I have now been here a little over a month and feel very much at home. I'm supposed to be leaving soon and heading for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia but a plan just doesn't seem to be coming together and so I take this as a sign and keep delaying!
My days are filled with friends, workshops, appointments, reading, eating out (without a kitchen there is no choice) and swimming now that I have moved. I am making the effort to see more of the island, which without a scooter is harder, but fortunately there are shuttle busses to several places of interest. Having tried the wildly touristic trips, I feel happier getting somewhere and then finding my way around. The magic healing energy of Ubud and everything that is on offer here has been exactly what I needed. Asia has proved to be a journey of self discovery, although that was not the original intention. Ubud, by its very nature draws the truly gifted, those whose talents may be somewhat questionable, the 'oh-so-in' sort of crowd and right along to the quite frankly strange individuals whose spiritual expansion may be somewhat influenced by dubious sources. Yes, on the back of 'that film', Ubud's resident and tourist population has grown beyond belief. Building work is everywhere. Rice fields are slowly vanishing. You can hardly blame the younger generation for not wishing to carry on this back-breaking work, especially when converting the land for tourist use massively increases its yield. What when there is only concrete left? If tourism ever fades, bricks won't feed the people.
Observing the solidity of Balinese construction, at least to the untrained eye, I could imagine having my dream home built here. At the very least, I would want most furnishings to be Indonesian. There is an innate trait to decorate which is part of the charm here. Frangipani flowers are everywhere and even some male tourists can be seen with one tucked behind their ear! For the local men this is perfectly acceptable.
The terrible chaos caused by Hurricane Haiyon has completely (physically) by-passed Bali. Of course the enormity of the tragedy is not lost on Indonesia who just last month trembled from an earthquake there and is similarly vulnerable to the elements. I am due to visit Vietnam which was also struck. What sort of debris will wash up on the beaches, a reminder of those who lost so much? Tsunami evacuation signs can be found throughout Asia but the futility of trying to outrun such devastation seems vastly unlikely.
A whole blog could be dedicated to a day to day hazzard-the pavements of Ubud! Quite simply, they are terrible! Storm drains run underneath them and as such, ingress is required. Large removable slabs with metal handles are located at regular intervals. However, they are often not flush with the rest of the pavement or large chunks are totally missing. The tiles are uneven and again many are broken or missing. Some areas have ingress through a metal grid, the poles of which can be twisted, bent or absent, sometimes resulting in large objects being placed in them to prevent people falling through. I mentioned all the construction which is taking place here and it is common practice to have supplies delivered onto the pavements making them impassable! If you are fortunate to find a good stretch, invariably there will be scooters or even cars jammed up against the sides forcing pedestrians onto the streets where one way signs just don't seem to apply to scooters! I am not alone in suffering from a sprained ankle so I would advise keeping your eyes firmly on the ground (or lack of) directly in front of you.
Going with the feeling of needing a break from Ubud's intense energy, today I took a shuttle bus to Sanur on the South East coast near Denpassar. At under £3 each way and less than an hour's drive, it is a great way to spend a day at the beach. There are several companies who operate a shuttle service (also a service that runs to the airport for roughly the same price) Perama's bus looked like a chunky relic from the '70's. I'm guessing it lost its suspension sometime not long after that. The beach was actually lovely. Coarse yellow sand sloping down to the shallow gentle water, quietened by the reef some way out. I followed the path between the beach and seafront hotels and restaurants for miles, stopping for drinks and a cool down in the sea. By the time I got back to the pick up point I have to confess I was truly sick of being asked if I wanted to look in someone's shop, take a taxi, have a massage or take a tour. For a fee many of the hotels will let you use their pool & beach loungers, a more peaceful option I'm sure.
Budget accommodation is in the form of Homestays and there hundreds to choose from. Basically a family will build rooms and/or cottages on their property which they rent out. Prices vary by the season and its definitely worth looking around. For the same price I have moved just around the corner to Raka Homestay, with a pool - vital considering the sun is currently directly overhead so it is extremely hot and humid here. Most places include breakfast and wifi in the price. I know the time is approaching where it will be necessary to move on, not least because I have added in a very exciting and unexpected destination for Christmas and New Year. Without this incentive, it is highly likely I would stay put. However I am jumping ahead of myself in relating my story.
