Bali - Mount Batur

Friends of the early rising sun,

Actually, I'm more of a fan of the sunset than the sunrise, but I have to admit that I'm finding more and more positive things about the sunrise. In particular the opportunity to go hiking in pleasant temperatures of around 24 degrees. You can also watch the stars at night.

This is exactly why I joined a sunrise tour of Mount Batur. Included because my roommate chose exactly this tour. Unfortunately, the night was pretty short because I obviously didn't manage to go to bed in time after blogging - who would have expected that. After about 3 hours of sleep, the alarm clock rang at 1:30 a.m. - I don't want to say that I felt a brief dislike for this trip at that moment, but I did ask myself why I keep realizing such ideas.

After I was picked up by our tour guide while half asleep, we headed towards Mount Batur - with a few stops as we picked up various other tourists from various hostels and hotels. The journey to the first stop (breakfast) was already quite exciting as the driver of the bus didn't think the brakes were that necessary. Accordingly, we drove at high speed over potholes and past road users who were “too slow”. This worked until a particularly deep and wide pothole appeared, which the driver probably misjudged in the dark. Rombom and BÄM - the bus takes a hit and when we arrive at the breakfast spot at the foot of the mountain we already heard a persistent "pfffffffffff" at the back left - the tire is broken.

So while we were able to enjoy our baked and fried bananas by a small fire, the driver had to change the tire with a little help.

With a newly equipped bus and a slightly slower driving style (the driver has learned), we then went another 15 minutes to the bus parking lot. We were far from the last here and I was quite worried whether the mountain would be big enough for this amount of people. There were buses, jeeps and tour guides everywhere and we could already see countless lights on the hiking trail. We were given flashlights and breakfast and introduced to our two tour guides.

After the introduction round, we started walking on an asphalt road for about 30 minutes until we got to the entrance to the hiking trail.

Another 10 minutes on asphalt and 10 offers from locals on mopeds and motorcycles for a place on their two-wheelers later, we finally discovered the path where there were countless people but luckily no machines.

After a climb of about 1 - 1.5 hours, we reached a place with a few nice benches where we sat down and could watch the sunrise. It really was a dream setting and the weather cooperated too. Particularly exciting: The cloud bull is part of a larger thunderstorm front in which we repeatedly saw lightning flashing. It was truly a spectacle.

After the sunrise it gradually became empty and the locals (who were there on a Saturday morning) started to descend again. This gave our group the opportunity to walk to the summit and walk along the ridge a bit.

When I reached the top, I was greeted by my biggest fear in Bali so far - monkeys. There are several monkey forests and other attractions with the animals in Bali. However, there are several reasons why I won't visit any of these places:

1. Monkeys are damn smart
2. Monkeys are always hungry
3. Monkeys can transmit diseases
4. Monkeys are crazy fast and strong

These reasons combine to create the following scenario in my head: A monkey grabbing my phone and dropping it only in exchange for food. Or a monkey that grabs my hand and bites it unless I give it food in exchange for my hand and therefore my health.

So I kept some distance, didn't make eye contact, and put all my stuff away and tied my phone to my backpack. Nevertheless, some great photos were taken with the animals.

The Batur is still an active volcano and along the way there are always openings from which hot steam comes out. Some tour guides use these openings to cook eggs. That's why, unfortunately, there are eggshells lying around everywhere. Some locals clear and sweep the summit after every sunrise, but unfortunately there is still a lot of rubbish in this beautiful setting. Unfortunately, meals and drinking bottles conquered by the monkeys are also included.

After some exciting pictures and some time on the summit, we went down another path. The descent was quickly accomplished (except for the bit of asphalt - unfortunately that wasn't any fun). The guide taught me a new way to whistle and I also saw a real papaya and dragon fruit tree for the first time.

After a pretty tiring and relatively long ride home due to the traffic, we went back to the hostel. Here we had a really filling breakfast for mountaineers (included in the price, mind you), a shower and a short nap.

In the afternoon it rained cats and dogs from the sky. There was nothing to do here for 3 hours. I used this time for my blog. Afterwards we went to our favorite vegan local buffet and in the evening we strolled through the district a bit.

Back at the hostel I unfortunately had to gather my 7 (-sixty) things because I had to go on to Sidemen the next day.

All in all, it was a perfect day and I dared to do something that I was afraid of.

With this in mind: dare to do something and think of me. ;)

Your Britta