Published: 04.07.2024
Today was our first change of location. The new base camp for the next 5 days is in the spiritual stronghold of Ubud, located in the center of the island. Our journey first took us to the Tanah Lot Temple. When I raved about the temple in my Uluwatu report, I didn't know how wonderful the complex in Tanah Lot is. So I would like to urgently advise anyone planning a trip to Bali: this temple is a must-see!
The temple is located on a rocky island that can only be reached at low tide. The sound of the surf, the view of the open sea and the coastline make a visit here something very special. This place welcomes visitors from all over the world, and this became particularly interesting for "lucky number seven" when we were approached by a group of young Sumatrans who wanted to have their photo taken with us. In the interest of international understanding, we were of course happy to agree and at the same time put the name of the SGD even more in the spotlight internationally. Central China naturally wanted to be in no way inferior to its little Asian brother and so our photo "dance card" filled up. There they were... our "15 minutes of fame." (Andy Warhol)
Indonesia is the fourth largest rice producer in the world. To see how it works on site, we decided to visit the rice terraces of Jatiluwih. The impressive terraced fields, which are still mostly cultivated by hand, are definitely worth a visit. We really enjoyed the walk here.
The next stop before our flight to Ubud was in the now foggy north of Bali. The mountain lake "Lake Baraten" with its temple is certainly one of the more crowded tourist destinations. In order to fulfill the duties of an objective foreign correspondent, we did not want to leave it unmentioned, but decided to just pay a courtesy visit here to fulfill our duty as a chronicler. A certainly beautiful temple (as far as we can judge), but really crowded and for us much less impressive than Tanah Lot.
To get in the mood for the earthy aura in and around Ubud, we then added a natural spectacle to the agenda in the form of the Leke Leke waterfall in the jungle of the highlands. A 15-minute march with what felt like 200 meters of elevation had already brought our circulation up to operating temperature. But the view at the end of the forced march was worth the effort.
In the evening we were finally able to move into our villa in Ubud. The private bar now has the next challenge in store.
With that in mind: Cheers!