course they are, kept in cages like that.  I didn't even take a photo. 

Volcano climb - Mt Batur

Mt Batur is an active volcano. In 2009 it was throwing off ash but the last big eruption was in 1968. The caldera is filled with a huge lake (10 x 13 km), which we could see after sunrise from the summit.

We started walking at 3.30am, first through soft volcanic soils and jagged lava beds with scrub tufts but this was only for about 20 minutes. Then the climb started, a real climb! The gradient for many sections was about 70 degrees, which I could only guess by seeing the random dots of torches of other trekkers lining the route ahead of us. The star world was phenomenal, when we had a few 60 second rests we gazed up to see the twinkling.

Wayan led the way, I was behind him and Mum was behind me. We all stumbled on the large pumice pebbles and rocks, it was easier when I could lock my heel onto a sturdy rock . I actually found it easier to keep the momentum going, but Mum preferred a few little stops for water. Our backpacks only had cameras and water so at least we weren’t carrying extra kilograms.

Mt Batur is a sacred mountain and it was special seeing all the guides stop for a few minutes to pray to the mountain spirits on the way up. The spiritual world is part of everyday life in Bali.

Mum and I always travel with our hiking boots, and we really needed them this morning. Mum wondered what we would tick on the customs forms coming back to Australia?!?!!

At 4.30am Wayan said, trying to be encouraging, “in 20 minutes we will be half way”. Mum didn’t think it was encouraging! We kept climbing and scrambling upwards.

Mum explained how she saw the climb metaphorically. It’s important to have a vision or a goal (the summit) which can sometimes be challenging (the climb), but it’s also important not to get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the goal. Keep it in distant sight but focus on the now, and the few steps in front (it was actually all we could see because our torches only gave up a 0.5 metre radius of light). How every step counts, knowing you’re putting in the effort and are getting closer to the goal.

She also told me some idioms:

“put one foot in front of the other”

“don’t look too far ahead” – because in our case, you might fall off the path down the small cliffs.

Ok, so we reached the summit 20 minutes before sunrise. It was very cold at the peak but we were then given hot chocolate and coffee with condensed milk, AND hot boiled eggs – which were cooked in the hot steaming holes from the volcano!

Whilst we waited for the Earth to spin towards the Sun, we talked and listened to other trekkers. I loved the thought that we ALL had just climbed for 2 and a half hours, we were all huddled waiting for the Sun and we all came from different parts of the world (there were people from Guinea-Bissau, a country I’d never heard of before – in Western Africa, Korea, Japan, France, Columbia, China and of course, Australia!).

foreground: caldera lake, background: Mt Rinjani (Lombok)

Then the climb down, or rather it was a slide down. This was harder for me because on the way down there was nothing to lean into, going up I could slant my body on a 45 degree angle, but coming down I had to lean back 120 degrees for balance. The extra pressure on my knees was not comfortable, Mum's knees were a bit like jelly too!

Here are some photos coming down, obviously my photos going up would only be black!

one of the parasite cones (from an eruption later)

hot steam still come out from a vent

See the black? it's from the last lava flow & only rock now, no agriculture in this part

volcanic rich black soil

Start of the walk

this was the start of the climb (back on the way back)

Half way down - and already the summit is covered in cloud. 

Ubud

We stayed at an old Dutch Colonial hotel called Tjumpuhan, which was built in 1928 and home to an artist Walter Spies. It was so evocative because the surroundings were so spiritual with small temples draped in golden cloth, the square palm basket offerings of rice and flowers, in the lush, vibrant green valley. But what made it more special was because Mum and Grandma had stayed here 18 years ago.    

our beautiful room

Mum remembered Ubud even though she said it has changed a LOT, but she was determined to have dinner at little restaurant “just over the bridge” near the Tjumpuhan hotel. So we walked .. down to the bridge, but the bridge wasn’t there! Mum kept saying “it can’t be much further” and we kept walking. After half an hour Mum commented “hmmm, I don’t remember it being this far” and we kept walking. After 40 minutes walking through tiny dark streets Mum exclaimed, “Oh, I think it’s the other way!”. A lovely Balinese man sitting on his porch saw us, and drove us back to the hotel (it was about 3km!), we then turned left – and found the bridge 3 minutes from Tjumpuhan!!!

We did have lunch the next day at the courtyard restaurant (where Mum and Grandma also ate), more mee gorang and gado-gado!

Lombok to Padang Bai

Mum changed the boat booking from Lombok to Padang Bai (Bali) because she looked at trip advisor. 
The reviews were terrible where someone posted "go with this company if you want to risk your life!" Mum found a company that had better reviews and cost more but mum said this could probably mean they service their boats and pay the captains properly. 

We grabbed a taxi to the port, but it wasn't a port I was expecting. The check-in "office" was a fold-up table and the "office" equipment was only a mobile phone, pencil and paper! We were told to get there an hour before leaving but I don't know why because we just sat near the beach, it was good chatting with other passengers such as the French family who live in LA and the Singaporean family. 

last breakfast view in Lombok

the check-in desk at the port

We were very lucky to have good weather, it wasn't windy and the waves weren't high. It took 90 minutes to cross the Lombok Strait which is the deepest part of the ocean in the area. 

We then drove for an hour up the mountains to Ubud. 

waiting

our bags were put on the boat 

Lombok Strait

Snorkelling Gili Nanngu

I was surprised when our boat anchored and dispatched us on the south western Gili islands as they were obviously not a tourist destination. 

I jumped into the waves off the salt worn boat being careful not to bump my head (which mum did numerous times), on to the remote isolated Gili Nanggu. Taking in my surroundings, Mum and I were then only ones, well the only tourists there. We practically had the whole island to ourselves!

CORAL REEFS

Coral reefs need lots of sun, warm sea temperatures, shallow waters and few nutrients in the ocean water. The gilis around Lombok certainly have sun and warm seas.

Coral polyps have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae (tiny plant like organisms) which live in the cells of polyps where they can get sunlight. The zooxanthellae use the light for photosynthesis and produce food. The coral gets the food and the zooxanthellae gets sunlight and protection. This is what a symbiotic relationship means when both benefit. It’s a bit like Mum and me this trip – I get to see a spectacular coral reef underworld and Mum gets to enjoy spending time with me, we both benefit ! haha!

If the water is too deep or is clouded with nutrients (like pollution) the sunlight wouldn’t reach the coral and zooxanthellae wouldn’t be able to perform photosynthesis and the coral die.

Fringing reefs develop when coral polyps attach themselves to the hard surfaces at the edge of the island. Over thousands and thousands of years the colony grows  and forms a fringing reef. A lagoon happens between the island the reef.

Enough of fringing reefs, back to the fish & coral we saw today.

Mum & I had sand breaks between snorkeling, which means sitting on the sand. Mum then did a walk on the shoreline because I wanted to take some photos of her!

“Fish are friends, not food” (remember the Shark to Nemo?), but the tender fresh flesh that just flaked off from the just caught lunch .. well I  soon forgot that mantra! 

 Lunch on another tiny island, cooked by locals.