Bali, Indonesia

Back on the ground, the heat consumed us and we needed to cool off. The Orlando’s (as we call them), had plans to visit a beach we hadn’t heard of, and open for suggestions, we accepted their invitation to join them. We made it to Pemuteran Beach late in the evening, with no room booked and a little idea of what to do. Hungry, we found a restaurant to fill our bellies and figure out a plan. Megan had introduced me to the best meal ever, gado gado, the prior evening as we enjoyed a bug dinner before our big hike. Fully obsessed by this time, we both ordered it, extra spicy and extra saucy, and devoured every last bite. It’s super simple, steamed veggies, most commonly cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, sometimes spinach, and sprouts, all doused with incredible peanut sauce and topped with tofu, tempeh, and/or hard-boiled egg. Sometimes with rice, sometimes without, always incredible. “Gado Gado” became our joke of choice, like “Oh my GADO GADO” or “Gado gado go!”... It was super fun to have a girl friend again!!

Pemuteran beach is on the northern coast of Bali. The area is undergoing a reef restoration, where large metal structures are placed in the ocean to attract coral and marine life to grow on, in, and around the frames to help regrow the reef. It’s extremely important work, as the intense speed at which the world’s coral reefs are deteriorating is frighteningly fast. We rented masks and spent the day looking at the marine life. My favorite structure was the Buddha and a giant metal dolphin nearby was a close second. The sea-life had already started to consume the frames. I can only imagine how beautiful they will look once completely covered in colorful coral, bright little fishes and createures weaving through their new home and playground.

Sadly, this isn't my photo. No underwater camera for these travelers. But it's a beautiful shot!

If you've never seen a piglet run, you're missing out. It's the best ever.

Megan and Orlando left the following day to meet a friend who was visiting them while they traveled and left before the sunrise. We had plans to meet up again in a few days, so although sad to see our new friends go, we looked forward to meeting again soon.

We moved east along the north Bali coast, stoping in Lovina, which was recommended as one of the top 10 best Bali beaches. I’d love to do some source checking, as we opted to aoid the beach and the dirty water. The vendors were ruthless, very aggressive and persistent, becoming upset with every lack of purchase. We spent the first day scoping out the area and avoiding death-by-angry-vendor and spent the night in a barely mediocre room. We switched early the next morning, negotiating a great rate the day before. It was probably the nicest place we’ve stayed; the room itself was fairly decent, but the grounds were gorgeous. A huge pool, plenty of beautiful gardens, and a basic restaurant served a simple and tasty breakfast. Unfortunately, we didn’t enjoy any of that. We checked in very early, rented a motor bike, and spent the day driving around the north of Bali, stopping at a few sites a local man had recommended during the ferry ride over from Java, where we climbed Mt. Bromo.

Our first stop was through the winding hillside, a decent climb to a trailhead that would lead us to the double waterfall. We parked the bike earlier than any other trekkers, and started our way to the path. A cute blue jumper caught my eye, and we stopped at the roadside shop for a look. I wasn’t totally convinced I loved it, and my long torso proves difficult to fit in little Asian rompers. I wasn’t convinced.

“You try on! Look good on you!!”

“Oh, ok. I’ll try.” Giving a charades performance of “my torso is often to long for these things and this may look awful.” She just smiled.

“Ooooo! Look nice on you!”

Will’s face told a different story.

“What? It’s bad?”

“It’s ok… it’s kind of weird.”

“Well it’s a romper. Of course it’s a little weird. It’s like a onesie for an adult.”

A few akward photos later, I still wasn’t conviced I wanted it, especially for the 250,000 Indonesian Rupiah asking price, almost $20.

I eventually decide it wasn’t for me, and we walked away. And the woman followed.

“NO! You first customer, I need to sell for luck. I need lucky money! I give you for 200,000.”

“Oh, no thank you! I am sorry. Thank you!”

“Ok ok, 150,000!”

“I’m sorry… no thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Have a nice day! Thank you!" I can't say much else in Indonesiand besides 'thank you' and 'spicy'.

“100,000!”

This continued in an awkward and almost humerous charade until finally at 50,000 I looked at Will, laughing, and said “at least if I don’t like it, it’s a good story and was only $3.”

