September 26,

I woke at 0615, but went back to sleep until 0715. Jeff had been awake since before 0530. We were up and about. Our shower here is much better, mostly due to it having a shower head, and not being outside showering is just better on many levels.🤣😂  Anyway, we had our Javas on our balcony. The lake is so beautiful and the sky is clear! At 0845, we went down to have our first included breakfast here. I had poached eggs, sausage, and toast. Jeff went with an omelet and toast with a hot tea. We sat at the places across the street again.

Around 0930 we set out for what we could, because when we finished breakfast clouds were already accumulating. First stop was Air Terjun Munduk, or Munduk Waterfall. We drove 3km to the site, parked for free, and paid 20,000 IDR each, or $1.19 each for entry. There were steep cement steps down for a short stretch. The waterfall opened up. It started as two mounding drops, but changed into three long horsetail-like falls until the water hit rocks below and meandered down into a pool. It was quite lovely. There was a rickety bamboo small viewing area, that I timidly went out on… long enough for pictures. The path went on down to the bottom pool area and we trekked down there. Glad we did, we saw smaller falls that also emptied into the same pool, from a different area. We hiked back out and returned to our car.

The second stop was Ulan Danu Beratan Temple. It is a 16km drive – we actually go by our place again. We arrived just before 1100, paying the 75,000 IDR each for entry. We use a toilet, of course paying 2,000 IDR each for this. This Hindu temple is set on Danau Beratan, or Lake Beratan. It had a very large ground area, and had a lovely temple area in the middle. We could not go in, since we are not Hindu, but the lovely stupa is very visible. There were lots of Instagram photo-ops… too many. It gives off a theme park feel, overtaking the temple vibe. But since we could not go into the temple area, we got some pictures. One in front of kissing fish. The place even had costumes you could put on and have a photo done – we did not do this. There was also a koi/fish pond. For 10,000 IDR/60 cents I went in with some fish food and fed some “poor starving” fish. They were massive. There was also a Barking Deer in a pen… a semi zoo area, really! Lastly we saw musicians playing Balinese music. Jeff gave them a 10,000 IDR donation and tried on a Balinese mask. We left here and loaded up into our car, having to pay 5,000 IDR for parking. We both enjoyed it more than we thought we would.

Our last place was Bali Botanical garden. It only cost us 51,000 IDR or $3.05 for the entry and the parking fees! Upon entering we saw the map and how large the garden was. It encompasses 389 acres! OH MY!! Thankfully they have bicycles, e-bicycles, and scooters for rent. I thought… no wonder the entry was so cheap. We each got an e-bicycle. This cost us 30,000 IDR each ($1.80). It was our first experience on an e-bike. I found it a bit of a learning curve, but once I got used to it it was fun, even exhilarating. The garden was spread out – a lot of land with some smaller gardens about. There was a Bamboo garden; a Cactus enclosure; an Orchid enclosure; a very small pond Water area; a Begonia garden; a Rose garden; and an “A” plants area (the name escapes me, but it started with an A). These were the ones we went to. The Botanical Garden also listed and we saw a Giant Ficus Tree, and a main boulevard lined with various statues. Deep Breath… it was a lot. We were glad we had the e-bikes for an hour! We enjoyed the Cactus and the Begonia gardens the best. As we left we bought some strawberries from a local vendor in the parking area.

Now we went for a “lunner” at Warung Rekreasi Bedugul. We ordered a Garlic Soup, a Ash Burrito with pork and mashed potato smothered in a Cheese Jalapeno sauce, and a Ayam Panggang Me Tigtig, which was grilled chicken with a Sambal Matah (raw Sambal) and Lalapan (side raw veggies). It was all delicious.😋 I had lemon tea, Jeff had ginger tea, and we shared a strawberry juice. The cost for the food came to 304,750 IDR or $18.27.

After we finished we went back to our hotel to unwind. As we pulled in we were – “Welcomed home” by the staff. That was very nice!! We relaxed and later had the strawberries dipped in Nutella for supper. What a fantastic day!