Tag 98 - botanical

06.08.19

Long time no scooter ride, so it's time again. We rent one directly at our accommodation for an unbeatable €3.30/day - because it's so convenient. Since the scooter is running low on fuel, our first stop is a 'gas station' (a roadside stand where 1-liter glass bottles are filled with fuel. €1 per bottle). We have been mostly by the water in the past few days and weeks, which is why we are drawn inland. So we climb a mountain range with our vehicle and enjoy the spectacular views that we occasionally get. After a while, we go downhill again and pass a big, famous temple for which we are unfortunately not dressed appropriately and, honestly, don't have enough motivation. The place is packed with tourists and guides. The temple is famous mainly for a photo motif, in which a person (often female, around 20 years old) stands/sits in front of a Buddhist gate and in the background you can see the Agung volcano. Here's an example:

(Source: Picdeer)

The water reflection is not caused by a lake or pond, but by a small bowl of water placed directly in front of the camera, giving the impression of a large water surface. Additionally, you have to wait in line for at least 15 to 30 minutes for such a photo. 'Not for us,' we think and continue on - our destination is a Buddhist garden with a koi pond and a sacred swimming pool.

We park our scooter at a restaurant and walk the remaining meters through a small tourist shopping street. On the right you can take photos with exotic animals. We only look for a few seconds and recognize: a yellow boa, a giant flying fox, two mini owls, and a big monitor lizard.

We pay for our tickets and spend the next hour walking through the very nicely arranged and incredibly colorful garden. It's quite crowded here too, but not too bad.

We leave the garden and make a short stop at a Warung for a snack.

Of course, we don't take the same route back, but this time we decide to take the road along the coast. Just before our accommodation, we stop again in the bay where we went snorkeling yesterday. We lie on a couple of beach chairs and doze off for a good hour.

After returning the scooter, we spend the rest of the day with unimportant things: withdrawing money, shopping, having dinner, etc.

- Alex