Bali alone. Part 4
Part 1 http://blogs. turpravda. ua/Apyatka/101009.html
Part 2 http://blogs. turpravda. ua/Apyatka/101017.html
Part 3 http://blogs. turpravda. ua/Apyatka/101197.html
Even if you are not going to travel on your own, but like to have strong rears in the form of ready-made tours, you still want to see Bali, do not sit on the beach all the time. In my opinion, there are three ways to travel around Bali - rent a bike, hire a car with a driver or buy a tour from travel agents. I won't tell you about bikes and travel agencies. Only about traveling with a driver. In Bali they say driver. A driver is a person who not only drives a car, he is also a guide. Our guide in an unfamiliar world. It can be Russian-speaking or English-speaking, this is not so important, there will be no full-fledged excursion with dates and historical calculations. But he will guide you through the main places where you can see, hear, feel Bali. He will wait patiently while you enthusiastically take a thousand photos, he will take pictures of you, warn you of danger, he will tell you to dress warmly when climbing the mountains, he will make friends with you. But you need to remember - he has already led thousands of people, he has “fish” places, all this is his bread, and if you are not ready to dine in tourist canteens, it is better to warn him in advance.
Our departure was scheduled for 8 am. At home, it’s hard for me to wake up even at 11, but on trips I turn into an early bird - I’m afraid that I won’t have time for something, something will slip away from me and I’ll regret it later) And my travels have one more feature - I love swim in the pool in the morning. That's why I choose hotels with swimming pools.
The morning does not begin with coffee)
In the morning I almost drowned in a beautiful pool, drank water, then white coal just in case, then had breakfast and was ready for a packed run around the sights.
Bali looks special. If Lombok remotely resembles the south of Ukraine, then Bali is unlike anything I have seen. Sitting in the car, we turned our heads, marveling at the sculptures, the dense traffic, the trees with aerial roots. . .
The first stop is a temple where we watch Barong. It's called dance. But I would call it theatrical action. Barong is danced in many temples in Bali, so I can't say for sure which one we were in.
Useful for getting to know Bali culture. An orchestra of outlandish, I would say noise, instruments, a bright sun, a temple as scenery, scary figures of Balinese gods and grotesque characters. But long, drawn out, played out, hot, loud. Pleasure, I would put a four with a minus. And if you consider that I chose between Barong and Uluwatu, then Uluwatu would definitely be better)
The sun is reaching its zenith very quickly, and we still have so much to do! ) We sit down and drive through Ubud, without stopping at all, to the place that beckoned me the most. What do you associate with Bali? Beaches? Surfing? Temples? When I heard the word Bali, I always imagined one picture - rice terraces. I definitely needed to be there.
The rice terraces of Tegelalang are exactly the terraces that are worth seeing. They are carved into the gorge of the river, descending in steps to nowhere, and around the palm trees are huge, chiseled, juicy. The colors are chic - the greens turn yellow, but not the same as we have in hot summer from a lack of moisture and not the same as in autumn, from a lack of vitality, but a bright, golden-sunny yellowness, with brown laces of soil in place of the harvested rice. Maybe the terraces are emerald, but we did not have a chance to see it. The rice has just been removed. The earth was resting and waiting for new seedlings. In some places, weak sprouts were visible. This land will give birth to rice for millions of years. And she doesn't care about tourists. Come tomorrow, or better yet next year)
I give it a 4 for pleasure. The heat was incredible, they trampled down a little, then hard up. A couple of photos in the bright sun and drove on.
Maybe we would have walked longer on the terraces if it were not so hot. Or if we stopped there for lunch, because there is a cafe there. But they were waiting for us with dinner in another place - at the Batur volcano. Tourist cafe type buffet. Many say that it is expensive and tasteless. The price seemed quite average to me, but not very tasty, yes. But I liked sitting on the terrace and slowly having lunch, looking at the volcano. The energy of the place is very powerful. And we were still quite far from the volcano. What is there, closer to the crater? )
I can’t even describe the volcano and my feelings. I don't have that many words. Let me just say, it was the strongest impression of the day. And we sat there for a long time. People came and went, and we sat and sat. Vulcan five plus.
And in the late afternoon we arrived at the Temple of the Elephant. A very beautiful, but slightly neglected park, a small rice field, a gloomy, mystical cave and a pool with live fish, in which parishioners come to pray. If we were not tired, we could walk there for a long time. The heat subsided, the greenery and the river added freshness and it was possible to sit in a wooden gazebo-couch.
They met fellow countrymen there. It was the only time in the whole trip. I was very pleased to stretch my tongue)
Pleasure four. Either not wow, or I'm not imbued)
The driver still wanted to take us somewhere, but we resisted and asked to be taken to the hotel. We were so tired that we thought we would fall asleep right at the reception.
We were expected. Before I had time to look around and gasp, two women put our suitcases on their heads and carried them into the room.
We have read the advertisement so far - a Kecak dance was planned very close to the hotel. Also feminine. Of course, we instantly woke up and rushed to the room to put ourselves in order. Before we had time to take a shower, the owner himself came to meet us on the terrace. "Are you well, girl, are you well, beauty? . . "
We say, okay, only we are not used to meeting guests in towels. And we lower our eyes. Like, not comme il faut without underpants. He understood, not a fool.
More than once, then, I was surprised at the staff, suddenly appearing on our terrace. You rented us a whole floor with one hundred and fifteen windows - so we think that we are alone here! Come up with a call on the stairs, or something.
We arrived at Kecak 20 minutes before the start. Met an elderly English couple. My daughter was so talking by that time that the British mistook her for their own) Even I put in my howdydudu from time to time. 2 weeks to talk with no one, it's torture! )
We liked the kechak very much! Tanya went into a trance several times, but I resisted) But how beautiful it is!
Ritual dance. At the end, the uncle scatters the burning coals of the fire with his bare feet.
A five was tomorrow at the same place)
To be continued: )
