bosnia: jajce

My original plan when coming to Bosnia was to do several day trips out of Sarajevo during the days I was there, but only one of those day trips happened. Oh well. Since I was only in Bosnia for 6 days, I didn't buy a guidebook. To figure out where I wanted to go, I walked past the windows of several travel agencies and looked to see what kind of day tours they offered.

I chose to go to a town called Jajce. Learning how to pronounce the name was the first challenge. In Bosnian, the letter J is pronounced like an English Y. If I learned correctly, the name is pronounced: ya-i-tse. 

I was able to book bus tickets with the help of the receptionist at my hostel, it was a lot cheaper to get to the city on my own than to sign up for a day tour with one of the many companies in town. 

Jajce is a city of around 30,000 residents, approximately 160 kilometers northwest from Sarajevo. It's not that big a distance, but the roads were not straight, to say the least. I ended up getting very very motion sick while on the bus, both to and from Jajce, ugh. The drive was beautiful both ways, but I didn't get to see much of it since my stomach was rolling so much.

Jajce has a long history. People come to visit now because you can still see the old city walls, all the way around. 

Jajce was built on a hill, it would've been easy-ish to defend. The city was built in the 14^th century, and was actually the capital of the Kingdom of Bosnia for a while.

After the end of the Kingdom of Bosnia, Jajce was seized by the Ottomans. Later on the Hungarians took over. Then the Ottomans came back. In the late 19^th century this region became part of Austria-Hungary. From 1929-1941 Jajce was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which later became a federal republic with several nations. (Those nations have always had their own identities as well, which is a big reason why Yugoslavia didn't stay together very long.)

Basically, Jajce has always had its own identity, but the ruling power has changed every so often. Wikipedia tells me the city is at a spot in the middle of 'borders' between different majorities: Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Serbs, and Croats.

During my visit I didn't see evidence of the Bosnian war that destroyed the country during the 90s, but I'm sure Jajce suffered.

The bus ride from Sarajevo was a little over four hours, I was dropped off at a bus station/stop on the edge of town a little after 1100. When I got off the bus I realized I had left my camera on a bench in the bus station in Sarajevo. I was gutted, absolutely gutted. 

I knew I could replace the camera itself, but I couldn't replace the photos, which is what upset me so much. Argh.

There are two main sights in Jajce. One of them is a waterfall, the other is the walled city area. The waterfall was quite pretty, the city has built a viewing platform. It was quite windy as I got close, the water was flying all over the place. Since it was a warm sunny day, the water felt pretty good, but it was also hard to take a photo.

The best view of the waterfall was actually from the road into town, not the area that required an entrance fee. The waterfall is where the Pliva River meets the Vrbas River. 

Just outside Jajce you can visit a lake, and hike in the mountains, but I didn't have time for that, nor the transportation to do so. I wish I had.

Walking into the city I saw the way one of the rivers had been somewhat controlled with man made mini waterfalls. Very photogenic, especially as the water was a bright blue colour.

As Jajce was built on top of a hill, it seemed like I was always going up or down. There were plenty of stairs, and small alleys going between 'levels' of the streets. Nothing was in a grid pattern, so I never really knew where I was, oops. Thank goodness, Jajce isn't big, so it wasn't hard to sort it all out. 

There are different sights within the city walls, some of them have entry fees, others don't. I really liked the fortress area all the way up top, as I got to see out over the entire surrounding area. Mountains are beautiful.

I also entered an underground church, which had a small altar in front. The whole thing was really small, and if I hadn't read the information sign I wouldn't have thought anything other than 'hey, an underground room.' Even after reading the information sign I thought 'meh.'

I found remains of several other ruined buildings, but they were blocked off so I couldn't go in. 

Since the walls were collapsing, and the roofs had done so long ago, I could see why they don't want people traipsing all over.

There wasn't much more to see. I found a mosque, it was quite small. I found a few bakeries and cafes, but nothing sounded good. I ended up walking back to the bus station and waiting there for several hours. After throwing up on the way to Jajce, and having zero appetite the entire day, I was not feeling good, and not looking forward to the ride back. The bus back to Sarajevo left over an hour late, and I somehow got sick on the way back as well. Sigh.

I would like to see Jajce again, with a proper camera, more snacks, and my own transport :)

sri lanka: kandy, nuwara eliya, ella

Next up on my self directed tour of Sri Lanka was the city of Kandy. It is on nearly every suggested itinerary of the country, which is how it ended up on my itinerary.

