Kopi Luwak and Tanah Lot

On our way to Tanah Lot temple, our driver took us to a Luwak Coffee Farm.

This is a civet (luwak).

You can read about how civet poop is made into coffee here. It involves coffee leaves being digested by the animal, and it's poop being made into coffee. Kopi luwak is apparently the most expensive coffee in the world, which is rather interesting,

the farm also produces tea and other coffee of sorts; from vanilla coffee to ginseng tea. If you liked them, you could purchase them in cups or sachets

My kopi luwak. What did it taste like? Black coffee, really. I like my coffee black, so it was good for me. Nothing so special.

Kopi luwak 101

We sat by a paddy farm(?) and had our coffee and tea! It was a very serene experience :)

On our way out, there is a store that sells all the tea and coffee we had for tasting, as well as Kopi Luwak. I didn't buy any kopi luwak, which I wish I did now!

After that, we continued our journey to Tanah Lot.

Bali Tanah Lot temple is a Hindu temple in Bali Indonesia that has a stunning natural beauty, it stands on solid sea rock and Tanah Lot Bali or (Pura Tanah Lot) is one the very famous temples in Bali and became one of the top places in Bali to watch the sunset.

Tanah Lot temple is one of the very sacred temples in Bali island, and according to the legend, Tanah Lot Temple Bali is protected by holy sea snakes which was formed from the scarves of its founder. Tanah Lot Bali is a romantic place to visit while enjoying the sun goes down when spending the holidays in Bali Indonesia.

Tanah Lot is derived from the word "Tanah" means land and "Lot (lod / laut)" which means the sea, because it is situated on a rock in the sea and resembles a small island floating on the sea, so the people call it TANAH LOT, Tanah Lot temple is located at Beraban village, Kediri district, Tabanan regency, on the south coast of Bali island, approximately 25 kilometers from Denpasar city. extracted from http://www.baliglory.com/2015/04/tanah-lot-temple.html

It was quite rainy when we were there and the tides were strong. It actually only stopped pouring when we were walking in to the temple. That is the view of the temple from the other side.

group picture!

It was rainy, that's why my friend was in a hoodie and looking incredibly out of place.

We also had a photographer with a dslr take our picture for only 20k each (B$2) in a frame that says Bali, which is a nice souvenir.

time-lapse of the high tide

After that we made our way to the temple.
The journey to the temple is around 45min- 1 hour from our villa in Seminyak.

Here's to us!

Our sweet driver followed us in and helped us take a gazillion photographs because we kept getting photo-bombed by Chinese tourists everywhere!

Here being photo-bombed by a crazy tide The wind was strong!

After that, Wendy and I went to that little "island" for blessings. We could make a small donation (any amount you wish), drink and wash your face from the holy water and receive blessings.

The tide was high and the ground was rocky, full of pebbles so it was important we took caution while making our way through.

We did not go to the top because its meant for serious worshipers. Tourists usually just stop where we stopped for blessings. 

There was also a holy snake which we did not stop for.

Wendy and I. We were both given a flower each and rice bits on our forehead but mine all flew/fell before I could take a photo :(

There are a lot of people selling these flower clips/ head bands so I got a bunch for my colleagues and we got a bunch for ourselves too. Can't say you've been to Bali without wearing a flower on your hair (like San Francisco)

OH! And it is also this temple where legend has it that if young couples who are not married who go to this temple, they will break up. This is called the Bali Breakup Island Curse. It is a real thing that I am not making up. You can read about it here: 7 Ways to Avoid the Deadly Bali Breakup Island Curse

In brief:

The story has it that a Prince and a Princess from the Brahman caste, the highest one in the Hindu order, came to visit Bali from the neighbor island of Java. While visiting Bali and watching a romantic sunset at the famous Tanah Lot temple, the unmarried couple had sex (“became intimate” as the legend goes). Sadly, one the Prince had taken the Princess’s flower, he left her and refused to marry. Devastated and ashamed, the Princess became so enraged that she threw a curse on all unmarried couples visiting Tanah Lot: Should come here, then they would break up within 6 months. Thunder. Lightning. Fear.

I personally don't know if it is true but my friend said it did happen for two of her friends. A friend of mine went last year and is now married, so maybe it isn't that much of a truth, but I guess just better to be safe than sorry, I will go back here with my significant other only after we are married :-D