Don't have time at the moment to get into a trip report but thought I would get out of the heat here for a wee while and give a report on our cycle trip yesterday with the Bali Eco cycle group. Just a quick background on us, so that I can take you on our Bali ride so far. This is my second trip to Bali (first 10 years ago) and my wife's first. We are staying at the Mandira in Legian (great accom) and we headed out on our cycle trip on day 4. I knew that my wife was having trouble finding her balance here, the great weather and resort lifestyle, cheap shopping and eating against the chaos of the street shopping, some social issues and a few other things.
Our only view of Bali to this stage had been the streets of Legian and Kuta. We also like to keep reasonably physical on our holidays as well and had enjoyed walks and swims on each morning of the trip (great when you can get cheap massages each day to compensate). Note on the weather and beach....we have little or no rain in Melbourne for some months and the downpour we had on our first night was like the sum total for Melb's last 3 months :-))...we loved it. The rain kept mainly to the early hours of the morning but the downside has been the terrible rubbish problem on the beach. Weather though during the day has been really good and it is our hottest day today, with more sunshine coming.
Anyway, we finally got out of the Legian/Kuta area on Friday when we were picked up for our bike tour. I got the number for this outfit through a lady who has a Jayakarta apartment for rent and has written a great blog on things to do, see, eat, etc in Bali. It is owned and run by an Aussie, Steve but he was still in Aust, so we dealt with his main man, Darma, who was excellent. His phone info was great and his communication whilst picking us up, driving there and other times was first rate (as good a guide as I have met). We started at the volcano lake of Batur for morning tea and then not too far from here started our cycle tour. Only ordinary part of the trip was that the bikes are pretty average, very rideable but when you come from a riding background, I probably tend to be a little over critical of the bikes. The first 2 hours of the tour are not going to tax too many people, it is all downhill and there is virtually no pedalling, roll 80% of the way. There are a number of stops along the way and Damar talks you through the plants in villages, what they use them for, what food they can get and how every part of the plant has a use. We also stopped at a home compound and had a tour through. It is fascinating and gives you the best insight into the Bali lifestyle and how family orientated it is. Damar comes from a village himself and gives an excellent account of family upbringing and also explains the complicated belief system that guides their home lives, as well as their village lives. If you want to see the real Bali, don't miss this tour!!
We also thoroughly enjoyed the ride through the ride paddies and stops to meet local farmers and kids on the street in small villages. Damar has two stops towards the end where he asks everyone in the group if they want to continue the ride (wagon travel behind the riders). There were two more physical parts of the ride to come, 5kms or so of moderate roads, including a few climbs....then the second stop and another choice of the harder climb, uphill but not overly difficult, loved the workout....our group of 6 did the whole ride and even though exhausted by the end, had a great time. What a bonus to find the Eco group has their own restaurant and we had the best meal of our trip (as part of the trip price) at this small open aired restaurant, 15mins from Ubud.
Back out to the heat....don't miss this ride, it has been the best part of our trip so far.