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Published: November 17th 2009
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Monty is about to trade me in if I don’t stop snapping photos, but this first part of Bali has been so breathtaking, my eye might as well be super-glued to my camera for convenience. And, I’m a Smith.. I’m pretty sure, it’s in my genetic makeup, right family?!
We arrived in Bali on November 7th completely out of fuel. Requiring us at the airport before 4 am in Bangkok after a night on Koh San was a task that only an all-nighter seemed right for. Sleeping on the plane saved us a bit, but we were pretty exhausted to say the least. Upon arriving at our pre-booked hotel in Junjungan, Ubud in Central Bali, we were stunned at the beauty and comfort of the place. A huge room with vaulted ceilings, a sunk-in tub, a pool, spa & amazing quiet views of rice paddies were just some of the wonders. And, the people… wow, can Balinese people can really melt your heart with their smiles I tell you. Jungjungan Hotel was the perfect place to spend a few nights and allowed us to explore the popular artistic area of Bali, Ubud. Great food (we recommend Devilicious), temples on every corner
and more shopping. We relaxed with yoga & wonderful massages at our place, visited some ancient temples and caves with a nice local tour guide and battled some banana-obsessed monkeys in the Monkey Forest (all by scooter, of course).
After getting just about enough beach in Thailand and Malaysia as an elder sand crab, we decided that exploring the interior of Bali by car, then making our way to the beach later is exactly what we were after. We thought, “oh, driving in Bali… how bad can it be? We jump off cliffs and shoot 30 feet in the air off waves, we can totally handle it… or Monty can!” Ugh, wrong… Driving in Ubud traffic first (left side, stick shift, streets the size of my finger nail & scooters with the right-away at all times) is saved only for the bravest of the brave. “How many “real” lanes are there in this 20 foot wide two-lane street?.. 4? What?!” Poor Monty has had his fair share of white knuckle steering. I haven’t quite braved it yet… except in a parking lot and late at night. I have to say, I’m very impressed! He’s gotten so used to vehicles &
scooters (with a family of 4) coming head-on while climbing mountain passes… you just move over a bit & there really is enough room for everyone… really. 😉
So, by jeep and on our own time, we’ve explored… deep in East Bali. Breathtaking beauty and culture that will have you tearing up… trekking the rice paddies, dips in the river and watching locals go about their days. On our journey, we found paradise aka Sideman… I’m reluctant to even say the town on this blog, since we’ve heard it’s a rare untouched wonder of Bali. There are a few villas and homestays, but besides that, it’s a wonderful place to just get lost… & do nothing. We spent a couple of nights in our own private homestay with our hosts, Ketut & Wayan (uncle & nephew). They were more than accommodating and we so enjoyed spending time with them.
The MANY pictures will really speak of most of the beauty. So far Bali has had its amazing moments and some not so amazing when dealing with local hawkers in every nook & cranny of the island (they are as pushy as it gets and mostly won’t take “no thank you”
for an answer at all.) But, just when I think I can’t take it any more, I meet a nice local who just wants to chat and see how you’re doing and give you that famous Balinese smile. “Where are you from? Where do you stay?” Not so bad. Or, a young child beaming a grin and shouting their just learned English word at you.. “Hello!” They are the cutest! (unfortunately the other word they know is MONEY... sometimes with the 3-year olds its, "Hello, money!" 😊 It’s kind of a bummer to read and hear about how Bali used to be and where it is now since tourism has dominated. Just the amount of trash will open your eyes even more to the detriments of plastic in this world, but with that said, Bali is still incredible and still worth it… you just have the dig a little deeper to find it.
A couple of unforgettable conversations…
One
Monty: “How much for this jeep for 2 weeks?”
Shop owner: “100,000 rupiah a day”
Monty: “Okay, no suksma.” Walking out…
Shop Owner: “Ok ok, how much you pay?”
Monty: “The guy down the way offered 80,000.” (the
truth)
Shop Owner: “Aw,…hmm… Ok, 90,000?"
Monty: “Hmm… I’ll think about it 😉”
Two
Wayan, our host in Sideman homestay: “May I excuse myself to bed now?” (after he served us a delicious dinner and freed a bat from our room)
Monty & I: “Of course. We are all good! Matur Suksma for a lovely evening!”
Wayan: “Ok, enjoy your night. Please wake me if you have any animals in your room.”
Monty & I: “Um, what animals… like another bat?”
Wayan: “Bats… or, ugh… other mysterious animals.”
Monty & I looking puzzled: “Mysterious? Like?”
Wayan: “I don’t know… just what you find in there. Good night.”
(We later found out that he meant snakes… he once rescued a woman from a large snake under her bed… whoa.”
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DAD
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High Marks?
You guys are having way too much fun! You could tone down the excitiment level just a bit for us here holding down the fort for your return. Will ski the Valley on Tuesday and headed back to Austria (hopefully) first of Jan. Linda is carrying my bags. If pictures tell a thousand stories Trish, you just wrote War and Peace. Love to both, Dad