Our Bali Vacation, part 2

Read part one of this vacation here.

The second half of our vacation was a little less packed than the first, but it also included some of our biggest adventures.

September 5

I finally got my first run of vacation in! I'd done some research on places to run in Bali, and the lack of sidewalks and incredible traffic—truly the worse I've ever seen—makes it pretty unsafe to run on the roads. I found that the Campuhan Ridge Walk was the most recommended. For some reason, I assumed it would be flat, but I'm not sure why I thought that.

The path is about two miles long, so I intended to run three or four out-and-backs. Before I'd even gone a few yards, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I texted Matt that I had barely started and already needed to walk! Not only was it incredibly steep, but the stones making up the path were awkwardly spaced with large gaps between them. I had to watch my footing to avoid twisting an ankle. Also, we started early, but the humidity was still more than I bargained for.

Eventually, I resigned myself to walking when I needed to and completed one out-and-back-and-out, at which point I stopped my watch and met Matt at a coffee shop for a strawberry matcha.

That afternoon, we went out for a whitewater rafting session on the Ayung River. We were in a raft with two women from Texas who were rafting for their first time. Because our vacation was during the dry season, the river wasn't as roaring as it can be, but there were still some fun rapids, and I was glad for the reminder that rafting can be fun if the water isn't freezing.

September 6

Once more, we spent the day at the AirBnB. We walked to lunch and then got a couples massage on the way home. Balinese massages are quite different from any massage I've had in the US. Part of that is probably that the massages are grounded in spiritual practice, and part of it is that they don't avoid any particular areas. This was the first time I'd had my stomach massaged!

The weather had turned and we got some rain, which was actually so lovely to experience. We sat on our porch reading, writing, and watching the storm over the jungle.

September 7

I got in another run at sunrise; I figured running that early would allow me to avoid traffic, and I was mostly right. By the time I finished, dozens of kids on scooters were swarming the roads on their way to school. It was the slowest and hardest four miles I'd run in ages, but it was exactly what I needed mentally that day.

We'd planned a big day, and hired a driver to take us around. That meant we could pack bags with changes of clothes and get around the island without depending on random Grabs. Our driver, Putu, was absolutely awesome. He knew good places to bring us, was friendly and chatty, and answered all our questions about Bali.

First, he brought us to a coffee plantation, which originally wasn't even on our list. The one we went to also included a tour of a traditional Balinese house, so we got to learn about how family compounds are set up. Every family karang includes a temple and is designed for harmony. We learned to make the offerings we had seen all over the place, and learned the significance of each part.

We tasted the coffees and teas from the plantation, including the kopi luwak, the coffee made from the undigested beans harvested from civet feces. I've heard of this coffee on shows like Bizarre Foods and No Reservations, and I really felt like I was trying a genuine local delicacy. And it was good! But we ended up buying turmeric and mangosteen teas to take home.

After the plantation, Putu brought us to the hot springs in Batur. This was a cool spot with great views, but the flies were intense. Batur has a lot of farming because of the volcanic soil, but raw meat is used for fertilizer and that leads to flies. I have never experienced anything like that, and I definitely can't recommend spending a lot of time in this part of Bali because it was not pleasant.

After the hot springs, we began our evening adventure: four-wheeling on the volcano and then a jeep ride up to the top for sunset.

I've never driven (or ridden) a four-wheeler before, and even though I intended to try, I quickly decided to jump on the back of Matt's. This is something I'm glad I tried, but will not be doing again. The volcanic fields were incredibly cool, but I did not enjoy the bumpy ride.

The jeep ride was much more my speed, but even that was rough. Our driver found me a particularly perfect piece of volcanic rock to take home, which made it all worth it.

September 8 and 9

Our final days of vacation were chill. One morning, Matt went scuba diving and I stayed home to read and relax. The only things left on my to-do list were a little souvenir shopping and trying the coconut ice cream at a spot with gluten free red rice cones. 

I had the earth mama, which was flavored with lemongrass, ginger, and pandan. It was delicious and refreshing—I wish we'd had time to go twice so I could have tried the ice cream sandwiches!

We treated ourselves to foot massages before heading back to the AirBnB and spent our last evening packing and eating delivered pizza from a place that came highly recommended. The crust was so good I was scared to finish it!

September 10

Putu got us to the airport early, so we had plenty of time to eat lunch and hang out in the lounge before boarding our EVA Airlines "Dreamliner." Our gate (and the plane) was Hello Kitty themed. 

We had a very comfortable flight home with only a slight delay as we left our layover in Taipei. With the time difference, we were home the same night and had our puppy back in our arms after fifteen long days away.

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If you read my Orca Half recap, you know that after our trip, Matt and I both experienced a weird lack of appetite that lasted two full weeks. So did a few of his other paddling friends. It impacted my race in the worst way. But this trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and there will always be more half marathons to run. I can't say the sacrifice of a good race day wasn't worth it!

Alit