Amed - Ubud with a coffee plantation and a luwak

We grab some local snacks, bakpao, and head towards Ubud in the smart yellow car of our ever-smiling driver. Bakpao are steamed filled buns that originally come from China. Because we have our suitcases with us, we have booked a car with a driver for this stretch. Inside, the seats and the roof lining are yellow, with red quilted inserts.

On the way we stop at a coffee plantation. There we get to know the “luwak”, the animal behind the world’s most expensive coffee. The luwak is a civet. It eats ripe coffee cherries, and the beans are later collected from its droppings, cleaned and roasted. The animal we see lies curled up in a large grey pipe, with a small red fruit in front of its snout. We also get to try lots of different coffees and teas. On the long wooden table there is a tray of small glasses and cups for the tasting.

And we wonder how the electricity system in Bali actually works. On one pole, a huge number of cables converge from all directions.

At 4 pm in Tegallalang, north of Ubud, it is partly cloudy and 29 degrees. Our next hotel looks as if it came straight out of a dream. Two small black bowls with a dark green drink and mint leaves stand on a wooden board, next to two small bites, each with a piece of strawberry. At the edge stands a small dark pot with orange flowers. A paved courtyard lies between tropical plants, with a house behind it that has a grey roof and a round archway. The pool has a wooden deck with sun loungers, and yellow lanterns glow in the dusk. Between the buildings a small rice field with young plants is growing.

In the evening two crispy rolls with herbs and edible flowers sit on the black table, with a brown dipping sauce and a glass with ice, mint and a piece of yellow fruit on a wooden skewer. Afterwards comes a piece of chocolate cake with strawberries, mint, a chocolate lattice and a scoop of ice cream.