Next morning up fairly early and breakfast served once again on the balcony. We have a trekking tour booked through the Tegal Sari. We all thought it was going to a gentle stroll through the rice fields, and farms with the guide pointing out the different type of fruits/veges and herbs that are grown.
Joining us are a lovely young Malaysian couple on a kid free week. Set off in the mini bus on time. It is roughly a 20min interesting ride to the village. The guide is full of information and very happy to answer any questions during the tour.
Firstly we stop at an artists compound and are given some sketches to shade in. They are pictures of traditional dancers. It think they are called keliki pictures/style. Lots of laughs at how hopeless some of us are at our drawing ability! We are given a cup of hot ginger tea or bali coffee. LW was a little reluctant to drink it due to her fragile tummy, but did so and really enjoyed it. (No major side effects from the drink either!)
We spent about 90min in the compound, was no rush and the Malaysian couple were getting right into their drawings. J in particular did a very impressive drawing.
Finally we left for a ‘meander' through the rice fields. The guide pointing out points of interest, fruits etc. Arrived at a coconut farm and the farmer shimmied up the tree and threw down 2 coconuts for us all to try. The flesh was slimy, sweet and warm and the coconut water quite palatable. I'd only ever eaten that dry rubbish that is found in the supermarkets here....this was very different!
Then the fun starts.... Our gentle stroll through the rice fields turns into a deep valley that we have to climb down into! The handmade steps are uneven, very steep and often quite slippery. We eventually reach the bottom and our legs are all shaking. The guide points to a water supply that he says is fine to drink as it comes from the ground and is not contaminated....my water bottle is just about empty so I'm the only ‘brave' enough one to have a drink. I had no bali belly or side effects from the water, it tasted fresh and very cool.
There were lots of groans etc......we now have to climb back out again. The guide says its only 20metres....sure! By the time we got to the top all of us knackered, light headed and feeling quite ill! Goes to show how unfit we all are!!! A short rest and paddle through an irrigation river and it's a 20min walk to the village that we are to get picked up from. Have a short wait at the village (its very hot!) and back to the Tegal Sari for lunch that is included in the trek. Its a choice of Nasi Campur or Babi Guling. I chose the Babi Guling as I'd never tried before and always wanted to. Was not overly impressed very oily and quite fatty. Was quite dry with lots of green chilli. They did tell us that it was not cooked on site and was bought in by a recommended cafe. LW was the only one of us to have the Nasi Campur and it was absolutely beautiful. There was 7 different things to try.... pork belly, a rendang, a boiled egg with sambal, a prawn with sambal, a spicy salad, smoked fish wrapped in banana leaf and boiled chicken wrapped in banana leaf. We've decided to come back to the hotel restaurant for tea as the food is sensational. Loved the trek, but if you struggle with stairs I would not advise it as the valley section was quite difficult. Was not very expensive we thought....150,000rp each (including a bottle of water and lunch).
JB & I have a rest for an hour or so in our rooms (and a few duty frees!) LW & CB head once again for another shopping expedition! They finish it off with a massage. Meet up again for ‘happy hour' and back to the Tegal Sari for tea. There are a lovely Scottish couple also having tea and we chat with them for the evening. Decide to have some more duty free on the balcony and the Scottish couple and the Malaysian couple join us.
Next morning pack and have our last breaky on the balcony. Have decided to have more massage before we head down to Kuta. I have a crème head massage, and a foot massage for two hours.....pure luxury. Pity hairdressers in Perth can't do a massage like this! Was worth every cent of the 135,000rp for two hours.
I thought the Tegal Sari was fantastic. It is everything and above what everyone else has written about in their reviews. They are in the process of opening up a new restaurant that will be accessible from Monkey Forest Road... if they keep the same cooks that are there now, it should do very well!
The driver that JB & CB used on the first day picks us up on time from the Tegal Sari. He has not had an awful lot of work in the past few months so we are all happy help out. We are heading to Kuta Townhouses....more in part 3.