Lost My Bali Virginity 4 - Ubud

[Markit]

Ubud – Life in a Rice Field

What a city, what a country and what a people. For all those that really love a good disco or night club – you’ve got the rest of the world – Ubud is for us! Don’t really know where to start so when in doubt I’ll try the beginning.

We left Sanur with our trusty driver Buda (Ketut BUDA Arcana, mobile: 081 7975 9363, 0261 8003076) who, as previously reported knows all the places where he gets the best greetings (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) but we figured that once he’d had his bite (as they all will) that he was an excellent driver and a good guide with excellent English skills who knows his island, like the inside of my wallet – so, in short, recommended as long as you keep his enthusiasm for your money reined in.

We had already decided on our home in Ubud from investigations the night before in the internet and (much to Buda’s disappointment) we insisted the he bring us there where I was already to do my bargaining bit with their internet price at $71 when they readily agreed to let us have it for $60/night – took the wind right out of my sails. The Biyukukung Suites and Spa are worth every penny – where else in Bali, or the world for that matter (now don’t all right in at once) can you live in a beautifully designed hotel with all the usual luxuries (bath towels of every sort, day bed on the patio, full wall sliding glass doors, pumice stone bathroom, TV, restaurant, etc, etc.) and all of this right smack in the middle of a working rice paddy – and that right smack in the middle of Ubud. We are about 200 meters down the road from the Monkey Forest with its Indiana Jones temples and vicious monkeys (good reason to bring back live animal testing, I think!) and just around the corner from the Hanuman Road with its laid-back watering and eating holes.

I challenge anybody not to just love the food here from the low brow, but delicious suckling pig on the market place (the Spezial – some prime cuts of suckling pig, some ribs, crackling and barbecue topped with spicy sauce, greens and rice all washed down with a large Bintang, of course – price 25000 Rupiahs – for the food and the same for the beer – about $2.50 or £1.40). But you have to be there before 2pm or it’s all gone – the first pig came in at 10:30 and was gone at 10:37 – timed it. Mine came at 10:45 and was gone at 10:50, what a breakfast! At the other end (the High Brow?) is the traditional “feast” recommended in the Lonely Planets at Ketut’s place (only Sun, Wed and Friday nights). At R125,000/person not the cheapest meal but oh my, wasn’t it good – the real deal, total Bali immersion – Ketut’s wife has been cooking out for the last 20 years and their homestay has been built, as she puts it, on Satays. 10 or 12 courses for as many guest as she can find to fill seats – reservations best and she will want to talk to you personally – no shows are hunted down without mercy!

Been here 5 days and we haven’t had a bad meal – even started to skip the free hotel breakfast so we can eat at more restaurants – I am going to regret this when I try to put on my “homey” trousers but what the hell, you only live once.

Can’t say enough about the entertainment – from the Kechak and Fire dances (which I’m beginning to love, much to the consternation of the best wife in the universe (bwtu)) to the daily trips to Tanah Lot, Tabanan’s palace or the various (but never boring) rice fields. I can sit for hours on my hotel balcony or bed and just watch the antics of a group of ducks numbering between 10 and 15 as they go about their daily “work” in the rice fields. They all look like they’re fighting a headwind as they go down the alleys between the fields of green and water until one decides to jump in and then tries to animate his buddies to do the same, and not leave him behind, usually unsuccessfully as he was the last man and they haven’t seen him even jump in – I guess you have to be there… The little rice farmer and his buddies who all work from before 7am until about that time in the evening, every day as far as we can tell. Makes us feel slightly guilty and so giving me an excuse to head for the bwtu’s dwindling stores of duty frees – she unfortunately went right off that shitty black rice wine that yours truly paid through the nose for as reported in the last entry and so I’ve decided to make a parting gift of it to our little rice farmer – Mrs. Rice farmer may get a surprise tomorrow night and my guilt complex slightly mellowed.

Found a restaurant last night (after the local Kechak dance (Hanuman Jl) with over 150 players – more than the audience )– called KAFE – great for all those suffering from too much and too good – health food the way you know it – owner is a New York girl and does a mean veggy qeasadia and chicken burrito all with guacamole and sour cream and washed down with your choice of fresh vegetable mixed juices or lassys (jogurt fruit mixes) – very comfortable chairs and tables. They also do Bintang.

Tanah Lot is well worth the trip but it was a very hot day and the bwtu and I are getting a little tired of old stones so we enjoyed the surrounding spectacular coastline and crashing surf equally as much. Everywhere we go there seems to be (we thanks god) a lack of tourists to support the sights and the people are suffering too – don’t you just live the separate entrances and exits for bule (tourists) that specially run you by all the stalls and hawkers. Bwtu is convinced we’ll be arrested if we use the “homey” exits and entrances but I may risk it soon as I have just about seen enough baaaatikkks and jewellery made from sea shells – so if this is the last posting you’ll know what I’ve done.

Bwtu has also managed to find Tai Chi guru here and so she’s a happy bunny and off every morning to do some arm waving or concentrating of minds – all great stuff and allows me to enjoy the morning in peace – we’ll both be very, very sorry to leave Ubud.

Tomorrow we’re off to Lovina and some well deserved snorkel and beach time via a couple of site seeing stops – will try and get into the Mozaic tonight for the recommended “best dinner in Ubud” – all I can say yet is that it will have to be something really special to keep up with the standard so far.

