Biking Bali – North from Ubud

Our first day of biking was one of the most difficult, as we were going uphill most of the time. We passed by beautiful rice fields and small houses, as well as buildings with elaborate statues. As we biked, people sitting on their front porches and steps waved and asked us where we were going and where we had come from. Young kids said “Hello!” and waved excitedly as we passed. We saw a cow being washed in a river and chickens everywhere. We had started biking late in the day and it got dark before we reached the hotel. We flagged down a very small truck, and the driver immediately agreed to take us the last few miles to our lodging for the night.

At every place we have stayed in Bali, the first thing they tell you is to sit down and relax. You are welcomed with delicious fresh juice and not expected to do anything but rest for the first ten or fifteen minutes. On our first night of biking we stayed in a small lodge called Village Above the Clouds. It was connected to a small village high up in the mountains in a rice growing area. The income from the lodge helps to fund an after-school program for children (the Freedom School), has paid for the homes in the village to receive running water, and supports a health clinic.

The next day we biked through Bedugul and along three high mountain lakes. We came upon a Balinese funeral ceremony. There were lots of people sitting nearby. On one side of the road, there were elaborate and colorful structures that had been built to be carried. People had started several small fires, and some people were burning money in the fires.

On our second night of biking, we stayed at a very small roadside place that was called an eco-tourism lodge but was really a homestay with a Balinese family. In the morning they invited us to come watch their family ceremony. It was held on the rooftop of a small building. Everyone from the extended family came. The ceremony is held once a year, and it is to honor the gods and give back to nature. We were not able to stay for the whole ceremony because we had to start biking, but we were able to watch the women set up the table with offerings, and listen to the men play all of the different instruments. They sat on the ground on a tarp in a circle and laughed and talked while they played. It didn’t seem like they were struggling to remember notes, or sticking to a certain song. They just played and tried to match each others’ music with their own.

That day we cycled downhill nearly 4,000 feet on our bikes, on a very steep and winding road. We could see rice fields stretched out to the Bali Sea far below.

-Isaiah and Natalia