I really love how Bali is filled with such calm beautiful sceneries. Its really nice to visit a place where you get the bustle of city life and at the same time be able to experience the serenity of mother nature.
Lake Bratan (Ulun Danu Bratan) and Sekumpul Waterfalls are 2 places that are really special.
Lake Bratan is so beautiful. We took a little boat ride, where this older lady rowed it with an oar. It was such a rustic yet charming experience.
There was a temple that was appeared to be floating in the lake. It was so untouched, definitely a sight to remember. It started to rain a little during the boat ride. But the rain and the fog made everything look more mysterious. I felt like I was part of a movie scene, the lake at the foot of the mountain, us in a boat rowing out towards it, rowing into the unknown - melodramatic much? hahaha! Well, we were the only people in the entire lake, along with our driver and the lady who was rowing the boat (power to her), so it seemed pretty legit at that point.
I'm not that much of an outdoor person, I don't go on hikes, long runs, climb any form of a hill or mountain. Its not that i'm unfit, its just I never really had the chance to do it? Or rather I don't actively search for opportunities to do it.
When given the option to climb/hike around the Sekumpul waterfalls Sheryl and I opted for the shorter route (well due to time constrains as well but yeah, that probably wasn't the only reason haha!) It was not a really tough route to climb, because we were being introduced to the different type of agriculture plants the locals living near the waterfall were cultivating, and more importantly, we could see the gorgeous waterfall.
The thing about climbing the waterfall is the route can be really narrow - less than the width of a human, maybe about the width of two feet put together, with no form of safety enhancement/rail/anything. The local guide could climb in SLIPPERS. We were both so impressed. Because of the narrow road, Sheryl nearly fell to her death right in front of me. Thank God the Guide caught her. I had the shock of my life at that moment and we will always talk about this event, and will definitely continue to do so in the years to come.
Another incident involved me nearly losing my shoes. We took off our shoes to cross the river you see above, and though it may not look like it, the water was FAST. I dropped my shoe (well done me) and in 2 seconds it floated 2m away. Thank God for the super guide again, who managed to catch it because he moved like a ninja. And may I repeat - IN SLIPPERS.
We were laughing at ourselves the whole time, and it definitely made the climb/hike really memorable.
Along the way, we met little kids and other inhabitants who were going about their daily activities. The lady you see below was walking and carrying this massive sack on her head!
Little kids playing with gigantic mat? leaf? and posing for photos. Such a simple tool, yet they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Come on parents. Get rid of them iPads, your kids don't need them! Hahah!
Coffee beans right off a tree! This is how they look like pre-processed. They tasted kind of odd. Sweet but bland at the same time.
The nostalgia really kicks in while looking back at photographs and recalling the experiences :) I'm Missing Asia indeed! Hope you all enjoyed the photos, I have more where those came from ;) Stay tune!
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