Bali 2019

Some impressions of my 2019 workation on the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia. This year I finally managed to pay the Mt. Batur Volcano a visit on a rented Honda CRF 150L.

Canggu - Sunsets, Surf and Food

Although it gets busier every year, I keep coming back to Canggu because of it's laid back atmosphere, relaxed crowd, and wide variety of cafes and restaurants serving just great food.

Getting around in Bali

Scooters and Motorcycles are the major mode of transportation for locals and tourists.

Every accomodation I've stayed with here was able to arrange a scooter for a fair price. For longer trips or multi-day excursions I prefer something bigger, this time I got myself a Honda CRF 150L from Bali Bike Rental.

In my experience the scooters you get through your accomodation are rather beat up (though I never had any technical problem) and come without insurance (or any paperwork at all), while the bigger rental companies offer insurance and other extras.

My 2-day trip to Mt. Batur

Bali Botanic Gardens

From Canggu I headed north. Up in the mountains I paid Kebun Raya Bali (Bali Botanic Gardens) a visit. This is basically a huge park and the cooler mountain climate makes a visit there quite pleasant. There's also an adventure park where you can do climbing tracks of varying difficulties up in the trees.

Towards Mt. Batur

From the botanic gardens twisty roads lead eastwards up and down through mountains and rice fields. Befor the final descent towards the foot of Mt. Batur I stopped for a coffee at a small restaurant with an awesome view. They also had an interesting hydroculture for salad.

Offroad Fun!

Right where I came down a very steep and twisty road towards Mt. Batur, a dirt track led up into the desert-like area covered in volcanic stone and gravel. Upon entering I had to pay 100,000 Rupiah which apparently is a day pass for entering that whole area.

Later I discovered there were many other places where I could have entered without paying, but to me it was well worth the money. Not wearing any protective gear besides my helmet I didn't risk too much, but still, great fun!

Relax

I stayed at the Batur Volcano Guesthouse, which is a really nice place. They even got a hot outdoor swimming pool, thanks to the location in the foothills of an active volcano hot water apparently comes straight from the ground.

Route and Gear

A is the botanic gardens, C is a temple in the volcanic area at the foot of Mt. Batur, and D is the Batur Volcano Guesthouse where I stayed.

All photos were taken with my Galaxy S10E. While it delivers impressive quality for a phone in bright daylight, I still wish I'd had brought my Sony Alpha for that extra amount of detail and dynamic range. The landscapes and views on this trip were really stunning.