Day 7

Day 7- Bali

Get ready for a load of pictures because this was my ALL-time favorite day of the entire trip!

We woke up really early and headed to the Batur Volcano to bike downhill for 2 1/2 hours. The tour we went on provided transportation, breakfast at the top of the volcano (which I might add is still active),  and lunch when we finished the bike ride. It was so cool! I have to say that there is nothing better than having someone take you to the top of a mountain and let you bike all the way downhill. The scenery on the bike ride was absolutely gorgeous and it was by far our favorite activity of the whole trip. They started by taking us on a tour of a little plantation where this little company grows its own coffee, cocoa, and tea. I guess the soil up near the volcano is the very best soil for growing plants. They also had tons of spices that they grow up there. Fabi and James really enjoyed the coffee while Rhett and I bought a big bar of chocolate. It is made without milk so it that means it melts in your mouth, not in your hands (take that M&M's!). :)

They had this coffee called "Shit Coffee". It is suppose to be some of the best coffee in the world. It is made by the help of a mongoose. The mongoose eats only the very ripest coffee beans. They wait for the mongoose to poop out the coffee beans. They then take those beans and brew up a special pot of coffee from the ripest of beans. Gross, huh? James went ahead and tried it. He said it was actually really good. Personally, I have a very strong policy in my life to NEVER eat anything that comes out of someone's  guaco-shoot. This policy has worked well for me in the past and I'm sticking with it. :)

After the plantation they drove us up the mountain. Once we got there they served us fried bananas, snake skin fruit, and papaya for breakfast. James and Fabi had a small argument over this breakfast. Fabi had wanted to go to the free breakfast buffet at our resort, but James had told her that the breakfast was included with the biking so we would all enjoy the breakfast they provided. Fabi absolutely refused to eat the fried bananas and wouldn't even sit up by us. She made James walk around trying to find something more edible, but to no avail. I offered up the crackers and milano cookies from my bag and it at least filled them up a little. Rhett and I ate the breakfast. It wasn't too bad. It sort of tasted like a plantain wrapped in a scone. :) I really liked the snake skin fruit. It looked like a brown or rotten strawberry, but was crunchy like an apple and a little tart. :) It was just fine for us. I was just thankful they had something before we took off riding a bike for hours.

We got our helmets on and they had a bunch of mountain bikes lined up for us to chose. Rhett was pretty nervous though after looking at what they had to offer. All the bike frames were too small for him so he knew he had a rough ride in store. On top of that he noticed all the tires were bald! Heavens knows how much longer that breaks were gonna last. You gotta remember, this ride is all downhill so these brakes have been used tons and who know when the last time they were change. After looking at the tires, Rhett figured they hadn't been changed. He made sure to tell everyone if their brakes give out they'll have to put their foot in the back tire to stop. We turned and headed downhill and it was FANTASTIC! We rode through tons of little villages and rice fields. The scenery was so pretty. We were cruising along just enjoying the breeze and we came across a group of people buying tickets for something. We asked our guide what they were doing and he said a cock fight was about to start. Rhett and James about freaked out with excitement!  We payed and went in to check it out. It was something we had never seen before and honestly it was really interesting. They take they two roosters (or cocks as Rhett and James loved to say) and strap big knives to their feet. After all the cocks are paired up and the betting ends the fight begins. These two cocks battled it out for a minute before one was injured. Then they put both of them into a tiny cage and the fight was over in an instant. Two cocks enter, one cock leaves. lol. It wasn't bloody so Rhett and James were a little disappointed. We didn't have time to stay and watch more, we had to hurry and get to our next destination. After we finished this amazing downhill bike ride they fed us a nice lunch of chicken and rice. It was yummy. Next stop... elephant riding!

This was what I had been waiting for the whole trip! We pulled up and walked in and right away there were elephants all over the place. And not behind giant fences or across huge barriers either. You could walk right up to them and touch them (which of course I was way too scared to try). We met our guide and elephant. Our guide was hilarious. He made sure to drop hints that we were expected to tip. He'd say stuff to the elephant like "don't drop the customers, or they'll drop my tip." He probably said something to that affect about 20 times. It was pretty funny. Our elephant was a teenage female and it showed. She was a little on the lazy side and kept stopping along the ride. Now, I'll just let you know right now that riding an elephant is not what it seems. Elephants have a hard time walking downhill and the little bench you sit on feels like its trying to kick you out. Its super bumpy. The guide sits right on its neck and rests his feet right behind its ears. At one point he started shaking his legs really fast and it got the elephant to run and blow his trunk. It was pretty cool, but scary because you it makes realize you are totally at the mercy of this giant animal. If the elephant went rogue and started running around you'd be totally screwed because you're strapped to the top of it and there's no way you'd be able to get off. Overall all though, it was fun.

