Have you heard of Luwak coffee? I had heard of it before visiting Bali, but hadn't yet made the connection between two.Luwak coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world and is euphemistically described as 'part-digested'. Honey is pre-digested too, isn't it, so why should coffee be so different? I won't get into the details here, but you can read about it on Wikipedia, if you're curious. Let's just say that the process of making it, plus how much it cost, prevented me from tasting it. Additionally, with such a huge variety of coffees to taste, I honestly did not want to try yet another!Visiting a coffee plantation is lovely because they allow you a free taste of an array of coffees - mangosteen, turmeric, lemongrass ... The coffee you have to pay for, though, is Luwak. The coffee was yummy, but of course, stories always excite me more. It was at the … [Read more...]
Cycling Tour
I was nervous about doing a cycling tour. Everyone we spoke to, from hotel receptionists to travel agents, said that it would be 'mostly downhill'. To me, that was a euphemistic way of saying there would be some rough uphill stretches. I don't cycle regularly. Riding 25 km all of a sudden? I wasn't sure if I was up to it.But the cycling tour turned out to be my top experience in Bali.Sure, there were parts when I fell back, particularly when we went off the main road and onto little mud tracks. I've never ridden a geared bike before, and I certainly hadn't ever ridden a bike that picks up speed so fast. In the beginning, even on the tar road, a voice in my head screamed, Too fast, too fast, too fast. And used as I am to riding my Activa, I was afraid of skidding, afraid of wet mud ... and thrilled to be riding through it all.I'll write about the cycling tour in … [Read more...]