It was with
great sadness that I left my deluxe villa this morning. Such a pity I only got
one night seeing how the other half live, before heading back to normal
standards. I gathered all my belongings
and trundled up the many, many steps with my rucksack.
Meeting Jess
and Amy at 8am, so had to be checked out and breakfasted by then. While we had
been spoiled in Java with our buffet breakfast, it was back to set-menu here in
Ubud. I succumbed finally to the thought of an American breakfast, knowing we
had a full day of sight-seeing in store. I was presented with fresh fruit
(pineapple, melon, papaya, watermelon), OJ, followed by pastries (croissant, sultana
Danish, toast) with bottomless coffee AND then a fry up (scrambled egg, more
toast, bacon, sausages, tomato, spinach, potato). Ay caramba! Such a pig.
Met the
girls outside their hotel and was introduced to our driver for the day, Kadek.
Amy had done a pile of research and had a massive list of places she wanted to
see. Herself and Jess had already knocked a good few off the list when they
were in Ubud two weeks ago, luckily for me there were still a few outstanding
so I got to benefit from all her hard work. This tagging along, going with the
flow business isn’t half bad.
First stop
was Kertha Gosa, the hall of justice in days gone past, a historical landmark.
Pulling up outside the site we heard engines revving as locals were doing some
kind of motorbike tricks on the main road which had been closed off. It all
looked very official with billboards along the railings (JPXwas splashed across
them, but I can’t find any internet reference to what that is). There even
appeared to be judges, scoring the contestants. Young guys were performing
handstands and hanging off the bike while the engines were still going. We
watched for about ten minutes before heading into the attraction. Music was
blaring from the loud speakers on the street so it was a bit surreal wandering
around the grounds of the palaces while listening (and singing along) to Florence
+ the Machine’s Titanium. It shoulda been so wrong, and yet...it was kinda
cool.
Jess came
across a tiny wee fledgling chick on the ground that must have fallen from the
beak of a predator, as there was no nest in sight. The poor little thing was
all pink, wrinkly and had no feathers apart from a few on its teeny tiny
under-developed wings. We were all at a loss as to what to do with it. Killing
it would have been a kindness, but I just couldn’t. The thought of picking it
up and throwing it in the pond didn’t go down well as it either would have
drowned horribly or been eaten alive by the voracious fish in the water. The
thought of putting a rock through its little skull also had me baulking. (I
can’t kill spiders or cockroaches either as friends will attest to – such a
wimp!). So instead, ashamedly, we just left it on the ground, no doubt to die a
slow painful death from hunger or heat exhaustion, and then be eaten by the
ants. God, there was no best outcome here. All scenarios sucked. And all
involved doing something unpleasant. Moving on... (literally!)
Second stop
was Tirta Gangga Water Palace, a former royal palace. This place was gorgeous: fish-filled
ponds with stepping stones, fountains, ornate statues, bridges, stone carvings,
tropical gardens. One hectare of lavish highlights, the most spectacular being
the centrepiece fountain with its 11 tiers!! The complex was built in 1946, but
was nearly completely destroyed by an eruption of Mount Agung in 1963. It has
been re-built and still maintains its opulent air.
Third stop
was Taman Soekasada Ujung Water Palace, another former royal palace and where
the king used to entertain important guests. This palace was built in 1909, but
like Tirta Gangga, it has been heavily restored after eruptions and earthquakes
from Mount Agung. Long bridges connect the buildings with the gardens. The
gardens and their colours were lush and vibrant. Dazzling!
Fourth stop
was lunch at Candidasa Lotus Lagoon. It was filled with pink and fuchsia lotuses;
however the flowers were mostly closed. The heavens opened and there was a
torrential downpour, it was kinda nice watching the water bounce off the pond
from the dry cover of our table. It also was a great excuse to pull out my very
apt “Feck It’s Lashing” umbrella. A friend had asked that I send her a
miserable photo from Bali, to show it wasn’t all perfect (and to make her feel
better). Sadly I don’t think I managed to look miserable enough, but there was
definite rain! After lunch we had a quick amble to the beach. Tide was in and
beach area was tiny so we just stayed a while looking out at the water and the
local fishing boats.
