11.01.2018 Day 5

Good day dear participant!
Today is going to be an exciting day! We plan to visit a Buddhist monastery in Buleleng and the Banjar Hot Springs.

So we set off around 10:00, a bit tired from the previous evening, to the monastery. We reach the monastery about half an hour later. Ngurae is our local guide today. For those wearing shorts, beautiful colorful sarongs are already available. A sarong is a sarong skirt made of a piece of fabric. It is widely worn in South Asia and the South Pacific mainly by males. So, it's a skirt for men.

We explore the different temples and shrines, pray for our families, our own happiness, and meditate in the holiest shrine. Of course, we also take pictures which can be found here.
It is a place that radiates absolute peace and tranquility. It smells of fragrant incense, with colors of flowers and tree blossoms everywhere, pleasant warm air surrounding you... Jungle stretches around the temple compound, and looking north, you can see the beach with the endless sea that fills the entire horizon.
One flower has caught my attention. The white one I am wearing behind my right ear. It is called Jepun in Indonesian. Five white petals with a yellow color in the center. The end of the flower is slightly sticky, so it doesn't easily fall off. I suppose that the tree the flower comes from has evolved for this specific purpose. Very practical 😉. This tree only exists in Bali (excluding those that have been exported).

We spend about one and a half to two hours there. Once again, too little time for such a beautiful place. But the clock of capitalism never stops, so we head back home to recharge for the hot springs.

It takes us about 20 minutes to get to the hot springs. The hot springs are located at the base of Mount Batur. The water is sulfuric, giving it a slightly yellowish color. But before I can get into the water, I need to buy swimwear first. So I go with Ngurae to a small shop run by a woman who immediately starts talking hectically about everything I "could" need... from pants to shirts, sarongs, swim trunks, kimonos, underwear, and who knows what else...

Actually, I only wanted to buy swim trunks, but the items looked so nice! With patterns, many bright colors, and OH MY GOD with GOLD!!! (I love gold)
I couldn't resist. And so I leave the store with swim trunks, three shirts, and four pants...
Which of course was a mistake because suddenly, women come out of nowhere and try to sell me more clothes. The saleswomen are very persistent. But after a few minutes and a few "no thank yous", I manage to break free from the crowd and finally jump into the sulfuric waters. The others have been enjoying themselves there for a few minutes already.
But there's no time to relax. Just as my foot touches the water, Nadine comes towards me with a waterproof GoPro and asks if I can record the girls frolicking around.
Since I can't resist beautiful women, I agree and film them for a few minutes.
Then I return the camera to her and swim around in the pool a bit. The water is pleasantly warm. According to the Japanese, sulfuric water is good for the skin. I'm not so convinced, but you can't deny that the warmth of the water feels good. But even now, there is no time to relax because who do I meet in the pool? Of course... German backpackers who engage me in a conversation. After shaking them off after a few minutes, Ngurae calls us out of the water to go home. (I think I will come here alone again to relax).

As if the women had sensed my presence, they attack me as soon as we leave the facility and try to sell me more clothes. And so, I buy another shirt, way too expensive, and peacefully make my way to the taxi. The girls were already waiting eagerly in the car because the female company was hungry and wanted to quickly get back for dinner. (At this point, I wanted to write "female company" as "Weibsvolk", but one of the editors of this text did not agree with the wording. Political correctness applies to Germans even abroad 😉)

After dinner, we go to the Funky Place with the Americans around 20:00 because the four of them are leaving on Saturday. I sit at the table with the Americans and Maike. At first, I find it difficult to follow the conversations because of the background noise and the accent, but that goes away after a few minutes. We liven up the evening with fun drinking games. After a few gin and tonics and detox smoothies, we are ready for the beer pong table. Throughout the game, I am not hitting anything. But it remains a close competition with both teams having only one cup left. To Molly, I say: "I think I only need more aiming water," drink my last gin and tonic in one go, throw the ball, and sink it into the last cup. A wave of euphoria washes over me. (I'm telling you: Gin and tonic is the best!).
But it's already 23:30. So we pay for our drinks and head home. Until now, this has been the best and most eventful day. Let's see what the next days have in store.

Selamat tinggal!