This post was originally from February 20, 2025

I have a funny story for you – as I have mentioned previously, this is my second time visiting Bali – the first being over 20 years ago. After that trip, I was so in love with the island that I decided to get my first  tattoo to commemorate it. Young, dumb and naive, I googled “Balinese script”. There were a bunch of words that came up, and the word that spoke to me the most was Laughter. I thought, laughter is what has gotten me through my hardest times and it is also a universal language. It’s perfect! As I lived a few years longer and got a little wiser, I questioned my decision as I knew the World Wide Web was not always accurate.  I figured that I would never really know if what was permanently inked on my back was actually the word I intended because Balinese script isn’t regularly used anymore and who knew when I’d be back. Fast forward to now, I asked my guide if he could find out what it means. He took a photo and showed it to our driver, who then asked a friend who could still read the script. And do you want to know what it means? Drum roll…BY RAG. Yes, that is what it translates to. It’s actually gibberish but if you read the letters, it spells BY RAG! Now at least that’s a good laugh right?! 

The next stop on our tour was Kintamani. The Kintamani region is situated in the highlands and made up of a bunch of traditional villages at the foot of Mount Batur and along Lake Batur. Mount Batur is an active volcano that sits in the centre of two calderas. For this reason, travelers come from afar to hike the volcanic mountain, peer into the steaming volcano and take in the most iconic panoramic views.

After leaving Kintamani we made our way to Ubud. Before reaching Ubud however, we made a few stops – the first was a coffee and tea plantation where we got to sample a bunch of delicious teas (my favorites were rosella, mangosteen and lemongrass). Next we got to order the famous coffee of Java and Sumatra – the luwak coffee, aka ‘shit coffee’. What happens is the small raccoon-like animal called the luwak feeds off the red, ripe coffee cherry. While the bean is in the animal’s stomach, it undergoes chemical changes and fermentations. The luwak eventually poops the bean out – the poop/beans  are then collected from the forest floor, cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee. Because of strange method of collecting, there is not much luwak coffee produced in the world. I’m not much of a coffee drinker on a good day but it was definitely more palatable as it was less bitter with a nutty flavor. Now that coffee was the shit! 

Next we had lunch at another of G Adventures Planeterra Project’s called Yayasan Bhakti Senang Hati. It’s a foundation run by local people in Ubud, who are living with long-term disabilities. This initiative supports and assists people living with disabilities in Bali to find independence and meaningful employment through training in the hospitality sector. On an island that relies on tourism, it is difficult to find work if you have accessibility challenges. To make matters worse, it has been a societal belief that those born with disabilities are a product of bad karma who are cursed and thus, left to fend for themselves. Senang Hati wanted to create a dream restaurant, a place where all people could comfortably work, learn, and host international travelers. There are now over 10 people who are fully employed as restaurant staff with 20 students studying and training in hospitality. All proceeds from this lunch support the organization’s training, education, advocacy and outreach programs, as well as resources such as wheelchairs and three-wheeled mopeds