Morning Rain & Here is Joni!

Day four started the same way as the day before — with rain.
Two days earlier, we had booked a day tour through the hotel. The flyer promised five locations, which already made me suspicious. Five stops in one day? That´s rather impossible. At the end, it was only two.

Our driver, Joni, was arranged through the hotel and, funny enough, lived just across the street from Sage. Unlike most drivers we had met so far — who constantly pushed their own tours, handing us business card after business card — Joni only mentioned it once at the start and never again. Refreshing! His English was good, and he even carried his own little stool to sit on while waiting for us.

The Rice Terraces

First stop: the rice terraces. Probably the biggest ones I’ve seen, and rice stretched out in every direction. The scenery was peaceful, except for one very loud Portuguese tour group singing and shouting behind us. No, we didn’t kill them — though I may have considered it. Eventually, they disappeared and we had the terraces to ourselves.

It was beautiful, but rainy and chilly. Denise felt the cold more than I did. The mountains in Bali are a very different climate compared to Ubud, Amed, or Kuta. Lesson learned: bring a jumper or long pants.

The terrace had an entrance fee I hadn’t accounted for. We had just enough cash for that and the driver, but not for two lunches. Denise got Nasi Goreng (with a suspicious amount of Maggi), and I skipped food — not a big deal, I have reserves. Locals seemed baffled: either the fat tourist doesn’t eat, or he has no money.

Meanwhile, two dogs quickly became our best friends, hovering around for scraps, before giving up on Denise’s iron will.

A Curious "Mini ATM"

On the way back, I noticed a sign for a "Mini ATM." Curious, I asked what it was. Turns out, you “buy” a phantom product in the shop for the amount you want to withdraw, and they give you cash — minus a 3% fee. Creative, but I’d rather not pay extra for my own money. Thankfully, we found a real ATM on the way to our next stop.

Tanah Lot Temple

Stop two: Tanah Lot. I had visited before, and this time it was much emptier than I remembered — still busy, but not packed. We walked down to the rocks, hoping to spot crabs or small fish in the tide pools, but nothing appeared. A little disappointing, but we still enjoyed the crashing waves and salty breeze.

We had planned to eat by the cliffside, but instead just ordered drinks. Denise’s iced tea turned out to be syrup with water, unstirred, leaving her with pure liquid sugar at the bottom. My coconut water was just as odd, it turned out that the Tanah Lot coconut water is red. I got watermelon juice — sweet as a spoonful of sugar. Not exactly refreshing and not at all what I´ve ordered.

Later, we tried a nearby restaurant. The vegetarian Nasi Goreng wasn’t much better. Honestly, it was the culinary low point of our Bali trip so far.

Life on the Roads

Back on the streets, the traffic reminded us of Bali’s chaos: scooters everywhere, exhaust filling the air. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw people jogging along the roads. Between the traffic, lack of sidewalks, and pollution, they must have lungs of steel — or a death wish.

But there was also a surprise: electric scooters and cars. We spotted a few BYDs, another Chinese brand with a winged logo I didn’t recognize, and even two Hyundai Ioniq 5s — my car back home. They looked alien and massive here, but I loved seeing them. Slowly but surely, EVs are making their way to Bali, and I hope they’ll replace the two-stroke scooters that choke the air.

Cost of Getting Around in Bali

For locals, mobility doesn’t come cheap. A driving license costs around €50 and needs to be renewed every five years. But buying a scooter — often essential since there’s little public transport inland — costs €1,500 to €3,500. With the average monthly income of €200–300, it’s a serious financial burden. Credit is often the only way.

Back at the hotel at 9ish and after a hot shower we went to bed somewhat early as we were both tired.

Day 4 – Rice Terraces, Temples, and a Culinary Low Point