After the ride was over, we saw the cutest thing ever! They had twin orangutang brothers in diapers. They were two years old. They totally reminded us of Hunter and Ryker. They just sat on this table and played with each other. It was beyond cute!

After taking pics with the oragutangs we ate, again! By this time we were stuff. We headed back to our hotel which took way longer than it needed to. Our driver got lost twice. He apologized many, many times. 

When we got home we got all dressed up to go out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant that James got the hook-ups for. For those of you who have never had the opportunity to eat at a Brazilian place before let me give you a little hint of what to expect. Meat! Lots and lots of Meat! It was freaking crazy how much meat there was. Think of being a vegetarian, now replace every vegetable with a different kind of meat. That's Brazilian. It was delicious, yet made me feel disgusting at the same time. Rhett is 90% sure he'll need coronary bypass surgery because of that night. They should give out Lipitor instead of mints when you go to pay the check. 

After dinner Fabi and I got 40 minute foot massages, while Rhett and James got 30 minute head and neck massages. Price? About $5 each. Money well spent :)

After we got back to the hotel Rhett and I feel into a deep protein induced coma.

This is the little plantation. The view was awesome. The best thing about this jungle? No bugs! Not one mosquito, gnat, or fly was seen. That in itself is priceless.

This guy has quite the job. He just sits there and stirs the coffee beans all day because they have to be constantly moving. Our guide told us we can all take turns stirring them if we wanted to. No one did.

Here I am among some of the different plants they grow. I think these were the coca trees.

This is the active volcano. Its way cool. We were way up in the mountains and at the base of this peak there was the lake. The ground all along one side of this peak was all charred from the last eruption. It was pretty neat to see.


The Cock Fight (not to be confused with Rhett and James playing swords. lol). Each one of those baskets has a cock in it ready to fight. I felt like I was at a UFC pay per view event. They even had ring girls. They weren't nearly as cute as the ones on tv though. The fight took ages to start because they wait for all the betting to be done. Rhett wanted to throw down some money on Anderson Silva, but he wasn't fighting in this event.

This is just one of many temples we past on our biking journey. Each little village has its own temple where the villagers come to give blood sacrifice. j/k. Its more like a fruit basket.

Look mom, no hands! This right before Rhett remembered that his tires were about one revolution away from blowing out. He quickly reapplied his hands to the appropriate 10-2 position.

The four of us at another temple. They wanted to sacrifice a virgin, but unfortunately we couldn't help them out.

Alongside my favorite person in the world! Rhett made sure to stay close to me even though he knew he was putting his life in danger by riding his brakes so much.
James was the one really putting his life in danger. Fabi didn't have the right footwear so she needed to go a little slower.

The ride was seriously beautiful. Pictures just don't do it justice. But maybe the help of Rhett's sculpted body can help you get the idea.

Rice patties everywhere!

This cute little kid was out fishing for minnows. All the kids in Bali were so cute and friendly. They loved to yell "hello" to us as we past on our bikes. Some of them would line up so we could give high-fives to like four kids in a row. It was really neat to see all the kids outside instead of inside playing xbox or watching tv.

Bali or Machu Picchu? Either way, freakin' gorgeous! The rice patties look good too ;)

This is where the bike tour ended and we had lunch. It was delicious and scenic!

Starting our elephant riding tour!

This is Elsa, our elephant. Her whole body would start to buzz and shake when she was going to drop some extra weight. It was crazy the first time it happened. We were like "wth is going on? Is she going to explode?" To which the guide just said she was going to poop. I'll just tell you right now the elephant poop is exciting. These huge pellets of hay/crap come out and they have to fall like 5-6 feet so when they hit the ground there's a loud splatting sound. When she pee's it's like a gallon of lemonade comes out all at once. No stream. Rhett loved it.

Me and Elsa. What a truly unique opportunity to do something crazy.

Rhett wants to save up his money and buy one. Too bad this elephant eats as much as Carter. He'll never be able to afford it.

After our ride together we got to ride it by ourselves. The elephant would stand up on that little cement column with all four legs. It was pretty scary. Then it would climb down and sit on it. Pretty amazing an animal that big has that kind of dexterity.

Hunter or Ryker, I can't tell. j/k. These baby orangutangs were soooo cute!

They craziest thing about holding them is the hands. They're so close to human hands. It was super cool to hold an animal, but when you touched the hands it felt like you were holding a baby.

This is a fun picture. It's feet are just like it's hands. It's sooooo weird!

All dressed up and ready for some Brazilian food!

*Disclaimer- Rhett helped me do this post!* :)