Day 9 - Waterfalls

This morning we rose relatively early as Sookiyo our guide wanted to take us to the local market. We pulled the bus over onto a relatively busy street, got out and was led down a tiny alley, I can’t lie, the smell was horrendous. A few of the group gagged as we rushed through the alley and into an undercover market hall where fish were being sold. These fish weren’t fresh and looked more dried than anything but the smell was completely overpowering. We headed upstairs to the fruit and vegetable section and tried different fruits to eat including one called Snake Fruit, so called because the skin before peeling looks very much like scales. Once peeled you eat the white flesh around a brown stone in the middle and the only way to really describe the taste is that it is like a Haribo sweet! None of us wanted to stay in the market that long, the smell was still awfully strong and the flies were everywhere.

We left the market and were thankful to end up back on the road surrounded by car fumes to mask the smell! We got back on the bus and headed off to our waterfall walk.

The walk to Munduk Falls was a nice straight 20 mins along a forest trail, we rounded a corner and the waterfall was right in front of us. Well over 100ft high the water shot over the sides of a green canopy and cascaded straight down into a very shallow pool before heading off down the river. We stopped for pictures and to just stand in the water spray which was lovely in 35 degree heat. We then headed back but Sookiyo took us the “better way” which was completely all up hill and by the time we had all got to the winding top we were drenched in sweat and our clothes looked like we had jumped in the waterfall!

As a peace offering we were taken to lunch at a new restaurant that had just opened where you could sit overlooking another waterfall, this one about 100ft tall. We ate lunch and watched and listened to the really peaceful sounds of the water shooting down in the forest. I’m so pleased we came here. I find waterfalls incredibly beautiful forces of nature and they are never the same.

After lunch we headed up into the mountains getting higher and higher every minute, you could tell we were reaching altitude as the temperature plummeted to around 17 degrees. Locals were all wearing coats and hats and us tourists were walking around with shorts and vest tops of shivering! We arrived at our cottages for the night at Strawberry Hill Hotel, settled in for a few hours then met at the restaurant for dinner where I had a vegetable curry (the only thing on the menu not cooked with nuts). We were all in bed by 10, every day is so busy and the heat can be really draining so by the time the evenings come we are all absolutely exhausted!