Bedugul

Take a Journey with me to spiritual Bedugul

View from Beratan Mountain

Hello, my name is Tour Guide Lucy.

Today I am going to take you to a place many international tourists miss out on. 

We're going to through a rather ugly grey concrete town. Purely functional, both for its' society and for our trip. However, there is an awesome and imposing mosque with a pink and grey cupola. As we pass, the Adhan will be calling over loudspeaker from the high minaret down the Main Street.

We may have to stop for petrol at this point. Our bikes our quite thirsty, as are we, humming along in the mid day sun. The scenic de-tour to Batu Bulong, a genuine Balinese surf spot, had the passengers feeling lazy for the onward journey. Once on the road again we will stop ten minutes later to ask for further directions. 

One plus point of Lucy tours is that you gain a genuine travel experience. Interaction with local communities is key. Not because Lucy lost the map, in fact it makes it more fun and enriching. A very nice security guard on the main roundabout beside the bypass in North Denpasar will speak fluent English and point us in the right direction. He will wave us off with a smile, laughing to himself at the three foolish Bule. 

We will direct our bikes up a mountain road that eventually leads to Singaraja in the far north of Bali. As the air cools up the hill it will get a bit chilly and Lucy may become slightly premature in her desire to ensure all members of the tour remain warm and dry, stopping to put on a poncho for only a few raindrops. You are welcome to stay well behind her as passing locals laugh and point at the silly white tourist, dressed in a waterproof bed sheet while the weather remains dry. 

When we arrive at Lake Beratan at the top of the mountain we will be quite hungry. We will park on the edge of the lake and umm and ahh over which Muslim bakso stall to eat at. We will spend the equivalent of 50p on our lunches of bakso soup and nasi goreng, and once full we will venture to the botanical gardens and Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. The temple rests on a platform that protrudes in to the vast lake, clouds will fringe the surrounding hills and we will be shrouded in a protective grey fluff that will begin to quickly descend towards us like a mother intent on swaddling her toddlers from a bath. We will be overcome with a highly meditative feeling of peace and safety, however the threat of rain in those grey comforting pillows and the coming night, will shoe us away to find our bed, and some beers beforehand.

The journey back will see us enjoy the great curving bends of the mountain road in the precipitous mountain air, while we see the same bikes over take us and drop back over and over. We will possibly make a wrong turn in to Denpasar upon which point Lucy will decide to make another step backwards up the road and lead us away from the heavy traffic. In fact she will do such a good job of directing everyone away from it, we will end up at a random beach between Tanah Lot and Cenggu. Tired, smelling like road, the setting sun will get in our eyes. We will high-five children leaning out of a slow moving truck which will pass in the opposite direction.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan at Bedugul