To be honest Bali initially has no interest to me. With the recent executions of two members of the Bali 9 drug traffickers Bali runs hot and cold with peoples emotions in Australia. I also have grave concerns about what Indonesia is doing in west Papua and the Genocide of the local Melanesian people who live there
But without looking at the political situation and wanting to get totally emerged into the Bali Culture we’ve opted to shy away from the traditional trapping of the tourest sect and opted to stay with a local family in their own home.
We have 3 days to experience as much of the Ubud region as possible and while we’re here I really would like to check out the famous wood caved doors and windows to send to Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu where we have our land and plan to build our Earth Home in 2017.
I’ve done no personal research on Bali, so the only information I have has been gathered from others who have personally been there or what I’ve seen on TV. Elena took her mother for a holiday to Bali a couple of years ago, but as she’s a bit slow on the writing to our site, I’ll pick up the story and win the writers award.
Using Jet Stars new Dreamliner aircraft we discovered that when you prepay your inflight entertainment its automatically allocated to your seat. just as well we didn’t pre-paid or wished to change our seats. I can only imagine the fiasco for people who choose this option then decide to change seats because someones little darling is screaming the plane down and is right next to you.
Denpasar Airport is decorated in traditional style as you land but the inside is void of any balinese culture. Typical of any airport the bustling taxi drivers are touting for business. We knew were we we needed to go and with no negotiation we presented the address and paid our $35AUD for the journey to Ubud, our home for the next 4 nights.
Elena had planned a home stay rather than blow the budget on an expensive hotel or bungalow. Anyone who has read a little about us will soon discover we prefer to travel cheap. So for the merger cost of $20AUD per night we discovered Ubud Sedana Homestay.
Nested in the main street of Jl.Bisma and run by Nyoman it’s a family affair with Nyoman’s family living next door. The property boasts their own Hundu Temple as most Balinese people is of Hindu faith. The property is beautiful and with Nyoman & his wife’s 3 children playing with their cousins in the courtyard and the crowing of the rooster we settled in. before exploring the streets just metres from our doorstep.
Ubud boasts some great shopping with craft stores everywhere. if your searching for sari’s and scarfs or wooden carved artefacts Udud won’t disappoint you. Food here is great too however as we discovered coffee is different here as it’s locally grown and some is an acquired taste.
I love motorbikes and in the past have had some wonderful experiences in both Vietnam and Thailand, so after talking with Nyoman I hired a bike from him and we headed off to the highlands of central Bali. I’m a pretty good rider and have owned some large bikes so I used to handling two wheels, however you do have to keep your wits about you when riding in Bali. If you’ve not ridden before I wouldn’t suggest that you start in Bali (although I’d recommend in in Phuket Thailand). The roads to the Mountains are under repair but still bumpy as all hell and a lot of pot holes. These of which are easy to negotiate unlike the local corrupt police who pulled us over and because we had no international drivers licence were going to get us to pay a fine at the local courthouse. Nyoman had told us that the police usually pull over tourists and check for registration and licence and the cost for this fine would be about $5. This would have been ok however on the way up the mountain we stopped at an intersection were a local guy warned us of the police. His suggestion was to stop at the local coffee plantation and coffee house and wait for the police to move.
Well , let say he probably got a kick back and the police didn’t move.
The coffee plantation was interesting as having never really seen what the process is I was intrigued. Dana the owner showed us around and explained the different coffee beans and how they are roasted and processed. They have Luwak here, a small mongoose like creature that eats the coffee and swallows the coffee bean whole then shits it out. It’s then collected, washed (thank goodness) three times before roasting.
Dana brings us out several coffee’s to try before bringing out the large cup of Luwak Shit Coffee. Seriously it’s an acquired taste and not my “cup of tea” But at $50 per cup in Melbourne Australia it obviously is somebody’s. Another box in the book of life ticked.
Now having spent our cash at the coffee shop the last of it is extracted by the Local police for not having an international licence. It’s funny how the police can “help” you in Bali. Fine, Bribe…. call it what you like, this is how the police get paid here. With phenomenally low wages the police here have to fill their police cars with their own money (well technically my money) as the government can’t afford to run the police dept.
We were now broke as we continued the climb up the mountian. Rounding a bend at the summit we were urged to pull over once again by the security officer. As this mountain area was a “tourist area” we now had to pay an entrance fee. If frustration to the situation a rounded the bike and started heading back down the mountain when it ocured to me that if the police we corrupt, maybe the security guards could be bribed as well, this time with the lure of Australian currency. Turning the bike around we headed back. Sure enough there is honour amongst thieves as the guards not only took the $10AUD but gave us change! Obviously the amount was to high, so now we had Bali cash again.
For those going to the monition and wanting to get up close to the lake…. don’t. Don’t take the road down to the lake unless you really know how to handle a motorbike. You’re going to be hard on the brakes all the way down. The road is covered with small sandy stone that will take your bike out from under you if you don’t concentrate.
Once at the bottom of the road you’ll find there really isn’t a place to stop and sit back with a nice meal, it’s a local village with little atmosphere and not much to do. After snapping a few shots and taking a comfort stop we powered back up the steep track passing all the broken down trucks that failed the steep grade.
Once back on the summit we coasted downhill back the way we came. With the traffic now building the concentration was intense. Roadworks, crazy overtaking drivers, Motorbikes and and sudden stops, you really need nerves of steel riding some Bali roads.
So after being ripped off, a harrowing bike ride and now downing a large Bintang (local beer) I was ready for sleep (it’s 2pm). “Massage”…. Yes it’s time for a massage…
If you try anything in Ubud you have to go to Beji Ayu for a hot stone massage (take the 90min option). Apparently I fell asleep it was that good. At a cost of $20 it was the best money I’ve spent in the first 48 hours in Bali and the complimentary mini banana crepe and ginger tea topped it all off beautifully.
