Bali Adventure Part 2 of 3 - Ubud

Nov 15-Ubud

The morning was absolutely gorgeous.  We dressed in swimwear for breakfast so we could take a dip in the pool before we had to check out.  It was so nice!  Mornings in Bali are easily 75 degrees.

The driver, who called himself Gusti, picked us up bright and early.  We got pulled over almost immediately (for doing nothing wrong) by corrupt police wanting bribes. Apparently that is a huge problem there. The first stop of our tour was a theater to see the Barong dance.  The costumes were very elaborate.  The show was a little bizarre.  It’s about a witch who gets angry that none of the boys in town will marry her beautiful daughter Sadewa because they are afraid of her black magic.  The witch decides to sacrifice Sadewa to the evil spirits.  The rest of the story was rather confusing but the gist of it was a battle of good and evil spirits. There were a lot of people were running around, fighting, yelling including midgets being crude and humping things.  It was probably worth seeing, but still really strange.

The next stop was the silversmith shop.  Two rows of workers  flanked the entry way so we got to see them creating the jewelry and art that would eventually be sold in the giant sales room beyond.  Basically it was just a big sales pitch.  Prices were extremely high.  We were expected to bargain them down to a reasonable level, but I don’t think sterling silver with semi-precious stones should ever cost more than $100.  Starting prices were in the $550 to $750 range for bracelets.  I offered $20.  The girl got upset escorted us out.  Sorry mom, I didn’t get us all bracelets.  He took us to a cheaper shop.  I didn’t find anything I wanted there, so still a no go. 

Gusti took us to a traditional Balinese house to see how people live on the island.  They live in family compounds.  The oldest live in the nicest room.  Their children stay on the middle level and grand children or younger children stay on the lowest tier.  Bathrooms, kitchen and dining areas are communal.  Kids don’t move out til they are married and even then only if they are female.  The males stay with their wives in the compound with their parents, grandparents and unmarried siblings.  As many as 60 people live in these homes. Fascinating!

Next was a trip to see the wood carvers.  They had a gorgeous showroom complete with a carving of a man who could have been real.  Amazing!  Again, we were only window shopping.  By this point, the driver realized the money-bags Americans weren’t interested in buying things.  He became very surly and barely spoke to us the rest of the trip. He did, however, drop us off at what I’m sure was the most expensive place around for lunch.  It was full of tourists.  Great…  We ordered minimally and the meal still cost over $17.  Not happy!

After lunch, surly Gusti took us to an overlook of Mt. Batur the smaller volcano which erupted in 1963.  Very cool view, though I was a little confused as I thought we were actually going to the volcano.  Apparenlty not.  Also not as advertized was the next stop: the terraced rice paddies.  I thought there would be some explanation as to the workings thereof.  Nope, it was just a quick view and a “ready to go?” The two of us decided that no, we were not ready and irritated him more by walking around to see the shops but not buying anything.

Finally, he dropped us off at our hotel, which was a little out of the way, but nice enough.  He was cranky and angry.  Had I realized at the time just how rude he was being, I would not have tipped him at all.  Instead I felt bad for him and his family.  He told us Indonesians pay for school for their children.  It is not free for everyone.  Shrugs. Oh well.

A very energetic young man named July (cause he was “like your country: born on the 4^th of July!”)  checked us into the hotel and said he would take us anywhere within UBUD for free, outside for a fee.   The hotel had only an oscillating fan, no air conditioning.  As it was about 98 degrees and 100% humidity, I was a little on the cranky side, particularly after our day with Gusti.  Mike suggested a walk.  We took off down the road and found a market selling mangoes.  The woman working there peeled and sliced it for us.  That’s service!

Nov 16- Ubud

July made us Nasi Goreng for breakfast and drove us to the Monkey Forest.  We wandered around the park watching the monkeys fight over food, scare tourists, swing through trees and wrestle.  It was very entertaining.  They were not afraid of people in the least!  Some of the tourists were very afraid of the monkeys.  One poor girl about had a panic attack when one jumped on her backpack.  Hilarious!

From there we walked through all the shops up the main shopping area of Ubud to the market and palace.  The palace was very similar to the traditional house we visited, but more ornate.  Not too much to say about that.  The market is an absolute zoo with people selling, buying, trading, etc.  There were areas with souvenirs, fresh fruits and veggies, spices.  We bought an avocado banana smoothie that was super yummy.

We walked all the way back to the hotel (about 3 miles) and stopped for dinner at a cool restaurant that sat us over a koi pond.  The food was good and inexpensive.  We enjoyed the breeze and views of the rice fields beyond.  A shower was much deserved after the day’s adventure, so we went back to the hotel and caught a ride to a bar with a Balinese group remaking classic rock and reggae songs.  Most of it was really good, but they missed a few pronunciations.

Nov 17 – Ubud and Lovina

Our last day in Ubud, Mike suggested we take a cooking class.   The driver picked us up and delivered us to the market to meet up with the rest of the group.  There were a couple from Australia and two Canadian sisters there.  The guide walked us through the market and explained how everything worked.  It wasn’t just for tourists.  The locals shopped there.  He let us sample a bunch of fruit we had never tried such as snake skin fruit, which is like a drier apple, and mangosteen, which is simply delicious.  Then we packed up in the car and drove to a rice paddy.  There the driver explained land usage and how each family only has a certain amount of land.  Each family takes turns planting a few days apart so everyone can help each other.  The land cannot be sold or developed as of 2010.  It is strictly for growing organic rice.

Finally we headed to the home of our hosts for the class.  The compound was gorgeous!  These people obviously do really well.  There were only 4 people living there as the host had been adopted by his childless great uncle and aunt, now deceased.  They have their own organic garden, huge outdoor kitchen and dining areas.  We joined about a dozen other people from all over the world.  Mike and I were the only Americans as well as the only vegetarians in the group.  Everyone took turns chopping, sautéing, cooking, stirring, and using an oversized mortar and pestle.  We ended up with 8 dishes: mushroom soup, tempeh satay, vegetable curry, gado gado, snake bean salad, steamed curried tofu, sweet soy tempeh, and bananas in sugar.  It was all delicious!  Having cut sugar from my diet this year, it was painful to see how much syrup and salt they added to EVERYTHING.  I realized I would just have to do the best I can in Bali and detox when I got home.

Their driver took us all the way to Lovina and even took us to his friend’s hotel (Hotel Sartaya) which was incredibly cheap $25 a night including breakfast.  It was very cute.  The owners were a young couple about our age.  She talked us into a diving trip for the next day at Menjangan Island.  We hadn’t planned on it, but at $40 per dive in a place that was deemed “the best best in Bali”, how could we refuse?  We finished the day with a walk on the black sand beach.  Neither of us wanted dinner having stuffed ourselves fat at the cooking class.