PS all those who are feeling a little Bali sick (as opposed to home sick) tell a friend and come yourself, the Balinese could sure use the business – we’ve talked to lots and lots about it and the general answer is that tourism is getting better – just whistling in the dark, cause the truth is it aint! Or at least not fast enough to help the people here. The impression we get is that if most of these hotels and restaurants weren’t owned by foreigners with deep pockets they would have been bankrupt long ago. The locals can’t keep up either with the financing side of things or with the marketing – which is probably more important from a sustainability view point. They have good business ideas but no know-how in marketing and too short a finance fuse to make a go of it – even our driver says that when he takes customers to one of his skin joints, it’s always a foreign owned one because the locals don’t even know how to do that right – don’t it just make you feel warm? Not!

In a funny way I think the bombings may have done the Balinese some real good, in the long run and as unpopular as this opinion will be, by showing them what an awful fair-weather-friend tourism really is – one day you’re number one and the next - nowhere… So don’t sell off that rice field to buy that new tourist jeep or send all the kids to tourism school cause tomorrow they may not have much to eat. Anyway I think the Balinese have learned that the hard way – I hope.

[mileage]

When I was in Lovina, many, many moons ago, there was an awesome tree-house restaurant. Well worth a look, if it's still there that is. :idea:

[mileage]

Git Git hot springs are a worthy tour as well, or they were, way back when...... :idea:

[tintin]

Mileage,

I believe you are talking about the restaurant in Kalibukbuk, which used to be at the corner of Main and a small street to the beach. (That must have been many, many moons ago, no?) If so, it belonged to Tony, a great guy with a great sense of humor. He went back with his mother (whom he worshiped) to Lombok, and the restaurant is long gone. :)

[tintin]

Markit,

Whle in Lovina, you could enjoy a hot bath in a natural, sulphurous pool, in the village of Banjar, about 5 -6 kms west from Kalibukbuk. Very nice, clean set up: changing room, and a small restaurant (of course, the "traditional" souvenir shops, before the entrance! But by now, you know how to handle that). In the same village, the only Buddhist ashram (nothing to write home about). If you like snorkeling or diving, forget about Lovina (there is nothing there), take a drive to Pemuteran (Stop at "Reef Seen," next to Taman Sari Resort), for great snorkeling from the beach and diving (about 45 kms west from Kalibukbuk). Chris, the dive master, also has about 2 dozen horses in his farm, across the road, all in excellent shapes, and you can ride on the beach, and inside the Bali Barat Nat'l Park (beats walking!). Of course, there is the fabulous snorkling and diving at Menjangan Island, another 15 kms down the road. :)

[mileage]

What a shame Tin Tin,
I'll never forget swaying away after a few drinks there. I was looking forward to doing it again one day. :(

[Markit]

Tintin thanks for the tips and we will look into the hot springs but with temps around the 30 degree mark here in Lovina after the cool of Ubud I have to admit it doesn't sound too inviting but we will give it a look.

About your restaurant recommendation I'm afraid the Mozaic has closed on Monday so it will have to be on the way back through.

[Kadek]

Hi Markit,

Glad to read that you are enjoying yourselves in Bali and particularly in my home town of Ubud :wink:

In another posting (maybe it was your first?), you mentioned being stopped for fees to enter some roads. Just to let you know these were the Hansips (they are like security people who are employed by the village administration).

In villages in Bali, many roads were previously only dirt roads (many still are). Many villages/banjars wanted to have their streets asphalted or cemented for better access, and not have to wait until the local government will do this (which could takes ages and ages). They are 'flat out' maintaining the 'main roads'. :shock:

So, the village members put fund together themselves to be able to do this and with donations, to purchase the materials, and they also had working bees (gotong royong) to complete the roads (and if villages do the works during election campaigning, the village might get a help with machineries, asphalt). Therefore, the village/Banjar asks for a fee (so kind of a toll fee) for any outsiders to use their roads (not only tourists, but anybody not from/members of that village). This allows the villages to recoup their fund and use it for maintenance and other projects in the village.

In my village (which is not at all isolated, there was a section of the village where it was only connected with a small bridge that no cars can enter, so with donations from well to do villagers and fund from the Banjar members a bigger bridge was built to replace this (8 or so years ago). Now cars and small trucks can enter and villagers no longer need to carry all their building materials manually. Although, no 'guard' stands there to collect fee from outsiders, but a donation box has been placed there.

Ok... that's it from me and enjoy your holiday
Kadek

[Markit]

Hello Kadek,

Things like that are beginning to make more sense to us since we had a long discussion (one of many) with our guide at the Git Git waterfalls - can only recommend going to the upper ones as the lower ones you apparently can't move for "buy my, buy my, etc. etc." hawkers. Anyway the upper falls are lovely and quite deserted but our guide was a local man who quietly and knowledgeably told us all about the many spices lining our way and how the pathways and mountainside gardens were all maintained by the locals efforts and the 3000 entrance that we paid.

My only problem with the road "tax" was its seeming to be targeted only at tourists and this on a main road going up a mountain to a very touristy spot, with lots of heavy and light traffic. I guess after a while us tourists begin to feel a little picked on...

If you keep plucking the golden goose he will get angry at some stage, particularly if the chickens aren't getting similar treatment. :lol:

[froggy]

You have a tour guide, nothing says "tourist" more. If you had the time, it would be different without him, and possibly a little more adventurous. Then again it could be your transport, me&wife enjoyed scooters more than a car. Possibly made us blend in more than a local guy jumping out and holding the door open on a car for us, possibly giving an appearance like "look here" "bule alert" ... alot in Bali is said without language.