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.
.JPG)
