I know I haven't been consistent in uploading these travel diaries but hey, one post per week at least, am I right? ;) So let's jump in with the next itineraries, shall we!
On the third dawn, we decided we wanted to go for a sunrise trek at Mount Batur before leaving Ubud for Seminyak as Ubud is higher up in latitude and therefore closer to Mt. Batur comparably. So we (again) asked Putu to link us up with a guide who would trek together with us to the summit. (price was $50/person) Mt. Batur is only about 1717m above sea level, so it wasn't a tough hike as per say, but with all the darkness and the c r o w d s it took us longer than expected. Before anything, here's our trekking itinerary:
02.30 AM: Pick up time from our hotel in Ubud
03.45 AM: Arrival at the starting point of the hike at Toyabungkah village.
06.15 AM: Arrival at the summit of Mount Batur (sunrise point).
07.00 AM: Continue our trek around the entire crater.
08.00 AM: Begin our descent to the finishing point of our trek (Toyabungkah village).
09.00 AM: Arrival at Toyabungkah village and board car to go back to our hotel.
11.00 AM: Arrival at our hotel
And yes, sunrise in Bali happened at about 6.30+am, so we had to leave our hotel at 230am. Just saying, my 2 lovely friends still had time to put on some foundation and prep themselves up, so do not fret my friends, this trekking itinerary is completely doable and totally worth it! (believe me, we are major sleepers)
We trekked up in our yoga pants, good pairs of sneakers we didn't mind getting dirty of, crop tops/usual T-shirts, and sweaters/windbreakers. To be honest, the coldest part of the trek was when you were just starting out because the wind there was CRAY! like actually crazy. But the best thing was that if you forget to bring a thick enough jacket for this hike, you could find so many local sellers offering up jackets for rents. 1 jacket for the entire hike cost ~$5, and honestly, they were all of great condition and best of all, not stinky. 10/10 for convenience.
The first part of the trek was on winding asphalt road and it was not that tiring, actually. We trekked for a good 45 minutes before stopping at a rest stop that let us overlook the nearby lights from sleepy Toyabungkah Village. By then, we were sweating enough to take off our jacket and trek with just our tops and yoga pants. The wind was chilly, but it was comfortable and refreshing. Following this, you will see more people streaming into the trek roads as this stop is also the highest part where cars and motorbikes could park at.
Following this, the trek got harder—the roads were no longer asphalt, but they were filled with loose gravels that were slippery, to say the least. Along the way, you would hear people blasting Old Town Road off their speakers (aka us) while concentrating really hard to not fall down lol. Honestly, this part of the trek was not that fun and mesmerising as we were all concentrating on the ground instead of the views we're surrounded by as the traffic of people was really high, and that meant that more loose gravels and thuds of people's butts on the floor were heard more frequently than ever. We took another 30 minutes+ hike to reach the semi summit and rested for a bit. There were also people with torchlight selling crazily inflated beverages at this semi summit. After a while, we wanted to continue trekking to the summit for the sunrise.
After another 45 minutes and more slips here and there, we finally made it to the summit!! Our guide prepared breakfast for us in a small hut nearby and we sat at the edge of the road(?) to warm up. It was sooooo surreal watching the dark blue skies gradually brighten. It was like this vast dark blue blanket surrounding you slowly break to reveal a concoction of the richest red and yellow hues at its seams, and the flickering of sun rays slowly warming your soul with a cup of hot coffee/tea as you gasped on. It was honestly so beautiful. And we were so lucky that the weather was so clear that we could spot Mt. Agung (an active volcano nearby) from the top. We just took pictures and chatted for a long while after our hike. Oh, even talking about it now makes me want to trek again! Super recommended peeps. Please slot this in your Bali itinerary if you can! :) <3
Here are the pictures that I believe did not do the whole experience justice but still are a feast to the eyes:
view upon reaching the summit at 5.45+am
the neighboring mountain and a crater lake starting to show up...
right at sunrise <3 x
A couple caught in action teehee
sun was completely up by then
THE ultimate golden/rosy hour you can get...😍
beware of cheeky monkey(s) that are lurking for your breakfast(!)
or attract them intentionally to get cute pictures like this i guess o_o
After the hike, we were completely gone. Like dead-in-the-car-i-don't-care-anymore type of gone. So we just deadass slept like babies once we sat on Putu's comfortable car seats. Oh, and also, another important thing is to remember to tip your trekking guide! They earn minimal amounts from a regulated local tour company in order to become a licensed Mt. Batur guide, so your tips go a long way. Our guide was so nice that he held my friend's hand most of the way because damn girl, I got massive anxiety from her mini screams whenever her feet lost their grip on the sandy grounds. We gave him ~$30 and we thought it was a decent amount to tip your guide with so, be generous and
Initially, we planned to check the Uluwatu temple I believe, but on the way back we were too tired to bother getting outta the car, so we decided to skip it and just go back to the hotel to check out immediately and head to Seminyak!
1230—we arrived in Seminyak and we went for lunch at Revolver. It was pretty decent, like a 7.5/10 cafe food rating I'd say. !0/10 for varieties, though. Singapore gotta catch up with their cafe food options, mate :/ Since were famished, we over-ordered (again) and it cost us ~$70. Not the cheapest, but again, decent! We basically just chilled a little bit in the hotel and then scoooted out for our Yoga class at Yoga Shala :} Oh and we stay right smack in the middle of Seminyak at Amadea Resorts and Villas which I would say was pretty basic with okay amenities and facilities but hey the location was 10/10 so nothing to complain about, really. And yes, we managed to sneak in a third person without them knowing again. I feel like as long as only 2 people are there during check-ins, you should be fine.
fish taco was really not good... we didn't finish it lol others were decent!
1600—yoga time! As a first-timer, the instructor, Ms. Delia, was super understanding and nice. What's best was that the class consisted only of the 3 of us, so we literally giggled our way through the class without judgement. 10/10 would recommend if you want to just stretch out your tired body from the hike and chill out for a little bit with your friends. Yoga lasted for an hour and we paid ~$7 for Indonesian citizen aka me and ~$14 for foreigners. This was a little bit on the expensive side for Bali, but since the class consisted of just the 3 of us, it was worth the money, I'd say!
1930—Potato Head Beach Club. Honestly, we were lowkey tired af on that day, but we decided to go anyways. Potato Head was just as you'd imagine it to be, and I'd recommend going for a dip there in the afternoon because the sea was just right outside it so it must have been beautiful during sunset and really snazzy for tanning. But still, the vibe was great, food was a solid 8/10 and they had a lot of cocktail selection. Potato Head truly lives up to its reputation, I'd say. Perfect place for a cozy night out.
Pictures below!
Annnnd that concludes our Day 3! It was eventful as always, and I cannot wait to share my cafe recommendations to you! The rest of the days in Seminyak are pretty chill honestly, so I won't bore you with our meager itineraries and I'll get straight to what I feel is a must-go and what you can skip! See yalls in part 4 xo
Loads of love,
Maretta Simon
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