Bali Cycle Tour

Our cyclist tour guide made an apparently impulsive decision and steered sharply left off the bumpy trail and into an obscure, rain forested property. His charges consisted of two dozen mostly plump and mostly pale vacationers and we obediently followed his lead by coasting into a ragged semi circle. As we straddled our unfamiliar mountain bikes, the leader darted off toward a hut that may or may not have been the home of an acquaintance and reappeared carrying a ghastly black spider the size of his hand. The spider dangled like a yo-yo, dropping and then skilfully crawling back into his new master's fingers using long and multi-jointed legs. Just as we in the crowd began to feel comfortable watching from a distance, the guide placed the spider on his face, and let the arachnid dip those legs into his mouth. Next he offered the spider to anyone who stepped forward. I backed off, but when an Australian toddler showed interest, I figured I better at least give it a hold to save face. At the very least I figured it would make a decent picture.

Not sure if he just randomly found this spider or if it was a nearby friend's pet.

Apparently not poisonous.

This guy was much more calm holding it than I was.

I look like I am about to soil myself. The Australian kid is not impressed.

At that age, I would have run away.

We almost missed out on this cycle tour of the Balinese countryside. For once, Sami's meticulous planning had backfired. She had e-mailed the travel company too far in advance and they forgot about us. We woke up early for a 7:00 a.m. pick-up, and when no one showed, we made a series of calls to the company and debated on whether or not to scrap the entire plan. Sami was two months pregnant at the time, and had to rally to find the energy to leave the pool. When a van showed up at 11:00 we begrudgingly boarded out of obligation.

Our fellow tourists, who had been picked up earlier from different parts of the island, were all at breakfast- an expense included as part of the itinerary. We were asked to join them, but we had already eaten, and knew that arriving late would only force the rest to wait for us, and slow the operation down. So we drove straight to the bikes waiting in a field somewhere between paradise and the middle of nowhere. We had time before the breakfast eaters were bussed to the spot, so I rode off and took pictures of the countryside. The land reminded me a lot of our four-wheeling tour in Cambodia, which will always be one of my favorite travel memories from our time in Asia. I suppose it was greener out here than there, quilted with brown glistening rice paddies and inhabited by the occasional family hut on the side of the chewed-up, blacktop trail.

It is a very cool experience to ride off alone in an unfamiliar place. When you are in the middle of a group of tourists, it just isn't the same.

Rice farmland in a village in Bali.

After the rest of the crew arrived, picked out their bikes and worked out the breaking and shifting system, we were led inside a nearby family compound. There we learned just how sustainable the villagers live growing everything from cocoa and other spices, to keeping bees for honey. We also learned that they are quite fond of cockfighting, and keep prime contenders locked in wicker cages. An old man let two go after each other in a demonstration. Apparently, the spikes on their heels were padded for safety, otherwise, we were told one of the fighters would have been killed in the melee.

No need for a farmer's market. All the food they need they grow or raise, including Wilbur here.

What the old guy on the left lacks in teeth, he more than makes up for with enthusiasm over cockfighting.

To start, they each hold one fighter down and face each other.

Here is a break in the action. They don't really size each other up as much as blindly go at each other, but they do tire and try to regain their wind at some point.

This may have been the kill shot had safety precautions not been taken.

Cocoa for chocolate I believe.

After the village tour and episode with the spider, we spent most of our remaining tour riding on the brutally bumpy road, sightseeing and taking pictures. We became close with a few friendly co-riders including the mom of an Olympic athlete and a man from Singapore who, refreshingly, spoke highly of the U.S. and its people. Sami and I both agreed that this day was the highlight of our time in Bali. We will always look for a bike or ATV tour if we visit a new place because it is a great way to cover a ton of scenery (and in this case, get a little exercise).

We were also pleasantly surprised to be refunded more than half of our money because we missed the first few hours of the trip. The owner of the company was a very nice person who told us that he used to work on a cruise ship out of Miami and used to dream of starting his own travel company in his home country. Count us among those glad he made that decision.

Bali Traditional Tour

I didn't know too much about Bali before we went, and I am disappointed to say that I am not that familiar with its history, culture and overall vibe since having experienced a small portion during a week long holiday back in February. It was one of those deals that was too good to pass up. $325 dollars round-trip from Seoul with a day and a half layover in Kuala Lumpur (come to think of it, I forgot to blog about our time in KL. Note to self: do that). Sami jumped right into all of the planning for the trip, but by the time we got there, we were exhausted from our Southeast Asia vacation, and Sami was having trouble with morning sickness. Still, we were able to get out for a few memorable tours.

Unlike most of Indonesia, which is primarily Muslim, nearly 90 percent of the people in Bali identify themselves as Hindu. Bali is especially famous for its Hindu temples, and on our first tour, we visited both private and public temples that were uniquely Balinese. Every street we drove through was lined with family temples, and we were lucky enough to tour one as the occupying family was preparing to celebrate the temple's birthday (no joke). Before we entered, we had to put on sarongs. It felt kind of strange being dressed by a young man, but as the saying goes, "when in Bali..."

