Bali Mt. Batur Sunrise Trekking {Deetour}

After our wildly successful day tour, we were ready for another one – the Bali Mt Batur Sunrise Trek tour.

Day 3

Our third day started very early… 2 AM early. We had booked a tour and a van fetched us at our hotel at that time because we had a two-hour drive to the foothills of Mt Batur, which we were going to climb. I tried to sleep in the van but could not do so, for some reason, so I just sat in the dark van with my eyes closed, till we got to our destination.

I had brought a jacket in preparation for the trip, but it turns out that the Croc slippers I was wearing, which had managed my Cambodia hill climb, would simply not do for our two-hour mountain trek.

So while my three friends rented jackets because they had not brought their own, not realizing it would be this cold, I had to rent hiking shoes. The only hiking shoes available were a bit too small for me, but I foolishly thought it would be okay.

After putting on our rented gear, we started our way up the mountain. We were supposed to catch the sunrise at the top of the mountain, so it was completely dark and we had to use flashlights to see our paths, making the climb even more difficult.

Halfway up the mountain, our guide volunteered to carry my shoulder bag for me because it was slowing me down by keeping me out of balance. I shouldn’t have brought a shoulder bag, I know, but when I was in Cambodia I had survived with it, but now I know better and will bring a backpack next time.

On second thought, maybe I would never have a next time.

So onward we climbed for two more hours. We had several stops in between to catch our breaths.

When we finally reached the top, it was still dark, so while waiting for the sun, we drank some soda.

Then finally the sun peeked out and it was glorious. So this was what all that effort had been for. We basked in its beauty and took pictures. But somehow, the cameras couldn’t quite capture the beauty of the real thing.

Glorious sunrise

We caught the sunrise! (Maya did, literally. LOL.)

With our guide

Look, the moon is also in the sky!

After we’d had our fill of the sunrise, we walked around for a bit. Our guide showed us the steam rising from the ground. Mt Batur, it turns out, is actually a volcano.

He also showed us a hot spring. He said the water was supposed to be holy or something, so Zenie and I tried to capture some drops of water in our mouths. Of course, we looked like idiots doing so but it was fun.

There is some steam rising in the background

Zenie and I try to catch the holy water on our tongues

We finally had to start climbing down and this was when I had a problem. Climbing up was hard enough, but going down was twice harder, not just because I was afraid I would go rolling down the mountain if I dislodged some dirt (I actually ended up hard on my butt at one point, and so did Gay), but also because my too-small shoes now made its size evident.

I don’t know if the sunlight or the trek up made my feet larger, but it was suddenly unbearable for me to walk in them, that even if we were already walking on even ground, I walked so slowly that I got left so far behind, they actually couldn’t see me anymore at one point.

Our tour guide finally took pity on me and asked his friend to bring me to our starting point on his motorcycle. Never again will I wear ill-fitting shoes to a trek. Or perhaps, never again will I trek a mountain. Maya actually said, “This is my first mountain trek. And my last.”

On our way back down

When we got to the base of the mountain, we gave tips to our guide and his friend and our driver fetched us and brought us to Toyah Bungkah hot spring.

Before we got to wade in the spring, however, we had to eat brunch first, and we were so tired and hungry that we ate it with gusto. The food was very delicious, but what made it unappetizing were the huge noisy flies hanging around our food. We had to keep them protected under a hat-like cover.

Food cover to ward off flies

Grilled tilapia for brunch

After eating, we changed into our swimsuits and waded into the hot springs. There was no one around except us and a couple of other tourists, so it was very peaceful and relaxing. We lay down in the water and even got lulled to sleep by the soothing warm water and the sound of the running spring.

In the resort, overlooking a lake

Overlooking the hot springs

We had to leave because we needed to go to a spa which was located elsewhere. So we got dressed and once again rode the van that took us to spa. They handed us keys to lockers where we could stash our things and handed us cute tops and bottoms to wear to the spa.

First we waded into a jacuzzi, then we were led into rooms where we were massaged, after which, we had a flower bath in a tub. It was very delightful.

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to find a moneychanger to change some of our dollars because we were running out of rupiah. This was where we had what was probably our only unpleasant experience in Bali.

We should have known the place was suspicious because their exchange rate was higher than normal, too good to be true. But we were too happy, I guess, so we went on and exchanged our money. Zenie even counted out the rupiah herself but the moneychanger held the money again after she did and when we got it back, we didn’t count it again, and only realized we had been duped (I forget by how much now) by the time we got back to the hotel and we were getting our money ready to pay for dinner.

So let this be a warning to anyone else going to Bali: beware of moneychangers. Change money at the airport, where it is safest.

Anyway, we had dinner at our hotel because we were too tired to go out. We were pretty happy with the food. I had pizza and Gay had carbonara again.

Then we decided to pig out and bought some junk food and soda and Magnum chocolate truffle ice cream bars from the convenience store outside our hotel and ate all these while watching TV in our living room. It was a fun way to spend our last night in Kuta.

Continued in… Nusa Dua