Central Bali

Today I had a wonderful tour of the 'center' of Bali from my homestay. So, the 'must-sees' in a few hours.
To avoid the crowds, we started with the Tegenungan Waterfall. In some travel blogs, it is still referred to as a 'secret waterfall' - forget about that. However, at 9 am, the number of people was still bearable.

What can I say: a waterfall, after all.

Impressive, no doubt, and I love the overall view of the waterfall and jungle.
There were designated selfie and photo spots, but I was in a good mood, so I let it slide.

Next on the list was the Butterfly Park, which was a bit unnecessary for me, but oh well. The entrance fee was significantly higher, but at least I got the only clean Western toilet of the day (even with toilet paper!).
When you visit a butterfly park in Germany, your glasses always fog up, right? Well, then you can imagine what the weather in Bali was like, as I didn't feel any difference at all.
The butterflies were all pretty to look at, with many colors and fluttering.
I found the largest moth in the world interesting: an individual lives only 5 days. They are born without a mouth and only live to reproduce.
Oh man, what a life...

After the butterflies, we visited two temples:
Goa Gajah 'Elephant Temple' was quite small and quickly visited. However, we could already notice that more tourists were around.
The other temple was Tirta Empul, which houses a holy spring. Well, that already annoyed me again.
The temple itself was comparable to others (except for a cool koi pond!), but the highlight was the spring. Of course, tourists are allowed to try the ritual in the springs, which has no significance for them and now serves for some nice photo opportunities.
Sorry for my pessimistic attitude, but I couldn't bear it.
In the afternoon, we visited a coffee plantation again, where I could try that delicious coffee once more. However, this time I didn't buy anything, as I can't bring too much back ;)

And then we were already at our last destination: the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. The largest in Bali and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The parking lot was packed, but in the terraces themselves, we encountered only a few people, as the average tourist was more interested in the swings and zip lines rather than simply enjoying the terraces.
I promise, I'll stop now!

Somehow there is supposedly a circular path through the terraces, but I kept taking wrong turns and ended up in rice fields, so I had to take the same way back in the end.
But boy, what a sight! I couldn't get enough of this greenery, with the jungle in the background... Sigh.
But I was sweating like crazy, the sun didn't shine all day, but the humidity was particularly bad, so we headed back to Ubud.

It was afternoon and I still hadn't eaten anything, so I took my beloved Campuhan Ridge Walk and walked 2km from Ubud into the rice fields. In a fancy cafe, I had a coconut and Cap Cay. Don't ask me what that is, something Indonesian.
I'll probably stroll around Ubud Market again, and then later, it's time to pack again. Tomorrow we're heading to the Gili Islands - away from rice fields, temples, and waterfalls, and towards tropical dream beaches and snorkeling. :D