Kandy was the last seat of the ancient kings in Sri Lanka, and is an important religious sight as well. In terms of what I'd already seen in Sri Lanka, Kandy is a young city. Wikipedia tells me the first king of the Kingdom of Kandy lived in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

It seems that none of the ancient kingdoms ruled the entire island of Sri Lanka, which surprised me for I don't know what reason. 

The island isn't big, I guess I expected at least one of the kingdoms to take over everything. Even when the Europeans began to colonize the island, none of them ruled over the whole island.

Kandy was still a kingdom when the Portuguese ruled some of the land, and the Dutch as well.

The main religious sight in Kandy is the main reason Sri Lankans come to Kandy: the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

Kandy is only 75 kilometers from Dambulla, my bus between the two cities took abot two hours to make that distance. The bus station in Kandy is big and chaotic, it took me a while to figure out how to get out.

Once I got out I followed a tout to a place to stay, the first place was full. I don't know if it was actually full, but that's what they said. Oh well. The next place quoted me a price that was about double what I'd been paying, and the room was definitely not two times better. I said I didn't want air conditioning, as I knew a fan would be fine, which was the key to a much cheaper room.

After relaxing for a bit, I started walking. Kandy is a busy city. There were a lot of cars and tuktuks and bikes and people on the streets, everything was crazy. 

I ended up stopping for food, since I hadn't yet eaten that day. I walked into a random place that did not seem touristy, because no one was using utensils to eat. I chose well, as the food was simple, good, and cheap. Apparently it was also all you can eat, because my plate was refilled twice, and almost a third time until I spoke up and said no more. I was tempted, but it would've been too much.

It took me a while to get to the first thing I wanted to see, which is the temple I mentioned above. Go figure, when I first arrived, it wasn't during visiting hours for foreigners, so I kept walking.

Kandy Lake is supposed to be a beautiful place to go for a walk. That definitely wasn't my experience, but that could be for all kinds of reasons. I don't think it had rained much recently, as there was plenty of dust, and the lake was low.

I walked all the way around the lake, which wasn't all that big, or that pretty. The temple grounds sit on one side of the lake, so when I got to the opposite side of the lake at least it was a little nice.

When I got back to the temple gates it was finally foreigner visiting hours again. I understand the reason for having special hours, since foreign tourists tend to make a place feel less than holy by going everywhere without respect for the place they're seeing. 

I like to think I'm not like this, but I'm sure I have my moments.

Like everywhere else I'd already been in Sri Lanka, this place had a special entrance fee for foreigners, argh. There was also a separate section for foreigners to leave their shoes. I was fine with leaving my shoes in the local section, but I wasn't allowed to. Much to my frustration, there was a jar set up for donations in the foreigner section, but not in the local section. Since I'd already paid for entrance to the temple, and Sri Lankans didn't have to pay, I had zero desire to donate more money.

This temple is a major Buddhist pilgrimmage sight because it is said to hold a piece of the Buddha's tooth that somehow survived his cremation. The room holding the tooth was closed during my visit, so I have no idea what it looked like.

The temple holding the tooth is a couple floors tall and is full of people all the time. Tourists were looking every which way, taking photos of everything. Most Sri Lankans I saw were sitting and praying. (Praying to the tooth maybe? Or to one of the Buddhist statues?)

It is up on the second level where the faithful leave offerings, the tables were overflowing with flowers and such.

Another big section of the temple grounds had a few dagobas, with more people making the rounds and praying. I think there was some sort of party or festival coming up, as one area was full of people weaving decorations out of palm fronds. Quite impressive.

I exited the temple complex out the back gate, and followed the road. My map told me this was the most convenient way to get to what I wanted to see next: the cemetery of the British garrison, back when the Brits were in charge of the area.

The cemetery was small, and I wouldn't have found it if not for a small sign pointing up a small hill. The graves weren't big, and there weren't a whole lot of them, but I read quite a few just out of curiosity. People seemed to do well if they lived to the ripe old age of 40 back then.

At that point I'd seen everything I wanted to see in Kandy, so I decided to walk the city center by following a grid pattern. I found good food this way, (and ate way too much,) but nothing else of interest. 

I found the streets that most tourists walk, as they were lined with shops full of kitchy Sri Lankan souvenirs, and cafes with menus in English.

