In August last year I’ve been given a chance to visit Bali, beautiful Indonesian island decorated with incredible nature, smiling people and inspiring culture. It was a call to be a part of the startup line of a colorful international team of creatives, designers and programmers who have worked on this paradise island on several parallel projects during 2012 related to new media and social networks. A call I, naturally, could not refuse.

In the beginning of September, along with my wife, I packed my bags and travel to Vienna, then on a plane across Eastern Europe and Central Asia we flew straight to Taipei (Taiwan), and afterwards to Denpasar (Bali). The plan was to design and enjoy until the end of the world (a story of 21.12 was popular in that time), that is, until Christmas breaks and then come back to the EU.

That’s how it, more or less, happened. After we landed in Denpasar airport, which is located on the ocean shore, we were momentarily taken aback by a pleasant wave of heat and specific "taste" of Indonesian air. We were greeted with a large paper panel with our names on it amongst the sea of people, by a cool driver who drove us through some interesting parts of Denpasar to the agency headquarters, villa "Good Karma" where we met some really interesting people on that same day, my future colleagues.

On the very first night we found out that our quest for food and drink will be an everyday task in exciting locations, and for the first night out our friends took us to a wonderful and modest "Indotopia". This is a local restaurant with an emphasis on the combination of Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine, where we tasted, during our stay, all the dishes they offer and we have, in addition to several neighbouring restaurants, put it on our favorite list.

During our first days I had to obtain a scooter and perfect the skill of driving it because the streets of Bali are swarming with these vehicles. Any form traffic order during the ride, except on few traffic lights, you can forget about. Renting a scooter costs about $ 50 a month, and with the low cost of fuel, which is casually sold in every yard, "traditionally" in vodka bottles, this price was quite ok. In addition to unbelievable traffic jams and anarchy (especially in the center of Denpasar which we literally avoided), driving through the streets of Bali was a real challenge and required constant attention. What I never understood is the fact that the locals buy really huge cars, which are a real problem for traffic on the narrow roads of the country.

Let's go back to our everyday life ... After few days spent with friends we found accommodation, and together with our roommates and colleagues from Russia and Canada we have spent the rest of the time in a beautiful villa by the ocean (which we eventually called "Bad Karma") in the region "Canggu" located roughly between Kuta and beautiful Ubud. Our working hours ended between 5 and 6 PM, and the weekends were free, so we had plenty of time to explore the, primarily local, wonders of the new neighborhood and the region, and eventually of the neighboring islands as well (Lembongan, Gili island - Lombok). We’ve spent first weeks in practicing of local rules, crazy rides, but also in exploring the regions of Canggu, Kuta and surrounding beaches.

One of the first and most memorable trips was a visit to the active volcano Gunung Batur and the nearby village of the dead. To Batur, located in the heart of the island, we traveled on three scooters, the ride lasted approximately two hours and along the way we visited the market in Ubud, farms that produce Kopi Luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world, etc.

Since we went on our marry way quite late that day the night caught us on the first big pass before descent to the volcano valley, so in all this we had some strange luck that we ran into a relative of one of the guides who are licensed for volcanic tours, which was necessary for our little adventure.

We immediately agreed on the price and route, eaten local food and had a Bintang (a very important drink whose drinking we practice religiously every day during our stay in Indonesia :)), and afterwards we proceeded to a little sleeping house on the shores of Lake Batur.

The guide woke us up at 3:30 in the morning, as he promised. As soon as we were ready we went down to the village where in a small market we were greeted by seemingly wise old man who has come prepared with tea, bottles of water and some light snacks. Afterwards we drove to the top of Gunung Batur. It was an unusual tour because there were dozens of tourists along with us, arranged in groups, and since it was pitch dark the only thing you could see in the distance were the lamps in columns that stretched to the middle of the volcano. Everything reminded me of the night of elves’ journey in Tolkien's LOTR serials.

The first part of the journey was tiring, but when the first rise began things have become more difficult. One can say that the very top of the track is not exactly the safest place for the inexperienced, especially taking into consideration that this was a night climb. But everything had its own charm and purpose. We arrived at the top of volcano just before dawn where we were greeted with banana waffles baked on stone and very good tea, and all this accompanied with a spectacular sunrise. Indescribable.

Along the way we checked the volcanic crater from which smoke was rising steadily, and at which the main side attraction were monkeys who were doing their monkey business, mainly looting food from tourists and showing off in front of them. The guide decided to reward us with an extra route taking us along the whole volcano and descending us on the opposite side of the volcano, where we saw numerous geysers and similar miracles and finally, around 3 PM, we safely descended back to the village. Fatigue was evident, but this was not the end.

Since we found out that the lake at the foot of the volcano, where the aforementioned village was located, is actually a colossal extinguished crater of the giant volcano that has raged here hundreds of years ago, we decided to investigate this phenomenon as well. And we knew that there is no better way of exploring the area than tasting the local food, which meant only one thing ... wonderful lunch in wooden huts floating on the lake. After lunch we went to Trunyan, the village of the dead, which was located on onshore inaccessible part of the lake, we rented a wooden boat with a guide and sailed off to the location. I must mention that the journey from the village to the port from which we sailed was the craziest piece of riding I had the opportunity to experience.

The village of the dead itself is a holly part of the region that is unique affectionately only for local residents. They, in fact, leave their deceased family members there, out in the open, wrapped only in thin sheets and placed in a thin bamboo baskets through which one can see the deceased. The bodies were left under a big tree that was neutralizing odors, and money was scattered everywhere, mostly coins and the occasional private belonging or a "gift." When the body of the deceased completely rotted, his/her skull and sometimes other bones as well, would be placed to rest with many other dead ancestors. A fascinating but also quite scary tradition.

This is where our first major routes ended, we went back to Bad Karma villa full of impressions and with a desire for more. However, here I will end the opening, or should I call it first part of the story of Bali. I will do my best to write the rest of the story as soon as possible in hopes that in the meantime, a curious reader or a friend from the trip will arise.