One great thing about traveling to Asia is the reverse jet lag. Waking up with the dawn in Bali was no problem. Besides, it’s pretty easy to get up early with this view.
On our second morning, Nishan and I had an early breakfast in preparation for a day-long excursion to Mount Batur. I had the bubur ayam, or Indonesian chicken congee.
Mount Batur is an active volcano in northeast Bali and the area surrounding is lush and fertile. We stopped at the Tegalalang rice terraces along the way to take in the stunning view.
Bali’s reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth is well deserved — but it was the inland regions, not the beach, that I was falling in love with.
We headed onwards towards a kopi luwak coffee plantation. Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, refers to the coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. Keep the poop jokes to yourselves, folks. This beautiful plantation sold not only kopi luwak, but also herbal teas and locally harvested spices. We bought a bag of restorative ginger and lemongrass teas to take home.
Fortified with coffee and breakfast, we joined our guide for our day-long bike ride through the region. First up: a quiet, peaceful bamboo forest.
Despite the clouds, Bali is hot and humid, so we soon stopped for a break in Penglipuran village. After a short walk through the village, we were back on our bikes.
Our guide stopped along the way to point out the fruits that grow alongside Bali’s lush roads. My favorite was the juicy langsat fruit. Oh, if I could only bring these home with me. The fruit in Bali remains the best I’ve ever tasted in my life.
We continued our ride through rice paddies, Pura Taman Narmada Bali Raja water temple, and a Dalem temple.
Once we reached the town of Bangli we stopped for a rejuvenating Balinese lunch of bakso (meatball soup), satay, noodles, krupuk, fried tempeh, mung bean salad, and rice.
Back in Ubud, we were exhausted after our day of biking. We rewarded ourselves with a spa treatment overlooking the Campuhan River. The cherry on top was the lime-spiked fruit skewers at the end of the treatment. Delicious.
If you’re interested in a similar bike tour as ours, we toured with Bali Hai Bike Tour based in Ubud. They were fantastic.