I also found the streets with stores selling things random things you only need when you live somewhere. Those streets were much better for people watching.

The next morning I was up super early to walk back to the bus station. As the bus station was quite big, I ended up wandering around for a while, until someone asked me where I wanted to go.

After telling someone I wanted to go to Nuwara Eliya, they took me to the next bus leaving for that destination. The name is spelled Nuwara Eliya in English, but when the driver called out that name, it didn't sound like that to me. Thank goodness for helpful people.

The distance between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya was also about 75 kilometers, but this bus ride was a lot longer, as the road was anything but straight. It wound through mountains, so there was going up and down, in addition to winding around, so I spent a part of the ride trying to sleep so as to prevent motion sickness.

Nuward Eliya has nothing to do with ancient Sri Lanka. This was the beginning of a completely different section of my holiday tour. The first few cities were all about the ancient cultures and faiths of Sri Lanka. This section was all about tea, and beautiful landscapes.

Nuwara Eliya basically exists as a place to visit because there are a bunch of tea plantations in the area. It is at 1868 meters, (6128 feet,) which is considered altitude in terms of growing tea.

I'd booked a place to stay, and walked to that spot on the map from the bus station. When I got to that spot, my accomodation most definitely was NOT there. 

I walked up and down the street quite a ways, but it wasn't there. I tried calling the phone number listed on the booking, but that didn't work either.

A random tuk tuk drove by and offered to help me out, I ended up in a random house. When I was able to check internet, I found a message from the accomodation I'd booked telling me to call to get directions. Argh.

Eventually I ended up there, but I was more than a little annoyed that it was located nowhere near the address they listed on the booking. (Yes, I made that very clear in my review after leaving a couple days later. I hate that sort of lie.)

The city of Nuwara Eliya has exactly one sight: maybe one and a half.

The one is Victoria Park, which is supposed to be pretty nice. I didn't think it was that exciting. Nothing was in bloom, so it was all rather boring. I did see quite a few local families having picnics, a few of them asked to take my photo. Since it was only men asking to take the photos, I said no.

The park had an entrance fee for foreigners, but not for locals. Will this ever end? So annoying.

The half sight is the building of the post office, since it looks completely different from anything else in the area.

I also walked into a church, which was completely different from anything else I'd seen in a while. I was happy to find postcards for sale there, I hadn't had much success in finding those so far during the trip.

Dinner that night was a random cafe, then I walked back to my room. My room was nice, the location was not.

The next morning I was up early in order to walk into town to pick up water and snacks for the long day I had planned. I walked to Pedro Tea Estate, which was the closest tea plantation I could find. 

The walk was easy, and quite pretty.

To see the tea plantation you have to join a tour. The tour is during the day, though the factory usually works at night, so you don't really get the sense of how it all works.

Our guide spoke rather quietly, so I'm not sure I heard everything, but oh well. She explained the way tea is produced as we walked through different sections of the factory, then the tour ended with a cup of tea for everyone. Even though I would've loved to see the whole thing going, I liked learning the basics of tea production.

I started learning the differences between different teas, which mostly seem to be based on when the leaves are picked, and how big they are. I learned that teas grown at higher altitudes are usually a lighter flavour, and are drunk without milk. Those grown at a lower altitude have a stronger flavour and are usually drunk with some milk.

After the tour we were able to walk through some of the rows of tea plants, and see some of the tea pickers at work. These are almost all Tamil women, and the amount they're paid is shockingly low. 

They're paid by weight, and they work hard all day every day. The places they work are beautiful, but I'm guessing they don't notice the beauty anymore.

The tour guide said the ladies pick 15kg of leaves each day. Think about that, 30lbs of leaves. Then think of how 'heavy' a tea leaf feels in your hand, and how fast you can pick those leaves.

I walked out of the tea plantation and followed a trail to my other sight of the day, a place called Lovers Waterfall. I think the story is something about a guy jumping off the waterfall because of love. I don't remember the specifics, but that doesn't matter.

The walk to the waterfall was pretty, and allowed views over the area. The trail wasn't busy, but when I got to the waterfall there were plenty of people hanging around. That being said, I was still able to get photos without other people in the frame, yay.

I could've figured out how to climb to the top of the waterfall, as I could see a few people up there, but I chose to skip that. After hanging out for a while I headed back toward town.

I stopped for an early dinner at a roadside cafe where I got to eat with my hands. Good food, great price. As I walked home from dinner I realized the skin on my arms was already starting to peel, eww gross.

