Watching the sunrise over an active volcano
We always try to tick off (at least) one bucket list experience when we visit a new place. For Bali, it was staying in front of Mt Agung. To be fair, this was a bucket list experience that we did not exactly know we wanted to tick off years in advance. Staying near a volcano was something we both wanted to do, and when we realised you could literally stay in an Airbnb looking directly out at Mt Agung (active volcano and the highest point in Bali), we knew we had to book a night there. We found an amazing Airbnb in Sidemen, and on the Friday afternoon we took of work early and made the scooter ride to Sidemen. It took roughly an an hour and a half for us to reach the gates of our incredible Airbnb.
When we arrived, we parked our scooter in their little parking area and were greeted by a very kind gentleman who greeted us by name! We thought it was a little surprising but we quickly realised that, as luck would have it, we had the entire Airbnb to ourselves! There was no one else staying that night that we ever saw. We confirmed our booking name and were taken to our room. The room was incredible. They had put flower petals and leaves on the ground in the centre of our room saying, 'Welcome'. It was the sweetest. We Checked out the room (and the amazing bathroom with a perfect view of the trees outside!) and headed to the pool area and...woah. Just woah.
I genuinely have never seen anything like it. Mt Agung was peeking through the clouds, it was so high, and in between the infinity pool that we had all to ourselves and the volcano itself were rice fields of the brightest greens you can possibly imagine. Josh and I were smiling so much. We got some drinks and some food, changed into our swimsuits, and got our towels. We spent that entire afternoon swimming, drinking, snacking, and taking in this incredible place that we were finally at. As we were eating, the owner came up to us and asked us if we had tried Durian. We said that we hadn't, and he then cut one down from their tree and we got to try it! It was very unique and quite delicious, though it is definitely quite an acquired taste.
As the afternoon went on, the sky cleared for the most part and we were treated to an unbelievable sunset. We decided that we wanted to get up early before the sun and watch the sunrise over Mt Agung...after all, when were we going to be back here? After having some delicious food for dinner, we hung around the pool as the sun dipped below the horizon and then soon after we retreated to our room. We ran a bath and then spent the rest of the night relaxing and talking about (cheesy as it is) how lucky we are to get to live the lives that we do. When we eventually went to bed, we sunk into the most comfortable mattress and closed our eyes, excited for the next morning.
Now, here's the thing. I am not a morning person most of the time. Even so, when Josh was gently shaking me awake the next morning, I was so excited to see it. We went out, set the GoPro up to capture the sunrise, and went over to the pool lounge to watch the day come alive out of the night. I have never seen a sunrise like this one. It was perfect and slow at first and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the sky burst open in vibrant shades of pink, orange, and yellow intertwined with soft blues and purples. As the sky continued to get lighter and lighter, we saw Mt Agung come alive too. It was cold to be up that early (unusual for Bali in general but not all that unusual for being up before the sun up in Sidemen) however it was entirely worth it. We will never forget that sunrise. Getting to watch Bali light up with my best friend, just us.
'Do I dare disturb the universe?'
T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
When we eventually went back to our room to get a little more sleep before having breakfast, we had a quick nap and then got changed back into our swimsuits. When we were having the most delicious breakfast overlooking the volcano, the sky clearer than it had been since we got there the day before, the owner came up to us. "You know this is an active volcano?" he asked us. We replied that we did know it was an active volcano but that we heard it did not tend to erupt often. He then bent down, brushed his hand against the ground, and showed us his hand, which was covered in a thin layer of black dust. "It erupted last night! Just a little one though", he said, smiling.
We were so excited and after our conversation with him, Josh looked it up on the activity rader. There it was...an eruption that, while did not spill over in masses of boiling lava and smoky ash, was definitely noticeable. It happened at around 2-3am in the morning, which was just a few hours (if that) before we got up to watch the sunrise! we honestly would never have even known that we had been there when Mt Agung erupted if he hadn't have told us! We felt the chalky texture under our feet but we just didn't think much of it until after we had told us it happened. This was a bucket list experience and then some for sure. We spent the morning reading and enjoying the view, soaking in the last few moments before we had to (unfortunately) leave. A few hours later, it was time to get on the road.
As we prepared to pay for the room service etc, the owner showed us this wonderful book of history on the Airbnb itself. We got to see all the famous individuals who had stayed over the years and the evolution of the Airbnb as it has evolved over the years. The owner kindly gave us some face masks for free after realising that we intended to ride closer to the volcano rather than away from it, and off we went! If you only have a short time in Bali, we both loved this little slice of paradise and cannot recommend it highly enough. This is a bucket list experience that everyone should tick off! When we left, rather than going back to Ubud, we wound further along the road away from our Airbnb and towards Mt Agung, where we spent the early afternoon exploring Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang (i.e. the Gates of Heaven). The scooter ride up the mountain to get there was equally as steep as it was beautiful.
Our trusty scooter made it up, however I will say that it is a little nerve-racking to see all the taxies and buses parked up the side of the little road with several bricks behind each wheel to stop the vehicles gravitating back down the mountain...but hey, all part of the adventure! Seeing Mt Agung from another perspective was just as special as seeing it from the comfort of our Airbnb. The Gates of Heaven is unbelievable, however the line to get that "Insta famous shot" was insane. We heard someone say it was a few hours wait. Neither of us wanted to wait that long (and honestly we don't care much for prioritising those kinds of shots), so we took a few photos from different angles and off we went. If you go (and you should), just be prepared that if you want to get that famous shot, it will be a bit of a wait.
On the way back to our little home away from home in Ubud, we stopped off halfway for a quick break to see some beaches along the coastline, one of which was black sand! It was a perfect weekend. When we finally did get back, we realised that we needed more water at the villa, so we went to buy some and then rode all the way back to the villa with Josh driving and me on the back, balancing one of those massive circular water machine container refills and trying to lean with the scooter around the corners, stopping the container from leaking as much as possible. A funny ending to a remarkable weekend. I will never forget that weekend and I know that Josh won't, either. Bali is a truly special place and Mt Agung is unlike anything we have ever experienced (even if only from the safe distance of our Airbnb!).
