Land of the worlds very best coffee...and views too!

Hi Blogland! Im back with even more Bali goodness...this time its all about venturing out and about, away from the comforts of the resort to discover the real deal. As I mentioned in the last post, we hired our faithful driver Putra, to take us to the best places on the island for a day. He was a real trouper, arriving to the resort by 8am and not dropping us back until after 8pm that evening...that`s a lot of terrain to cover...we`re talkin about 20 Absolute Vodka bottles of Gasolina!

Putra took us to see the traditional Balinese dancers in lavish costumes. We didn’t quite understand the story but hey they could really shake a booty! The hips don`t lie!

We took a tour of a coffee plantation where the “best coffee in the world” is grown, harvested, cleaned and roasted by this sweet sweet lady.

 

I know you must be dyyyyying to know what makes this stuff the very best java in the whole wide world?! Well I sure wanted to know and boy was I in for a treat. There are these little critters that look like the love child of a cat and a raccoon called a Luwak. They go about scavenging the ground and, being the coffee connoisseurs that they are, they pick ONLY the very best beans to eat as they scurry along. So when I said the beans were “harvested” on site that was kind of a loose interpretation. Because the real truth is that the beans ferment in the critters belly and then exit via the natural digestive process...if you know what i mean! And then the locals gather these precious 'deposits' and clean and roast them to produce “the best coffee in the world”. YUM.

We tried a few varieties of beverages, they were all super delish! Even the very best variety 

(when in Bali – do as the Balinese do!)

 

Talk about a view for lunch. Sitting in Kintamani over looking the sacred Batur volcano, at 1500m.

On the way back to the resort that evening we drove through the iconic rice patties in the peaceful village of Ubud. Can you imagine going to work everyday at these rice patties?! Up to your knees in swampy wetness and surrounded by more shades of green than you can possibly find words to describe...I'll be thinking of these rice gods & goddesses with each and every grain of rice that passes my lips. That's no easy breezy business.


It was such a brilliant day that we asked Putra to meet us again the next day too for another round of Balinese adventure (think gorgeous seaside temples).

xo Tegs