Life is a beach

Kuta beach on Bali

So what am I doing on the most touristy beach on what is probably one of the most touristy islands on the planet?

Beaches are not really my thing. But I was curious about the famous Kuta beach on Bali and since the airport from where I'm flying out is almost within walking distance from the beach, I had to come this way anyway.

Besides, it's the last week of my more than six month adventure and I wanted to take a few days off to just idle on the beach before I finally head home.

I'm actually not idling on the beach. It's much too hot for that. I go to the beach early in the morning for a walk and then again about an hour before sunset. The rest of the time I'm in my air conditioned hotel room or out on the patio by the swimming pool, in the shade.

I'm reading all those books that I took along on my trip but never had the time to read. I thought that since I would be traveling alone, I would have too much time on my hands and was prepared with tons of reading material.

It turned out that I didn't have too much time at all. The past six months were actually quite exhausting. On typical days I would wake up early, sometimes go for a run, check my email if I had access to internet, have breakfast, order a second coffee after breakfast and read for a while. Then I would head out to explore, sightsee or whatever else I had planned for the day. I would usually return in late afternoon, find something for dinner and then settle down with my computer to download photographs from my camera, sort through the photos and immediately delete at least half of them (I did this every day to avoid the accumulation of thousands of unsorted photos), write my blog, read and send emails, charge my devices and so on.

Since I was traveling, I spent lots of time reading travel guidebooks, researching and making reservations online, planning my destinations and deciding what I wanted to see and do. I would often check my finances and calculate how much money to withdraw each time I visited the ATM to make sure I had enough but not too much cash on hand.

Many days were not as typical. I never stayed in one place for too long. Therefore many days were travel days when I would have to pack my stuff, check out of the guesthouse where I was staying, get to my transport and spend the day (or simetimes night) traveling to my next destination. Then I would have to find a place to stay (more often than not I chose my guesthouse ahead of time and made a reservation online), figure out how to get there, check in, unpack, find food. In addition, I would have to get my laundry done regularly.

It was a busy six months and I feel I deserve a few days off. So a touristy beach is just the right place to be for that purpose.

Kuta beach

Bicycling in the Bali countryside

Path through the ricefields

I have always wanted to bicycle through the ricefields in the Bali countryside. I saw photographs and heard stories about the incredible shades of green of Balinese vegetation. Finally, I was able to experience it myself. It was just as beautiful as I imagined it would be.

Ricefield terraces

I had no idea where to go so I booked a tour. We started by first having breakfast on a terrace overlooking Mount Batur. It's obvious that Bali is much more touristy than the neighboring island of Java. Unlike my hiking tour on Java where I was hungry, this tour on Bali fed us well. Even overfed us I think. There were all-you-can-eat breakfast and lunch buffets and snacks in between.

Terrace overlooking Mount Batur

By the way, I could have also booked a tour to Mount Batur. But I decided against it. I think I've seen enough volcanoes recently. And getting up in the middle of the night, just so that I would be driven up a mountain in a vehicle so that I could watch yet another sunrise doesn't seem too exciting.

Bicycling tour on Bali

As I might have suspected in regions where they drive you up mountains to save you from having to hike yourself, the bicycling tour was designed so that they drive you to the foothills of Mount Batur and then the entire two hour route is on asphalt roads that wind slightly downhill. There wasn't much bicycling involved, it was just braking all the way. I would have been disappointed, but they did manage to save the day. At the end of the downhill road, we had a choice of either returning in the van or going for another hour of real cycling, the kind where you actually have to pedal and even go uphill at times. Yes, that was real cycling!

The most expensive coffee in the world

Coffee and tea tasting

Although java is the synonym for good coffee - and I had a taste to confirm this while I was recently traveling on the island of Java - Bali's coffee comes a close second. After all, it is the neighboring island and the tastes are similar.

Luwak coffee beans

I went to a coffee plantation for a tasting of their excellent local coffees and teas. In addition to the usual suspects, I was also introduced to Luwak coffee, the very expensive coffee that comes from coffee beans that passed through the digestive system of the civet cat, an animal native to these regions. I didn't try the coffee (although at about 5 EUR per cup it's a luxury I could have afforded) but I did buy a packet to take home instead.

Civet

A reference to Luwak coffee is in the movie The Bucket List where Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman discuss it. Here is a YouTube video with the scene:

Finding paradise on Bali

 

Lovina beach

There must be hundreds or probably even thousands of beach vacation spots in the world. Why is it that Bali evokes images of a special place, one of those island getaways that we dream about? I don't know why it's so special but in order to find out, it's best to go and see for myself.

I was already excited with anticipation on the ferry from the island of Java to Bali. I met a Dutch couple who were also going to Bali for the first time. We all wondered aloud whether it would live up to expectations. Would we really find an island paradise? Or would it be so touristy that our experience would be spoiled?

View of Bali from the ferry

After two days on Bali I'm still no expert. I only saw the northern part of the island around Lovina so far. The beaches are ugly with dark volcanic sand. It's hot and unbearably humid. But the people are nice and friendly, they know how to take care of tourists and the prices are low. There are touts that sell all sorts of stuff and services and yes, they are mildly annoying but they go away when I tell them I'm not interested.

My bungalow

In terms of accommodation, I'm renting a bungalow for just 11 EUR per night. It has two beds with clean sheets (in Asia, clean sheets are a luxury), a terrace with a sitting area across from an enclosed garden and a one of a kind bathroom that is my very own private garden behind my bungalow where I can shower in a garden planting. It's so amazing I really believe it's paradise.

My bathroom in a private garden

View from my bungalow

There are numerous restaurants along the beach where the fish is fresh and the beer is cheap.

Grilled fish for dinner