Northern Bali

Let's go to yoga - this time at "Yoga Barn". I had read a lot about it, but I didn't realize that it is such a large (really beautiful) facility. It is the opposite of Ubud Yoga House, but I still like it.

The 90-minute yoga class is perfect for the morning. But since the class lasted longer than expected, I have to hurry when we get back home. Eat Nasi, drink tea and coffee, shower and pack at the same time... because at 10 o'clock Nyomen comes to pick us up so that we can spend 2 days at his house in Tejakulla. I am as happy as a snow king when we finally see each other again after years.

We quickly discuss the route for today and decide. Visit the Jatiluwih rice terraces and the water temple on the drive north of Bali.

Just before we reach the rice terraces, it starts raining, and it's a little chilly anyway, so I think it's time to wear a thick sweater in Bali. Armed with umbrellas, we stroll through the terraces, talk about everything and anything, and can't stop laughing and marveling. Jatiluwih is Balinese and means 'beautiful'. And beautiful they are, the artistically landscaped rice terraces hewn into the slope of Mount Batukaru. Each meter of the rice fields, located at an altitude of around 700 meters, was created through hard work. For this, the soil had to be pounded and canals as well as locks for the sophisticated irrigation system had to be drawn through the hilly landscape. Besides rice, cocoa trees, beans, bananas, chili bushes, and lemongrass also grow on both sides of the path. In a small hut, a woman sells tea, we sit down next to her, Nyomen and Franzi play instruments, and I just listen😌.

We continue driving and stop at the picturesque temple complex Pura Ulun Danu Bratan or Pura Bratan - one of the most important water temples. It is located in the mountains at 1,200 meters on the west bank of Lake Bratan, surrounded by a magnificent landscape and the 2,020-meter-high Mount Bratan in the background.

The King of Mengwi had the temple Pura Ulun Danu Bratan built in 1663. The temple is dedicated to Shiva as the creator, but also has Buddha statues inside. The water of the volcanic lake is considered sacred and has healing powers. The Bratan Lake is used for both soul cleansing and ritual ceremonies for the Balinese goddess of lakes, rivers, and water, Dewi Danu. Many rice farmers from all over Bali come here to make offerings and sacrifices and to ask for sufficient water for the fields and a good harvest. The water from the lake also irrigates the numerous rice fields in the surrounding area. The temple complex consists of several shrines that have the form of multi-tiered pagodas. The main attraction is the two shrines located on two interconnected small islands.

It's also cold - from one second to the next, the temples are almost invisible because fog lies over the lake and therefore also over the temples. I knew why I still wear the thick sweater.

My throat is bothering me, it's scratching and I feel like I'm getting sick.

Before going to sleep - we finally arrived - I take a tablet right away and can only hope that the sore throat stays and that I spend the night sweating.

But also hoping to be fit at 6:30 am - we want to go to the market.

No tourists - no western faces - only locals are here.