Location: Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

So Max is super super sun burnt. We tossed around the idea of staying home today so he could recover but I managed to convince him to bathe in sunscreen, wear a long sleeve, and buy a crappy fake Nike hat to cover up his beet red forehead. ADVENTURE WAITS FOR NO SUNBURN! Turns out he can pull off a ball cap quite nicely!

It was totally worth it in the end because we hired a car to take us north along the coast to Tanah Lot, a seaside temple that sounded like it was straight out of a fairytale. The ride was pretty long but our driver, Wyam, was friendly and entertaining. He played Billy Talent and Green Day all the way there and told us about his wife and sons, and how he was saving up to buy his youngest a new motorbike. We arrived at the temple and Wyam went to find some lunch and hang out while we explored. We entered through these huge brick gates and into a compound filled with many small temples- I had no idea there was more than one!

We walked in the insane heat, keeping to the edges in the shade and eventually reached sunset platform which had the most perfect view of Tanah Lot. The little island temple was carved directly into a huge rock that looked like a cave turned inside out. Stalactites grew along the overhung edges, where perfect steps had been carved into the sides up to a platform. Trees and stone god shrines covered the top of the rock. We stepped down into the water and crossed a small channel over black sparkly sand, and eventually were greeted by a Hindu Priest, a Pujari, who had us wash our faces in holy water spouting from a bamboo pipe stuck into the rock. He pressed a small circle of wet rice on our foreheads, placed a small flower in our hair and sent us on with a prayer.

I felt calm and relaxed as we walked the rest of the coastline, stopping at other small temples and looking out over the ocean. On the way back Max got 100 percent distracted by these small ferret / cat / marmot looking animals laying on tables outside a coffee shop that had the animals likeness painted inside the shop. What could this be?!

We quickly discovered the cat things are a type of civet called a luwak, and to Max’s total horror the coffee they served was called Luwak Coffee…

Because.

Get.

This.

GET THIS.

The luwaks eat coffee bean cherries, ferment them in their stomachs, poop out the undigested beans whole and then they are roasted and made into espresso.

I was giddy with the idea that Max had committed to buying a coffee so he could pet the Luwaks, before realizing what he actually had committed to. THIS IS REALLY LIVING ISN’T IT! He was nervous but ended up loving the coffee. The owner assured us that the washing process was rigorous but I still laughed for ages at the look on Max’s face when he initially found out he was drinking poop coffee.

We got stuck in traffic on the way home with Wyam, and I fell asleep in the warm car. When we arrived home it was late and we were both starving! What was initially supposed to be a couple hour outing had turned into an all day adventure with no snacks involved. Hanger, anyone? We stuck around the hostel to grab cheap happy hour dinner, after which Max hunkered down to get some work done.

I went for a walk to the beach down the road and met a few locals who gave me some great pointers for our next destination. Kuta has been lovely, but I’m itching to find a new and exciting adventure.

Onwards!

Sav