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Published: July 16th 2009
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Call off the search parties we are still alive!!
We know its been ages since we last wrote a blog so apologies if you have been eagerly awaiting an update. The problem is we have been in Bali for a few weeks doing absolutely nothing!!
Well continuing from our last blog we left Mt Bromo and headed for a small non tourist town called Bangiwangi (great name). It was just an overnight stop before we headed off to catch the ferry to Bali the following day. There's nothing really to tell you about Bangiwangi. We checked into a plain hotel and took a room right next door to a mosque. Naturally we were woken up at 4am by the bellowing prayers. We had dinner in a locals home which consisted of fried noodles proceeded by coffee and fried banana pancakes sitting on the kerb of a road.
The next morning we were up early and after catching 4 different buses we made it to the port (it was only a few miles away but we struggled to establish how to get there due to lying bus drivers). Once on board the ferry we waved goodbye to Java
and were soon on our way to Bali. Immediately the island became clear on the horizon and within an hour we pulled into the port and continued over to the bus station, located the cheapest bus and were on our way to 'tourist friendly' Bali.
Immediately we noticed the difference. People looked more European, instead of the Islamic head scarves, women had long hair and wore western clothes. Everyone spoke English and it felt like we had crossed into a whole new continent. Bali has been a tourist destination for years and unlike Java they are used to visitors. This was going to be strange, we felt at ease straight away, looking back we had done well to survive the torrent of scams in Java.
The journey to Denpasar was long and the bus stopped at every junction, house, bend, or anyone who waved at us. The journey normally takes 3 hours but ours took nearly double that. When we arrived we had to charter a bemo to Ubud. We had a few offers but we grouped up with a few other travellers and negotiated a discount with a shabby looking fella, his last fare of the day.
It was nice arriving in Ubud. It was late and after being on the go for a couple of days we were tired but found the energy to track down some nice digs. Before I tell you about that we have to give our driver a mention. Usually we are so careful about our belongings, making sure we have everything before buses drive off but we nearly slipped up when we arrived in Ubud. I (Lee) dropped my wallet on the floor and didn't even notice, the driver picked it up and honestly handed it back to me - top bloke.
Ubud is very pretty. One main street goes through town with a few dwindling back streets off it, further afield you will find lime green rice paddies and locals planting seeds. The smell of joss sticks tantilise the senses as locals leave tokens of worship outside their homes. Being predominantly Hindu, statues peek out of the smallest of door ways and you can feel them staring at you when you pass by. Ubud is home of craftsmen and artist alike. Shops and restaurants dominate streets, but you would think that the Balinese government had some house rules
in place for business's in Ubud. They cannot sell anything tacky, they must keep noise to a minimum (this place closes down at 10pm) and hands out prizes for the ones with the most tradition and charm.
Unlike Java, Bali has millions of stray dogs and we soon found ourselves braving dark alleys and shooing away barking muts. We eventually checked into a place called Teba house which is tucked away on a side street. It was a nice place, basic, clean and breakfast was excellent (plus we loved the dog Bronnie!).
The following day we spent wandering the streets of Ubud taking in the beauty of the whole place, there is a market north of Monkey road (the main street) which sells wooden Buddhas, glass dishes and other local crafts. We also discovered a superb place to eat. In Indonesia families often serve food from their houses or wooden shacks on the roadside which are called warongs. Food is generally really cheap and tasty however this place served 5 star meals for peanuts!!!By the time we left Ubud we had become regulars and our personal favourite was Tofu curry... mmmmmm!!! (BTW the place was called Dewa warung)
During our stay in Ubud we decided to hire a moped. We have been very careful about renting motorbikes in Asia but this place is so chilled and relaxed we took the plunge and hired one for a couple of days. We headed out early and visited green rice paddies where 80 year old women spent hours and hours planting seeds into the soggy ground. It's really humble to see people who are the age of your grandparents stuck in a rice field for 12 hours doing back breaking work in the sun, just so they can earn enough money to eat for the day.
We also visited an ancient temple called Gunung Kawi. Before we parked a policeman approached us looking rather unhappy. We began to worry as we had heard stories about police bribes! as he got closer we wondered how much it would take for him to let us pass... but to our relief he wanted to help and gave us directions.. phew. The temple was ok, climbing down the 200 odd steps in the stifling heat and the pink sash's we had to wear was more memorable than the statues - maybe we should
of hired a guide.
After a knackering temple visit we drove to a village where the craftsmen live. It seemed daft buying goods in town for an inflated price when a few miles away you could get them direct from the supplier, coupled with the fact we knew that the artist would be getting a good price. The craftsmanship of these guys was awesome. The time and effort they put into their work was easy to see and we wanted to buy EVERYTHING!!!! Problem is when we get back to the UK we have no home so it was a little strange buying wooden Buddhas for the lounge when we don't even have one!!!
Indonesians have some strange taste buds and most of the weird stuff comes in meat form so we happily avoided it. However there was one drink we had been meaning to try for a while. The drink in question is a shake, no ordinary shake - this one consist of avocado and chocolate!!! Michelle managed to drink all of her's but it wasn't for me, rich and unusual.. a bit like cheese and ice cream!?
Getting out on the bike was great and
felt like we had seen bits of the real Bali. After handing the bike back the next day we headed off to a place called Monkey Forest. The forest is huge and at various parts monkeys congregate and await free bananas off visiting tourists! It was nice to get close to the monkeys and we took some great snaps but some of the evil little buggers are dangerous. We saw a girl have her bag of bananas snatched, stupidly she tried to grab them back and managed to get bitten.
After spending a week in Ubud we decided to head south for a bit of beach time. Our choice was between the crazy surfers paradise of Kuta on the west or the more relaxed eastern Sanur... and after some deliberating we decided on Sanur and booked a bus ticket. We also arranged our flight ticket back to Singapore and moved our flight to Australia closer as we are way ahead of schedule. Seems weird that we will be in Oz in a couple of weeks... Asia has been our home for 6 months!!
See you soon, hopefully the next blog won't take so long to arrive!!!
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Yvonne and Louis
non-member comment
Hi Guys
Hi Guys, Wow, amazing Bali isn't it? It's just breathtaking. Looks like you are enjoying it. Good to read! It was soooo funny!!! Louis and I also always went to Dewa Warung in Ubud. Such a co-incidence! And the avocado-chocalate juice, hahaha, my father in law loves them! Especially on the beach in Sanur watching on Sunday the locals run aroung and fishing. Here are also lots of ceremonies. I hope you manage to see one, it's beautiful. Dear travelmates, ENJOY more and don't worry about the blogs. Lots of Love from Holland, Louis and Yvone P.S. An email will follow soon