Bali 2009 - Day 4 ( Private Day Tour ) Part 1

Wake up at 8am today. Luckily didn't get hang over from last night beer. Pack our luggage and get ready for our Private Driver Day Trip.

For you info, one of the best way travelling in bali is to hire a Private Driver. The price is already include transport & gasoline for 8 hours trip. If more than 8 hours, tips is expected. You can tell him where you want to go and they will bring you plus he will explain the information at each location. Price vary from rp250,000 - rp500,000m depends on the quality of the driver.

Hired this driver from Internet. Cost me rp450,000 (RM150). Which is not very cheap, but its worth the amount of money. You can easily get any driver on the street which will only cost you rp250,000. but most of them with this price are not very good in English and they will bring you to those shopping places that pays them commission. The driver i hired is call WAYAN MERTA. he is very famous and had his own website. http://www.bali-paradise.com/see-bali/. But unfortunately today he is too busy to come with us. so he send his cousin and he is as good.

Check out hotel at 9:30am. Hop into the car and head to our 1st stop. KINTAMANI.

Pass GIANYAR TOWN, head north. Checking out the view from the car, get to see a lot of rice field and kampung. after around 2 hours, reach KINTAMANI.

KINTAMANI is a town famous for the panoramic view of MT. BATUR. Mt. Batur has erupted about 24 times since 1800. the most recent eruption was in 1993. Until today we still can see the cooled lava (black) from the 1993 eruption.

We were already "wahhh..." in the car before we get out. The view is just too stunning. When we step out from the car, the weather here is very cooling. Around 20c i think. Plus the sky is perfect today. Less cloud and big sun. We get to see Mt. Batur very clearly. Quickly take some photo and stand there speechless to enjoy the view. Then those street vendors come kacau. ask you to buy this buy that. We keep saying NO, Thank you... but they just wont give up. The driver ask us back to the car and bring us to another viewing spot that is without street vendors. Very good idea.

Batur Lake & Mt. Abang on the right.

Mt. Batur. Active volcano. Those black color are the cooled lava from 1993 eruption.


2nd viewing spot. at last we can enjoy the view without interruption.

Panoramic view of Mt.Batur. The building at the side are restaurants.

Kintamani Streets.

Mt. Batur Volcano Museum

After around 20mins enjoying the view, we know we have to leave to catch time. head to Mt. Batur Volcano Museum. Pay rp6000/ person for entrance. They offer us a free Movie in their cinema room about the history of Mt.Batur, because at the same time they are a group of student in there. They already pay for it. haha... very lucky... after the short movie than we walk around the museum. Get to see a lot of info about volcano eruption, lava stone, equipment, etc.

Leave KINTAMANI at around 12:30pm. The driver offer to bring me to see local made BALI COFFEE, which is not in my planned itinerary. Why not??


Here, we get to see how Balinese make their own grown coffee the traditional way.

Step 1 - Harvest raw coffee bean.


Step 2 - cook coffee bean in a wok for 1 hour, using indirect heat from wood fire.


Step 3 - Cooked Coffee bean, smell damm nice, let it cool.


Step 4 - Crush coffee bean into powder form.

Final product.

Faye in action!!

After looking at the process, go to their coffee tasting section. Its free.


There is some Balinese tobacco on the table, which is free also. Rolling rolling... hehe...


All the coffee and tea here taste not bad. We love the Lemon Grass Tea.

Get to try LUWAK COFFEE. Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee is coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet. The civets eat the berries, but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. It has been proposed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process.


Basically, the coffee bean are harvested from the Luwak Shit!! Very rare type of coffee bean and its the most expensive coffee bean in the world. Selling for between $100 and $600 USD per pound.


Taste very different from normal coffee, quite bitter, but i like it.



After the tasting section, head to their souvenir shop, buy some Lemon Grass Tea, Spices and Dark Chocolate.



Back on the road and head to the next stop.... Tirta Empul Temple for Holy Bath.




to be continue........