When visiting a city with a limited amount of time to spare, I find that a bike tour is the perfect activity. The tours are usually pretty cheap, take you throughout the city, and highlight the history. For me I also go a little mad if I’m not exercising, so a bike tour is often just what the doctor ordered.

Yesterday we went on a bike tour of the Bali countryside with Bali Bike Tours and it was spectacular. We started the tour with a visit to a coffee plantation and coffee tasting. Bali is known for kopi lewak, the most expensive coffee in the world. If you can get past the fact that it’s so tasty because the lewak digested and then excreted it out, you’ll find that it’s actually not bad. And this is coming from someone who hates coffee. The coconut coffee was also delicious and there were tasty teas ranging from hibiscus to lemon grass as well.

Coffee and tea tasting.

Biking through the Balinese country-side.

Next we had breakfast overlooking the volcano, Mount Batour. I could have done without the breakfast, but the views were worth it. After the volcano we biked the countryside for about two and a half hours, mostly downhill.  It was quite a hot day, but the steady breeze from zipping downhill made it very pleasant.  And when off the main road you simply get lost in the rice paddies. Between that and the village life going on around you, you really feel the essence of Bali. Some of the kids were totally desensitized to the flow of tourist going through their town, but most were just so happy to yell hello as you passed through. I particularly enjoyed seeing the older ladies work the rice fields and the children walking home from school in their uniforms, toting large backpacks.

The trip ended with a wonderful lunch at Warong Padi Organic Restaurant.  They served some delicious BBQ tempeh skewers with rice and vegetable and all with the most beautiful stream, flowers, rice paddies and blue skies surrounding our table.