I had decided to cross this part of Indonesia (specifically Lombok and Bali) as quickly as possible, as it will be quite easy to come back and explore in more detail later, with daily cheap flights to Denpasar from Australia. Thus only a single day was spent crossing each, although I did stop for a few of the sights in Bali.
Lombok had the classic Indonesian sights – verdant green rice paddies, looming volcanic mountains, clear blue skies in the morning and threatening thunderclouds in the afternoon.
There are mosques here every few hundred metres, with even the smallest village having a small mushola. They have bright, vibrant colours, and are the reason why westerners can’t sleep in past 4:30AM, with the daily call to prayer.
I had decided to cross over the central mountain, Mt Rinjani, and head along the north coast for the sake of scenery, passing through the main tourist area Senggigi along the way. The mountain road was incredibly tight, twisty, and pushed through dense jungle before suddenly cresting with a view over the valley below – however there was nowhere to stop for photos. The north coast proved somewhat easier to stop and get photos.
Soon enough I was on another ferry, crossing to Bali. Fortunately none of the ferries have proved as crowded as the first, and I was able to get a decent seat. Arriving in Bali after dark, I got a cheap room in the port town, cheated on Indonesian food with a steak, and settled in for the night.
The next morning, I had a similar plan for Bali: cross the island in a single day, seeing a few key sites on the way, avoiding the worst touristy spots to the south by crossing the central mountains and following the northern coast.
Bali, being a predominantly Hindu island in an Islamic nation, is proud of its religious heritage and not afraid to show it. Statues and offering shrines abound, and every village is required by custom to construct three separate temple complexes. Daily offerings of food, flowers and cigarettes in small thatched trays are left on every surface.
My first stop was the temple of Gunung Kawi near Ubud, an 11th century burial complex at the bottom of a steep valley. 371 stairs along the route to the bottom, which was flanked with the archetypal tiered rice paddies.
Then you enter the temple complex itself.
On the way to the next temple, there were a number of sights just on the roadside.
The next stop was Goa Gajah temple, a small but popular complex just outside Ubud. It is most famous for the carved entrance of the cave mouth.
There wasn’t much inside though.
The surrounding area was a pretty walk through rainforest.
Outside, I was stopped by yet another policeman – and again, only wanting to talk about the bike and get photos with me and it.
Back on the road, I was dodging the local traffic, which includes hordes of scooters that don’t seem to obey any traditional road rules – although the traffic ‘works’. However, I think any tourist who comes over and hires a scooter without having ever ridden a bike before is just asking for trouble.
I thought my bike was heavily loaded, but some of the locals put that to shame, with entire kitchen / food stall operations mounted on the back of a 100cc stepthrough!
Carving through the mountains to the north coast, the rain started – monsoon season theoretically ended a few days ago, but clearly there’s a bit more left!
The last temple site on my agenda was Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, on the shores of Lake Bratan. This is one of the most photogenic (and most photographed) temples on the island, and I was competing with busloads of tourists for space.
With the sightseeing over, I pushed along the north coast to the ferry terminal, and headed across to Java. As darkness fell, I found my way winding up the side of a volcano, in the wet, dodging potholes and gravel at 20kph. I slept the night (half it, anyway, with a 1:30AM wakeup call) 1800 metres up, at the entry to the Mt Ijen crater walk.
