My trip to Bali - Trekking to Mount Batur

8 of May

It was impossible to sleep at 8pm for me, but I managed to fell asleep at 10pm.

When the alarm clock rang, it was difficult to get out of the bed at 1.30am. Well it felt weird to setup an alarm clock at 1.30am, pretty unusual.

Our shuttle arrived at 2.00am. We were just 4 persons on the van, and we stopped at at least 5 or 6 hotels to pick-up other persons.

The ride lasted approximately 1h30. We stopped for a breakfast on the road, a fried banana with coffee. It was simple but we got some energy for the trek. 

The van parked on the bottom of the mount, it was around 3am. We got out of the van: it was cold, Keitut told us to bring shorts, but it wasn't the best idea. Luckily we would do some exercice to warm our bodies up.

On the parking lot, I raised my head, and the sky was spectacular. I didn't see the full sky for years. It was incredible, I spent 10 minutes enjoying the view: we were able to see each star shining in the sky.

I was amazed and touched by the luck I had to be here.

Our guides gave up some flash lights, and we started our journey in the dark.

We climbed the 2,000m of altitude with some obstacles: it wasn't so easy, a lot of rocks, it was slippery, and a little bit crowded. Sometimes we had to wait in a line so everyone could climb.

I lost track of time, enjoying making exercice, stopping to watch the view. We didn't have time to talk, but that was okay, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

The last 20 minutes was the most difficult part, I was tired and we had to make bigger strides, because of the rocks.

Once on the top, it was really cold and windy, but I was so proud: We made it! 

We sat on the grass, with a coffee, a boiled egg and a sandwich, and enjoyed the view.

It was an incredible mix of colors: pink, yellow, orange, blue... I was speechless.

After the sunrise, we walked a little bit around: we met at this moment a monkey, passing by. We saw smoke coming beneath us: of course, it's a volcano!

After spending almost one hour on the top, we made a U-turn and went down to the parking lot.

It was so slippery I fell down twice, the descent was as amazing as the climbing. And we realized how high we were!

Back to Ubud, we directly jumped in the swimming pool, so refreshing after our trek!
We then found a small place to have lunch (I took the Nasi Goring -fried rice- dish, I need to cook it at home!) and as usual, a french pineapple juice (my favorite).

I had huge calves muscle soreness after the trekking, and we wanted to relax, what about a  massage? 

Here in Ubud, it's really easy to get a massage, as there are beauty salons almost everywhere, and it's really cheap.

We took the one-hour full body massage, we had the possibility to choice which oil we wanted, and I went for the Bali-flower one.

For the next hour, I lost track of time, feeling relaxed, almost sleeping, it was so pleasant (except for the calves-little bit painful).

Next we wanted to get some local souvenirs, at Ubud Market.
It wasn't the most calm moment: so crowded. We easily lose money value, with high bills value.
The strategy is to never stop talking, and never make you think: in that case you will by stuff with a way more expensive price. Be careful!

We spent the rest of our day walking in Ubud streets...