Today Andrew and I awoke before the sun! We scrambled to make it out to the pool deck to see the ducks released onto the rice fields, but discovered it's not quite that easy…the ducks are kept in small pens overnight on the rice fields, but they aren't always released in the same area. This morning we were hoping they would all run right past the hotel, but they were released onto the fields a little farther away from us. We were definitely close enough to hear all the quacking, though!
After a lovely breakfast, we met our guide for the day - to see the middle of the country, a bit north of Ubud, near one of the volcanos.
The first stop was to see the terraced rice fields, which are the ones you always see on tv:
Our second stop was a civet cat coffee farm. The civet is a small jungle cat who turns the raw coffee beans from the plant into really tasty, sought-after coffee beans, via their digestive tract. Yes, they eat it and then we collect what comes out the other end :). We got to try several different teas and Balinese coffees, including the civet coffee, which they call Luwak coffee. It's quite tasty:
The third stop was the volcano. We didn't hike or trek, we actually just stopped at one of the villages on the peak across from it for some photos ops:
The next stop was an 1100-year old temple that was about 300 steps down into a valley (getting out was not as fun as getting in). The temple was mainly carved out of the stone in the valley - very, very hard stone. We had to each wear sarongs and be spritzed with holy water before entering:
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| This is snakefruit - we stopped at a little stand and picked some up before we got to the temple. So weird, right?? |
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at one more temple, built in the year 944(!), but there was a ceremony going on, so we weren't allowed in to see much of the grounds.
After a little rest and a couple of beers, we caught a taxi to Mozaic for dinner. We had our choice of tasting menus and wine pairings and we were like kids in a candy store - Sylvie had the 8 course with a regular wine pairing, Henry had an 8 course with a premium wine pairing and Andrew and I had the 6 course surprise menu with a regular wine pairing. The difference between the surprise menu and the others was that, surprise!, you didn't know what was coming. Everything was great and we ate and drank our little hearts out!
The meal was really great and you could tell the ingredients were very fresh and locally sourced - something the chef prides himself on. At the end of the meal we were all stuffed and glassy-eyed, so we caught a cab back to the hotel and pluncked into bed.
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| Starter cocktail with kalamansi lime and lychee - had to be the best cocktail I have ever had |
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| Menu |
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| Surprise menu shellfish dish |
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| Surprise menu wagyu beef with roasted cauliflower |
The meal was really great and you could tell the ingredients were very fresh and locally sourced - something the chef prides himself on. At the end of the meal we were all stuffed and glassy-eyed, so we caught a cab back to the hotel and pluncked into bed.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Ubud and we have some fun things planned!!
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