Shirking policy on Gunung Batur

Gungung (mount) Batur, recommended to me by a local surfer on Kuta beach, is apparently a beautiful climb at sunrise - high above Lake Batur and with the opposing Gungung Agung silhouetted against the sky. Unfortunately however, the Bali government has imposed policy on the area such that the experience of climbing Mount Batur is free for locals but comes at a price for foreigners, who are told a guide is compulsory. The usual tours normally start before sunrise though, so I figured I'd just go and climb the mountain during the day! Certain that everything would be fine, I set off for the mountain.

A longer than planned motorbike journey to Kinatmani, involving a flock of herons, a troop of jovial policemen and angry naked lady on a rice terrace, saw me pitching up to climb Mount Batur very late - around two hours before sunset. On discovering that the starting point was well guarded by a ticket office and a gaggle of guides, I spent another hour or so skirting around the area, looking for somewhere to hide my motorbike and start the walk so that I could sneakily join the path further on.

Needless to say it was a bit dumb - I set off with only half a small bottle of water knowing sunset was an hour away, but I was determined not to have driven all the way there for nothing! Somehow I scrambled to the top of the lower crater just in time, moments before the last vestiges of light left the landscape. The highest peak was probably only another half hour away, but it would have been pointless in the dark so I headed back down, resolving to come back another time, early morning, to do it justice.