Hi All,
Now we can say 'We've been to Bali too', just like the 80s band Redgum.
We had recently read a review on the worlds worst airports and Denpasar was in the list. We scoffed at the thought in unbelief as we had been in some pretty bad airports during our travels.
We arrived at Bali, got off the plane and then headed into immigration only to find long queues of mostly Australians waiting for the 'Visas on arrival' after paying their US$25 each. Not unusual. Shouldn't take too long we thought. However the queues were moving very slowly and I started noting the time per person (2min) for processing and estimated it was going to take over 1hr just to get through to our baggage! My mood darkened as we seemed to be in the slowest queue so by the time we were processed after 90 minutes wait I was a volcano ready to explode. Our bags must have got so dizzy during the wait that they seemed to have fallen off the baggage carousel and piled themselves up neatly nearby. Not exactly the best security. So we eventually got out of the airport only to find a lack of information about buses or other transport. It was at this point that tourist types parted: the uncouth tourists headed off to Kuta beach to get drunk and relax on the beach the travellers headed off to Ubud for the arts and cultural experiences. Which were we?
Still stuck at the airport. There was the taxi mafia. Want a taxi? No. Two steps later another driver. Want a taxi? no. Two steps later. Another driver. Want a taxi? no. Why would we want a taxi when we have declined others just seconds previously? This was the start of the annoying, mindless taxi touts for the trip. We found a spot and sat down determined not to take an overpriced taxi. Eventually we negotiated a reasonable taxi price and headed off to Ubud. We had no intention of going to Kuta beach. The traffic was surprisingly slow and it took us over 1hr to cover the 40km trip. It was nice to get away from the westernised areas and into the more traditional rural areas with the temples and ricefields along the way. I was surprised at the number of kites in the sky and some were quite large. It was really pleasant.
We arrived in Ubud after a short stop for the taxi driver to put the driver side mirror back on the vehicle and take a comfort break in a nearby field and got dropped off near tourist informatio. We had read that there were hundreds of accommodation places and I had a few picked out. Still it was a relief to find a nice room with Saygong, on a quiet street near the town city, run by Karma. Karma, the manager, was particularly pleasant and unrushed. Our room in the guesthouse overlooked a traditional balinese garden. Very pleasant. Ubud, although humid, was a lovely mild temperature.
We started wandering around and unfortunately the taxi touts were around. I´m sure that they offer taxi services just to annoy tourists and break the tranquility. We did not see many actually having any success during our stay. Vanessa was polite with them but I generally just ignored them or as my irritation increased I pointed out that I would ask for a taxi if I wanted one then as the volcano temperature rose I would point out in a slightly raised voice that it was highly unlikely that if I did no want a ride a few metres before then it would be highly likely that I would not want one now! I am sure they go home with no money in their pockets but satisfied that they have at least annoyed a lot of tourist during their idle time sitting around the streets chatting with their friends. Lucky for them their wives actually work not pretend otherwise they would be begging in the streets. Ok. Got that off my chest and we can now move on.
There is a restuarant in Ubud which is recommended by lonely planet and it is a gem. The place looks likes someones veranda and has a couple of mess tables and bench seats for customers forcing them to sit together and a couple of more private tables on a level lower. Very basic so we were not sure about the food but there were plenty of local westerner hippies eating so quietly confident. I asked a girl next to us what she was eating as it looked good. Turned out to be cashew ginger chicken so we both ordered the dish and luckily it turned out to be their signature dish and was very, very, very good and filling. Not bad for about AUD$2 each. We made this our food trough for the rest of the stay and added takeaway banana pancakes as well.
We were a little tired but it was not enough to stop us from watching some tradional dance, legong and Barong, in the royal palace grounds. The music was distinctly balinese and almost chaotic and the dancing was impressive. Especially considering legong is a trance dance and the two dancers have their eyes closed yet are synchronised. The Barong was more like musical theatre following a hindi story and it was necessary to read the script. We really enjoyed the performances.
Next day.
Ubud is not green for no reason. It was raining and didn't look like clearing. Karma, who delivered our pancake breakfast, apologised for the weather as if he had some influence over it. Vanessa was keen to head out and walk in the rice fields despite the rain but I was not so enthusiastic. We headed out and after sorting out an orientation problem with the map and walked out into rainforesst and then into the ricefields. The rain stopped and it was a lovely. There were ducks walking in lines along the walls of the ricefields; farmers planting rice or preparing te fields; constant running water in a river deep in a ravine; and then we reached some small art galleries with artists working. Quite unexpected.
The first artist was both a farmer and an artist and had a bamboo alarm in the flowing water next to the rice field that tapped rythmically as it filled and emptied. The alarm let him know if the water to the ricefield was being taking further up stream. I always though people kept them for the pleasant and calming noise that they made.
His art was quite good and it seemed that he had a liking for piranhas as he had painted them. Next artist had a completely different style as did the next so it was quite interesting. Unfortunately we didn't have any money on us.
Relaxed a little then went for a wander around the numerous nic nac and art shops around the township. So many and the items were so cheap. I could see that we could fill a shipping container with goods and fill our house but alas we had no plan. So we looked and looked at shops in the hope that the items we wanted would reveal themselves to us rather than us picking them. It didn't work.
Next day.
Raining again. Headed out to Monkey forest. A lot of naughty macaques here and they like bananas and picking tourist pockets. We had sticks and were quite wary of them after our experience in borneo. We had lost our innocence so just watched those who had no let the mokeys run all over them. It didn't feel confortable for us. We looked around the forest and it was quite nice for a walk then off exploring again.
I think Ubud must give Chiang Mai a run for number of temples and there were hundreds of them. The homes have grand entrances and have statues and altars with offerings and incense.
Next day.
Still looking in shops. It must be a designers heaven to have so much choice. We are not designers and it is our hell.
There is so much art in Ubud. Much comes from Timor.
The people, even the annoying taxi touts, are really lovely and relaxed. There are offerings with flowers along the edge of the curbs and people regularly make these offerings. It is just a part of the day; nothing special; a way of life. For us it is interesting.
Went to the Kecak fire dance. It was a interesting fusion of tribal and indian hindi dance. The setting was great in the grounds of an old temple and under a large tree which acted as a fine unbrella from the ocassional rainshowers. The candle light certainly set the mood. Right from the start is was hard to keep a straight face when the performances started their 'chata,chata,chata,chata' chanting around the ring they had formed. Guess you had to be there to understand. It kept me amused for the whole performance. There were other great performances such as the monkey god but the chanting did it for me. The finale was a trance dance with a horse figure on a fire of coconut husks in the centre of the area. The embers were kicked out radially with so much force that we thought we might get burnt but we were safe. Great performance.
Next day.
Our first fine weather day.
Wandering around again. We had decided to take it easy as this was our last stop before returning to Australia.
Mentally we had already finished our holiday and we were just waiting. It was really relaxing but we hardly call it a visit to Bali.
We caught the bus to the airport, checked in and after changing 330 Rupee Indonsian money on the way to immigration discovered that we had to pay a passenger service fee (not an airport tax) of 150 rupee each. So had to go and change some money again to pay. Grrr.
There was chaos at the bording gate at there were people going to multiple destinations on different aircraft. What could possibly go wrong?
Our last taste of SE Asia was as chaotic as our first taste. A fitting end and somehow I think we will miss it.
Bye,
David and Vanessa
