Bali Driving Tour

One day we hired a driver and car and took a trip outside Ubud. Driving in Bali is very dangerous because of the poor roads and too many motor scooters. There doesn’t seem to be any traffic rules and our driver told us as long as you don’t crash everything is okay. We saw some interesting sites, but we also saw more poverty and unclean conditions.

Our first stop was Goa Gajah or the Elephant Cave Temple.  (One must be appropriately attired to visit a temple, but that wasn’t a problem since the cost of admission includes the use of a sarong during the visit.) It was built in the 9^th century and served as a sanctuary. Inside the cave is a worship area devoted to the Hindu god Shiva.

 

Tirta Empul or the Water Temple was our next stop.  This temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site. People get in the water and snake around in a line to get to some water coming out of the stone.  We chose not to get in the water.

 

We stopped for a short time at the coffee plantation, where we were given a tour and a tasting of several kinds of coffee and tea.  We saw a caged civet, the animal that eats the coffee beans made into the luwak copi, and some pineapples. The parking lot was full of people trying to sell us things.  They pushed their faces against the car windows and continued shouting as we were trying to drive away.

 

Our next stop was a spot where we could view the volcano, which is also the highest point on Bali. We were told it last erupted several times in 1963, killing almost 2000 people. We ate lunch a little further down the road from this viewing area.

 

Our final stop of the (long) day was to see the terraced rice fields. They look like works of art.

 

We enjoyed our driving tour and were happy not to be driving!