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Published: February 16th 2012
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Today started off pretty much as we anticipated. The driver we had arranged to collect us did not arrive. Up to last week everything was all right until I asked him the price and I had not heard from him since.
Anyhow we arranged another driver from the pool at the hotel and we went on a 6 hour tour of central Bali, primarily to places that paid commission. I just wonder if an extra Rp100,000 tip to the driver would prevent that happening. In six hours about the only non-commission paying place we saw was some terraced paddy fields and that was at our request.
We were just amazed at the urbanisation of South Bali. When we went to Jimbaran on Sunday it was pretty much urban all the way and today we headed east to Sanur and then north into the foothills to Ubud. We travelled maybe 30 to 40k and the whole route was filled with shops, various manufacturing and then more shops.
We went through many “villages” which are actually towns but you had no idea of which locality you were in. It’s like London or Sydney where boundaries between different areas have just
been blurred or disappeared completely.
Each village only seem to produce the one item. As an example the silver factory we went to, the whole village is involved in that craft and there are hundreds of smaller operators that could be seen as we drove through the town. We also went to a batik shop and a wood carving shop. Both of these places had demonstrators but I think that of the stock is made by local artisans in the local area.
Our stop was at a coffee shop. We were expecting a coffee plantation, ah well. We tried some local coffee, including Luwak Coffee which is produced from the civet type creature. The taste was not too bad, still only $5 a cup for something that place in Oz charge up to $50.
We went for lunch at a café and had Babi Guling – roast suckling pork with chilli, garlic, turmeric and ginger. This was served on a bed of rice and was extremely tasty and spicy, especially the sausage.
After lunch we then went through Ubud and saw the terraced rice paddies. These are spectacular looking as the terraces tumble down the hillside.
Quite good engineering considering they have been here for hundreds of years. We headed back to Kuta, a little disappointed at not seeing too many sites. Next time be prepared with a list of places WE want to go to.
This evening we ventured out to Poppies Lane I for dinner. We did a bit of shopping on the way and then looked for a good place to eat. There are some really cheap eateries around this area but we opted to go to Poppies Restaurant, which has been here for 35 years. This was a good choice as the meals were fabulous. Peter had grilled mahi-mahi and mango salsa and Gina had tuna with ratatouille and fettuccine. Divine food and well worth finding this place.
After dinner Gina had a pedicure and Peter his first manicure then back to the hotel for good night's sleep before tomorrow’s fun.
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