day 2 - the ubud and besakih experience

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sunday

our bali pictures can be found here.

our first balinese morning

we woke up an hour early than the proposed time. darwin didn't draw the curtains last night just in case we oversleep so we were up just as early as the sunrise. it was a beautiful morning! the sun was very bright, pampered by the absence of tall buildings and smog. it has been continuously raining in singapore when we left that the yellow beams filtering through the hotel windows were met with silent cheers.

darwin showered first, followed by me then ritchie. we also packed our bags for transfer to the sister hotel where we'd stay for the rest of our trip (they couldn't accommodate us on the first night). by 8am, we headed to the restaurant for breakfast. darwin and ritchie both had an american breakfast and i settled for a continental treat.

while waiting for breakfast to be served, two staffs approached us for a complimentary shoulder massage which we thoroughly enjoyed that we immediately booked a full package of balinese massage and facial later at night. the breeze on the open-air loft was invigorating, the beach can be seen from where we were sitting and the trees were gently swaying in a hypnotic rhythm. this is our first morning in bali.



dana was already waiting for us downstairs but the mood on the second-story loft was so relaxing that we couldn't force ourselves to hurry. we asked dana to come upstairs instead and share the breakfast with us, he politely declined the coffee but accepted the plate of fruits from ritchie.

the road trip



we hit the road as soon as we're done and passed by the same narrow and sandy jalans of kuta. eager tourists were carrying their surfboards and the streets were slow streams of locals in helmets and scooters. traffic rules have little meaning in this idyllic island, just as time is told not by a mechanical watch but by the shadows formed by trees. after a few minutes, the road broadened to a highway and we passed by hundreds of small roadside temples and shops selling furniture. locals precariously balance just about anything on the passenger side of their scooters - big logs, nipa singlet, ply board firmly tucked on the driver's butts, even a baby sandwiched between the driver and the mother. when you've lived in a sim-like city of singapore for several years, scenes like these could very well pass as exotic.

we stopped by an art gallery on the outskirts of denpasar and each bought a traditional sarong and sash. we were on a road trip to see the Besakih Temple, the biggest and most venerated temple in bali. visitors and worshippers alike are required to wear the customary sarong and sash. after we've settled on the right colors, the saleslady showed us the proper way to tie it all together then we went to the courtyard at the back and took some pictures.



street hawkers swamped us when we returned to the van but dana was quick to cover for us. we continued our trip to besakih, passing by the caves of klungkung and the nearby towns' rice terraces. we opened the windows of the van and inhaled the cold mountain breeze of the eastern part of bali. the scenes reminded me so much of home, it looked exactly like the roadside farms and rice paddies to my grandparents' house.



it was almost lunchtime so we asked dana to take us to a restaurant along the way. we wanted another seafood treat but we forgot how far we were from the seaport so we just stopped by a quiet family restaurant by the mountains where they offered us a lunch buffet for 40,000 ruppiah each.

dana didn't want to join us at first but we insisted that he eats lunch with us. we learned that dana was born in this area and has a wife and two children living in a rented house in kuta. we taught each other words in different languages and he especially taught us how to say “no money” (sing lapis) in balinese, a phrase that we would often use in the coming days.

we had an indonesian lunch in open air while the staff took turns praying on the corner altar of the restaurant. it was so peaceful and quiet, devoid of the artificial sound of the city and only the whispers of the nearby mountain can be heard.

the pork satay tasted so much better than the satays in singapore and were more like the barbecues in the philippines. the guys enjoyed the food but i was still full from the breakfast so i just had a few satays and a plate of fruits. seeing dana eating so heartily, i silently wondered if he sometimes wish he could take his two children in his trips and share the food with them. i think he does because i do.

besakih

we then continued on with the road trip to besakih and after twenty minutes, we reached the entrance of the temple. while putting on our sarong and sash, dana reminded us not to pay more than 25,000 ruppiah for a guide but we ended up paying 50,000 ruppiahs instead because of our poor bargaining skills and lack of research. i really wished i brought a lonely planet with me.

our guide, nyongan, was an old balinese man who knows only a few english words. in broken english, he profusely apologized for the trouble but was grateful for the chance to guide us through the temples because “there aren't too many tourists these days”. he said he's lucky enough to guide one group in three days. i was feeling annoyingly cheated a while ago but it quickly turned to guilt when i realized that the 50,000 ruppiahs is only the 10 SGD that i carelessly stuff on my pocket yet is already the breadline for people like nyongan.