The following morning I was up early in order to trek into town and get to the bus station in time to catch the first bus to my next city: Ella.

As far as I can tell, Ella exists only as another town to support tourism. There is no local culture, no religious sights. I'd booked a place to stay, it was easy to find, and I was able to check in straightaway even though it was only mid morning.

I ended up hanging out in my room until at least noon, my hosts insisted I have a cup of tea. Yum, and relaxing.

When I started walking, I headed out one side of town and made my way to another tea plantation. It took me a while to get there, with going up and down hills, on dirt trails, etc... At a couple points during the walk I really wondered if I was going the right way.

The last nearly 2 kilometers were pretty steep, I was huffing and puffing by the time I walked into the office of Uva Halpe. I was sent straight to a tour that had just started, they told me to pay afterward.

This tour gave the same explanation of how tea is produced, but I got a much better explanation of the different grades of tea. When we walked through the gift store afterward, there was a display of what each grade looks like after brewing. We also got to taste four different grades: pekoe, flowery broken orange pekoe, broken orange pekoe, and fannings.

I know I'm whinging here, but the walk back into town also felt uphill much of the time.

Since every place in Ella caters to tourists, I decided to eat touristy food: a hamburger and fries. It was good, partly just because it was different from what I'd been eating for the last week. 

I was not thrilled to find a 10% service charge on my bill, those always feel sneaky to me, and make me dislike a place. I'm pretty sure those were at most places in town, argh. 

Though this was New Year's Eve I went to sleep at 2200. If there was any sort of celebration in town, or in the area, I had no idea, because I slept straight through the night.

My alarm went off early, as my landlord had suggested a sunrise hike to Little Adam's Peak. This sounded much better to me than staying up late on New Year's Eve, and I was glad I made the choice.

Walking in the dark wasn't always easy, but I had a head torch so at least I wasn't completely blind. Little Adam's Peak isn't any great thing, but the views at sunrise were really pretty.

What was not pretty was the way my tripod tipped over, and my camera broke. Sigh. I figured out that the camera wasn't able to focus again, though I have no idea what exactly was broken.

I went back to my guesthouse for breakfast, which was amazing after the hike. I dozed for a while, then set out for my next sight: a bridge.

The nine arch bridge is another 'iconic' photo in Sri Lanka, especially if you've booked tickets on the trains that go through the area. There are all sorts of photos of people hanging off trains, as it goes along the curve of the bridge.

When I finally got to the bridge, (which involved the most difficult hike I'd done so far,) I was surprised to see a lot of people on the bridge itself. When the train went through they were all taking selfies. I did walk across the bridge and back, but had no desire to be on the bridge, or near the tracks when the train came along.

I hiked back up a hill, then went through town, and out another side. (There are basically three exits/entries to Ella.) I followed the highway a long way to get to my third and last sight of the day: a waterfall.

The waterfall is about 10 meters off the road, so it's really easy to get to, and pretty busy. There are stalls selling souvenirs and fruit set up pretty close to the waterfall, it's quite annoying.

The waterfall was quite pretty, and I was happy to see plenty of water, since I wasn't aware of recent rains. There are different levels of the waterfall, which is what makes it worth seeing. I bet it is amazing (and empty of people,) during rainy season.

I stopped at another random roadside cafe on the way back to my room. I had Sri Lankan curries, it was a lot cheaper than the night before. And the desert of yogurt, fruit and honey was awesome.

The next morning I was up early again, this was basically the theme of my traveling days. I caught the first bus coming through town (Ella doesn't have a bus station, there is just a stop,) on its way south.

I'd love to come back to Ella and the surrounding area, it's beautiful and there are so many outdoor activities to do.

tennessee: great smoky mountain national park

Friday evening Nancye asked which which sounded better of two national parks: Cumberland gap, or the smokies. After spending a few minutes looking online, I chose the great smoky mountains national park.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast, hopped in the car, and took off. Funny story from a petrol stop along the way: I went into the store in a petrol station to pick up (unhealthy) snacks, and realized it was also a drive through station! People could drive up to the window, and the clerk would run around the store picking up the snacks they requested. Americans really are lazy. I know my food wasn't healthy, but at least I came into the store myself to get it!
A bit over two hours later (it should've been faster but I failed at my job as navigator) we arrived at one of the entrances to the park. There were a lot of people, not enough parking, and a bit of chaos.

