Day 9: From Java to Bali

Once again, we couldn't sleep in - promptly at 7 AM, we stood with our things at the bus. The journey went to the highlands of Kalibaru.

At a spice farm, we were able to see all the plants grow that we only knew from the spice shelves in supermarkets: pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, cloves, and also ginger, lemongrass, and turmeric as well as coffee and cocoa. We were also shown how coconut flower sugar is made - from cutting the coconut flowers high up in the palms (of course, climbing up is done without any safety) and attaching the collection containers to cooking it for caramelization and drying. Each plant had a brief explanation, and sometimes also a smell or taste test. In the end, each of us received a figure braided from coconut leaves and a hair accessory.

Then we continued to Ketapang. We had lunch in a restaurant right by the sea.

Afterwards, we went to the ferry terminal. At 2:15 PM, we took the ferry over to Bali. The crossing took about an hour. Due to the time difference (it is one hour later in Bali), we arrived there at around 4:15 PM local time.

Our tour then took us along the northern coast of the island. The first part of the route went through a forest. There, several monkeys sat by the roadside waiting for something edible.

As we continued through the towns, we noticed the many shrines in front of the houses. Our guide explained to us that 80% of Bali's population is Hindu (as opposed to Java, where 80% are Muslim; there are a total of 5 state religions). Hindus must, when building a house, have at least 3 shrines for the three Hindu gods Shiwa, Wishnu, and Brama. Some of these are very impressive structures. Additionally, there must be a wall around each property, sometimes with correspondingly large gate arches.

Due to the road and traffic conditions, the drive from the ferry to the hotel took quite a while, so we only arrived at the hotel around 7 PM. There, we had to say goodbye to our guide and driver - starting tomorrow, another travel guide will accompany us in Bali.

After we settled into our rooms, we had dinner right on the beach.

Statistics:
Driven: 205 km
Walked: 3.8 km
Overnight stay: The Lovina Hotel