hiking part 2

Amin had promised us an "all-inclusive" day, including meals. Sure enough, we started off the day with a traditional Balinese breakfast at his wife's road-side Warung (warung = eatery. I think this was the first Indonesian word that I learned. After all, eating is important). After a busy morning of Botanical gardens, lake views, waterfalls, and hiking, Amin came through with an amazing lunch. Amin's English is pretty good but there is still a bit of a language barrier. Dov and I had no idea what to expect for food. After about 2+ hours on the trail, we stopped at a lookout area for lunch. Amin pulled out 3 meals, each carefully wrapped in banana leaves and held together by small bamboo pins. The pictures show Amin trying to explain to Dov what he is about to eat. And me, happily enjoying my lunch.

Traditionally the Balinese eat with their hands. In all the restaurants we have visited so far they provide utensils for us tourists. But Amin did not pack forks or spoons and he clearly expected us to eat the way the locals do - with our hands. He dug right in and was finished well before either of us. The lunch he packed was very tasty and clearly homemade. And my favorite part about it was that it had just been wrapped in a banana leaf. When you're all done eating, you can just toss your leaf off the side of the trail to decompose. No dealing with messy plastic that will take hundreds of years to break down. Amin also brought a large assortment of local fruits for us to try - mangosteen, passionfruit, pineapple (which was eaten with a spicy sauce), snake fruit, and rambutan.

The hike took about 4 hours and when we finished our driver met us at the end in Munduk. After seeing coffee growing all over the mountainsides where we trekked, we went to some nearby places where coffee is roasted and sold. I had a very delicious cup of coffee there. We also met a little Luwak, whose poop makes the most expensive coffee in the world. The Luwak is a cute little animal who eats the red coffee berries, and then poops out the coffee beans whole. They showed us some Luwak poop, and it really just looks like a bunch of coffee beans. They sold Luwak coffee, locally known as Kopi Luwak, but I didn't try it. Some other people who are at our homestay in Ubud have tried it and said that it is very strong, and definitely has a different flavor from the regular coffee. If anyone wants to try some it is a local specially here and I can bring some back for you. Its very expensive in the USA (I believe it sells for around $300 a pound) but over here the price is much more reasonable.

Our final destination was simply called "Big Tree". According to Amin, it is the largest tree in Bali and is over 1000 years old. He also said it was about 125 meters in circumference. I can't verify all these facts, but it was definitely a big tree. 

Its is a banyan tree, which is holy in Bali. People are forbidden from injuring the tree or burning any part of the branches, even if they have fallen on the ground. Because it is a holy tree, there is a temple built right next to it. I have seen other temples around Ubud where the temple is also built near the banyan. The banyan tree grows these long tentacles and when they reach the ground they root and become like a new trunk. We actually went inside this tree, which is sort of like a maze of branches everywhere.

Amin also told us that according to legend, around 60 Balinese soldiers hid in this tree during WW II. The Japanese were never able to find them. Whether or not the legend is true, I definitely believe that 60 people could easily fit inside this tree. And now here is your "Where's Waldo?" moment - Can you find Dov and I in this photo?