19th-22nd May, Ubud - Bali

This small trip to the spiritual centre of Bali, Ubud, was another Hi-light of the trip. We rented a car on the 19th around two pm and stocked up on snacks and headed to Ubud. It was dark when we arrived but we found a great deal at a hotel slightly out of Ubud in Mas Village, Peliatan called Suly Resort and spa. It was incredible, amazing traditional buildings, and so many smiling faces, as it was home to many under-privileged and some orphaned but talented teenagers who did jobs around the hotel and learnt skills in the trade to help with their future. They held classes for customers in traditional Balinese customs for wood carving, gamelan (a form of Balinese classical music) and Batik design. The night we arrived we went to the Lotus restaurant in Ubud before sleep.The following day we booked a trip to do a sunrise trek on Mount Batur the following day. And then had lunch at a hotel called Amandari, expensive for our budget but well worth it for the views of th Agung river valley! We then went back into Ubud centre and found an arts/crafts/jewellery market for a look around and also booked tickets for Balinese dancing that night, which was incredible and we went to the other Lotus restaurant for dinner.That night we didn't sleep, as we were picked up at 2.30am for a bus ride to the base of Mount batur, an active volcano and th second highest peak in Bali. We walked in the dar for 2 hours with torches, arriving at the summit an hour before sunrise, the last 20 minutes were extremely steep sand and very tough going, and as the sunrise would reveal, pretty dangerous as well! We sat on the top for an hour, getting cold in the, for us, unusual cold of 10 degrees. As the sun rose there were amazing views over Kintemani lake and Mount Agung rising out of the cloud, and Lombok in the far distance. The best moment of the entire trip so far, as the top was quiet, as most never actually climb to the summit, they stay below the last 40 minutes of steep sand climb, but that made such a difference. Nevertheless, a guy had still climbed up that early with a backpack of soft drinks, and so we bought a coke. We had a boiled egg and bread breakfast and carried on down to see hot volcanic steam vents and a sacred bat cave. Then we climbed/walked back down the mountain, thanked the guide we had between just the two of us and got the bus back for rest, having not slept the entire night. We slept till four then popped to go to cafe Wayan, as recommended by the Miami couple.....for a nasi goreng.On the morning of the 22nd we got up at 7.30 and went for breakfast at Amandari hotel, in a private Bale overlooking the gorge which we booked two days before. It the best breakfast of the trip and unbeatable when combined with the views.We drove back to Kuta, dropped back the car and checked back into the Dewi Sri hotel. We then met the Canford lot at a hotel called Gora on Jalan Poppies 2, where Jiaxi and PK were staying, for some movies.