October 2008 Bali/Komodo, Indonesia trip Report Part 2 Bali Land Stuff So we just spent a fabulous week diving in Komodo National Park (see Part 1 for the diving portion of the trip report), now we will spend a week on the island of Bali. After reviewing some travel books and online message boards, we decided to wing it and just book one night in the mountain town of Ubud, leaving the rest of the trip wide open. But it turns out we enjoyed Ubud so much that we decided to spend all of our remaining time in Bali there. Our attempt to get to from the Bali Airport to our new hotel in Ubud is a bit of disaster. Our driver (same one who previously picked us up from the airport when we arrived from Hong Kong) is waiting for us at the airport and loads our stuff into his van. He finds Ubud easily enough but then has no idea how to get to our hotel. He has a cell phone and I give him the number of the hotel, but even after making several calls (I'm not sure if he was calling the hotel or a friend), he still can't find it. The afternoon is spent in his car circling around the city endlessly. What should have been a one hour drive turns into us spending three hours in the car with him until he finally finds the hotel. Whew, it is nice feeling to finally get out of that automobile! The driver is so embarrassed that he offers not to charge us the fare to Ubud. I guess the lesson learned from this is to bring a printout of a map with directions to your hotel if possible. I sure well next time! Our hotel the Saren Indah is a great find (no pun intended). It is located on a quiet secluded side street near the Monkey Forest (although maybe this is why the taxi driver had a hard time finding it!). The staff are friendly and helpfully. The room is very clean and has a fridge, nice bathroom with shower and private balcony overlooking a small rice field. There is free Wi-Fi in the lobby and even a common-use laptop for guests. At night the place is alive with the sound of frogs and insects. In the daytime a row of ducks nervously peer at us through the hotel fence. I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Ubud. To get to town from the hotel you can easily walk through the Monkey Forest (so named after the troops of Macaque Monkeys that act like they own the place). These monkeys can be aggressive so be careful around them. I watched as one approached a tourist and ripped open a plastic bag she was carrying and then ran off with the food that fell out. Another monkey jumped on my back as I was taking a photo of baby monkey. Throughout the forest an old lady may follow you around hoping to sell you treats to hand feed the monkeys with. While several tourists take her up on this, I decline as I've read Richard Preston's "The Hot Zone". Older Macaque Monkey as seen in the Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali Throughout Ubud we see tiny bamboo plates with food and flowers on them left out in public areas as offerings to the Balinese gods and ancestors. They are found in front of houses, shops, and even on top of cars! The monkeys and stray dogs eat many of these offerings but apparently this o.k. as the gods have instantly absorbed them. I've read that traditionally women make these and if they are a busy working women they can pick up pre-made offerings at their local supermarket. Balinese offering on car roof in Ubud, Bali Walking/Biking tours in Ubud A headlamp is useful for walking through the Monkey Forest at night in Ubud, Bali One of our favorite activities in Bali was simply leaving the hotel and walking around Ubud and the surrounding countryside. Our two Bali guide books (Lonely Planet and Eyewitness Guides) both have maps and self-guided walking tours in them so we decided to try a few of them out. Each morning as we left the hotel, the staff would usually say "Where are you going?" While to Westerners this may seem nosy, the guide book notes that Balinese are inquisitive by nature. They may also ask you how old you are and if you have kids or not. Walk # 1 This is the "Monkey Forest & Penestanan" 8k 3hour self-guided walk from "Bali & Lombok" published by Lonely Planet. This walk begins on Monkey Forest Rd, where seemingly everyone we pass asks if we need transport (taxi). Nope, just walking here. Sometimes you will see a few stray monkeys in town that have wandered out of the forest. There are many interesting shops and restaurants on this road and you will also find many cheap spas. There is even a Circle K convenience store where you browse the strange selection of Asian snacks. Monkeys wander the streets of Ubud, Bali The route leads us to down the creeper vine