Bali Tour Guide

When I handled on trip in  Munduk, the hotel I stayed,   The Sanak Retreat have a trekking program where my clients took part in. Trekking start in the morning from the hotel. The local guide, Mr. Gusti, lead the way to treking path to the nearby village, forest and waterfall of Banyuatis. We start walking in small village road where there were rice fields. It was about 8 AM when we started. It is better to start early because it is going to be hotter in the midday, eventhough the temperature is lower than any other tourist place in Bali. Mr. Gusti, stopped several times just to point out something interesting, he explained about the rice field, the irigation system, and he also stop and said hello to the local farmers. We walk trhough ricefield, garden, village road and finally we entered the main road. From the main road we took the small path to continue our final stop at Banyuatis waterfall. The trekking route to the waterfall is quite challenging as we need...

His name is Andy Mcneilly. I met him at the temple of Tampaksiring. He was visiting the temple with his students and colleagues from different part of the world. Andy works in Bali as a lecturer. He is quite known among the Balinese for his mastery of the Balinese language. What he speaks about is those mainly funny expression which will make Balinese laugh or smile. In this video, he talked about his daily routine in Bali and where he came from. The conversation is conducted in Balinese language.

This is the trip that I took from Kalimantan Tengah or Borneo and then continued to Komodo island. Borneo is the real habitat for Orangutan. My clients and I took journey cruising on a boat along Sekonyer River. Along the river, we saw forests, animal such as monkeys and birds. We didn't see any crocodile, eventhough they lived there. We spend some nights there, trekking into the forests into feeding stations where we could encounter Orangutan. The other part of the trip we journey on a sailing boat to Rinca island and Komodo island. We went to see the Komodo dragons.

Pura Tirta Sudamala is located in Bangli regency. It is a place for the Balinese to do a purification ritual or spiritual cleansing.  The Balinese believe that there should be a balance between physical and spiritual body. When the body is dirty, we can wash it with water and soap. When the spirit needs cleansing, the Balinese would perform a ritual called melukat or spiritual cleansing. In this temple, the ritual is started by praying to the God led by a pemangku in a little temple close to the holy spring. Next step is to go down to the river and wash oneself. Finally, going to each of the fountain located just by the river. After being blessed with holy water by the pemangku, the ritual is done. Here the Balinese will wear their dry clothes again and once again go to the main area of the temple to pray. Finally, it is done. They will go home feeling  spiritually cleansed. Here is the map where the Pura Tirta Sudamala is located.

Here is an adventure of Kat, Jack and me to Ubud monkey forest and some other places. Coming from US, Kat and Jack have different expecation  in Bali. Kat wants to visit Mc Donald, KFC or Starbucks and anything available in US. Jack wanted to see the carving of Balinese Hindu temple, the irrigation of the rice terraces and anything cultural. He also would like to visit monkey forests in Ubud. But monkey forests was a real nightmare for Kat. At least at beginning of the trek into the forest. She was scared like hell of the monkeys. Jack and I teased her along the trekking route about how monkeys will kidnap her and make her stay in the forest forever. But, if you ask how I feel about monkey as a tour guide, am I scared to monkeys? The answer is yes. Especially with their teeth showing when trying to scare people. It does make you shiver a little bit. Kat managed to finish the monkey forests, she ended it by saying "I survived".Jack was happy to see the Batuan Templ...

It was a great full day trip. We went to see mount Batur in Kintamani, trying the luwak coffee and visited Tegenungan waterfall. It is really important to feel excited and happy before you start the tour. When you are happy, you will surely enjoy the trip. They were like that. Happy and  and enjoying their trip. "Are you always happy? Have you ever get angry?" I asked, partly joking. "We will be miserable again when we're back to England,". They laughed.

It seems that the answer is yes. I took this video in a small cafe in Tanah Lot temple. The Cafe. The owner has several civet cats in his cafe. I stopped to have a look with my clients. The civets are quite tame and quite comfortable around people. One of the civet played with the lady who visit the shop. But with the owner, he is even more relax. Having a civet as a pet is not common in Bali. So, there is not enough story or detail to tell about how they might behave. One of the common story that people hear in Bali is that civet like to steal little chicks from farm area. If you encounter, domesticated civet in Bali, you can play with them if you like. But it is not enough detail or story that I heard about how they behave as a pet. Not that I know. So, please be careful in handling the civets. They may behave not as we expect.