Aling Aling Waterfalls in North Bali

Day trip to some famous waterfalls in North Bali - Aling Aling (no Ding for Norn Iron folks!)

What started out as a nice quiet trip to some holy waterfall site in the beautiful Bali countryside soon deteriorated into a white knuckle test of nerve. Some succeeded ..... just!

No-one said anything about sliding down a 10m fall that morning. Of course daddy had to go first.

We have worked out that Ben and Mum are the brains in this family - they decided not to try this! Tom and I aren't that sharp - we had to have a go.

Watch out for Tom's eyes closed, nose held position and if you look carefully on the second go, I got a really good smack on my butt hitting the water not quite straight. Sore for a day or two!

So we have gone down and I'm thinking - great that was fun and we are still alive - job done. The guide asks do we want to try again. I'm thinking, nah once was good - Tom didn't hesitate, "yeah!". I would have looked chicken so had to go again. Kids, who'd have them?

The place was very beautiful and although it is well visited by tourists, they don't go in for too much health and safety, like at home. Not much in the way of guard rails and smooth steps as you wind your way down a very steep ravine. Around the top there were some pretty hairy paths with big falls if you weren't careful.

In Europe it would be concrete steps, hand rails and harnesses - not to mention a hard hat might be an idea going down the slide! I asked the guide who discovered the place for sliding down - who looked at a waterfall and thought - could I slide down that and not get killed? He said it was western tourists - the locals are too afraid to do it! Afraid or smart I wonder?

Here is the video for proof!     Tom - aged 8 - the youngest ever to slide Aling Aling?

By the way, the water was cold - well for Bali at least, not quite the Irish Sea.

The whole surrounding area was really beautiful and the guide gave us a good tour looking at the native plants, fruits and little shrines along the way. The area is considered a holy place by the local Hindus. Nice and cool in the shady parts too - thank goodness as the climb up again was tough enough.

Stopped for a "coconut young" drink along the way - very refreshing. It's actually just "young coconut" - but they called it coconut young and that stuck for us! It is a green coconut not the brown hairy Halloween types we get, and they cut the top off to drink the liquid inside - tastes like a sweet water, really good.

The BIG One!        

So I hauled my sore butt back up the mountain with the rest of them, trying not to think about the drop. Then we walked through really lush rice paddies and through a couple of remote villages - stunning, the real Bali just as you would imagine it.

Back to the car where Made the driver was waiting for us. (pronounced Maddy - a he!) Thought we would treat ourselves to a nice lunch in a place recommended to us nearby called Shanti - OMG - verrrry nice place. It is a retreat / spa hotel with a great restaurant. The views were incredible - so was the food and ridiculously cheap too.

Shanti - Bali       

Note to self - go back sometime.