Sunday 5th November

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.