We bought the romper and continued toward the path. The woman was so friendly, and although decently pushy, wasn’t rude. We could have walked away numerous times, but we both felt too bad. She had followed us to the next shop over, determined to make her first sale of the day. She believed it would be bad luck to have her first customer walk away without a purchase. She was willing to make it work, no matter the cost.

It worked out for me, because I love my new romber!! I have plans to shorten the shorts a bit, but other than that, it’s perfect!

We hiked down to the waterfall and got close enough to feel the intense spray as the falls slapped the earth. It didn’t take long for our backs to get soaked while taking a few selfies. We stopped for lunch at a little Warung on the path. An adorable woman ran the place, dressed formally and listening to her music very loud. We enjoyed our meals, and she delivered a huge plate of fresh fruit for dessert, on the house. We ate the juicy rambutan and mangosteen and enjoyed the baby bananas. We hiked out of the waterfall, walked passed our determined little shopowner to say farewell, and hopped back on the bike to our next destination.

About an hour later, under the hot heat and on an uncomfortable seat, we arrived at the hot springs, a natural ‘spa’ that locals enjoy. We stripped to our suits and hopped right in the warm water, taking turns under the powerful falls that massaged achey shoulders. The water was warm, not too hot, and the natural minerals are said to be good for your skin and hair. We bathed and relaxed next to locals and a few travelers, enjoying the tepid water that soothed our sore muscles from the long ride.

Back at our cozy little room, we freshened up and headed to Apple Warung, a tasty little joint packed with locals and travelers, for our second delicious and cheap dinner. I ordered gado gado, again, and we opted not to stop and buy another bottle of the local Balinese rose, because it was only ok.

We got up the next morning and had coffee and mini buttery pancakes and honey for breakfast while we waited for our mini bus to pick us up. We grabbed the front seats (the best in a mini-bus, by far), and rode around from hotel to hotel getting the remaining 6 passengers. A 2 hour ride through the rice paddies of central Bali brought us to Ubud.

The south of Bali is much more developed and popular for tourism, and Ubud is a tamer version of this development. The starring city of ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ Ubud is a great little town filled with wonderful shops and boutiques, plenty of yoga studios, and lots of restaurants, from local picks to western food. Ubud is spotted with nice resorts and yoga retreats, and still has plenty of traditional Balinese homestays. We chose the latter, and really enjoyed our time in Ubud. Our room was very comfortable, and the family was kind and helpful. We spent our afternoons hiding from the rain, and explored the town in the mornings. Sadly, I missed both my desired yoga class (I mixed the times up after scouring the web for THE BEST classes I could find), so I didn’t experience the most popular tourist activity Ubud has to offer, but we still loved the little town. We relaxed and wandered, ate great food (my favorite was NOT gado gado, actually! I tried green beans sautéed with coconut meat and it was fantastic!), and shop-hopped.

Swinging by the market was lackluster, filled with plenty of the same-same stuff from stall to stall, but we found a little coffee stand and I spotted something I’d wanted to try. I ordered 1 coffee luwak, and Will and I sat in the little corner area waiting for our expensive brew.

Will didn’t ask questions when it was way more than other coffee’s we’ve ordered, which was good, since I wanted him to try it. This was no ordinary cup of java (which is the name of the island west of Bali…).

The Asian Palm Civet is a little furry animal, something a raccoon, cat, and ferrit may reproduce. They eat the coffee berries in their native habitat and the defecated remains are roasted to brew an expensive roast. It is extremely hard to source naturally (would you want to trapse through the jungles looking for civet poop?), and unfortunately many means have been used to mass produce the expensive roast. Poor conditions for these little guys are popular, as the coffee is in high demand throughout southeast Asia. You can find 'weasel coffee' in Laos and Vietnam, the Philippines, and Timor. It's safe to assume you'll stumble upon fake beans, or beans produced from caged animals in poor conditions. Sounds like eggs in the US. Don't worry...PETA is all over it!

Nyepi, the Hindu celebration of the Balinese New Year, was fast approaching, and although we wanted to see the celebrations leading up to Nyepi, we weren’t excited that all of Bali closes down. No shops, no restaurants, no walking the streets, no driving, no excused unless you're dying or having a baby. Everyone must stay inside.

Being stuck inside while on an island seemed too difficult to bear. Although our first stint in Bali was nice, we opted to continue east to Lombok and meet Megan and Orlando on a quiet little island we’d planned to visit to avoiding getting stuck inside our little room in Bali.

From Bali, with love,

Sara + Will