10 March 2013, Sunday
We had an early start as we were climbing Mount Batur today. After waking up at 3:20am, we washed up and left our hotel at 3:50am for the starting point. The drive took only six minutes and we reached a small office for the Association of Mount Batur Trekking Guides. We then proceeded to the starting point where there was a small temple. As was customary, our guide, Senegal, made an offering at the temple to bless us for a safe climb.
A French couple joined us, so it was four of us to one guide. We started our trek at 4am in total darkness, using our torchlights to illuminate the path. As Mount Batur is an active volcano, there weren’t any proper steps like those at the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal or at Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka. The ground was rocky and it was especially challenging when we encountered loose rocks.
We paused several times to catch our breaths and to admire the blanket of stars in the night sky. It was a beautiful sight and a reminder of how small we were in the universe. Being able to see the stars was a good sign as it meant that the sky was clear and it wasn’t going to rain anytime soon.
After climbing for two hours, we reached the lookout point, and Senegal prepared our breakfast. Most people opted to stay here to watch the sunrise instead of climbing a little more to the summit because it was very steep. CT and the French couple elected to remain here, so I decided to scale the summit alone.
Senegal led the way and he bounded quickly ahead of me. I struggled to keep up with him as the rocks on the slope here were even looser and the incline was much steeper. I had to stop for at least five times just to catch my breath. Senegal even had to give me a hand to pull me up several times. I felt like I was running a marathon and this was the last burst to the end.
When I finally reached the summit at 6:30am, the sun had just risen and a glorious sight lay in front of me. From my vantage point at 1,717m above sea level, I could see Lake Batur below, Mount Abang on the other side of the lake, Mount Agung behind it, and Mount Rinjani on Lombok island further afield.
Mount Agung is the highest mountain in Bali at 3,148m while Mount Abang is the third highest at 2,151m. My dream is still to climb Mount Rinjani one day…it is 3,726m high and it will be a much tougher climb involving overnight camping. Should be an adventure.
Anyway, I took a seat at a bench and savoured my breakfast while taking in the beautiful view. Senegal had prepared a simple meal comprising a hard-boiled egg and a banana toast sandwich.
As I looked at the date on my watch, I made a birthday wish at this special moment. Climbing Mount Batur on my birthday was symbolic as it represented overcoming obstacles and scaling even greater heights. It was my second consecutive birthday spent overseas. The previous year’s one was spent in Sri Lanka whilst on an unforgettable, 30-day backpacking trip around Asia to celebrate my 30th. Hope I can celebrate many more birthdays in the future while doing what I truly enjoy – travelling.
After finishing my breakfast, Senegal and I made our way down to the lookout point again to rejoin CT and the French couple. At about 7:15am, we started our descent. The sun was fully up in the sky now and it was quickly getting warm. Going down was considerably harder because of the loose rocks. One misstep and you could tumble down the steep slope.
We reached the temple at the starting point at 8:40am. We took the car and arrived back at our hotel just before 9am, as promised. Despite having our breakfast up on the mountain earlier, we were still hungry so we went for another round at our hotel’s restaurant. After that, we took a shower before checking out of our room.
As we had some time to spare, we asked our driver to send us to Toya Devasya. It is a hot spring resort at Toya Bungkah, located at the edge of Lake Batur and about ten minutes’ drive away. We paid 150K IDR (S$20) for entry but it was really overpriced. There were only two small natural hot spring pools and a warm Olympic-sized swimming pool. I was expecting a lot more and it was really disappointing. After swimming a few laps, we decided to write it off as a bad job and we left at 12:12pm.
For our lunch, our driver recommended a restaurant at Penelokan called Windu Sara. It was supposed to be a buffet lunch and we each paid 100K IDR + 21% tax, so it came up to around S$16 per person. The food selection wasn’t great and it was definitely overpriced as well. However, the expansive view made up for the expensive meal. From there, we had a good view of Mount Batur, the lava field and Lake Batur, but it was nothing to crow about, especially since we had already climbed the mountain earlier.
At 1:15pm, we departed from the restaurant and made our way southwards to Padang Bai, located in the eastern part of Bali. We arrived at our accommodation, Padang Bai Beach Resort, at 2:40pm. I had booked a Downstairs Garden View Room and it cost US$52 for one night, inclusive of breakfast. The room was comfy with good air-conditioning and stable Wi-Fi connection.
Padang Bai is a very small coastal town but it has a bustling harbour providing ferry services to Lombok. That was why we came here in the first place, as we would be catching an afternoon ferry to the Gili islands (off the Lombok main island) tomorrow. There are also a few diving and snorkeling sites in Padang Bai, as well as a few secluded white sand beaches.
As we had just finished climbing Mount Batur in the morning, we didn’t want to over-exert ourselves, so we just spent the rest of the day chilling and relaxing. Back at our hotel, we played a game of Spider-Man Monopoly to pass time, while sipping on our Cokes.
For dinner, we decided to dine in at our hotel’s restaurant called Buddha Bar. The Al Funghi pizza was excellent but unfortunately, the seafood platter wasn’t so good. The tuna and mahi-mahi fish steak were overdone and they were as hard as rubber. Well, things aren’t always perfect and you got to take them in your stride.
By 9pm, we were conked out as the early morning exertions finally set in. Off to Gili Trawangan tomorrow, excited!