Fifth stop
was a quiet traditional village called Tenganan where its
occupants are known as Bali Aga (the original Balinese). They adhere to the
unique Aga culture with its original traditions, ceremonies and the village
itself maintains the unique physical layout and architecture of times gone
past. Our guide was called Wayan (like Wayne Rooney he told us, just spelled
different).
Wandering
around the deserted village Wayan informed us that there are strict rules as to
who lives here, currently there are 52 families. Only those born in the village
can stay and become full members of the community. Anyone who marries outside
of the village has to leave. They have their own dialect here. He pointed out
all the buildings and temples and explained what went on there.
We came
across a brightly spray painted rooster in a rattan cage, he was extremely
aggressive towards the chickens that were roaming free. Turns out he was used
for cockfights - part of a very old Balinese Hinduism tradition to expel evil
spirits. Hmmmm, not too sure I like the sound of that.
Every July
the men and young boys of the village fight each other with pandan cactus
fronds in a tradition called Mekare Kare.
Blocks of thorny pandan are wielded in the right hand and they slash at
each other, bare chested, until they draw blood (a lot of blood!). Each fight
only lasts about 20-30 seconds. According to their beliefs, they must make a
blood sacrifice to Indra, the God of War, to show their respect and to honour
him for protecting their village. Having felt the sharp spikes on the plant, I
can assure you, that tradition must be no fun to take part in at all.
To round off
the tour Wayan brought us to see his family's artisan store, and showed us how
they made palm leaf wall hangings and calendars. The design is etched into the
leaf, then they rub a black charcoal paste made from coconut shell, oil and
turmeric into the etching. When the residue is wiped away, a permanent design
remains. The Tenganese have their own calendar. One month is 35 days long and
there are 420 days in a year. They are currently way back in 1940!!
He also
showed us a lady who was working on some double ikat weaving - a textile
process that is only done in this village, nowhere else! Ikat is a form of
dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on yarns
prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. All very complicated sounding, but
there were lots of shawls, sarongs and scarves on display. Pretty, but not my
thing.
We thanked
Wayan for his informative tour and left the village, heading off to our final
stop Goa Lawah (the Bat Cave), an actual bat cave enclosed by a Hindu temple,
with two banyan trees at the entrance. The cave is located within the inner
temple complex and is home to hundreds of nectar bats. The noise emanating from
the cave was deafening and painfully shrill. Opting to not get a guide we wandered
around the grounds, not sure if we were allowed to enter certain areas, but
doing so anyway, figuring we would be told if it was not allowed. The sound
from the bats was unreal, how this can be a place of meditation is beyond me.
We made it
back to the hotel for 6pm, freshened up and checked our phones to see where the
others were headed for dinner. Back to CisTa was the plan it emerged. Food and
mojitos were so good last night, the guys wanted to head back again. While the
twins and I were walking through the grounds of Pertiwa Bisma Hotel and Spa we
came upon a lovely staff member who was driving the golf buggy to the entrance
and offered to give us a spin. Such a gent! All aboard and we flew around the
slippery, steep paths. Twas good fun. Ahmm, could you give us your number kind
sir so we could request a return journey for later this evening, wink wink. If
only!! Hehehe!
Chicken Quesadillas
were on the menu tonight and they were so very tasty. While me and the girls
had sniggered at the decision to eat again in the same place when there were so
many other places to try, we had to admit, their food was fucking ace! Tasty
as, and beautifully presented. No room for dessert tonight.
Sadly no
sign of our golf cart as we made the slippy journey back to our hotel. Wet tar,
steep slopes and flip flops are quite the lethal combination. Thankfully I made it back to the hotel
unscathed.
