2012 - Bali

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Kuala Lumpur (KL) Malaysia

We flew from Saigon to Malaysia and caught the bus into Kuala Lumpur Central Station. We drove through multiple motorway tollgates and past housing areas, rows and rows of identical attached houses, then a gap and another area of rows and rows of the same, same but different identical houses. Then as we got closer to KL the housing changed to apartment buildings, the side of the buildings littered with laundry drying in the heat, 20 stories high. I wonder how many times the security guard walking the parameter gets a pair of undies falling on his head!

I had been getting a bit nostalgic about India and wondering if this trip was going to be such an adventure without an experience that would ever match the one we had in India. We stayed near the Station as you could do airport check in for Malaysian airlines there and then catch the train to the airport for our flight to Bali in 2 days. The area diminished my nostalgia quickly. Dirty café toilets, dirty looking food outlet kitchens and the grubby hotel interior. I don’t understand why Indian Hotel and restaurant owners don’t put the women in charge of cleaning.

The Station had heaps of food outlets, but unlike Vietnam the locals seem to prefer western from what we could see and, although there were over 30 food outlets, it was difficult to find any Malaysian. But we did and it will be our downfall when we come back in a month as we just love roti!

We caught the train (apparently no driver, all automated) and went into KL City Centre and walked around huge shopping centre at Petronas Tower and window shopped at Jimmy Choo, Gucci and Tiffany’s. I was not going in wearing my ripped beach sack handbag and Number One shoes! But there were hundreds of shops, the best being the donut shop – donuts in Asia are just so fresh – covered in white chocolate and coconut – yum!

We fly to Bali…..

Sanur, Bali

We arrived in Bali after a 3 hour flight from Malaysia into 29 degrees and quite frankly – I am cold! We land 10 years after our last visit, excited about returning to Sanur to see if our little sandy beach ledge still existed. We used to walk down the beach from Grand Bali Beach hotel past a few stalls, through the locals beach hung out , and there was a strip of beach with a few little beach shack restaurants and our favourite bar - a wooden ledge with 4 bar stools – it was bliss, cocktails watching the sunset.

OMG how tourism has developed and invaded Sanur, the little ledge is now a very wide sandy berth to the sea with a 7km paved walkway covered in loungers and restaurant tables. Hotel bars, restaurants and pools line the walkway with the occasional alleyway of stalls selling clothes and souvenirs. It was windy, there were wind breakers around the beach tables blocking the view and not much of a view when the tide is out. Not the Sanur we remember at all - the quaintness has gone. We did not like.

We could not believe how many cars are on the roads now, also buses and trucks. Ten years ago it was mainly motor bike, unfortunately the road infrastructure was not built to sustain such growth, so there are traffic jams.

So we stayed 2 nights only and moved up to Ubud. The taxi driver he tell us they have the "kiwi" (fruit) costs 50,000. He wonders - they have such fabulous fresh fruit growing in Bali at very cheap cost, like 5,000, so Kiwi being so expensive must be fantastic. He buy one and cuts it into 4 pieces to split between his wife, himself and 2 children. Not so great he thinks, but the wealthy in Bali - they buy.

Accommodation - Prima cottages, ok, pongy bathroom, nice swimming pool, good location to shops, restaurants and bars, 10 minute walk to beach. Crap Wi-Fi. NZ$53 for room.

UBUD, Bali

We searched the internet for accommodation in Ubud, looking for budget rooms in town with good reviews – all booked out. We could have stayed out of town but could not be bothered with having to catch the hotel shuttle in/out. We wanted to come and go as, and when we pleased. So we had to up the budget and we booked Pondok Pundi for NZ$120 per night. So all eating and drinking curbed – yeh right! No really we were running well under budget so far so could afford the uplift. I did not really like Ubud last time, but this time I think it’s fabulous! One reason is this hotel - we got a lovely new room a few steps from a beautiful pool with a green backdrop, and enjoyed the pool to ourselves swimming amongst the tranquillity of nature.

Ubud is small and hilly with a few streets lined with restaurants and lots of souvenir shops selling unique Bali designer wares and clothes. Lots of wood – to avoid customs blowing up your luggage on arrival in NZ- we always give the wood a miss. The only thing that appeals are the mosaic items but too big and too heavy to put into a backpack.

We find a bar which sells the ARAK (local spirit) and sit on second floor and people watch. I expected a lot of our friends from over the ditch, but more Japanese and Dutch. My god the Dutch are so tall! We visited Monkey Forest where you roam around amongst the monkeys freely, we sampled some pretty average food, we turned off the air conditioning to warm up, we swam 4 times a day, walked the town under cloud and some rain and took a cycle tour down the mountain and through the villages.

