Gedang Mekuah is a traditional Indonesian green papaya soup. During our stay at Munduk Moding Plantation in Gobleg, Bali, we got the chance to cook this soup the traditional way. It was a completely different experience and I highly recommend doing it. You get another chance to dive deeper into another culture and learn more about their background.

Ingredients:

• • 1 large, unripe green papaya (1½ lb)
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 6 shallots
  • ½ cup natural/unsalted peanuts
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
  • 4 large or 6 medium bay leafs

After our stay in Ubud we went farther north to Gobleg. Our next destination was Munduk Moding Plantation where Bali’s skies blend with the water of their infinity pool, the Bali sea and the towering volcanoes in Java where nature creates art. Incomparable views serenaded by birdsong and a choir of crickets. A hideaway nestled in a working coffee plantation surrounded by jungle. Here the real Bali is alive. I’m so glad we decided to go to this hidden place and I got to explore another side of Bali. The location was just breathtaking, the food incredible and the staff very friendly. We stayed at a villa, nestled into the jungle and surrounded by the resorts’ own coffee plants. This atmosphere changed my mind and I felt finally welcomed on the island.

Bali. Bali is a tiny island in Indonesia, a ton of people visit this place every year and I have to say writing a post about it is going to be tough. After I’ve visited the island I noticed this is not my place on earth and it’s okay. Not everyone is the same, we all have different opinions, different mindsets and especially we all want different vacations. My expectations for Bali where pretty high right from the beginning. I saw a lot of documentaries and read a few blog posts but at the end, it was different. Yes, it is most of the time different than expected but it was absolutely not what I had pictured in my mind. The locals were so different, I didn’t feel welcomed and I had lots of problems with their food. Yes, I’m aware that everyone is different, but Bali, well I would say I just didn’t feel it at all.