darwin and ritchie left me with him and they took pictures around the temple while i listened to nyongan’s stories, most of them i couldn’t even understand. the complex was so beautiful! the black volcanic rocks of the temples looked strikingly ancient around the fresh greens of the mountains. a mist was quietly forming around the upper part of the complex and the scene looked like a chinese painting in watercolor. from the top of the stairs, you could see the whole island of bali and i imagined the worshippers of long ago meditating from this same temple with nothing else to distract them but the melodious sounds of the wind chimes.



we walked around some more, nyongan calling out to darwin and ritchie by means of a loud "eskyus meee!". on the top of the center temple, we met the priest guarding the gate. he has rice grains on his face and small flowers on the back of his ears (as most locals do). it felt so spiritually serene. religion is a big part of every balinese life and it's a shame to see the dark side of tourism co-existing with the compromised spiritual life of the balinese.

lake batur



we left after an hour and proceeded to lake batur, the biggest lake in bali. the breeze was cold as we stepped out of the van. a few locals offered some souvenirs but i was more interested at the green mangoes the other lady was selling. darwin bought me one and we left the lake soon after. we enjoyed the mango slices on the way to tegalalang and i suddenly missed the chili bagoong sitting on our cupboard in bayshore.



mas and tegalalang

on our way to tegalalang, we passed by the artistic town of mas, famous for its wood carvings. almost every shop was selling wooden sculptures. we passed by artists doing some finishing touches on their crafts, locals with goodies balanced on their heads, and the usual men on scooters. it was like driving through a gallery spanning a whole village.

we stopped by a small area of rice terraces in tegalalang. the area was disappointingly small compared to the banaue rice terraces and i felt so proud of our own sagada. we were sure there were other bigger areas of rice terraces in this area of bali but since we were not prepared for trekking, we settled on the sight.



we bought a few photo albums at the souvenir shop nearby and the very friendly saleslady gave us a soap holder made of coconut shell for free. when we went back to the van, the hawkers aggressively offered ritchie native chopstick sets and Ramayana sculptures that we were stalled for a good twenty minutes trying to ward them off. in the end, ritchie ended up with a pair of Ramayana sculpture for his parents.

ubud

after a few more minutes, we arrived in the cultural town of ubud. the small streets were lined with artsy shops selling locally-designed clothes, paintings and other native crafts like silver and gold. it's a haven to literati, glitterati and bohemians, and i've heard that famous names walk the streets of ubud everyday. this is arguably the most artsy street i've been to in asia.

we asked dana to wait for us near the market while we strolled along the streets. there's a big ancient temple near the art market but we wanted to experience the streets this time. we passed by a coffee shop selling homemade cakes and decided to have a light snack. ayu's kitchen looked like a coffee house cum art gallery and i have to agree that the magic of ubud is hidden in their cafes, backstreets and courtyards. the cafe was listed as one of fodor's top editor picks in balinese dining. the walls of the cafe were adorned with small paintings, including the back courtyard and the walk to the comfort room. we sat indian-style on the wooden floor.



since i only had a light lunch, i convinced the two to have a light dinner instead. we had spanish omelette and grilled tuna. we also ordered a grilled cheese sandwich for dana. when we finished eating, we went looking for dana and handed him the sandwich then we strolled through the art market and shops again. ritchie and i bought an island long pants and darwin was eyeing the native drum but was still having second thoughts.



it was already 6pm and if it wasn't for the spa appointment waiting for us at the hotel, we would have stayed longer. someday we want to go back to ubud and stay for at least a month and learn cooking, batik making and probably painting. ubud is such a peaceful hideaway from the world and i hope it remains that way.

back in kuta

we arrived at the hotel after an hour, just in time for a quick shower before heading for the spa. darwin and i were together in one spa room and ritchie chose the nearby cottage. we all had a balinese massage and a facial. my legs were hurting from the climb to the besakih temple and the massage was just perfect for my aching muscles.



after the massage, we were shuttled to our new hotel which was just 5 minutes away. our new room was on the third floor and we only had a little view of the pool (darn, i should have booked earlier). after a short while, we left for kuta’s center for a well-deserved dinner. we thought of walking but more than halfway to kuta with no seafood restaurant in sight, we gave up and took a cab.



we went back to the hotel after dinner and slept soundly. we have another early day tomorrow and this time we're hitting the sun and the sand.

up next ... under the balinese sun

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