Bali photos

July 22, 2023•462 words

Greetings from Bali!

I'm trying to travelogue a bit and am making photo albums for each day of this trip. Follow day links for photos.

The trip there

Flew from Roanoke to LaGuardia on Thursday. Stayed at a hotel near Penn Station. Walked around midtown a little bit and had dinner at Le Botaniste. Took the train to Newark airport the next morning and flew to Bali via Singapore.

Day 0

Arrived to Sanur beach area one day before the start of our tour with Vegan Travel Asia. Had breakfast with other early arrivers. Walked Sanur beach boardwalk and enjoyed the hotel pool.

Day 1

Orientation, not picture-worthy 😊

Day 2

Left Sanur and stopped at a water temple on our way to the mountains. People bath in the holy water that bubbles up through black sand. Arrived at Puri Lumbung Cottages in Munduk village. Hiked to waterfall and enjoyed gorgeous views of northwest Bali coastline.

Day 3

Hiked through rice paddies in Munduk. Learned about 1,000 year old subak water management system. Made Balinese offering baskets. Had dinner at gamelan maestro's house with Balinese dance and gamelan performances. Ate durian.

Day 4

Travelled down from the mountains to Pemuteran on Bali's northwest coast. Stopped at a temple for a ceremony to deliver the offerings we made. Arrived at Puri Ganesha. Went to Biorock and learned about their coral reef regeneration technology. Had snorkeling practice session to see Biorock installations.

Day 5

Bananas snorkeling trip to Menjangan island, which is uninhabited but has a temple. Sorry, can't take photos of fish with phone cam 😊

Day 6

Visited Bali's only national park with mangrove swamp and monsoon forest. Home-cooked lunch. Sanctuary for Bali starling, Bali's only endemic vertebrate species, critically endangered but population has rebounded from <50 to >190. Dinner with gamelan performance by local school group.

Day 7

Visited Umah Lumba wildlife rehabilitation center and learned about their dolphin and other rescue efforts. Took the ferry to Java. Visited a Chinese temple.

Day 8

Hiked up to Ijen crater on Java and braved the sulfur clouds.

Day 9

Back across the straight to Bali, we visited the Christian villages of Blimbingsari and Palasari. The Dutch established these villages as exile communities for Christian converts after conflicts with Hindus. Toured local coconut and palm sugar industry.