The day that started at 1am - Summit of Mount Batur

Yesterday was our first chill day - sleep in, pool time, shopping, spa, dinner, bed. And a very quick sequence there because we set our alarms for 1:00am! So, after 5 hours of sleep, we headed out to meet our driver for our sunrise hike to Mount Batur. The mountain is in the center of the island, and it is super popular to hike up it to see the sunrise. We drove the 90 minutes to the base camp they had set up and it was this bustling little village with guides and cooks and hikers. They fed us banana crepes and offered us a bathroom with a gravity flush toilet (i.e. you dump buckets of water in the toilet to flush it), and then we headed up to the place where you start walking.

The first part was difficult, but it was on a paved road. We were super out of breath but at least we had our footing. The vertical rise was about 1700 feet but the summit was only at 5633 feet so altitude wasn't really an issue, it was the steepness. Motor bikes started driving by us periodically to offer rides. A couple of us took the motor bikes and met us at the top. The second part of the hike was up these dirt and rocky switchbacks. The pace was so slow that there were literally hundreds of hikers on these switchbacks trying to make it to the summit at sunrise. At this point it was less about being out of breath and more about carrying a flashlight, trying not to fall, and stepping up these super steep rocky steps. Our guide, Guday, was so kind and held my hand for a lot of the steep parts. And by "held my hand" I mean, somewhat pulled me up the mountain.

We finally made it up to the first summit point which was a hut with some vendors. It seemed anti-climactoc, but then we realized that we still had a fairly long way to go, back up more steep switchbacks. By the time we made it up, we were just in time for sunrise, and it was so worth it. We were sweaty messes, but the sunrise over the clouds was so spiritual and mystical, it was one of those times where you marvel at the world around you and are filled with gratitude.

The sun rose with clouds covering and then revealing it several times. We were each given a hard boiled egg and a peanut butter and warm banana sandwich as a snack, Liz loved it! The hike down was equally treacherous, but we were super happy to have made it to the top and had the experience. The irony is that once we were done with the entire trek, it was 8:30am.

From Mount Batur, we headed over to some hot springs. To get there we passed through this old abandoned town that had a bunch of half built homes, that were left as is after the last eruption, which was in 2001. That was a bit eerie to drive through, the photo doesnt do it justice.

For the hot springs, we pictured something a little more rustic and au natural but it ended up being pretty much like an amusement park, but the hot springs were just lovely overlooking Lake Batur. I met a group of Indonesians from Bali enjoying the afternoon there, telling me they love me and wanting to take pictures with me like I was a novelty, haha!

After the hot springs we headed to the most picturesque lunch we have had so far, overlooking a valley with rice terraces and farmland, and a river. It was so pleasant and the buffet was pretty good. The food here is generally super cheap, so that is a nice perk. There was a "flying fox" hanging outside the front of the restaurant. This is actually a pet bat that they had at the restaurant. WTF!

From lunch we went to our final stop on this misty and rainy afternoon, Besakih Great Temple, which is this massive temple complex that is over 1000 years old. It was built out as a temple complex in the 1200s and consists of three sections to each of the Hindu gods - Brahma is the creator and associated with the color red. Vishnu is the protector and is associated with the color black, and Shiva is the destroyer and is associated with white and yellow. The complex has a bunch of temples within it, and there are so many because they are also associated with the caste system, so you could only visit the temple associated with your caste in order to worship.

We also learned that the bookend-looking entrances are called a split gate, symbolizing a mother and father and the miracle of creation.