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Published: August 26th 2006
Ubud Paddi Field
View from my Balcony1992………..2MTHS-1st CYCLING TRIP-1300kms ACROSS INDONESIA
26/7/92 Ubud (46.2km 1219.8km)
I arrived in Ubud in 2 hrs from Padangbai. The road was noisy, polluted and busy. Not pleasant at all and I thought I would be relieved to get to Ubud, but boy has it changed! I found it hard to find a place as there was so much choice and it was more expensive. The streets are absolutely lined with shops. I spent part of the morning at Puri Lukisan, Ubud’s Art Museum, which was opened in 1956. The gardens remain unchanged but two of the large buildings have fallen into disrepair and are not used at all. The museum is significant in that it shows the movement of the 1930’s when artists broke away from traditional formalistic paintings of mythological scenes and Hindu epic stories to paint village scenes, landscapes etc. The paintings are not looked after- dusty, some with mould- what a pity!
I rode out on one of the side streets, which eventually took me into rice fields. I went for several kms along a narrow back track feeling relieved that the real Bali does still exist. People began saying hello and showing curiosity.
28/7/92
Boy with Truck
Boys & their Toys Ubud - Kuta (65km 1285km Total)
I decided to try to avoid the main roads as much as possible and wove my way through villages towards Kuta in an attempt to see the rural side of Bali which is getting harder and harder to do. The main roads are just terrible, noisy and polluted and one has to tackle them with a relaxed confidence that no one is actually going to hit you despite the fact that as far as cars are concerned you don’t count if you are on a bike. There appears a hierarchy of trucks, cars, motorbikes, pushbikes, and pedestrians. I got deliciously lost in parts and found people friendly and curious and the pervading religion/ culture became evident rather than commercialism.
I happened to come across a cockfight where I was the only tourist. I was largely ignored although one man expressed surprise at seeing me. The cockfight was the same as in Padangbai with everyone showing much betting enthusiasm. Women were present but not involved. They were busy preparing patterned banana leaves with intricate designs. A ‘medicine’ man was there shouting with the usual emphatic enthusiasm. Another seller had some sort of medicine made
Boy with Gun
Boys & their Toys from what looked like roasted lizards. I ate from the warung that had been set up for the day; a table surrounded by benches with an array of dishes to make up a tasty nasi campur of rice, sambal, chicken, pork and crackling.
As I rode along the Legian/Kuta road I probably had my mouth open looking in amazement at all the traffic, tourists and shops. I found it hard to recognize anything from my previous trip. Relaxing on the beach after a sandy massage, I watched the tropical sun slip into the sea. Time to reflect. Ahhh! …… The things holidays are made of!
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