covered Ji Raya Campuan Road away from town. Ji Raya Campuan Road, Ubud We walk up a picturesque flight of outdoor steps near Campuan, passing some rice fields and statues built into the wall along the way. Rice workers near Campuan steps, Ubud, Bali Along the Canpuan stairs We continue on our long march as the landscape turns into countryside and pass rows of wicker baskets containing chickens for market. Temples are passed and we see locals washing their clothes in the river. Wicker baskets with chickens inside near Penestanan, Ubud Temple statue near Penestanan, Ubud Some kids run out along a dirt road and yell "Foto! Foto", so I oblige them. We are soon covered in sweat from the Balinese humidity even though we started out at a very early hour. Friendly Bali kids near Ubud The route leads us through rice fields where you have to walk along a narrow strip of grass surrounded by water and rice. It seems like this would be trespassing but the local farmers just ignore or wave to us so it must be o.k. The route ends past a road filled with wood carving shops if you are in a buying mood. Walk # 2 This is the "Campuan Ridge" 7k 2.5hour self-guided walk and was found in the book "Bali & Lombok" published by Eyewitness Travel. This walk can be done in about 2 hours. We cut through the driveway of the Ibah Luxury Villas and then walked through a ridge between two rivers. There are many locals out cutting the elephant grass, they will use them to thatch their roofs with. Swallows fly low over our heads. We continue through villages of rice farmers and fields full of ducks and rice. The walk winds around Ubud and allows for a nice breakfast stop at Cafe Fly. Harvesting Elephant Grass in Ubud Balinese women seen on our walking tour near Payogan, Ubud Bike Tour # 1 This is the "Pejeng & Bedulu" 10k self-guided bike route from "Bali & Lombok" published by Lonely Planet. Our hotel manager finds us some rental bikes on request and one morning we set out on a self guided biking tour. This tour is not for the novice biker as you will ride through some serious car traffic during portions of the ride and the hilly sections are quite steep. We follow a tour in the book that allows us to visit several temples. Our first stop is an early morning visit to the Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah). The guide book recommends getting there early to beat the tour bus crowd and we are the first visitors at the temple. We have to buy some sarongs outside (you can bring your own or rent some). Even this early in the morning it is incredibly hot out and the sarongs make us dripping with sweat. This temple (possibly from around 11th century) is pretty cool, the entrance of the cave (a cavernous mouth of a giant demon) is quite impressive (although the inside is a bit drab). There a six woman statues that spit water out of their mouths too. Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah) in Ubud, Bali From there we meander down some country back roads and pass through a village where a gamelan orchestra is practicing in a town square. Some friendly local kids point us in the correct direction of our next temple stop, Yeh Pulu. Across from the entrance to Yeh Pulu is a small cafe I'd recommend for a quick breakfast stop (good banana pancakes). The waitress is very curious about our water filled Camel Baks and asks how much they cost. We watch a Java Kingfisher fishing in the rice paddies across from the cafe. The 14th century rock carvings at Yeh Pulu are pretty neat to see. An old lady caretaker splashes some water on us and explains that she looks after the place. The caretaker of Yeh Pulu in Ubud, Bali The stone walls of Yeh Pulu in Ubud, Bali From Yeh Pulu we visit several more minor temples and ride up some steep mountain roads where a group of local kids yell "I love you baby!". Back in Ubud we check out the Museum Puri. This place has some fine examples of local art from the late 1920's and 30's. Ida Bagus is prominently featured, apparently he was very picky about who he would sell his art to. His art is somewhat lewd. There always seems to be a frog in Balinese art doing something strange. The grounds of this museum are very pretty with a lotus pond running down the middle. Painting by Ida Bagus Gelgel(1900-1932) as seen at Museum Puri in Ubud, Bali Driving tour in Ubud Our guide book recommended hiring a local driver in Bali for a quick driving tour of the island. All of the "good" ones recommended on the travel internet message boards were booked up so we ended up with the brother of the one of the "good" ones. He met us at the hotel and was quite friendly, however his English was not