Together Abroad: Bali: Part two

Day two: we headed to the highland of Kintamani. Along the way, we passed a few towns each held its own little charm. We stayed in Kuta, a town bustling with tourists as well as local traders always eager to sell their products to the tourist so much so that they only close their stores close to midnight. The town is also very Australia-nish (for the lack of a suitable word). You see tons of Billabongs, Roxy and Quicksilver stores around and a friend claimed that they have better varieties than Malaysia and a lot cheaper. oh, and if you think our local drivers are bad, wait till you get here. all the road rules and regulations, they don't apply here. Legian town is almost similar to Kuta albeit having higher end stores but still chaotic in a tourist sense. As the driver drove along Ubud, we made a few stops; first at the batik making and painting center, then the silversmith and lastly the wood crafting center. Of course along the way, you'll see the aforementioned finish products on display and ready to tempt those who are looking for Balinese handicrafts. We drove passed a few other towns and at this point, probably lose counts of the number of shrines and temples we saw along the way, the congested, overcrowded and chaotic town gave way to more pleasing scenery. As we headed up the narrow and winding road to Kintamani, on our right we got to see a beautiful landscape that revealed rolling hills, active volcanoes and Lake Batur, the biggest lake in Bali. Put three of them together and what we got was a breathtaking view. When Ketut Adhi mentioned that one can hike along the volcanic trails, I was almost kicking myself for not being able to do it. Maybe not on this trip anyway. We stopped by for lunch at Kintamani where they served some delicious banana fritters and made more delicious if you have it with sweetened condensed milk. The restaurant where we had our lunch overlook the beautiful landscape I mentioned earlier. After Kintamani, we headed down to a village that overlook the tropical forest of Bali and it was in this village where we had one of the most expensive coffees in the world, coffee luwak. and if you haven't heard of how this coffee is produced, you'll be 'interested'. Let's just say it involves a 'digested' coffee beans. From coffee, we went to Elephant Cave. Built in the 9th century, it was a sanctuary for those who would like to pray or meditate. If you look at the facade on the opening of the cave, it looks nothing like an elephant which made me wonder why was it called an elephant cave although, there was a statue of one of the Hindu Gods that resembles an elephant. The Balinese really respect their temples. A visitor to the temple would be given a sarong if you wear anything that is above your knee. Anything that is deemed spiritual would be clothed with sarong around it. for instance, you see a sarong around a tree trunk and you know that the local Balinese worship it to some extent. You see the small and square offerings everywhere. Goes to show how strong the practice of Hinduism here. The day winded down with a BBQ seafood dinner at Jimbaran and another trip to Starbucks. If you asked me, the dinner was nothing to shout about. But, it was an experience to have your dinner while your feet brushes the sand, the sound of the wave crashing to the shore, and the mosquitoes were having a field trip. Pictures in random orders.