This morning we were able to take it easy. So, there was still time for a short walk on the beach before breakfast. The water was quite warm, but the dark beach made of lava sand didn't really invite us to swim.
At 9 AM we met our new tour guide Wayan, who will accompany us for the next two days.
He also explained the naming conventions in Bali: traditional Balinese first names are primarily given based on the order of birth. The firstborn is named Wayan, Putu, or Gede; the secondborn Made, Kadek, or Nengah; the thirdborn Nyoman or Komang, and the fourth child Ketut. Fifth-born children receive the name Wayan again. It does not matter whether they are boys or girls.
Our first destination today was the Buddhist Monastery Vihara Buddha.
After that, we continued to the hot sulfur springs Air Panas. The water is said to possess holy healing powers.
The actual spring
On our way up to the Bratan massif, the central mountain range on the island, we stopped at one of the GitGit waterfalls. Passing by the usual array of stalls here, we walked the short path to the approximately 30m high waterfall.
At about 1200m high, we finally reached Lake Bratan. There, we were met by pure tourist hustle and bustle. The destination of all the many people was the temple complex Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a very noticeable temple in the volcanic lake. The temple itself is indeed very beautiful, but much of what surrounds it is built for the many (especially Chinese) tourists.
Our tour then continued southward. Along the way, we also passed a Balinese funeral ceremony known as a mass cremation. At a specific time, several deceased are cremated together. This ceremony takes place every five years. The deceased may have died years earlier and were buried. Only a few bones are burned symbolically for the ceremony. Since this religious ritual is very expensive, multiple families work together for this.
Lunch was at a restaurant in Tabanan - with a wonderful view.Afterwards we drove on to the sea temple Tanah Lot. Here, too, it was crowded with tourists. The temple is beautifully situated on a small island off the coast.
The drive from there to Ubud, our overnight destination for the day, took about 1.5 hours. To avoid the rush hour traffic on the larger roads, we occasionally took very small side streets. However, I am not sure if that ended up being faster.
At the hotel, to our surprise, there was a voucher for dinner, which we of course were happy to redeem.
However, a bit strange are the room doors or the door lock: from the outside, there is a padlock and from the inside a wooden bolt. It doesn't quite fit with the rest of the ambiance...
Door lock from the inside - a wooden bolt
Statistics:
Distance traveled: 155 km Hiking: 10.2 km Accommodation: Hotel Sakti Garden Ubud
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