A complicated Picture, Sideman, Bali, May 17th 2013

Sideman...It's a complicated picture

It's a complicated picture looking at Google maps, this trip could either be successful or end in disaster. Sid-ee-mun is the place see rice fields, rice terraces and Balinese rural life all set in rolling hills, but getting there might prove to be challenging, oh well, always up for a challenge. But first, south to the gas station and another ￡1 to fill the scooters tank.

In general I need to head west, with a bit of zig zagging inbetween. So, here I go then, joining the thousands of scooters, mopeds and a handful of cars all vying for space on the narrow bumpy road. It's actually not that daunting once in the flow, just got to keep up, especially when the road is narrow - there isn't any scope for dithering!

First waypoint is the town of Gianyar, a major place according to Google maps and yes, there are signs thankfully. If there is any kind of highway code around here then it's pretty hard to see what the rules might be, so just do what the locals do and hope for the best! So far so good as the next waypoint, Klungkung , another major town is signed posted and a local confirms i'm on the right track! The roads actually are quite good around here, looks like newly laid tarmac and pretty wide too, plenty of space but of course that just means more traffic than ever.

Somewhere in Klungkung looking for a sign to Sideman, which is really only a small village. No sign, and I seem to be off the track a little on some kind of back alley street. The locals are friendly enough though as they try to explain the way out, even drawing me a map. 10 minutes riding, another local says I need to turn around and go back, 5 minutes another says this way and points along a major road, over the river and follow that to Sideman - well, I like the theory, but getting a little frustrated now. Well I never, across the bridge and look, there's a sign for Sideman! Left along a narrow country road packed with trucks carrying this black sandy grit substance. Overtaking is pretty easy though, just follow the local in front. 20 minutes of bone shaking and running into pot holes later the scenery starts to change and those picturesque rice fields begin to appear.

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50 shades of Green, Bali, May 16th 2013

Rice Terraces...

It's a downhill ride pretty much all the way from Kintamani to the rice terraces about 20 minutes from Ubud. I promised a closer look here as I passed on the way up this morning, so here we are in the village of Tegallalang. Looks like a tourist hotspot and for good reason as the scenes here are pretty spectacular. Lush green paddies and terraces in the steep hillside making this place worthy of a picture postcard, and of course there they are, along with all the other tourist tack. It's quite easy to ignore the touts, no hard selling here, just a polite no thanks is enough and I can continue standing on the street happily snapping at the scenic landscape here, both at eye-level and down into the valley below. 50 shades of green, well, a slight exaggeration perhaps and I can't but help come to the conclusion this is all sightly engineered for tourist trade!

Moving on towards Ubud and a few more rice paddies spotted between the shops and this little  scooter comes to a screeching halt. This time they look a little more authentic with locals actually working the land, great set of photos here of rural life in action.

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Coffee and Volcano, Bali May 2013

A 30p View - Todays Coffee @Batur Volcano, Bali

Batur Volcano, Bali

A Volcanic Crater, Bali, May 16th 2013

Can I see Clearly Now?

At least the rain has stooped, but still nothing spectacular to see as the place is shrouded in clouds. According to various Internet sources I should be on the rim of a volcanic crater looking across and down onto some stunning scenery and of course the real live volcano - nothing doing right now, maybe this afternoon on the way back. Well, having made it this far, might as well take a look at life inside the crater, or caldera as is the correct term.

It's pretty easy to navigate, just take the next left, and the only way is down. Plenty of trucks heading down too, equally plenty of trucks coming up making life on the scooter interesting at times. Thankfully this scooter has a significant thrust factor thus helping me out of a few potential jams! Cloud base at about halfway down, and visibility extends onto  a scenic lakeside village, and now I can see some of the volcano with its associated lava flow from the last eruption.

Keddison is the village at the bottom. Left around the lake and towards the volcano or right into the village and further around the lake. Left, since I want to maximise this volcanic experience. Climbing it is a 2 hour mammoth effort according to research, but not today. Just getting up close will be good enough and if I can get a few decent photos then mission for today accomplished. Quite an experience to be among what was once a lava flow and clearly a dangerous place to be looking at the debris of rocks across the landscape. Surprising then that there are communities living in the shadow of this volcano, and one that has the potential for a big eruption, soon. Anyone thinking of hiking around here alone is in for a rough time, from touts who want to recommend a guide. Arriving at the information centre and the pressure is on to book a guide for the 3am 2 hour hike up the volcano in the hope that there are no clouds to obscure the sunrise, at a staggering ￡30 minimum.

Leaving behind some glum faced volcano guides I continue  clockwise around the lake, overtaking more trucks fully laden with black sand - next time I should buy some goggles! The trail ends in a village, just as the heavens open and a torrential downpour forces drastic action - ride for cover. Stuck, under what seems to be the village communal scooter parking shack, leaking roof for completeness! An interesting couple of hours actually, as authentic as Balinese life can be seen here in this rather quaint village underneath an active volcano - far removed from the heady situation in Kuta. Chickens scratching in the garbage, dogs roaming around risking life and death, kids leaving school and about 20 giant spiders hanging on the overhead wires.

Back on the road heading back towards Keddison and the beginning of the  ascent. But just before that, let's take a look at the village here, a closer look at the lake and life associated with it. About 50 shades of green as the place has plenty of fertile land with a good variety of crops. Onions, cabbages and rice among others, oh and chilli patches too. Another aspect of rural Balinese life here, a significant distance from the volcano and with the lake inbetween.

An interesting day here, more for the chance to see authentic Balinese life than looking at the volcano. Life that's relevant, the kids playing in the streets with their kites, old timers chewing the fat on door steps, people going about their business. Little shops serving local needs. This is not some oldy worldy type put up tourist job, not a tourist coach in sight, actually not a tourist spotted all day. A local Bali coffee before embarking on the ascent and the 90 minute bone shaking ride back to base, via the rice terraces.

Volcano by Scooter, Bali, May 14th 2013

Scooter riding on Bali -

Hiring a scooter seems popular among those tourists that have migrated up from Kuta with endless lines of machines on the street ready for hire now. Riding on Indonesian roads then cant be that hazardous! The guesthouse here has them too, ￡3.50 per day - Bargain. Yes, it's time to branch out, spread ones wings and explore at least some of the Islands natural wonders. One place said to be worth a look is the area North of Ubud, particularly because there is an active volcano waiting to be seen, explored and climbed.

A quick glance at Google Maps, I only need to know the name of a couple of towns and 3 roads - north from Ubud, east at Kintamani and north again towards the volcano, which I'm sure will be spotted long before I get lost! All sounds straight forward, no need for maps, so off we go. Uh oh, almost empty fuel tank, better run down to the gas station. Better take it slow to start with, not used to all this madness on the roads as I merge into the endless stream of traffic - waiting for a gap in traffic just isn't done around here, push-in or go nowhere fast. 30p a litre, 3 litres to fill the tank.

One long, straightish uphill road, not too much traffic once away from the town and into the real rural setting of rice fields, terraces and coconut groves. A closer look at theses on the way back perhaps but right now better head up to the first way point of Kintamani and fast since its starting to rain.

Raining pretty hard now as I roll into Kintamani. Right is east and  towards the access road down to the volcano area, in theory anyway since the place is shrouded in fog and there is nothing to see at all, except a couple of stray dogs and some wild chickens and a collection of locals. Thankfully there's a cafe on the corner here, time for a coffee break, dry out a little and recover from 60 minutes of bone shaking. Fleeced, Bali coffee is 10,000 Rupiah, should be 5k at the most from a local place like this!