I awoke on the morning of day 3 bright and early we were in for a day of exercise, we had arranged for us to go on the Bali Baik Tour with Wayan and his crew, we were to be picked up at the hour of 7am! So one cold shower later (in a Vain effort to kick start my body into some sort of semblance of life) and various threats, bribes and finally pleadings to the two girls that if they didn't get up soon they would miss an unforgettable experience.....(how prophetic those words would turn out to be!), we all piled onto the Bali Baik Minibus.
Our Driver was Made, who possessed the by now familiar gung-ho attitude to the internal combustion engine vehicle, an attitude we had quickly learnt was shared by all of his fellow countrymen......but hey it seems to work. I'm still not sure how when we venture into a taxi we are not witness to some horrendous traffic accident each and every time. It's amazing to see the hoards of scooters surrounding the cars at junctions, then taking off en-masse like a school of fish, turning this way and that but amazingly not colliding with anyone else! Ooooohh .......I seemed to come over all 'David Attenborough' then!!! But I digress.....we picked up another couple from Seminyak on the way after a minor detour as Made got lost, we didn't mind as it was nice to see bits of Seminyak we hadn't yet seen. After a journey of about 1 ¾ hours and a further pick up of a nice Family of four who were staying in Ubud and another of Made's colleagues, Gusti who would be our tour leader for the day.
Our first stop of the day was at a Coffee Plantation up in the hills, here we saw how they harvested, prepared, and then, after a tasting of various coffees and teas, sold the same at exorbitant rates to the gullible passing tourist! They also grow tobacco and although I don't smoke myself it was a refreshing change to hear how 'Smoking is Good for you!' ......that's one in the eye for the PC Brigade!!! Ha! (That's another thing, everyone in Bali seems to like a smoke!?!)Apparently we could pay extra if we wanted to taste the Civet Poo Coffee, but delicious as it sounded, we politely declined their kind offer, actually my daughter and her friend both cried 'Eeeeewwwww No!' They're so childish they even laughed along with my Missus, when upon hearing of the Aphrodisiac properties of Ginseng Tea, suggested we buy a crate to take home with us!!! I don't know what she's on about!?!
Our next stop was for breakfast, overlooking the very impressive Mt. Batur Volcano and Lake Batur.
The breakfast consisted of a buffet of various Indonesian dishes including Nasi Goreng and omelette. It wasn't anything to write home about but at least it was Indonesian, well some of it was! (A quick warning here for any fellow diabetics out there, most places that seem to do fruit juices or ready brewed tea or coffee add sugar before it gets to your cup so take care.)
After breakfast and with swift use of diversionary tactics to avoid the kind lady selling her quality souvenirs outside the Restaurant, we boarded the bus again to travel to our set off point for the bike ride. Upon arrival we were all allocated our bikes, upon sitting on mine it became apparent that unless I got urgent attention to my seat adjustment I would be seriously in need in requiring the restorative properties of that Ginseng Tea!!!
One flick of the Allen Key and our intrepid group of 10 Adventure Cyclists were off, and I've got say it was brilliant! As we pretty much free wheeled we stopped off now and again to see various examples of the day to day goings on of Bali Life! We saw temples, farmers tending their crop and at every village we passed the happy smiling faces of the children with their greetings of 'Hallo!', 'Where you from?' and 'Pedal faster Fatty!' .......though I think that sounded suspiciously like my Missus voice doing an unconvincing impersonation of a small Balinese child, which of course when questioned later she vehemently denied!
At one point we stopped off to have a closer look at a Rice Paddy Field, one by one we clambered up the steep bank beside the road and balancing on the small mound of soil which formed the boundary round each wet and muddy paddy field we walked rather gingerly around one edge and past a small hut containing a wizened old man and two small children. On passing he thrust out his hand seemingly to demand some payment from me, obviously in compensation for me trampling around his field, not an unreasonable request I suppose! As I was busy concentrating on where I was putting my feet, I used the international language of patting my pockets to indicate I had no change, and passed him by. He didn't seem too happy, and trudged off murmuring quietly to himself. After a short talk by Gusti about the life cycle of the rice crop, we made our way off the paddy Field towards the road, I and my Missus bring up the rear. As I stepped down the last little tricky bit, I turned to her and said 'It wouldn't surprise me if one of us slipped and fell in!' and with that, down I went like a felled water buffalo. Much to the amusement of my fellow group, oh and another group who just by good chance, happened to be passing at that precise moment and perhaps most gleefully my female companions I emerged from the mud like the creature from the black lagoon, covered head to foot in mud and water! The very first thing that entered my head was 'That was bl##dy Karma that! ' I was determined not to look in the direction of the little old man in his little hut .......but I just knew he was probably sitting there, with a knowing grin on his face, nodding sagely!
After being cleaned off by Gusti and his fellow guide, who were fighting a losing battle trying to be polite and not laugh we continued on our merry way, me feeling much cooler and refreshed after my little swim, water sloshing out of my pockets with every turn of the pedal! The rest of the ride was uneventful in that I managed to stay upright for pretty much most of it. The final portion was a bit more uppy than downy, and on a couple of occasions I used the ploy, much used by those of a couch potato disposition, of when approaching a hill, pretending there was something wrong with bike, get off, stare at it for a couple of seconds, sigh deeply then proceed to push it up the hill. On reaching the top it miraculously fixed itself and I was able to be on my way again! Still I'm proud to say as 45 year old chunky bloke, with diabetes, high blood pressure and a disproportionately positive self image... I didn't need to get in the support car or resort to the use of oxygen or performance enhancing drugs at any time during the 25k we rode!
Our finishing point was at Wayans family home, a beautiful place that has been in his family for four generations. Here we were treated to my first taste of 'real' Indonesian food. Wayans wife had prepared a beautiful traditional banquet, consisting of various dishes, the stand outs being the Duck, the Satay Skewers and the Chicken. We sat in traditional style on the floor on cushions, which was ok when sitting down but after a 25k bike ride it was murder trying to stand up! We had a good talk with Wayan regarding his business, way of life and his family, we knew he was involved in supporting a local school so we had taken some school equipment, pencils and pens, erasers that kind of thing and a small cash donation to help out. This was graciously received by Wayan and he thanked us warmly. I would encourage others if they are able, to do something similar.
After saying our goodbyes to Wayan and his family, we travelled the 1 ¾ hours or so back to Seminyak. I passed the time by completely monopolising the conversation between myself, my Missus and the friendly couple who were getting dropped off just before us, they left the bus with a cheery wave and a slightly glazed expression on their face probably thanking their lucky stars they were staying nowhere near that weird bloke who doesn't stop talking!
After a shower to rid myself of the last bits of mud and then a refreshing dip in the pool, and we decided we all were exhausted from our days exertions we used the tried and tested Hallo Order in service again, this time we ordered from Soho's. One Chicken Carbonara, one Mushroom Penne, One Chicken Pie and one Caesar Salad later (guess which was mine.........the Caesar Salad....I confess I'd over indulged a bit at Wayans!), we went to bed after the usual Bintang or to and an action packed and excellent day! One which I would fully recommend to anyone.......although you might want to leave out the optional Paddy Field Diving portion........or not!
Day 4 to Follow........ Recovering from the day before.........and Dingleberries....oh sorry I meant Silverberries!