SOUTH ASIA BLOG October 4th, 2024 - BALI

 

10/4/24– Somehow, we are wide awake at 3am and ready for the day to begin. Our driver picks us up at 4am and our hotel has a box breakfast waiting for us. This is very much needed as it will be a long day.

The drive is quite crazy, even for this early in the morning. Our driver is whipping around mopeds and trucks like he’s on a motor speedway, all while going around curves in the dark. Strangely, it didn’t make me ill and am able to nod off here and there. I grab pieces of my breakfast throughout the two hour journey (croissant, muffin, little sausages, pastries and juice) and arrive at our first destination of Lempuyang Temple. We get our tickets and pick out a sarong each to wear, per its customs and culture. Feels weird wearing a dress-like wrap, but at least everyone else is doing it. I’m just part of the cool kids. Sharece even picks one out for me. Never thought I would ever hear her say, "You look better in the red dress."

Situated high above sea level, the temple area has a perfect view of Mt. Agung as the clouds slowly part to reveal its top half. It's a most tranquil sight to see (wow, sounded like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure there).

The temple itself is small, but there are already many people waiting for their turn to take their photos in front of the Heavenly gates. Our number to be called is #67 and they are only on #5, so we have time to stand in line on the other side of the temple to get some shots there. Not as glamorous but feels like a trial of poses before the big event. Some of them even feel like engagement photos as we walk up the long stairway, laughing and enjoying the moment. Our guide (same as our driver) helps us get our photos together and then promptly finds a corner to take a nap while we continue to wait.

Finally, over two hours later, our number is called. I hand the person sitting in front of the gate my phone and Sharece and I both walk to the opening and pose several times. I then step away for Sharece to take photos by herself and then jump in for my shots before the whole ordeal is done. Takes only a few minutes but feels like we just got off a rollercoaster.

The pics they take are unique as they place a mirror under your lens to give off the illusion of a reflection of water in the photo. So glad the cloudy skies parted, giving us a magical view behind us.

Next on the tour is Tirta Gangga. Named after the sacred river Ganges in India, it is known for the Karangasem royal water palace, bathing pools and its Patirthan temple. The flat stepping stones in the pond allow you to skip to the middle and feed the fish along the way.

Approaching 11am, we stop for lunch with an awesome view of the rice fields in the valley (Mahagiri Resort & Restaurant). It’s buffet style with good food and all-inclusive with our paid private tour, with only drinks not included. What a fantastic place to take a break and so very happy with this tour so far. If in Bali, look for the Gate of Heaven Temple Tour and thank me later.

We are now scheduled to hit up a secluded waterfall where we would need to change into our swimwear, but there’s quite a hike and not sure it’s worth the energy, so we opt to skip it for the sake of saving our legs. This brings us to the Tegalalang rice fields and swing. Situated high above the jungle below, they harness you into the large swing, pull you back and sling you out over the trees below. My stomach turns with the initial drop but soon settles with each rotation. Sharece is given a red dress with a very long tail that drapes across the sky as she flies into the air. A very cool effect.

Last up is Tegenungen Waterfall. Our driver substitutes this place for the one we skipped earlier as it has a bird’s eye view and no hiking involved. Also, this is one of the better places for souvenirs, which we find several. 

With the tour complete, it takes another hour to get to our hotel where we exhaustingly crash in our room. A full day of very cool stuff feels overwhelming to us now, but the photos are very awesome and the experience very rewarding.