We got ourselves on an Eco Bike Tour yesterday.
Figured this was the best way to see the real Bali as well as get some exercise. And I must say the 5 hour ride through Padi fields, quaint villages with lots of 'Eco Stops' along the way, was a great experience.
The tour starts with breakfast at Penelokan, overlooking Gunung Batur, an active volcano in the Northwest of the island which last erupted about 18 years ago. A short Bemo ride down brings us to the start-point where we mounted our bikes, at the caldera of Batur which is actually a sort of crater formed when a land mass collapses after an eruption.
And then it was 30km worth of downhill pedaling through at least 10 villages, where cheery children lined the dusty roads to say Hello! or give you a high-five as you ride by. We made numerous stops. Among them a coffee plantation where I indulged in some really excellent java beans, a bamboo processing Kampung, a Woodcarver's shed and Padi fields where we had a crash course on rice cultivation.
Overall, something different from the usual arty-farty pursuits people usually immerse themselves in in Ubud. Because even that can get a tad commercialised sometimes.
Labels: Places