Another Volcano

There is something about me having my own transport that makes me feel like I am seeing places that the normal tourist misses. I know this is not completely true but since I had enjoyed the first day on the bike and felt I could find my way around I asked to rent the bike for 5 more days. I asked if I could check out and leave my big backpack with them and return in a few days. They did not seem to have an issue with this and it was nice to be traveling without the huge backpack for a change.

I headed east and through Singaraja and my plan was to take the second road on my map headed to Gunung Batur. I was sure I passed the first road so when I saw a sign with the name of a town in the direction I was going I headed up it. The road was really really steep but had a great view out over the coast of the island. This picture does not really do justice to the view that I had.

I kept going up the road until I reached a fork in the road with no sign so just picked the left fork and kept going. After about 500 meters the road seemed to stop so I turned around and went back and took the right fork. The road seemed to climb for about a kilometer and then turned to gravel. At this point I decided this was the wrong road and turned around and went back down the road. I never stopped and asked for directions but I think the people setting at the fork in the road got a real kick out of the dumb foreigner.

I drove further east on the north coast highway and found the road I was looking for and started the climb to the center part of the island. It was once again a pretty climb and I found the 3 different parts of the island that I had seen so far really different. The Northwest,the Northeast and the Center of the island seem really different to each other. The Northeast part of the island seems really dry and even though you can see the ocean it has more of a desert feel at least to me.

It was another pretty ride up to the area around the center of the island. Gunung Batur is about due east of the area I had been to the day before but there does not appear to be any direct route between the 2 areas and you have to go almost all the way to the south or north of the island to get between the 2 areas. The volcano Gunung Batur and the area around it is a really pretty sight.

I stopped in the area that I took the above picture for lunch. It was a really pretty view but looking at the prices it seemed really overpriced. I said to the lady that was waiting for my order that I was going to find a cheaper place and she said that everything was half price for me. It was a good meal and a great view for a not so bad price.

I ended up spending the night at a hotel on the edge of the lake you can see in the picture above. I was cold at night, which was a really surprise with no fan or AC. I was usually always asking for AC.