Tues 13th - Fri 16th May (Week 34)

Tues 13th - Got our private car at 10am to take us to Munduk. We could have taken a bus, but it involved changing somewhere, and going to a different bus station, and with all our bags and the heat, we decided to pay a bit more and get a private transfer. Passed some beautiful paddy fields, jungle and palm trees as we steadily ascended to Munduk, arriving at 11:30. Checked into our lovely homestay with great views over the rice terraces in the valley, but it was very cloudy with heavy rain in the afternoon, so we had a nice afternoon nap until 4pm ! Wandered around the little village - all along one main road, finding lots of other nice homestays, restaurants and great views. Seems a lovely area to explore, so I'm glad we can have a few days to do some walking.

Wed 14th - Headed out at 8am to make the most of the morning sun before the clouds come in at lunchtime. After a few wrong turns, we eventually got on the right path down into the jungle to the waterfalls. It was beautiful walking by ourselves, no-one around, with the blue sky and lush green jungle all around. We came to a series of small waterfalls and also found some massive spiders in huge webs - their bodies 2" long, and really long legs - quite hideous ! Then came to Melanting waterfall which was about 100ft high and really impressive with heavy spray at the bottom so we got soaked trying to take photos. Walked uphill another 30mins to Red Coral Waterfall - similar in size to the previous one, but just as impressive. Came back out to the main road at 12pm and had lunch overlooking all the valley and rice terraces. Relaxing afternoon sleep, and reading on the terrace overlooking the paddy fields and jungle mountains. Such a lovely place, really quiet, few tourists and so scenic.

Thurs 15th - Another early start, leaving our homestay at 8am. Walked down into the valley and had a wonderful 4 hour walk exploring the rice terraces up close and just being wowed at the stunning scenery. Our map wasn't overly helpful and we took another few wrong turns, but generally headed in the right direction and saw some wonderful sights along the way. It is interesting walking passed traditional wooden houses with temples in the gardens and little bamboo and flower offerings all around, then offsetting that with a big satellite dish in the garden ! We have really enjoyed our 2 days here and so glad we can just take the time to explore the area and barely see another tourist all day !

Fri 16th - Headed out of Munduk in our private car at 8am, having a quick photo stop over Lakes Tamblingan and Buyan, with Mt Agung in the background. Carried on to Lake Bratan and wandered around the temple area, enjoying the peaceful lake and mountain setting with very few tourists. Beautiful setting with the 11-tiered thatched temple sitting on the blue, clear lake. Reminded us of Lugano - fresh, crisp mountain air, very green and lush and sunny. Spent 1.5hrs around the Botanical Gardens enjoying the orchids, ponds, bamboo and tern ferns. Its a pretty vast place so we got driven to each of the main areas. Then took 1hr to drive to Jatiluwih - a Unesco place which was incredibly stunning with hill after hill covered in lush green rice terraces. We thought Munduk was beautiful, but this was just another league as it was endless ! Went exploring for 1.5hrs in and out of the terraces, scrambling over rivers etc and saw a couple of small snakes - one falling out of a banana tree right next to Brandon ! Most tourists just seemed to stop at the various viewing platforms, take photos then carry on. I think our driver was quite taken aback that we wanted to go for a long walk to appreciate the beauty up close ! Drove for another 1.5hr, passing what seemed like temple after temple, but were actually temple areas within every garden. They are so ornate and beautiful, and its amazing that every single house has their own, and they do offerings before every meal. There are even little pillar-type shrines on every rice terrace ! Arrived into Ubud at 4pm and went straight to a visa agency to find out how we can renew our 30-day visa. Normally it takes 7 working days through them, but with various holidays coming up, it will take 2-3 weeks !! Wandered around Ubud and were amazed at how Western it feels - more tourists than locals, health food shops, yoga, massage, art galleries etc. Very nice feel to the place though - not big and busy like a city, just a nice chilled out, touristy vibe !