The Foggy Lake Temple at Danau Bratan

On my first day in the Bedugal mountain area, I immediately regretted leaving my jacket behind in Ubud. Contrary to popular belief, Bali is NOT always hot. The central mountain areas are cool and damp, often with night and early morning rolling in and making motorcycle riding extra thrilling. I felt at times that I was back in San Francisco. One evening, the fog rolled right in through the lodge windows, where I was staying. I'm not sure how the locals can complain about the cold, yet habitually leave the windows and doors wide open into the evening. Fortunately, hot soup and a fireplace was available.

How damp was it? My initially dry clothes became damp after opening my suitcase, and stayed that way for the whole 5 nights I resided there. I escaped to the hot East Coast immediately after this, and my clothes dried in the shade in 20 minutes!

What I enjoyed the most was the ride to this agricultural area, complete with trucks filled with heavenly blue hyacinths, and cacao and coffee beans drying along the sunny road sides. According to one local Balinese daily temple offerings require hyacynth petals. That would explain the daily truckloads to the big city of Denpasar. I also loved the only Muslim ceremony I witnessed on Bali. It was a festive and charming affair with fervent and very moving all night prayers and singing in the mosque. These photos are in my article about ceremonies.