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Published: April 9th 2010
Bali Day 7 001
Huge bale where the community meets ... this is also the drop off point for many of the hotel shuttles.The day started with the same routine ... banana pancakes. It amuses me to know end that every morning you also get the question "you want Nescafe or Bali Coffee?" Why you would pick Nescafe while in Bali is beyond me but to each is own.
I again took the 9 am shuttle which would drop me off in the centre of town of Ubud. One of the things that I have seen many times now since arriving in Bali are the women that walk along side the road balancing baskets and such on their heads. I even saw one riding a bicycle while balancing a large basket on her head. This morning the woman was walking with those square cartons of eggs that must hold about 48 eggs in them and she had a stack of 5 of those cartons piled high on her head. She was also holding a baby!
Right across from the drop off point is the Ubud Palace where the local royal family apparently still reside. I had visited the royal compound in both Bangkok and Phnom Penh and this is truly a sharp contrast to those two compounds. There is nothing truly spectalcular
and it actually very much mirrors many of the temples that I have seen so far here in Bali. Again as with the other temples, there were also many areas that were closed off.
I then walked across the street to Pura Desa Ubud. This is considered the temple that belongs to the entire community of Ubud. Right beside the Pura Desa Ubud is this enormous bale where people tend to gather (and by people I mean men who will ask the incessant "Transport, ma'am", the women who will try to sell you knives and the hoards of tourists waiting for their hotel shuttle). I had walked by the temple yesterday and just poked my head in. There seemed to be quite a bit of activity which was witnessed this morning by the decorations on many of the structures. It looked like it was in preparation for a ceremony or celebration. There was a sign added to each of the archways that stated something to the effect that only invitees were allowed entrance and that both men and women had to wear the traditional sarong and scarf within the confines of the temple. I was wearing long pants and
Bali Day 7 003
Colourful hats so I asked if I could go in and was quickly rebuffed. Doesn't hurt to ask. Oh well ... not meant to be ... I guess that I'll just have to come back to Bali!!
I continued my walk to the Pura Taman Sarasweti; a temple that honours Dewi Sarasweti the goddess of wisdom and of the arts. To reach the inner courtyard of the temple, you walk along a kind of gangway that is flanked by two large lotus ponds. As with the other temples, you cross this ornate archway and there is a large wall right there in front of you. This one had a carving of Dewi Sarasweti. The wall is meant in part for privacy but also to shield from the evil spirits. Evil spirits only travel in straight lines so they would never be able to go past that wall. There were many bales and beautiful statues. There were also beautiful flowers including this large tree that had all of these incredible orchids growing from it.
I then stopped in at a restaurant called Nomad. It had been highly recommended by the Australian couple that I met during the bicycle tour. I had
an iced chai latte which was made from locally grown spices and a Mie Kuah which is a traditional soup. It may rival my love for pho!! And if my friend Jessica lived in Bali, the owner would know her by her first name ... just like the people at Saigon Boy and Khao Thai and Talay Thai and ... well every asian restaurant in Ottawa truth be told.
From there, I just meandered the streets and veered off down Jalan Hanoman to poke my head in some of the shops. I had seen these beautiful bowls and was pretty much set on getting a couple. They have this circle pattern on them and they look very organic. Perfect for my decor! Well turns out that those circles are actually cinnamon! You can even smell it! So by the time I leave Bali, my house will have been re-decorated. Just wish I had a bigger suitcase!
And it is about then that the skies opened up ... it looked like night time and it was literally a wall of rain! So out came the emergency poncho ... I continued with my business despite the fact that I looked
Bali Day 7 005
Entrance to Pura Taman Saraswati like I was about to board the Maid of the Mist. In times like these ... it's not exactly a fashion show. It didn't take that long for me to dart into a small warung (those are the small local restaurants) and just sit for a pineapple juice ... and then the rain kept going so it was a hot lemon tea ... and then the rain kept going so it was another tea. All of that for $ 1.00 I might add! Finally the skies cleared up and I was able to make it back to that large bale for the shuttle to come and pick me up.
This time it was Made who was driving the shuttle. The Balinese people will give names based on the birth order so Made means that he was the second-born son. I mentioned that to him and he was quite impressed that I knew that. So that's why there are alot of Wayan's and Made's around! He has only worked at the Villa Sarna for a couple of months and was trying to learn English ... "I learn English in the car with the people" is how he explained it.
The shuttle drivers seem to take different routes and I mentioned that to him. Apparently there are four ... well this one was my favorite so far. The beautiful rice fields ... just stunning. Then we hit a bit of traffic jam ... another wedding ceremony and this time I got to see the bride and groom dressed up with ornate gold headdresses and with the whole village out to see them off. Made explained to me that you can see wedding ceremonies any time in Bali; it depends on when the priest says it is a good day to get married. One of the things that I noticed too was that Made's teeth had been filed down; a traditional ceremony done in the late teens and which takes the pointiness out of the teeth. Only animals and demons have sharp teeth!
We kept on chatting about the rice fields and he asked if I had seen the rice terraces close to the hotels. Ummm ... no. So before dropping me off, he took a small detour to see the rice terraces that are literally across the street from the hotel. It 's just that from the vantage point
Bali Day 7 007
Parasol at Pura Taman Saraswati of the hotel, you don't actually get to see them. But go right across from the hotel and there is this spectacular valley of incredibly green rice fields. That will never get old!
And so ends my last day in Ubud. Tomorrow I am transferring back towards the beach to Seminyak. I'll spend the morning here though and only check out at noon so that I can have a few moments by the pool enjoying the last minutes of Villa Sarna.
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