Elephant Gallivant

My mom thinks maybe I was on an elephant once when I was a little kid at a Circus or something... but I don't remember it...

A couple weeks ago, we went for an elephant ride with a few friends! We weren't actually planning to go, because we thought we would do a real elephant trek during our trip to Thailand... but we don't know when/if that's going to happen, so we seized this opportunity!

It was a blast! Mostly because of the motley crew that we were... with Sari being our fearless, yet fashion-full leader! When we arrived at her house, she ushered us into her closet to 'dress up' for our elephant experience... she had just arrived home from Jakarta, which meant she had been shopping for elephant-riding outfits - matching, of course! For Martin and I, t-shirts that said "love him forever"// "love her forever"... awwww so cute! And sun-dresses for the three ladies.

Dressed in style, we met our 'rides' for the next couple hours...


... and we were off!



Elephants are not native to the island of Bali. The elephants at this site are orphans which are rescued from dire conditions in Sumatera, and brought here to 'recover'. Without an undercover investigation, I obviously couldn't confirm... but each Mahout (elephant driver/carer) really has a tight bond with 'their' elephant, and they seem happy enough - who wouldn't be happy living in Bali!?!










Luckily our elephants behaved themselves - unlike these poor folks!




The "Elephant Camp" actually also had several other orphans on-site:
A baby bear from Sumatera



And a Javanese Gibbon...




Martin couldn't help but notice the similarity in the size of the elephant dung and a soccer ball!




After our elephant experience, we went back to Sari's palace to play some more! The attempts on the tandem bicycle were ultimately successful...



... and we played in the pool, which was delightfully cool (because of the higher altitude, i guess)...



It was just a fabulous day!

West Bali

Our first trip through the Central Mountains of Bali was actually on the way to the beautiful North-Western coast - to which I had never been before!




We were really spoiled and stayed in some totally swank hotels!




... and enjoyed it to the fullest and had an absolute riot!




Both places we stayed had incredible sea-side pools....




... on the characteristic black-sand beaches of North Bali.




... and backed by a mountain-view!




The staff and everything about the area followed along in our 'perfect holiday' vein! Upon checking in, our welcome drinks arrived on the doorstep...




After our first night in the Lovina area, we wandered our way over further toward the West Bali National Park... we made a short side-trip to stop at the Sacred Hotsprings at Banjar...




... where mom got a little bobo, but no big deal, and the response of the security guys was full of typical Balinese goodness.




We found a solitary special spot near our hotel in Pemuteran to watch a beautiful sunset over Java...



The next day we spent the better part of the day in the national park with a Spanish couple... We went on a boat trip to Menjangan island to go snorkeling... (and the first chance I'd had to test my underwater housing)!





I got excited at seeing a shark... but instead of taking a picture of what I was pointing AT, Dad got a great shot of me, pointing! Hahaha...




... and visited a temple (thought to be the oldest on the island of Bali), and we even did a geocache!






We also saw the island's namesake: the Javanese deer (or, Menjangan, in Indonesian)...




On the way home from our full day, a random pull-off at a spot near the coast turned into an extra-ordinary experience. We visited the local sea-side temple, and met the local priests, who invited us to be blessed in a very special private ceremony at their sacred spring (like 'la source' at the lake!)...






The next day, on the way home to the south again, we stuck to the white roads, and went through some very extreme terrain, riding along ridges between two sheer mountain slopes overlooking deep valleys, and also overlooking some precipitous drop-offs! It was the steepest road I've been on to date - EVER! Everyone along the road asked us where we were headed... because they couldn't imagine that we were going on THAT road! What adventure!








... and of course, in what became our usual style, before we'd even really gotten ON the road, we had already made at least 5 stops, most of which involved temples or monkeys... or both....







aaahhhh... what FUN!

Central Mountains

On our first multi-day trip, where we spent a few nights on the road, we headed for North and West Bali. To get there, we decided to take the scenic route and head up through the central mountains.

Our first stop (on the trip of 'No more stops'!) was at Taman Ayun, the Water Palace. Dad unfortunately had a bout of Bali Belly in the morning, so it was good timing for a stop! It was a cool, peaceful area, and we enjoyed a stroll around the lovely grounds. This is the first place I have seen with a series of meru (towers), with one up to eleven levels (each level of a meru is supposed to symbolize a stage of enlightenment, eleven is the ultimate, or attainment of moksa (nirvana)).











We carried on along the white roads, and stopped for a fresh young coconut water drink at a restaurant with a fabulous rice paddy view.








You know it was an upscale place because of the way they presented their Gado-gado! Gado-gado is a common indonesian dish of boiled veggies in peanut sauce... I've written about it before... but this one had flair!




From there we continued up, up, up, winding our way through the mountains. We passed the summit, where the climate is conducive to growing strawberries and hydrangeas, and it was time for another stop. This time the Water Temple, called Pura Ulun Danau Bratan.

On the western banks of Lake Bratan in the Bedugul Highlands at an elevation of 1239m, Pura Ulun Danau Bratan is one of the most picturesque (and most photographed) temples in Bali. We found out that this lake is one of the main sources of irrigation in the Balinese highlands, and so the temple is dedicated to the lake goddess, Dewi Danau. Pilgrims come to pay homage, and to ensure bountiful harvests.




Pura Ulun Danu Bratan was built in 1633 by the King of Mengwi, the same person who built Pura Taman Ayun (which we had visited earlier that morning). The climate is so cool up here that even the statues were wearing clothes!



Winding our way back down the other side of the mountain, we stopped off at Git Git Waterfall... luckily we were there near the end of the day, so half of the hawkers had already packed up and gone home, which made the walk to the falls a little less painful. The walk was a little* (read a LOT) longer than advertised, but we were able to enjoy some nice views along the way!



This pic is a remembrance from Montserrat... (do you get it, Bro?)




I guess as it turns out, the theme of the day was WATER!?!

The "Up & Out" Day

One of the most interesting days near the beginning of Mom & Dad's stay was our "Up & Out" day, the point of which was to do just that: get up into the hills to cooler weather, and out of the southern, city area into the rice paddys. It was a 'go with the flow' day... the best kind!

So, we mounted our trusty steed (aaahhh, the luxury of having a car for the month... no worries about wearing a skirt, or getting wet in the rain, or arriving somewhere smelling of exhaust fumes, or lung cancer, for that matter!)...




Filled up at the gas station (no, not really this one, although they are the more common kind - found on every street corner)...



... and went up and out...





We happened down a little white road, and while looking for a place to turn around, got out and went for a walk... it turned into several hours, as we happened upon a place doing acupuncture tune-ups! So we got healed... (too bad we didn't get a picture of me - the acupuncturist was trying to work on my hearing, so I looked very frankenstein-ish, with needles sticking out of my neck and ears)



Then we drove around some more 'white roads', and since we were close anyway, I thought we would stop by the Sangeh Monkey forest - a place where we have attended a few Hash runs, and has some big trees and nice monkeys (not like the ones in the Bukit that will steal your sunglasses off you face!)...






We pulled in, and I was totally confused - the entire parking lot was FULL of chartered tourist buses, and vehicles... I'd never seen more than one other car there before! It turns out we were privy to a Bali-wide kindergarten traditional song and dance competition! It's no wonder the Balinese are such fabulous dancers and musicians by the time they reach puberty - they start soo early!







Anyway, it was just another fabulous day!