MUNDUK, BALI - MOUNTAINS, HIKES, FOOD - 28 SEPTEMBER TO 1 OCTOBER 2019

MUNDUK

COSTS

Car Balian to Munduk - 500 000r

Car Munduk to Balian - 500 000r

Nadya homestay – 500 000R per night includes breakfast

Temple tour - 350 000r not including temple tickets

Pura Ulang Bratan - entrance fee 50 000r per person

Various waterfalls – 10 000r or 20 000r entrance fee.

NYOMAN'S STORY

We left Balian and had  a pretty drive through the mountains to Munduk. Along the way, Nyoman told us a story of the first arrival of the Javanese Hindus to Bali. A beautiful story!

Long ago a holy man guided a group of people to the island of Bali from Java. They settled there and tilled the land but soon they caught a sickness and they all died. The holy man returned to Java and after much meditation he discovered that they needed to make an offering by burying four precious metals in the earth. He returned to Bali with a much larger group of people and buried the offering in the earth at where Besakih stands today. The group survived, spread across Bali, mixed with the local Bali Aga people and tilled the land. They learnt that they must make offerings so that did not get sick again.

Nyoman explained this was why there are so many offerings for every facet of their life so that remain healthy.

THE MOUNTAINS

THE ROOM

We settled into our room at Nadya Homestay on arrival.

Jacinta was very happy with my choice. A large very clean room with a spacious bathroom. The bed was a large four poster with a drooping white mosquito net. There was a glass wooden slide door to the balcony with a view across the valley and a mountain peak beyond. We could view this as we laid on the bed. Pretty!

In Jacinta’s words to me, ‘I done well!”. That is a big than big compliment from my darling.

 THE FIRST HIKE

Our first hike was down the road from our hotel and towards the rice fields. It was a steep walk along the road with motorbikes, cars and trucks either zooming or podding along. A turn off to the right and we were on a narrower and quieter road.

We passed houses with small gardens and cloves drying in flat spaces in the sun.

We reached a dirt track on our right and traversed along it. We passed ricefields and stands of clove trees. The path ended leading to homes and farms. Looking up we could see our hotel perched on the side of the thickly vegetated ridge.

We back tracked ascending the steep incline back to our hotel.

THE BIG HIKE

Our second hike was a long one. We followed the main road at Munduk up and up and up. The traffic was roaring past, the temperature was increasing, shade was limited and the road just seemed to keep getting steeper. A not so fun start.

We reached the track that lead to the waterfalls.

The track was fun to walk along. We passed trees, pretty and compacted homes and small warungs. The track was cemented in parts and natural in other parts. There were many steps leading up and down the ridges. Some of these steps were well maintained and others very rough. No steps seemed to be of the same height. So it was like one small step, one medium step then one ridiculously high step, etc, etc. Good for the calf muscles.

The three waterfalls we visited were stunning. They were high and the water dropped with power as it plummeted down the slick cliff edge to a pool of water. The force of the water resulted in a strong wind being generated with horizontal rain fron the waterfall spray. Very cooling!

I had a swim in one waterfall pool. It was cool and refreshing.

The luckiest thing about our hike was the lack of people at each waterfall we visited. The first waterfall had a crowd of about twenty people but they were leaving as we arrived. Then we had it for ½ hour on our own. Lucky!

The waterfalls were nice to sit and rest near. We soaked our feet in the water while eating our nut mix, drinking water and admiring the drooping vegetation of the waterfall canyon. Two of the waterfall had been modified with beautiful and subtle flower gardens that blended in so well with the natural greenery.

There were also a number of sturdy bamboo bridges to cross over at the falls and along the walking track.

The hike took us about four hours and was a wonderful experience.

THE LAST HIKE

Jacinta had a big sleep in. When she woke we had breakfast then a short walk/hike. Well, in the end it wasn’t short and not a walk.

We followed the road downhill from the hotel and continued straight where previously we had turned right. The homes very so unique being build in various precarious positions, Some were on solid ground with a huge drop off the edge, others on concrete stilts about three storeys off the ground, others were layered on top of other floors that didn’t seem to match in style and others that5 were relatively normal.

The road was festooned along its edge in places with beautiful flower arrangements either small and subtle or large overhanging blooms.

We took a turn to the left following a small waterway but it came to a dead end after 20 metres.

Further along the road we took another turn off to the right that according to Google Maps was a rice field track that lead back to our hotel. We took the track and it traverse around a hill through terraced corps of rice and cloves. It reached a sort of dead end but we continued onwards much to the annoyance of two dogs who barked viciously at us as we walked through their territory. The path a short while later dissipated but we continued sliding and traversing down the terraced slope till eventually there was nowhere to go but back up. We ascended the hill and eventually found our way back to the barking dogs. This time the dogs were aggressively unamused and added a bit vicious sentiment to the barks and snarls.

We were back on the path and backtracked our way back to the hotel.

THE TEMPLE TOUR

We organised an afternoon tour with the hotel to see a few sights.

The driver drove us up and up from Munduk until we levelled out on the crater ridge on the extinct volcano. We stopped at a lookout spot to view the two crater lakes below. There were wooden seats and tables to have a coffee while we viewed the lakes and volcanic backdrop.

Next stop was the temple on the edge of Lake Bratan. The parking lot was packed with cars , buses and motorbikes. The temple grounds were crowded with a massive amount of older Indonesian students. Some of them were very noisy. The actual temples were locked and there were no ceremonies or anyone dressed for ceremonies.

Okay it was not going to be a magical mystery tour where one could seek and witness the divine. Still, it was nice looking at the architecture, the smaller island temples and the stone carvings on the temple walls. The lake and volcanic cliffs were such a pretty backdrop especially as it was shrouded in mist and clouds.

Next stop was the traditional market. A few fruit stalls were opened but overall most stalls were closed and covered with a trap and there were only a few people wandering around.

An early morning tour would be better. Going by car was good as the road was so steep, narrow and windy. There was also a lot of traffic and it was raining on parts of the high ridge.

THE FOOD

Munduk had great local food and where we stayed there were a lot of restaurants. We ate lunch and dinner at different venues to spread our money love. I was impressed with the satay sauces and a dessert called kelok pisang which was sliced boiled bananas in a mixture of coconut and palm syrup. It was sooooo good!

The restaurants and warungs had great views of the mountains and valleys. The hosts at every establishment were friendly and very appreciative of having their food complimented.