Bali is 70% Hindu, 20% Muslim and 10% Christian whereas the rest of Indonesia is majority Muslim. There are lots of signs of the Hindu influence with floral offerings at your feet and temples everywhere.
The vibe is exactly what you’d expect, laid back tropical beach incredibly green and lush.
We took a day tour to see the rice fields, stopping at Luwak Coffee Bali where the famous coffee is made from arabica beens and robusto beans eaten and pooped out by mongooses, which removes the outer layer. Wow, that is a lot of work and perhaps TMI when it comes to this local coffee delicacy. This is old school coffee making at its best. We also tried several teas featuring ginger, lemongrass, rosella,
mangoonese skins and a great herbal blend. S took advantage of the super fun rainforest swing.
When the rice fields tour seemed a bit too staged, we headed to working rice fields as K had remembered them from his last visit some 35 years ago. We ultimately found some real, working rice fields to watch the amazing process for a while, but not before we had the chance to first stop at Abad Harum Bali. This must be the perfect young adult destination, with massive rope swings and spots for photos, formal and informal, dotting a beautifully staged and manicured grounds and some 'rice fields' on a terraced hill as a backdrop. Also tight rope biking and zip lining; the biking looked like a circus stunt. Once you’ve had your fill of adventure and gotten your gorgeous photos taken, adults can adjourn to the scenic pool with views of the terraced landscape for some R&R. While it didn’t meet our expectations for an authentic experience whatsoever, it was beautiful and fun and S enjoyed the even bigger swing opportunity than what the coffee and tea plantation had to offer.
We headed to Obud for a day visit, the main town in the south of Bali but still quite north of where we were on the coast. Obud is the quintessential vacation town, packed with outdoor eateries and local markets, shops and mopheads and street vendors. We also visited the palace grounds and saw Hindu temples and statues on repeat. Small offerings of colorful flowers and drinks are on the ground in front of shops as an offering. The weather was sticky, but no rain in sight. Turns out this is a fantastic time of year to visit.
With such a strong yoga culture I was thrilled to find classes at our hotel and enjoyed attending class with other people; too much isolation!
We skipped the Batik printing process tour as we had seen it in India. But we did enjoy walking around and seeing all the prints on everything from garments to house wares.
We ended our Bali stay with a birthday dinner for K of local Indonesian food in an outdoor deck at our hotel. It was a wonderful evening and K was given a hand drawn card by a wait staff artist. We all marveled at how good we look:-)
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