We got a basic park map and asked one of the park rangers for information. I'd wanted to hike a specific trail to a waterfall, but we were nowhere close to that trailhead, (one of my failures as the navigator,)  and would've had to drive more, which neither of us wanted to do. (Not more than a few minutes anywho.)
We decided to go to clingman's dome first. The park ranger promised great views over the entire area, and a short hike.
After figuring out which way to exit the parkplatz we drove the twisty road to another, smaller, parking area. This one was basically 4 rows of diagonally parked cars on top of a mountain. The views along the way were also pretty nifty looking. We got lucky, and found an empty spot, there were almost none of those; there were a number of cars circling the area.

To get to clingman's dome we walked about half a mile up a paved path. Kinda steep for a walking path, you could see some people having a bit of trouble. It's the kind of steepness you feel in your calves, even if you're in shape.
Clingman's dome is not a natural formation. It's cement, almost like a tower reached by a curving ramp. When you get to the top, you have 360 degree views, and signs showing you what you can see. As we were there on a relatively clear day, we could see quite far.
One of the uglier things we could see was right up close: the awful effects of acid rain, which happens all too much in this area due to pollution. This pollution also stays in the area on 'clear' days, so you can't see as far as you once could from this spot.
The overall effect was beautiful though, and I'm glad we saw it.

If you ever hike the Appalachian trail, you'll go through this park. Suiting our walk up to the dome we saw a couple signs for trails of the Appalachian trail.
Then it was time for a picnic lunch. Nancye is awesome, and had packed some food for us. I'm terrible at thinking about those things (I'm good at remembering water, but not much else,) and I was starving by that point. What is it about spending time in a car that makes you so hungry even though you haven't moved too much?
As we ate, we sat on a wall that allowed us to look out over the mountains. Beautiful. Way off in the distance the mountain ridges look blue. So peaceful.
We briefly stuck our heads in one of the ranger stations up there, it was also a store. Surprise surprise, I bought postcards. :)

After lunch we drove back down, stopping for a while at a creek. It's fun to play in the water and walk on the stones. We took photos, of course.
Our next stop was a place called laurel falls, one of a bunch of waterfalls in the park. Not surprisingly, I failed again at my navigator job, and we accidentally drove out of the park. Ooops. We got a chance to turn around, and took a photo by the park sign (you know, that whole gotta prove you were there photo.)
After another stop at the information center, we figured out how to get to the falls, it wasn't far. If I remember correctly, the distance from the trailhead to the waterfall was about 1.5miles.
We were the only people on the trail, but there was a general sense of quiet, which I loved. Since we were walking through the forest, the views were completely different than what we had seen earlier. One group we passed said they had just seen a baby bear. Nancye knows bears like I do, (enough to know you don't get close,) so we looked for the cub but weren't too upset when we didn't see it.
The waterfall wasn't big or stunning, but it was nice. Another photo, of course. I loved that kids were playing in the water. It's always good to see families/people outside, enjoying nature, being active.
On our walk back to the car Nancye and I each checked our pedometers, (smartphones have them these days,) and had totally different numbers even though we knew we had walked the same distance. Just a note to those dependent on their Fitbit/Apple watch/etc: they're not always accurate.

We left the park a different way than we had come in. Neither of us wanted to deal with the traffic mess that is gatlinburg. This different exit is what we should've used in the morning to enter the park. Oh well. It got us back to pigeon forge a bit more quickly, where we were again stuck in traffic. People who live in the area must hate it every weekend.
On the way to the park in the morning we passed heaps of pancake/breakfast places, and decided to visit one of them for dinner on our way home. Go figure, most of them seem to close at 1300 or so. How annoying. Who doesn't want breakfast for dinner? Eventually we found a diner which had a reasonable sounding menu.
We made it back to Bristol all safe and sound and happy.

argentina: puerto iguazu and iguazu national park

one of the things i do when i travel is check the unesco sights list for that country/location...one of the most famous sights in argentina is on that list...it's a national park, split over brazil and argentina...i've forgotten the name of the brazilian side (you have to get a proper brazilian visa to go to that side, even if you're only doing a day trip!) but the argentinians call it igauzu national park...
we arrived in puerto iguazu, the nearby town, around noon...the entire town is based on the national park...we walked through, checking prices on a few hostels, and chose one of them...we sorted out laundry that needed to be done, got info on getting to/from the park, thought about a couple other tours, etc...

