Fun begins in Ubud-Day 2

Waking up in the morning was the hardest thing to do as you tend to laze , roll and find every excuse available to not wake up against the comfort of soft pillows and a nice lovely bed that cushioned the very abuse of your body. Somehow, I've gotta tell myself that I have a full day of fun ahead of me and I should embraced that finally I lumbered off the bed, stumbled into the tub ( Yeah, they have a tub in the toilet area! ) and freshened up. 

By the time, we arrived at hall, our breakfast was ready and it was a good breakfast for me though I realised that the portion is quite small. I guess, these are Balinese standard size. I do love my breakfast to be hearty and in big portions but I guess, I'll have to respect what is being served to me. My consolation was that there was a fruit platter of pineapples, papaya, watermelon and dragon fruit at the end of the meal. That's absolutely fantastic, really. As usual, I had my local nasi goreng fare and I do like very much. After breakfast, we were off to our first place of interest - Alas Harum.

Alas Harum is a popular agrotourism park located at Jalan Lunga Tegalallang around 20 minutes ride from Central Ubud. This place offers luwak coffee ( the coffee seeds that comes out from the behind of the civet cat, yunno! ), ziplines, swings, picture perfect scenery , birdnest structures, terraced coffee house, dancing bridge, big curve of a gorilla face and pekak brayut. Lovely place to take nice photographs and to enjoy the morning walk. Climbing the stairs in an undulating terrain can be quite a challenge but the RC staircase makes it easier, actually. 

The cool early morning air was a welcome change,actually. It is just so cool and breathtakingly lovely view. SYuen was game enough ti do the extreme swing and so, I decided to let her have her day by trying out the extreme swing ( Rph 200,000 ride ! ) But I must say, it was worth it. She enjoyed it so much as I snapped photographs of her. I must thanked the Royal Rangers commanders for instilling that confidence and bravery in her when she was young. It most certainly paid off and she took to the flights of the swing expertly without fear or nervousness!  It was such a joy for me as a father as I saw her braving the swing ride with confidence and grace too. 

Then it was off to the birdnest and what an ingenious work of art, actually. Suspended over 4 to 5 feet off the ground, these birdnest creation against the terraced greenery background of the park gives it a lovely photography effect. These birdnest are generally safe and really works of art. I really salute the artist who thought of these birdnest. Entwined twigs, rattan and magnificently hidden strong cables and holders made it all so authentic and real. Even the shape and construction of it was rather precise of a birdnest. We had a gala time of posing and model like photography sessions. The rich experience of the terraced terrain helped make it a wonderful morning work out for the lungs and heart! Absolutely a brilliant park. I must admit that I do love coffee but not luwak coffee as they can be an expensive experience and this place is no different. I also must admit that there is far too many luwak coffee shop attractions at the Tegalallang area. If the purpose of luwak coffee is to popularise it then the prices should be attractive too and definitely not at exhorbitant prices. Anyway,  Bintang coffee , 434 coffee or even Sing Sing coffee tasted just as good as far as I am concerned. I guess, Bali coffee is equally nice as I had it in my villa just that morning. So, nothing to shout about, really. 

I am not trying to be a wet blanket when it comes to coffee because there is so much you can do with the coffee beans. A very good barista and a great coffee beans proprietor once told me that if you treat the coffee beans right ( roasting, temperate, treat and take care of details ) , the right flavour will come out and you will get the full body taste of it. I am sticking to the ideals that good coffee comes from the expert hands of the roasters, the farmer and the barista. However, it is good to have a different view, right?

We then managed to get a quick bite at D'Alas Warong near Tegalallang area. Filled with orange trees, this warong serves Indonesian meals but we opted for coconut drinks, crepes and banana fritters. Lovely delights and I realised that there is so much creativity when it comes to the bananas in Bali.

Pura Tirta Empul was our next destination. Tirta Empul means Holy Spring in the Balinese language. Located in the village of Manukaya in the town of Tampaksiring, the temple is one of the busiest Hindu Balinese temple in Bali. Legend has it that the sacred spring was created by the god Indra. His forces had been poisoned by Mayadanawa, so he pierced the earth to create a fountain of immortality to revive them. Tirta Empul temple was founded in 926 AD during the Warmadewa Dynasty ( 10th -14 th century ). 

Ever since, for more than a thousand years, the Balinese people and people from all over the world have come to bathe in the sacred waters for healing and spiritual merit. The temple is divided into three sections namely Jaba Pura ( front yard ) , Jaba Tengah ( central yard ) and Jeroan (inner yard) . Jaba Tengah consists of 2 pools and 30 showers which are named accordingly : Pengelukatan, Pebersihan, Sudarmala and Pancuran Cetik. It is relaxing and calm as one sits or moved around the temple. 

The sight of seeing men and women lining up for a piece of blessing as one takes a dip or takes a handful of water to be douse over the head  is humbling sight indeed. It is quite humbling too to see many men, women and children devotees who offers nice small coconut leave baskets filled with flowers and incense to their gods. Our driver, Kartika informed us later when we were in the van that Balinese people prays three times a day. Such piety to their beliefs and culture. As you exit the temple, the koi pond greets you. Big, fat and colourful koi fish swims lazily around the pond and would not hesitate to take food pellets offered by the tourist and locals alike. 

As the stomach calls for refilling of food, we decided to get to Babi Guling Ibu Oka in Peliatan , Ubud for our lunch. I must say, it wasn't a good experience at all. As always, you win some and you lose some. The food wasn't as what was expected while the prices are really deafening indeed. It wasn't good and all the hype was just hearsay, I guess. Yeah, I was expecting like some "siew yok" stuff but instead there wasn't any of it while the hard pieces are really hard. The crunchies were really teeth breakers, actually. I shudder at the thought of swallowing a piece of my own chipped tooth! 

Tegenungan Waterfall is located at Tegenungan Kemenuh village in Gianyar,  This is a beautiful waterfall. This is an isolated waterfall that had since become a popular tourist attraction. The view of the waterfall is spectacular. From the entrance area, tourist and local take easily 600 - 1,000 steps to reach the bottom section of the waterfall. Loud music, ladies in bikinis, jam session, buffy guys and party goers await those who venture right at the bottom area of the waterfall. To me, I am safe and well enough to be at the top section to take photographs. Again, the birdnest structure attractions make it such a wonderful place for photography session. What a day! I guess, the pictures says it all very eloquently on the beauty of such places.

After a disastrous lunch, we decided to pack some dinner back to our villa. We felt it would be more meaningful to fellowship and eat at the same time. We stopped at Bebek Joni at Jalan Raya Goa Gajah in Peliatan , Ubud to wet of bebek appetite ( by the way, "bebek" means duck ) and got ourselves some bebek treats and gado-gado ( a platter of boiled long beans, sliced carrots, sliced cucumber, beans sprouts, fried tempe and drizzled with peanut sauce - lovely ! ) while we stopped at a nearby shop to get some fried  mahi-mahi fish cuts, BBQ tuna ( ikan tongkol ) , BBQ chicken,  BBQ mackerel ( ikan kembong ). what a feast we had that night! Topped up with the clanker of Bintang beer, locally produced beer, it was a satisfying dinner indeed. That night, we slept like babies and we were all looking forward to the next days program and many sweet dreams of Ubud...................