Cruising in the mountains of Bali

Sunday here in Bali means there are fewer people on the road and is an excellent time for a road trip. We had a morning shower and after a quick breakfast I was on the road to Tanah Lot.

Sporting raingear and a sarong around my neck I hit Tabanan in about 25 minutes and headed north from there in the direction of Penebel. My aim was do ride through the lake area at Bedugal then circle around and come back via Pupuan.

Tabanan district is known as the rice bowl of Bali and the place is definitely developed with ‘sawah’ (paddy fields ) everywhere you look. The north-south roads in Bali tend to be way less trafficed than the roads running east-west because the centers of population are in the lowland areas.

On the way through Penebel, a sizeable market town I noticed that the temperature had started to cool and that got even cooler the further north I went. At Senganen I turned eastwards towards Pacung and the main road to Bedugal. Up in the highlands there seems to be a lot of road construction going on with teams of workers fixing the drainage system at the side of the road. These ladies were happy to smile for the photo. I had to stop in the middle of the road on a hairpin bend for this one.

Stopping at a roadside fruit stand got me a half kilo of grapes for 5,000rp, very tastey!

Passing the market town of Baturiti ( Juliana’s home ) I stopped for 2 of the hot corns that are always on offer. I paid 1,000rp though I’m sure Juliana could get them for less. Right next to the road was a Muslim warung where I ordered a kopi Bali, a nasi campur and a soup for 13,000rp. I reckon they gouged me on the price but then again a lot of tourists stop here including a couple of bus loads of tourists from Denpasar.

Sitting eating my soup I kept my jacket on. Who would think that in August 8 degrees from the equator it could be chilly?

Decending from Baturiti and Bedugal I passed the large Lake Bratan. Bali has 4 big lakes ( Bratan, Batur, Buyan and Tamblingan) 3 of which I’d get a look at today. Lake Bratan sat on my right as I swung past and features the lovely temple at Pura Ulan Danu Bratan.

Decending rapidly I swung round the north side of lake Buyan and stopped to take this photo. Lake Buyan is on the left, lake Tamblingan on the right.

From there I had a rapid drop in altitude which took me past Munduk and within 5 kms of the north coast at Mayong for the hairpin left switchback in the direction of Pupuan and Tabanan.

What’s there for a tourist in the highlands? Not much except some villages, an assortment of market gardens and plenty of switchbacks. If you want to get away from the tourist scene and explore this is a great part of the island. Tourist buses do day trips to Bedugal and Kintamani to the east, but really there’s not a lot going on. In the area of Pupuan I saw some lovely countryside and stopped to check out a valley from the side. I always imagine building a house ( probably never happen) . The Balinese love to take a scenic valley and build concrete walls and compounds but there are still some places that haven’t been ruined.

A heavy downpour made me doubly glad of the raingear and my ride home was uneventful. Life up in the mountains is very simple, people are out farming and in the late afternoon you’ll see people walking home with bundles, often 6 ft long of wood on their heads. Village temples and shrines are decorate the landscape and people seem to look up and take an extra look when a large white person comes rolling though.

For someone staying in Kuta you can do this trip in one day or for a very relaxing night stopover check out Sanda Bukit Villas in the former mountainside coffee plantation in Sanda ( great lunch stopover too).

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Just had dinner at Rumours in Seminyak with my friends from Palu surfboards. The place was packed, but still churned out good food. Am feeling pretty shagged ( that Limey/Pomey for tired after my ride ) and that accounts for my rather short article.

Upcoming interviews: The return of Angie! The departure of Jeff the Canadian surfer from the Rockies. Also an interview with Johnny, the dynamic nightlife expert from The Beat Magazine! Its all happening at Baliblog.