We planned a full day today with our driver Rai. He picked us up after breakfast, and our first stop was an Elephant Cave a few kilometers away from Ubud. It was a smallish site with some ghoulish statues and nice ruins. M. and I had to borrow sarongs before entering. The attendants said the kids didn’t need them, but Big J really wanted to wear one. So they wrapped him in a little sarong, and he was happy as a clam. We were able to have a really great discussion about the fact that it’s respectful to dress up when visiting a special religious place.
Then it was on to a water temple (Big J and M. explored, while I stayed with Little J as she napped in the car). And from there, Rai took us to an organic family farm. We had a walk through various crops of chili, passionfruit, ginger, cocoa, coffee, orange, vanilla, banana and more.
And we learned about the “most expensive coffee in the world”. Because the beans are picked out of the poo of an animal whose name escapes me right now (and I’m too lazy/this wifi is too slow to look it up). It’s like a weasel/mongoose type thingy. And it eats only the best quality beans, and then poos them out whole. The poo is then dried, each bean is picked out of it, and then peeled and ground. And then you drink it.
 |
| Big J at the Elephant Temple |
 |
| He loved wearing the sarong |
Then it was on to a water temple (Big J and M. explored, while I stayed with Little J as she napped in the car). And from there, Rai took us to an organic family farm. We had a walk through various crops of chili, passionfruit, ginger, cocoa, coffee, orange, vanilla, banana and more.
And we learned about the “most expensive coffee in the world”. Because the beans are picked out of the poo of an animal whose name escapes me right now (and I’m too lazy/this wifi is too slow to look it up). It’s like a weasel/mongoose type thingy. And it eats only the best quality beans, and then poos them out whole. The poo is then dried, each bean is picked out of it, and then peeled and ground. And then you drink it.
Yes, we tried it. And it was GOOD. Smooth and full bodied. That cup of Joe formerly resided in the intestines of a weasel. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Or drink it, like we did.
We ended our day having lunch in an absolutely spectacular restaurant, overlooking Mount Batur, Bali’s second highest volcano at 2200 metres. Asian buffets and volcanoes are a good mix, I’ll say that.
 |
| Big J feeding the mongoose type animal |
 |
| Tasting the various teas and coffees made from the products on the plantation. Big J loved the lemongrass tea and the hot cocoa. My favourite was the Coconut Coffee. |
 |
| Rai showed the kids how to play this xylophone type instrument. Little J, who loves music and dancing, was in her element. |
 |
| The most gorgeous lunch counter I've ever seen.That's Mount Batur, a crater lake in the middle, and another peak to the right. |
 |
 |
| Mount Batur. |
No comments:
Post a Comment