Year-end Bali holiday - Instalment 3

Day 5. S has stubbed his two a couple of days ago, while swimming in the pool. It starts hurting like crazy and we decide we should get it looked at. I’m afraid it’s broken, because he’s done it before, on our Thailand trip. Our car and driver arrive to ferry us on a day of roaming around the highlands of Bali, but in typical Indian/Asian style, the doctor doesn’t show up on time. We are told – He’s very close by, another 5 minutes....he’s just around the corner etc....Anyway, he finally arrives, a smart dapper little man who impresses us big-time with his competence until he names his price. A whopping 120 USD for fixing a stubbed toe!

Having paid up the high price for my husband’s general clumsiness and bumbling incompetence in the pool (!!), we heave ourselves into the car and head towards Mount Batur. Today we have Pablo, by far the most funny and entertaining guide we have ever encountered. He speaks fluent English and is very good about telling us where we are going, the villages we are passing through, interesting features of the landscape etc besides giving us a good grounding in Balinese architecture, religion and social life. He turns out to be a major (if dated) Bollywood fan. He tells me that his brother lives in Mumbai. I am puzzled and ask him what does he do? He says he's an actor. I smile and ask "Oh really? What's his name?". He says in all seriousness "Shah Rukh Khan" and immediately starts laughing uproariously. He thinks Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is one of the best films of all time and is thrilled when S can play some of the movie songs on his iphone. I think we made his day :)

Mt Batur and Lake Batur are beautiful and we click lots and lots of pictures. The highlight is having our very first cup of Kopi Luwak coffee, something S protested that he would never touch but he ends up being the person who loved it. I like it too, it's less full-bodied than I'd like but flavourful nevertheless. 

Lake Batur in the foreground, Mt Agung in the background

Another one of Lake Batur

Mt Batur, apparently an easy climb for sunrise-catchers

The civet

Snake-skin fruit, looks a little iffy but quite tasty - a mix of pineapple and apple flavours

Coffee, cocoa and tea samples

Bali is very picturesque. Our lunch with a view looked over this....

and this....

Enroute to our next port of call, Ubud, we visited the Holy Spring temple, which was so much like Indian temples.

Bathing in the tank/holy spring

Prayers

Offerings

Can you name the Gods?

Inside the inner circle/sanctum sanctorum

Over to Ubud...this is what you get for USD 150 a night....a lovely comfortable duplex with massive bathrooms, one of them with open windows looking out over the Monkey Forest!

Bathroom #1

Porch downstairs - we used to have a lot of meals here

The porch upstairs

Bedroom

Large bath upstairs

The view while taking a shower :)

My best moment in Bali? When S walked into our home for the next 3 days in Ubud and said - This time, you've cracked it. Completely. Awesome job.

He's the kind of guy who is very stingy with praise, so when he says you've done an awesome job, rest assured you have :)