Hey steemers,
Yesterday I left Ubud in search of Mt. Batur (an active volcano that is climbable) on my trusty two wheeled beast, well.....The breaks barely worked and the throttle would occasionally get stuck but still trusty by Indonesian standards.
After about an hour and a half of riding I reached a Botanical themed temple, you can see the volcano in the distance
Obviously being a massive plant nerd I had to stop and inspect the gardeners work 😂
The gardens had many Australian plants but also many I have no idea about. The place was called "Water Palace" for obvious reasons and cost around $5 AUD to enter.
This shot shows roughly half of the palace, sorry about the terrible photos, I only have my phone with me on this trip and I don't want to waste my time editing them 😬
After a few photos of the grounds and a sneaky reload of the maps via Wi-Fi I was back on the scooter with a storm cloud surrounded volcano in my sights.
The base of the volcano was still well over an hour away through steep winding dangerous roads.... Deep down I knew I was going to get wet!
After about half an hour of hectic riding up the mountain down came the rain, loud thunder roared and lightning lit up the dark skies.
I tried to push through it but could no longer see more then a few meters in front of me.
I pulled over at a local place of worship for shelter, used my bag for a pillow and prayed to the imaginary god's that the rain would stop before nightfall.
I was nearly asleep when these cheeky village kids came to play in the rain, they were very excited and shy at the same time when they spotted me laying in their place of worship
After half an hour or so of earning their trust they posed for some photos for me. An older man then appeared and we chatted for a while about life, religion and the jungle, he then took me into his home for coffee and snacks with his family...... The hospitality was truly incredible!
Kadek in all his glory
This lovely lady was his aunty I think, as soon as she knew she had company she got to work in the kitchen
The coffee and snacks provided much comfort to this tired, wet and grumpy traveler
Kadek informed me that Amed was about 30 minutes ride from his home and I should go stay there for the night. I took his advice, Mt. Batur will be there the next day and Amed was on my list anyway.
We parted exchanging social media details and he said: "Don't try and be good or bad..... Just be."
A few hugs and some helpful directions and I was back on the scooter in search of Amed.
The view from a cafe in Amed, well worth the detour
The night was spent in a hostel in the middle of town and with a quick swim in the ocean I am going back on the scooter, the volcano will be reached today and explored tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned and Peaceful Travels,
Sam.
