Mount Batur volcano

last erupted in 2000 but is still active. People come here to hike the lava trails, see the monkeys, and soak in hot springs (the pools at Toya Devasya are reputedly very good). The town of Songan is the largest in this regency area, with 10,000 inhabitants.

Mount Batur volcano and Lake Tegalalang in Bali, Indonesia

viewpoint of Mount Batur volcano and Lake Tegalalang in Bali, Indonesia

On the way back to the south, you can visit a tropical coffee plantation to taste kopi luwak, or civet coffee, made from partly-digested coffee cherries that are eaten and then defecated by the Asian palm civet! The civet eats the fleshy pulp of the cherry, the seed of which undergoes fermentation in the cat’s stomach. Though traditionally feces was collected from wild civets, today the jungle cats are kept in cages and force-fed the cherries. It is reminiscent of the way chickens are caged in the U.S. and ducks are force-fed in France.

The name kopi luwak refers to a way of processing the beans rather than a variety of coffee, and it is considered one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Perhaps you saw the 2008 movie “The Bucket List,” in which Carter Chambers, played by Morgan Freeman, revels in relaying to Edward Cole, played by Jack Nicholson, how the kopi luwak he is drinking was made. Cole replies, "You're shitting me!" and Carter replies, "No, the cats beat me to it!" Pretty funny scene.

The plantation I visited had a spacious back porch overlooking the grounds where a variety of coffees were presented for complimentary tasting, though a fee was charged to try the kopi luwak, which is quite smooth.