there is a bus from the bus station to the park that leaves regularly, so all we had to do was walk back to the bus station...easy to do...we ended up on a bus full of high school kids from san diego and tijuana...we were traveling in argentina a week or two before world youth day, in brazil, so there were religious groups traveling all over south america at this time...i ended up chatting with a girl who was planning to attend purdue the following school year...
the entrance fee to the park was not cheap, to say the least...(170 pesos!!!) that tends to happen with unesco sights...argh...sometimes i wonder what the money is used for...

we got a park map, then started following a trail...bo was fascinated by the creepy raccoon like animals we saw almost straightaway...they're not raccoons, but i can't remember the name...whateva they are, they're smart, and have learned from the behaviours of humans in the park...all the rubbish bins in the park are closed in such a way that is supposed to prevent these animals from getting in...i don't know if it works...
eventually, we got to the falls...the whole set is called iguazu falls...beautiful...they stretch a loooooooong way....some spots on the trails are better for photos than others...not surprisingly, we took HEAPS of photos...(so did everyone else, leading to me getting annoyed with people for doing the same thing i wanted to do, oops)...bo probably got annoyed with me wanting to stop constantly for more photos at slightly different angles...

the trails on the argentinian side of the park take you up close to the falls...very close...there are a couple places where you get totally soaked if you go all the way....SOAKED...(by contrast, the trails on the brazilian side give a better overall view of all the falls)...lots of falls have individual names, i found one named after me, how awesome is that?
we followed one trail as far as we could, until we found a park ranger who shooed us the other way, saying that the park was closing for the night and people had to leave...darnit...
that night back in puerto iguazu we ate HUGE steaks...HUGE...we should've shared a steak, but as usual, had no idea how big they would be when we ordered...also as usual, they were cooked perfectly...
breakfast was included in our hostel price, and there was a good spread set out that morning, yahoo!!
we decided to go back to the park...entry fees are half off if you go back for a second day with your receipt for the first day's entry...

we walked the first trail again, going the way we hadn't been able to go due to the park ranger the night before...i kept seeing rainbows, i really wanted to find the pot of gold, but it never happened...how amazing would that have been?
we also decided to walk a trail that went no where near the falls...bo wanted to see monkeys...and he did...we got to the end of that one, and saw the top of a small waterfall...really pretty, and rather quiet...considering all the other noise and people in the rest of the park, this was pretty awesome...i wouldn't mind hiking more trails in this park, in areas away from the majority of people...

i'd noticed that postcard prices in the park shops were heaps cheaper than in town, so i loaded up before we left...each shop was surprised at how many postcards i bought, but hey, that's what i do:)
before dinner, we decided to walk to a point in town where we could see how the borders of paraguay, brazil, and argentina all come together in this place...i wish we'd gotten there in daylight, but oh well...one day i want to see paraguay and brazil, too bad they both require expensive visas....
dinner that night was a lot smaller, thank goodness:)...we stopped at a random little spot, just a couple empanadas each...i think i was still full from the meal of the previous night!!

we ended up walking through a market, bo wanted olives...i can't stand the taste or smell of olives, but i liked the different cheeses and sausages we found...

central bali: munduk and around

After the longer than necessary trip to tanah lot, I figured it was a good idea to get a proper map of bali…I’ve always loved maps…I feel much more secure when I can point to where I am on a map…after looking at the map for a while, I figured out how I’d taken the long way to get to the temple…figuring that out also made it easier for me to figure out how to drive north…I’d been baking on beaches for a little over a week, and I’m as dark as I have ever been…(which still isn’t dark compared to some people, but that’s besides the point…you should see my tan lines!)

I counted on getting lost several times while trying to bypass denpasar, and I tend to drive more slowly than most people on this island, so I got on the road early…it was Sunday morning, which meant there wasn’t a whole lot of traffic…yay! I managed to get all the way to munduk without having to turn around at all…woo hoo!! I was actually able to keep track of where I was the whole time…signage isn’t always there, but I’ve gotten better about guessing which way to go if I’m forced to make a turn…when going through towns the main road often turns several times, which is hugely annoying…I’m always terrified I’ve gotten off the main road without knowing it…

