Bali - Ubud & Mount Agung

After breakfast, we continued to Ubud by taxi. Ubud was already our favorite in March/April. Upon arrival in Ubud, we checked into our bungalow, only 100m from Ubud Market. After lunch, we went straight to the market. There we did a lot of shopping and of course haggling. I bought a handheld fan, a dress, and Padi bought a tank top. All for a total of 8 €. In the evening, we went out for a fancy dinner and then to a shisha bar with live music.

For the next day, we rented scooters. For me, it was the first time riding a scooter where I wasn't the passenger. After a few initial difficulties, it went pretty well. The Indonesian traffic is also quite chaotic. The first stop was at the famous rice terraces, where we also had a second breakfast. After taking what felt like 1000 photos, we continued towards Batur. In Batur, there is the second largest temple in Bali and you get a view of Mount Batur and Mount Agung. We also made a stop at a coffee plantation. There, we tried different types of coffee and tea. The highlight was the 'cat poop coffee', where animals eat the coffee beans and a special coffee is made from the excreted bean. It was definitely an interesting experience, but we didn't buy anything. Finally arriving at the temple, we had a great view of Mount Batur (which we climbed in March). Mount Agung was completely obscured by its smoke clouds. However, we saw impressive pictures of it from the locals. The ash cloud became stronger and a storm was approaching. We quickly made our way back, a 1 1/2 hour journey, and had to take shelter a few times along the way because the streets were flooded and the storm was too strong. Completely soaked, we took a warm shower and then went for the best massage in the world. We ended the evening with cold drinks from the supermarket.

We hope that Mount Agung calms down and doesn't erupt again (last eruption was in 1963/64). At least this time, the direct residents have been evacuated and are currently living in shelters in temples in Ubud. The locals believe that nothing will happen and it's all over. After visiting there yesterday, we got a different impression. In the end, we could hardly breathe due to all the ash.