Rice terraces

Rice terraces.

S and I were supposed to wake up at 1am this morning to go trek to the summit of Gunung Agung, Bali’s highest and holiest volcano. Fortunately, we thought better of that and canceled last night.

Overnight, it poured. It poured so badly that some of the other villas affiliated with ours flooded. Had we been trying to summit, well, let’s just say it would have been uncomfortable. We were so tired the night before that we decided to sleep in and do some more mild trekking later in the morning.

After a great night’s sleep, we woke up refreshed and ready for a day out. We were up early and went out to enjoy the fresh air and the beach. S and L went snorkeling and though Ms. Cupcake and I tried, I am just not a great snorkeler.

Tenganan

From there, we were off to trek between Tenganan and Tirta Gangga. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful treks in Bali and it certainly proved to be. Tenganan was a pretty, traditional village still seemingly clinging to some of its old ways despite the modernity of Bali. Though somewhat of a tourist attraction, it was still desserted. We walked through peacefully as the artisans (Tenganan is one of the more famous Bali craft villages) went about their business weaving double ikat, baskets, etc. From there, it was into the jungle. It was steamy, but more than anything, it was really, really wet. Most of the trail was essentially a stream (which was actually quite pleasant in the heat).

The trail through the jungle.

We arrived out of the jungle after about 30 minutes to an almost blinding green. The rice terraces went off at every angle into the ocean. Hiking along an irrigation channel, we continued in the rice terraces for well over an hour. At every turn the views were breathtaking. Ms. Cupcake commented over and over again that we were taking far too many pictures, but they were irresistible.

Terraces under Gunung Agung.

Views of the ocean.

We arrived in Tirta Gangga after just under two hours where we then took a quick swim in the water palace to cool off in a bit of history. The bottom of the pool was slick with algae but the water was super refreshing.

The water palace.

By that point, we were starving. We had booked lunch at Seraya Shores at our villa owners recommendation. It was down below Mt. Seraya, right on the coast along a pristine black sand beach. The waves pounded the shores just below our table. As soon as we arrived, nearly a dozen dishes showed up at the table – grilled calamari, grilled fish, grilled prawns, potato curry, mango salad – and many others. All were outstanding and we stuffed our faces silly for the next two hours. We finished our meal letting the soft, black sand massage the bottoms of our feet.

Black sand beach.i

Our table for lunch.

Mango salad.

On our way back, we noticed a small antique store off the road to Tanganan. The shop owner was not there, but she came down from Tenganan to show us around her shop. It was a veritable treasure trove of antique and quasi-antique Indonesian wares. We relished in sorting through the old wooden statues, bronze figures and double ikat’s. We felt as if we were in an undiscovered land.

Again, I know that Bali is one of the most touristed places on the planet, but, I am telling you, in East Bali, you wouldn’t know it.