I was only wearing shorts and a shirt, figuring that would be enough…but as I got north of denpasar, I realized I was constantly going up, at least a little…and I was cold…eventually I pulled over and put on my jacket from lululemon…(thanks mom!!)…it didn’t block the wind completely, but it made a big difference…toward the end of the drive, the road was a lot steeper, and quite twisty…when it went through shady patches it was downright cold, I was relieved to have the jacket…at a couple points along the twisty parts of the road I saw places on the side of the road where people could pull off and enjoy the view…with a whole lot of monkeys joining them…what is it with this island and monkeys?  I’ve had enough monkeys for the time being, lol…

The last 10km or so to munduk involved driving along the ridge of a crater…a lake on one side, hills and rice paddies and coffee plantations on the other side…fantastic views all around…more twisting road, so I wasn’t able to look around nearly as much as I would’ve liked, but I spotted a few lookouts, and knew I could come back…munduk itself isn’t anything exciting…just a little hill town…not even a town really, just a village…I found a place to stay on my first try…it’s twice as much as what I was paying in kuta, but it’s at least twice as good…breakfast is included, there is a drying rack, they provided a towel and toilet paper, the lighting is good, the view is amazing, the room is spotless and there is a mirror…

After settling in and figuring out what I wanted to see, I got back on the bike…drove back in the direction from which I came, stopping at a few of the viewpoints…at the last place I stopped, I zoomed in a bit with my camera and saw a temple…it looked a bit like the temple I’ve seen on gbillions of postcards, and it looked like there were a lot of people there…when I got to the bottom of the particular hill, I realized traffic was absolutely nuts…soooo many cars and bikes pulled off the road to park…I didn’t know where I’d find an official spot, so I just pulled over where I found room, and started walking from there…

I thought I was going to see the famous temple…but I was wrong…the temple I did see has a very similar name though, and is on the edge of the lake, as opposed to on the lake itself…I saw pura ulun danu buyan…it turned out that the gathering I’d seen from above was a political group gathering…PDI PERJUANGAN…according to angie there are over 180 political parties in Indonesia…the colours of this party were red and black, and everyone was wearing them…flags all over…I could hear plenty of comments in English as I walked down the path, but I pretended not to…across from the temple there was a stage set up, and just as I got there, someone started speaking…needless to say, I didn’t understand a word…lucky for me, the temple was completely deserted…I didn’t know whether I’d be able to go in, but the gates were open…it wasn’t a very exciting temple, I think it’s relatively new…

On the way back I had to walk past all the same people…being a single, blond foreigner makes me really nervous at times…fortunately, it was easy to get back into traffic from where I’d parked…driving down the road I got to the turnoff to the temple I’d been looking for the first time…pura ulun danu bratan…(notice how similar the names are)…there was a big carpark, and I was directed where to go…at tourist spots like these there is usually an area for motorbikes…I bought my entrance ticket after passing a bunch of souvenir stalls…(just in case you REALLY need that bingtang t-shirt right now)…it was crowded with tourists, but not unbearably so…tourist money gets put to use, the temple is in really good shape…unless you’re a local and in traditional garb, you don’t get to go in a few areas, which is fine by me…I was able to see the temple on the lake, and have my photo taken with it…people in general were doing a good job of noticing others taking photos and staying out of them…yay!! It was sunny, the sky was blue, life is goodJ

I ended up eating lunch across the street…

Driving back toward munduk I stopped at even more viewpoints…so pretty…I like the lake side views better than the valley side views…I stopped at a tiny area that said parking for a waterfall…it said 246m to the waterfall, but I’m guessing that meant height, not distance…there was a clear path, much of it steps…some of the steps were quite large…I’ve got good knees, but that wouldn’t have been easy for anyone with slightly bad knees…I heard the waterfall before I saw it…quite pretty…15m or 20m high? To get to a decent viewpoint, you cross over the top of the waterfall, then come down…when I crossed it I didn’t realize just how close I was to the top of the falls…there is a tiny little restaurant looking over the falls…peaceful, and quiet…the water falls hard enough that you can feel the splash a ways out…I liked that…unfortunately, you can’t hike behind the falls…I followed the path a little way down the creek, to see if it went anywhere in particular…It didn’t…

Climbing back up I drove back the rest of the way to munduk, skipping signs for another waterfall…maybe tomorrow? I parked my bike at my guesthouse, (they call themselves a homestay, but it is more of a guesthouse) and took off walking…walking to the edge of town didn’t take long…along the way I passed tourist information, so I stopped in to ask about possible treks in the area…I’d like to trek, but don’t really want to pay a fortune to do it…at that point it seemed like it had been a long day already, though I don’t think it had in reality…I read in my room for a while before going to get food at a local warung…I ordered something written on the menu outside, but she said they didn’t have it…oh well…I had something else and it was fine…

