Bali (Day 1) - Jimbaran

Well...all isn't pleasant here in Bali.  Around 4:30 AM a rooster started cock-a-doodle-dooing and continued throughout the morning.  I was able to fall back asleep till 5:30 AM and then till 6:15 AM, but that was all I could handle with the noise. Actually...as I type this at 10:47 PM, the rooster is at it again...oy!

This morning at 5:30AM I did check the reviews of the next place we are staying in and many of them say that it was nice a quiet.  We only have one more night here, so it isn't as bad as it could be.

So, we did get up early, showered, had breakfast delivered and left the lodging in search of an ATM around 9:30 AM.  With our pockets full of 2,500.000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) we ordered a Grab (Uber) and headed to the starting point of our hike, a parking lot high above Nyang Nyang Beach.

There was a very steep road leading down to the beach that was closed to cars, but scooters are allowed.  As we walked, we watched scooters stopping at the turns to allow their brakes to cool down...it was that steep.

That beach down there is our goal.

When we got to the bottom of the road, in the scooter parking lot, was three men selling rides back to the top of the hill....and yes, they had a very steady business.  Our entire time hanging out at the beach, Tim kept contemplating taking the ride as well.  Do you think he does?  Stay tuned.

Anyway...at the beach was a cool bar that provided shade and seats that allowed you to look out at the ocean.  We bought a water and peanuts so we could use the facility.

The waves were pretty large, and the surf was quite high making it fun to sit there and look out.

Then we noticed that there were surfers out there...cool!  These guys were really good doing flips in the air and riding the backside of the wave to return to the starting positions.  We noted that there was no cell phone service down here, so these guys really need to know what they are doing to be out here.

I walked a bit down the beach to take this photo of the bar we were hanging out at (in the background) and the people hanging out on a beach ledge above the beach.  It was a pretty nice place to hang for about one hour.

Time to head back up the hill.  By the way...the walk back up the hill is less than 1/2 mile and will only take 10 minutes, but Tim thought about it long enough and made me pay 25,000 IDR => $1.68 USD for him to ride on the back of the scooter.  By the way, it cost us 68,000 IDR => $4.57 USD to get here from our hotel 30 minutes away, so this is a pretty extravagant ride.

I, on the other hand, opted to walk back up and enjoyed every minute of it.  😎

Now that we were both at the top of the hill it was time to walk to a viewing point 1.2 miles away.  Here we are walking down a small road on the way to the place.

About 30 minutes after setting off, we arrived at Karang Boma Cliff and it was definitely worth the walk.

We now had to go back the way we came from and then make a left on the main road that will take us to Uluwatu Temple, the highlight of the day.  It was pretty hot when we weren't in the shade and we kept asking ourselves why were were out here walking when everyone else was riding around on scooters.  As a matter of fact, when I told the guy at the desk of our lodging what my plan was for the day he questioned why we didn't rent and take scooters.  I told him it was because we liked walking and he gave me a look like I was crazy....which I just might be.

It was just over 1 miles to the entry of the Temple, but first we need some food.  The guide I am following mentioned this café and said it was one of the best cafés they had been to in Bali, so we decided to check it out.  We started with mixed berry smoothies that I sucked down in one long sip and then Tim had Chicken Quesadilla and I ordered the Sunshine Rice Bowl...finally something that our friend Mary would enjoy!  It was healthy and delicious and just what I needed.

We then entered the grounds of Uluwatu Temple is a 1,000 year old Bali temple that sits on a cliff.  Unfortunately, the famous Pagoda that is regularly photographed was under renovation so we didn't get the "money shot," but it was still well worth the visit. 

Sarongs were mandatory for both men and women that had shorts on.  They did provide loners, but I brought our own.

Where there is a temple there seems to always be monkeys.  These monkeys are know to steal items from people and then try to bargain with them for food in exchange.  As we walked into the temple, a man warned Tim to take off his hat and sunglasses and store them away from view, and this is why.  Check out what the monkey on the left has in his hands...a pair of eyeglasses.  Some poor man was now without his prescription eyeglasses...can you imagine?

We were not allowed to enter the holier parts of the temple, but I was able to get a few shots through the gate.

There was a long walkway that went along the cliffside that we continued to follow to make a loop around the temple grounds.

More monkey sightings.  These ones are actually swimming mourned a statue of a monkey.  A monkey actually climbed up and sat in the hands of the statue monkey.

Here I am at the end of the walking path along the cliff.  From here we double back just a bit to return to the entrance.  

But wait...there is one more thing to see.  This is Danghyang Nirartha.  He was a Hindi priest and traveler in the 16th century and founded some sort of priesthood.

At this point the walk was supposed to continue to two more beaches and go for another 3 miles.  We just didn't have it in us, so we ordered a Grab and headed back to our lodging.  On the way back I texted the hotel and asked them about scheduling a massage for myself when we got back.

Upon arrival, I changed into my swimsuit and cooled off in the pool....ah!  The masseuse showed up soon after, so I took a shower and then had a wonderful 60 minute massage.  I haven't had many massages in my life, but this one was the best I have had.  And for the cost (200,000 IDR  => $13.40 USD) how could I not have one?  I may just have to make this a habit while here in Bali.

Durning my massage, Tim found a restaurant on Google Maps that we could walk to for dinner, so we got dressed and headed out.  On the way to the restaurant I spotted a vender selling grilled fish, so we decided to buy fish and corn from the vendor next to the fish, and take it back to our lodging to eat.  Could you believe that two whole grilled fish, a small salmon and a baby tuna cost the equivalent of $6.70 USD!

We ate the fish and corn and a couple of bottles of beer and then chilled in our room blogging and internet surfing.  Tomorrow we go to Ubud, about 1 hour north of here, to check into a different lodging and explore that area for a couple of days.  I arranged with one of our Grab drivers from yesterday to pick us up at 9 AM, so I better get to sleep now that it is almost midnight.

​Until tomorrow...