great and his knowledge of the area surrounding Ubud seemed a bit limited. It is about $40 for a days tour. We did see some neat stuff but I think the driving tour is not for everyone. Personally I would have rather done another biking or walking tour than be cooped up in a car all day. Our driver assists with sarong application in Bali Temple offerings in back of pickup truck near Pura Ulun Danu Batur, Bali One of the funnier things we experienced on the driving tour was a bizarre lunch at Hotel Segara near Lake Batur. We are the only ones at the restaurant and we sit on the open deck near the lake. I get a pizza and my wife gets the local fish. Once the fish arrives a swarm of flies descend on our table and three stray cats surround our table and start howling for scraps. The waiter brings a oil lamp and lights it to keep the flies away but the wind keeps blowing it out. He moves it closer to the napkin holder to block the wind. After a few minutes the entire napkin holder bursts into flames and he frantically runs over to put it out. The cats hiss at each other over the fish. Possibly the worst lunch ever but actually pretty funny to look back on. Worst lunch ever in Bali? Near Lake Batur We pass through a interesting volcanic landscape that reminds me of Hawaii. Volcanic landscape in Bali At the Pura Ulun Danu Batur temple we have to run past a gauntlet of hassling women that want to sell us trinkets and they actually grab at us. Safely inside we admire the structure of the temple. Probably the highlight of the drive is seeing the famous rice terraces of Tegallalang, Bali. Rice terraces of Tegallalang, Bali Dining in Ubud My favorite place to eat in Ubud is the Lala and Lili Warang restaurant. Located on a pedestrian only road, it features a nice deck overlooking the rice fields and as you dine gangs of rice workers harvest the fields around the restaurant. I recommend trying the spicy Tofu Goreng here. Sampling the spicy Tofu Goreng at Lala and Lili Warang, Ubud We also visited an Italian spot called Pizza Bagus a couple of times. They have many outside tables and the pizza here is quite good and reasonably priced. The first nite we got a few Bintangs, a margarita pizza, garlic bread, and the total bill is only $11. The Bali Buddha is a vegetarian place with an open deck on the top floor. I tried some great tacos with fresh guacamole that were yummy but I found the shakes a bit watery here. According to the menu there are lots of teas that focus on improving your urine. Casa Luna is a really good spot with wine (it is hard to find good wine in Bali) and tofu with pesto and mozzarella and a Turkish style salad with flat bread underneath. There is free WiFi downstairs. Cafe Fly is out of the way but still a good find and is has free WI-FI you can use to check your email on your Blackberry/Iphone/Laptop device. The tofu goreng is pretty good here but the one at Lala and Lili Warang is better. Culture in Ubud You will want to check out of the many dances that are presented in the town. It is fairly easy to buy tickets the day of the dance at the Ubud Palace ticket office. The first dance we checked out was a Legong Dance presented by the Bina Remaja Troupe. The setting of the dance is marvelous, an open temple in the heart of Ubud. An old lady walks around with a bucket of local beer if you wish to enjoy a beverage. We get there about 30 min early and snag a seat in the front row. By showtime the place is full. The dance is based on the story of King Subali and Sugrimwa. I enjoy seeing the character dressed up in the giant bird costume of Jatayu (this bird has teeth!). The performance starts with the trance-like racket of the Gamelan orchestra after the players are first blessed with water by a priest. The women in the dance use very exaggerated eye gestures. Cute little kids run around dressed in monkey costumes. It rains briefly but not too hard to stop the show. Gamelan Orchestra in Ubud With actor in Ubud The 2nd dance we visited was a Women's Kecak and Fire Dance . This one was is set in another beautiful outdoor temple. I had to buy a beer at the market stall across the street where the proprietress made me promise to bring back the empties so she could get a deposit back for them. This dance was rather sparsely attended but quite interesting to watch. The women sat in a circle in an open air temple chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms. It would be neat if they put out a cd of this. The finale featured a man dressed as a horse walking through a ring of fire. We were two of about 15 people in the audience. Women's Kacek in Ubud, Bali The End Trip Report Index