We were picked up by our driver / guide at 8am - Nusa Dua is all the way south to Bali and there is a lot of traffic - cars and scooters - so it can take three hours to get from south to north - but here on Sunday morning the traffic was not so bad. The plan for the day was to visit some temples in the middle of the island, see the volcanoes in the northern part - and along the way also see rice fields and a coffee / cocoa plantation.
We started by driving towards central Bali. When we got to the rice areas north of Denpasar we stopped and saw how the rice fields are planted, and irigating systems for watering. Rice can be harvested every 3 to 4 months depending on the variety. Impressive to see how the irrigation of the fields was controlled from much water at planting and only moist at harvest.
The water is both rainwater, river water and water from natural sources on the island. In Bali, rice is eaten morning, noon and evening - the guide said that a family of 6 people consumes 1.6 kg of rice a day - thoughtful when only about 1/2 kg of rice is harvested per day. square meter 3-4 times a year.
The tour continued to Gunung Kawi Temple, one of Bali's oldest and most important monuments. This river valley complex consists of ten large shrines (candi) carved out of cliffs. Each candi is believed to be a memorial to a member of the Balinese royal family in the 11th century. Access to the valley and sanctuary is via a steep 300-step staircase - it was a warm walk with sunshine from a cloudless sky !!
Only a 5 minute drive from Gunung Kawi Temple, we reached the Tirtha Empul Temple, which dates back to around 960 AD. Tirtha Empul means "holy water" and refers to the water source that originated in the temple. The water runs into various baths and fish ponds. In the bathrooms, Balinese of all age groups come to "cleanse" themselves. From the baths and fish ponds, the water is passed on to the rice fields and the river. It was Sunday and there were many locals participating in various rituals in the baths as well as sacrificing gifts in the temple.
On the next trip we stopped at Dewi Agrowisata - a coffee, chocolate and spice plantation.
On their way to the temple
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We got tastings on coffee, cacao and various kinds Ginger, hibiscus, mangosteen and lemongrass. We also tasted Luwak coffee, which is a coffee delicacy and very expensive coffee. It is characterized by the fact that the coffee beans have passed through the digestive system of a Luwak. The Luwak eats the coffee beans, but only the outermost shell - the rest, ie the coffee beans themselves, go undigested through the animal's system - but on the way there is a fermentation of the beans. Then the animal faeces are collected, the undigested, fermented coffee beans are cleaned and processed and eventually sold as a very expensive gourmet product. The plantation belonged to a small shop where they sold their products - we bought coffee beans - ordinary Arabic beans, cocoa, mangosteen tea and dark chocolate.
Further north we stopped overlooking two active volcanoes. Bali has a total of three major volcanoes, of which Gunung Agung is the highest and right now in eruption - we could not see the peak of clouds, but could clearly see the three craters on the Batur volcano and the solidified lava flows from the eruptions that have been there.
Now we drove back south where we stopped at Tegalalang - an area north of Ubud, with very beautiful rice fields on the slopes. Impressive to see the many rice terraces and how the water is led down through the terraces. Further through Ubud we stopped at a wood carver and saw traditionally Balinese wood carving / art - our driver is trained wood carver and worked as such before switching to the job as driver / guide. At 4 pm we were back at the Marriott Nusa Dua Garden, got a few hours by the pool. For the evening we ate Thai noodles with chicken, shrimp, bean sprouts and tofu - very tasty. A long day with lots of impressions and well tired we went to bed.