Next we were led to the back yard for a look at a few elaborately designed statues made out of food as offerings to the Hindu gods. One of the statues contained a butchered pig's head, and the swine's fat had been used as a decorative tool also. Another consisted of rice cake, the type of which we have become very familiar with in Korea, in may colors. Afterward, we strolled through a covered area, where family members were preparing for a feast later that evening. Everyone had a job to do to prepare. Men torched the feathers off of ducks, and women peeled and boiled vegetables. I felt a little strange walking through what felt like should have been an area designated for family only.

Putting on the sarong.

Inside the family temple

Sami examines one offering made from rice cake.

This is easier than plucking, but probably not traditional.

Next we rolled through an outdoor market. I always watch these travel shows where the hosts stroll into these open air markets and know exactly what to ask for from each stall. They buy the freshest meat and produce and then take it somewhere nearby where a local cooks a delicious meal using traditional methods. And all of it costs about 33 cents. I have never experienced this. It seems like every time I go, it is too late in the afternoon, flies buzz around everywhere over fish guts and rotted meats, the fruit seems overpriced and the workers are napping. Maybe those shows are crap, or maybe I just need to wake up earlier and get the fresh stuff.

If you show up too late to an open market, the food isn't as fresh and the workers are asleep. Understandable since they start around 4 in the morning.

The next place we visited was Gunung Kawi Temple. The scenery was unlike anything we had seen, and it was worth the long walk to get there based on the rice terraces alone. It was really difficult to take pictures of such a big and beautiful place with our small and shitty camera. Still, I tried my best.

Gunung Kawi

Rice terraces at Gunung Kawi

We ate lunch overlooking Mt. Batur, which is an active volcano. I don't think that I was ready to pose for this picture.

After our buffet lunch, which was good, but left me feeling like a glutton, we toured a local coffee plantation. At this tourist attraction, they purveyors also grow cinnamon, cloves, cocoa and vanilla and more, but the real draw is the coffee Luwak. Coffee Luwak is coffee made from the coffee beans that have been ingested, digested, and discarded by a civet, a wild, nocturnal, cat-like animal. The idea started back when Bali was under Dutch rule, and the only way for locals to get coffee that wasn't meant to be shipped to Europe, was to pick the beans out of the civet poop.

Now, I understand that drinking coffee that was once inside an animal and later poop is not for everyone, but because of the natural fermentation process, and the fact that a civet only eats the choicest berries, Coffee Luwak is considered a delicacy, and by weight, is the most expensive coffee in the world. Sami and I shared a cup and it was quite good. Very smooth and strong. I was wide awake for hours afterward with no let down. Of course, they drink it unfiltered, so all the sludge remained at the bottom and reminded us of what it once was. I ate the sludge anyway.

Coffee Luwak beans. That is a lot of fecal matter!

A man and his son roast the beans in the traditional method.

Coffee Luwak- about $5.75 for this small cup. Much more expensive in other parts of the world.

Going in for a drink of poop!

Even Sami tried it!

The sludge at the bottom

Our last stop was Pura Tirta Empul, also known as the Temple of Holy Water, which we were told was one of Bali's most important temples. The locals believe that the water there has healing powers, so many people were swimming and rinsing themselves under the fountains.

Pura Tirta Empul

Pura Tirta Empul

On our way home, I felt a little better about our trip to Bali. I was finally starting to realize why this place is so special and why it is called "The Land of 1,000 Temples." Still buzzed from the coffee, I was excited to see what the rest of the trip would bring.

Bali Part One

The Korean school schedule is a little wacky. They have winter break the last week of December and all of January, then a week long holiday the first week of February, back for two weeks and then another week off for the end of the year before starting right back up again March 1st. We took advantage of the random week off by sneaking away to Bali. We bought the tickets before we asked for permission from our schools and way before we found out we were pregnant. It was a gamble that paid off (tickets were only $325 roundtrip), but because of Sami's state which alternated between exhaustion and nauseousness, we opted to stay low-key and relaxed most of the week away.

While Sami napped in our king sized bed, A/C full blast, I watched college basketball re-runs on tv and even found the NBA all-star game streaming online. We spent a lot of time at the hotel pool, trying to make myself believe that I am capable of tanning while wearing 50 spf sunscreen. At night I sat out on the balcony, calmed by the heavy rain and distant thunderstorms that occurred almost nightly. We had a weak wireless connection on the balcony, so I caught up on some of the movies that were nominated for Oscars. "Winter's Bone" was one that I really enjoyed.

Here is where I spent most of my evenings while Sami went to bed at 7:30. Notice the mosquito repellant. An absolute must.

 Most days we walked down to the beach and ate at one of the seemingly identical restaurants that line the strip. The food wasn't super cheap, but reasonable. Neither of us could find the one thing we were looking for- I for something authentic (I still don't think I know what sambal is even though I know I had it), and Sami for something that wouldn't make her puke. At least the scenery was incredible. There was a big wedding chapel along the strip we walked each day and it featured a giant glass house in the shape of an engagement diamond. It was incredibly tacky and out of place, but then again, the giant lobster stone carving didn't seem completely natural either.