A Trek Around Bali, Indonesia

During the Christmas holidays I went to Bali, Indonesia for 6 days with my friend Arlene and her daughter India. During this time we did two day trips around the island. We had a guide/driver called Eddie and he was really good and funny.

Our first stop was the Tegallalang rice fields they were quite beautiful. You can walk around the fields but I had heard that there are poisonous snakes so that put me off walking there. I enjoyed looking at the views instead. There are numerous places where you can sit and take photos in a special areas, (posing nests) this of course costs money. Also there are many places that have the Bali swing, it is very popular.

Afterwards we carried on to a coffee plantation, there we saw how they make the famous Bali "poo" coffee. Kopi Luwak is the name in Indonesian, is basically a animal called Asian Palm Civet, that eats the coffee cherries, they get fermented and then they pass out through their poo. It is one of the most expensive coffee in the world and I can attest to that as I bought some.

Our next stop was the Tirta Empul Water Temple, as with many temples you have to where a sarong. There are usually ones at each temple which you can use and give a small donation. It was quite busy as many people were doing the water purification ritual.

Our last stop was the Tegenungan waterfall, it is quite a trek down to the bottom, but it is well worth it. Of course when we were going back up I was not quite so sure. There were many people bathing, others just sitting around and enjoying the rest before the hike back up.

The whole day was really great and we saw lots of wonderful sights. I would recommend our driver/guide, so if you want his details I can pass them on.

Have a good start to the week, everyone

The Golden Circle - Iceland

Thingvellir National Park

Icelandic ponies

Geysir Geothermal Area

Strokkur erupting!

Gullfoss Waterfalls

A trip to Iceland would not be complete without visiting these 3 major attractions know as The Golden Circle. It is a popular day trip from Reykjavik which covers around 300km in Southern Iceland.

The first stop was the Thingvellir National Park, this site is of historical, cultural and geological importance. The mid-Atlantic ridge is where the North American and the Eurasian tectonics meet and is visible in the park. The historical importance is Althing which is the National Parliament of Iceland and was founded in 830 in Thingvellir National park.

The second stop was the geothermal area Haukadalur which is home to Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir rarely erupts but Strokkur erupts every 5 to 10 minutes and up to a height of 15 to 20m. And we saw it erupting a few times and it was amazing! Alessio liked this area a lot and the smell was rather potent indeed!

The final stop was the Gullfoss waterfall which means The Golden waterfall, we walked down to the area, quite amazing to see! It is located on river White, which is fed by Langjökull, the second largest glacier in Iceland. The water plummets 32m down in two stages into a cannon which is 70m deep. We only saw it from the top it was possible to see the waterfall from another angle.

There are many tours doing the Golden Circle and they pick you up from your hotel. I would really recommend seeing these attractions, you can also just rent a car and do all 3 by yourself too.

Have a great weekend!

Horgen Waterfall

Around the end of June we did a trip to a waterfall close to the town of Horgen with the kids from my work. It was quite a trek to get there, going up and down and over narrow bridges, but we made it there all safe and sound!

The waterfall was really lovely and it was in the shade, the kids were really excited to get into their swimwear and go into the water. It was fun to hear their screaming as they entered the water at first, but once in they splashed and played around.

We lit a fire and had our usual of pasta and sauce with veggies. Hardly anyone came by so we had the place to ourselves! We all had a great day and I enjoyed seeing something new for a change!

Trümmelbach Waterfalls

While my parents were visiting we had a weekend in Wengen, one of the day trips we did was to the Trümmelbach waterfalls. We took the train down to Lauterbrunnen and started the 1hour walk or maybe a bit more to the waterfalls.

It was a pleasant walk and we passed the Staubbach waterfall also very impressive, eventually the sign said 10 mins to go and still no sight or sound of these waterfalls. And the reason for that is, that they are inside the mountain valley, all in all there are 10 glacier waterfalls.

There is a lift that takes you to level 6 and from there you walk up the rest of the way, and it really is very spectacular indeed. It is also quite slippery so you do have to be careful, it is also very busy to at times so the going was at times slow. Not that, that stopped Alessio who raced up these steps!

These waterfalls drain the mighty glacier defiles of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. It is also the only glacier waterfalls in Europe inside a mountain and it is on the UNESCO world natural heritage list. It was a times quite scary to see that amount of water falling down and the speed of it too. It is quite tiring walking up of the steps and at times my legs nearly turned to jelly!

There are lots of vantage points where you can look and get close ups of the falling water from different angles. It is definitely worth a trip to see these waterfalls, they are only open from april to november, so not much time left for a visit.