The Jegeg cycle tour was amazing, we were the only 2 that day, so got special attention and learnt lots about their traditions. We started up by the Volcano where we sat and eat breakfast and got enveloped in the mist that blocked our view of the volcano. They took us through a spice garden and to a coffee plantation.

So the story goes:

· Coffee beans drop from the trees to the ground

· Civets animal eat the coffee beans

· Coffee beans come out in Civets pooh

· Civet pooh is collected and washed off coffee beans

· Take skin off coffee bean

· Roast coffee bean

· Make coffee

· Offer us a cup – “Excuse me? - I don’t think so!”

Some coffee shop in Wellington is selling it for like NZ$15 per cup I believe.

We cycled past rice paddy fields where they were harvesting the rice, all by hand. We cycled past villages and temples, cremation grounds, kids screaming hello, kids flying plastic kites, power lines covered in pieces of plastic kites. As the village house compounds are behind high walls you cannot see much, but you could tell from the small templates/shrines inside the compound but higher than the wall, nicely coloured and decorated meant wealthy.

Jegeg cycling tour is a family business, they get their customers from good reviews on trip advisor, no hotel will recommend as they don’t pay commission. We picked this tour as it included a lunch cooked by the sister in law at the parents house compound. The food was best Balinese food we have had. The housing compounds have standalone rooms inside; the centre open air room is for family ceremonies e.g. 7 months pregnant, birth, wedding, death, children age milestones, etc. The other rooms are bedrooms and utility rooms, and then out the back yard when the children become married they can build rooms for their families. Our tour guide has 7 siblings so there was no room to build on the back section for him, he had to move out into a standalone house. Land is so expensive in Ubud now so many cannot afford a new house compound.

The Balinese have a class system, four classes from first class to low class and, unlike India where the only way you can change your class is in the next life, woman can change through marriage. The Government insists everyone from all classes have same opportunity so there is no class restriction on education or employment, although varsity does cost. Lower class can, and do, become wealthy, and village communities are a mix of all classes. But they will always know which class you come from by your name.

· There are 4 children’s names, e.g. Wayan is first boys name in every family. If you have 5 boys then it starts at Wayan again. If you high class you are Wayan, if you lower class you are eWayan. So kids are given nick names.

· Girl must move in with boy’s family after marriage, but if boy marrying girl from lower class then he must move in with girl famiky.

· They bury the bodies and then the village will have big cremation ceremony every 3-5 years, so they dig up the bodies and cremate them, sprinkling ashes into the ocean (back to the heart of the earth).

Bali’s culture, religion, oriental architecture and traditions surround you with intensity. They have lots of ceremonies in Bali and everyday they put out the offerings on the many small templates/shrines and footpaths (like Thailand). What they put in them is thanks, e.g. rice, thanks for rice; cigarette thanks for plant; flower, thanks for flowers; etc. Although it seems the birds, cockroaches and dogs get the most out of them. As we leave Ubud it is Economy Day so all the shops have put out twice as many offerings, praying for good business. Footpath just ends up covered in a lot of mess to be swept up at the end of the day.

They are very serious about their cock fighting – no, not that! Roosters. The fighting cocks are raised and kept in a flax cage to prevent them fighting with other cocks. They have a special menu, trained, massaged and stroked for hours. A small sharp knife is tied on the legs of each cock and they slit the back of their legs to make them angry and want to fight. Cocks fight with their legs so when they flick up their legs they cut each other up. One that runs away or dies is the loser.

Accommodation: Pondok Pundi - The rooms are enclosed in a compound replicating a Balinese family house compound. It is beautiful. There were 2 rooms right next to the pool – our room was one of them and opened to a patio and you walk down the steps and 4 more steps and you are in this beautiful large, clean infinity swimming pool which looks out into the bush. The Hotel is just up from Monkey Forest, but is far back enough that the only sounds are the monkeys, birds and wild life, and of course the rooster, there is always a rooster. NZ$120 per night.

Padang Bai

We move to Padang Bai to catch the fast boat to the Gili islands off Lombok, we think we may stay a few days as Lonely Planet explain it as nice beaches - what they did not tell us is the beautiful beach is full of boats and rubbish. We pick a homestay and walk right into a 3 day ceremony at the temple across the road! C video. They chant all day, all evening, 4am, 6am, 8am ……… so we get a ticket for the next day on fast boat and head to the Gilis. It is one of the most expensive transports during our trip costing NZ$100 each, but we pick safety over money.

Accommodation : Alola, lovely quaint, pretty, colourful place with swimming pool but someone needs to give this guy a decent banana pancake recipe. NZ$34.

See you in Gili ……..

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