A number of the treks I’d seen in the information office had waterfalls, and my guidebook had a couple listed, including the one I’d seen my first day in the area…my second day in the area ended up being a day of waterfalls…I started by going to gitgit, which angie had recommended…I had to get back to the main road, and head north…the entire way there was twisty, and I was constantly amazed at the blind corners on which people passed…I don’t have the guts for that kind of driving…I was expecting a bigger sign, but I only saw one…and the carpark was tiny…the guidebook said entrance was 6000rp, but it was only 3000rp…(less than $1USD either way, so it didn’t matter much)…there is a path all the way to the waterfalls…there were actually quite a few in this spot…while first walking on the path I came to a spot where I could either keep going straight, or cross a bridge…I went straight, and eventually got to a spot where I saw two waterfalls pouring into the same pool…beautiful…I could see a rainbow toward the bottom, but it doesn’t come up very clearly in any of the photos…I had fun putting my camera on a timer and posing…I can be really shallow sometimesJ…after running down the battery, I walked across the bridge and followed that way until I got to see a whole bunch more waterfalls…each of them very different from the others…awesome…after checking out every path I could find, (including one that took me close to someone’s home, and the dogs came howling after me) I got back to my motorbike, and drove a little further…

the guidebook said there was a second set of waterfalls about 2km down the road, and angie had mentioned something like that as well…the second set was by donation, and the donation wasn’t actually required, which was nice…I gave anywho…this set of waterfalls wasn’t nearly as good as the first bunch…but there were several more paths to check out, and at one point I realized I’d hiked back up to the first set of waterfalls…nifty…I realized that when I ended up in front of a house I’d walked by earlier…I was about to go back, when I heard a little voice say hello…it wasn’t loud, and I couldn’t figure out where the kid was at first…then I looked up into a tree, and there he was…he then proceeded to rock out, much to my amusement…singing quite loudly, shaking the tree…it was awesome…I watched for a couple minutes, then went back down toward the waterfalls…I checked out every path this time as well, and ended up trekking around for over an hour…fun…it’s a beautiful area…

the only thing I didn’t like about these waterfalls was the way “guides” try to forces themselves upon you…they ask if you want to know anything about the falls, and tell you they are trying to create jobs…they start to walk with you, and you have to say no thanks, I just want to walk by myself…if you let them walk with you, they’ll end up asking for a guides fee when you leave, and it’s usually quite large…I know that much of what is said wouldn’t be remembered, and I don’t need a guide when I can see the paths on my own…I did end up seeing several small groups with guides, though none of them were the guys who tried to talk to me after I parked my bike…I’m guessing these were official trekking guides, and that these people had signed up for treks the day before…given that I found various paths on my own, I was relieved I hadn’t signed up for a trek…I’m sure they have plenty of information, and could’ve shown me great places, but I was content with what I did…

on the way back to munduk I saw a pretty temple and pulled over to check it out…I don’t know how I’d missed it on the way down, but I guess it wasn’t in my line of sight as I was driving…the main area was closed, but the front bit was open…I’m guessing it’s a fairly new temple, the rock still had really sharp edges from the carving, and no moss growing…at least, not yet…

the waterfall I’d skipped yesterday was where I stopped next…there were two carparks for this one, each really small…and unlike yesterday, there was an entrance fee for this one…still less than $1USD, so I’m not complaining…the path took me straight there, the only time I had to choose which way to go was at the spot I paid the entrance fee…there was a sign there pointing which way to go, so I went…that was the most crowded place I went all day…four other people were at the bottom of the waterfall when I arrived…it was pretty, though not spectacular…the falls were thin, but strong…a couple of the guys had clearly gone swimming…as I walked back up to my bike, I took the other path at the ticket office, just to see where it went…it ended up at the back side of a resort, after winding through quite a lot…I’m pretty sure that’s not the way people usually get to the resort, as the path was quite narrow…

after returning to my bike I realized I was quite hungry, and had a very very late lunch at a roadside warung…I got to have what I wanted last night, yay…from there it was back to my room, where I finished a book and relaxed for the rest of the eveningJ