We wanted to get out and see the sights so David hired a scooter. It is well worth hiring a scooter in Bali, it cost us 60,000 a day, which is just over three quid! I did find it nerve-racking on the busy roads,  especially leaving Canggu but David is an experienced rider and I soon started to relax.

Our first ride was to Pura Tanah Lot, one of the most important sea temples, which is about 40 minutes ride from Canggu. I gather in peak season the queues to get in stretch for miles but after stopping to pay our admission fee, we went straight in.

One advantage of being here in the rainy season is the island is relatively quiet. Whether tourists have been scared off by the fact that Mount Agung is active, I don’t know. The island is still on ‘amber’ alert and there is an exclusion zone of six kilometres –  but away from the volcano, everything is running normally.

Arriving at Tanah Lot, I was surprised by the size of the car park and the hundreds of shops and restaurants which lead up to the temple. The commercialism extended into the temple, with hawkers selling souvenirs on every corner and dozens more giftshops and restaurants.  Quite a few areas of the temple were cordoned off, with noisy building work in progress.

Part of the temple can only be reached at low tide. We arrived at high tide, so there was no chance of crossing, but I gather only Balinese visitors are allowed in, anyway. We climbed up a steep hill to get a better view of the ‘island’, and were greeted by another row of shops and cafes. We stopped in one for a ‘Kopi Luwak’ or civet coffee.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of this, it is a very high quality coffee which gets it’s particular flavour from the unusual production method – the coffee beans are eaten and pooed out by the Asian Palm Civet! Don’t panic, the beans are scrupulously cleaned and roasted. It is the digestive juices of the civet which give it its particular flavour. Personally, I didn’t notice the difference between this and my usual Lavazzo, but I can’t claim to be a coffee expert.

I gather there have been ethical issues about the way civets are treated in this production process, but in this café, the civets were treated like Gods! They sprawled about the furniture, sleeping or revelling in being stroked by the café owner and visitors.  As well as the civets, there was a big scary fruit bat, which attracted plenty of attention from passing tourists.

I enjoyed our visit to ‘Tanah Lot’, the ‘island’ part of the temple was well worth seeing, but with all the hawkers and sellers and tourists and building work, it didn’t have much spiritual atmosphere.

Our second ride was to the temple of Pura Luhur Batukau. This was a much longer ride, probably about two hours. Fortunately, David had brought our SatNav along, loaded with maps of Bali.

The urban scenery soon gave way to terraces of paddy fields and picturesque villages dotted with small shrines and temples. At one stage, we found ourselves bumping along an unmade road. It began to rain and we stopped to put on our coats. I donned a long brown poncho which I found under the seat of the motorbike – it was very effective, if not very fetching! I thought perhaps we should turn back, but David was keen to press on. Fortunately, we soon popped out onto a better road and entered a tiny village. We were well off the tourist trail now.

As the rain began to thicken, we passed a temple where a ceremony was about to begin. Dozens of villagers were dressed in white and an entire orchestra sat by the side of the road with traditional instruments in front of them. As we climbed the lower slopes of the Gunun Batukau mountain, the rain became torrential and we decided to take a break. It was difficult to find anywhere to stop but eventually, we saw a sign to ‘Pruna Dewi – Bungalow and Restaurant’. The restaurant looked over an enchanting garden where they grow the organic red rice and vegetables which we ate in the restaurant. The red rice was particularly delicious.

 

Refreshed, we got back on the bike and rode the remaining few miles to Pura Luhur Batukau. The rain had stopped. We paid a small entrance fee, and were kitted out with sarongs. Then we climbed up a long flight of steps to the various parts of the temple.

What a contrast it was to Pura Tanah Lot with its peaceful mountain setting and deeply spiritual atmosphere. The temple is set in a fragrant garden of frangipani and hibiscus and surrounded by dense tropical forest. Apparently, it is one of the most sacred places in Bali, which dates back to the 11^th century, and yet we only came across two other groups of visitors. Certain areas of the temple were out of bounds, but there was still plenty to see. The sound of monkeys screeching merged with ceremonial chimes as mist curled through the trees.

Walking through the gardens, we came across a large lake full of huge koi carp (cue excitement from David – Fish! Fish! Fish!) There were some steps across the lake to an island in the middle, but the steps were submerged and we were not brave enough to attempt it.

On the way home, the Sat Nav ran out of power and we had to find out way without it. If it was left to me, we’d still be out there but fortunately, David has a good sense of direction and we made it back before dark.  I’m not sure I’m ready for Canggu on a scooter at night.