Monthly Wrap- up - December - Bali & Signs (part 4)

And finally, our last days in Bali :

Also linking to "Signs" at Tom's blog.

Friday 30th - breakfast at the tiny coffee shop - Monkey Bar (could probably sit 6 people) next to Nur Guest House. 

Jose & Thomas enjoying the view. Omelette for the boys and a bowl of fruit and granola for me

Signs from the breakfast area at guest house

At 10,30Am we were picked up by an arranged driver, and our first stop was the Goa Gajah Temple (also known as the Elephant Cave temple), part Bhudist, part Hindu temple. The temple was built on a hillside where two small streams meet, thus making the site a sacred place. Entry fee is Rp15,000 (1,50 Aud)

No elephants at the temple except for this statue at the entrance

The temple of Goa Gajah dates back to the 11th century and is famous for the "elephant cave". Not sure why it was named so, but an elephant wouldn't fit in the 15 metres (50ft) deep, narrow cave entrance. 

Inside they had incense baskets burning, but I found the smoke and smell too overwhelming and couldn't go all the way in.

All over the lush park are huge banyan trees, some with gigantic roots.

Spectacular view from above, before descending the staircase

Elephant cave

   

A banyan tree and the gigantic roots

                                                                           

                      

Our next stop was at Kanto Lampo waterfall, apparently, one of the nicest falls in Ubud. We paid a small entry fee Rp20,000 (2 Aud) and had to descend what felt like hundreds of steps, changed into our bathers and went into the shallow pool formed by the waterfall cascading over rocks.

Under the fall there was a queue of young people posing and pouting for their Instagram photos. We couldn't be bothered waiting in line to take a photo with the water dropping behind us... The water was refreshing in that heat!

Descending the "hundreds of steps" down to the waterfall

Kanto Lampo waterfall

It was way past lunch time, and our driver took us to lunch at the nearby Warung D'Carik Tibumana, a simple restaurant where we sat outdoors surrounded by rice paddies. The food was great, quick service and quite cheap.

                    

After lunch we decided to return to our accommodation instead of driving around to look at other nearby waterfalls. We had enough of stairs!

The traffic on the way back was awful, and eventually when we were about 20 min away by foot from our place, we asked the driver if he would just let us out and we would walk and he could then carry on forward on that main road back home, instead of turning into another clogged main road to drop us. 

We settled our agreed fee and got on the way, arriving about 15 minutes later. I wonder how long the poor driver took to get out of that busy intersection!

On the way home I found a Warung with my name 🤣

At the guest house we still had time for a swim in the pool before getting ready for dinner.

This time we chose to go to a Greek restaurant on the main road - Oia. 

Food and service were ok, but as we finished our mains and asked for dessert, we were told the kitchen had closed, so no desserts, no coffees.... The men weren't impressed, and I had to agree customers should have been advised that the kitchen would be closing in case we wanted to other anything else. I can't remember the time, but it wasn't late either, there were others still dining... but the staff was very young and obviously inexperienced.

Oia Greek restaurant

As we were finishing our dinner, we heard chanting and music and I went to the front of the restaurant and saw a procession of Balinese people signalling the end of the festivities at the nearby Pura Dalem temple.

The ladies dress in a tightly wrapped sarong and beautiful lace blouses (kebaya) with a sash, and the men wear a sarong with white shirts and a "udeng" (white head scarf with a knot).

Beautiful young ladies in traditional dress for the festivities

The procession at the end of the festivities

                     

Saturday 31st - Our last day in Ubud:  I had an early swim in the pool, then Jose and I went for a coffee and a smoothie for me, and shared a slice of carrot cake at Pukako Cafe, just a 5-minute walk down the lane.

Then Karina and I went for a walk on the 4km (2,49miles) trail next to the river Wos - Campuhan Ridge Walk. 

The main street on the way to the trail

Even though the trail is paved, it is very steep, and I found it hard to walk with the very hot and humid weather.  

The views from above over Ubud are stunning, you can see part of the town, the river, the forest...and on the trail there are statues, temples, gates, and a few Warungs (local shops/cafes) where you can stop for refreshment...

We walked for about 40 minutes and decided to return - much easier coming back! We had a cool shower in our huts before going for our last dip in the pool, finished our packing and it was time to check out and say goodbye to Ubud.

Our Balinese hut in Ubud

We checked out around midday, and our taxi driver drove us to Harris Hotel in Denpasar, which was just a few minutes from the airport. Again it took just over 1,30h to do about 30km (18,64 miles)!

(Originally our return flight was meant to be at 9am on 1st January, hence we had decided to spend our last evening as close to the airport as possible, but the airline later changed it to 12,30pm which was better for us as we could have a more relaxed morning).

After checking-in at Harris Hotel Kuta Tuban, and being "sold" on the New Year's Eve buffet dinner for $20 Aud (no drinks included), we dropped our bags in our rooms, changed and went for a swim in the hotel pool. 

Harris Hotel in Denpasar
     

We had to be at the New Year's Eve dinner by 7pm the latest, as they were closing the dining room at 8.30pm.

The buffet was actually very generous and tasty for the 20$ Aud, with a few mains, salads, desserts and fruits. And it was beautifully presented with fruit/vegetable carvings.

The four of us in front of the fruit carving

After dinner the 4 of us sat at a table by the pool and had a glass or two of Baileys (we finished the bottle we had brought from the Free shop in Perth) and we contacted the whole family via WhatsApp to wish them a happy New Year.

The hotel pool at night

We had wanted to go to the beach (10 min walk) to watch the fireworks at midnight, but it had started to drizzle at 10pm, so we went back to our hotel room instead to watch a movie. At midnight when we heard the  fireworks "bangs" we went into the balcony and watched from afar.

                        

Sunday 1st - Checked-out from Harris Hotel and at 9 Am, boarded the free hourly shuttle bus to the very modern Denpasar airport just 3 or 4  minutes away. 

Check-in, passport and luggage control was pretty fast, and we had time to sit down at one of the airport's cafes and relax before our 12,30pm flight back to Perth.

The flight was delayed by one hour, but we finally arrived in Perth 3,30h later.

Modern Denpasar Airport

More signs:

"Aice" - ice-cream, and a very old petrol pump which I think they use for motorbikes

Home temples - all houses had them, sometimes more than one

Various doors & temples

Conclusion about our trip to Bali:

Bali - known as the "Island of the Gods" because it has over 20 thousand temples, as well as "The land of smiles" as the Balinese are known to be very friendly, tolerant and kind people who smile a lot.

Bali is also an exotic destination, with its tropical weather, unique and vibrant cultural experiences, nice beaches, cheaper lifestyle ...

Sadly, because Bali has grown very quickly, the infrastructure has not kept up, and with the increased number of residents and more and more tourists, the amount of rubbish (garbage) that washes up on the beach, also coming from neighbourhood islands, means every day cleaners rake the beaches, but at the end of the day the waves have brought more rubbish again...

The Balinese have the habit of sweeping the front of their houses, shops, etc every day, a few times a day....but then I would see lots of rubbish heaped up in some corners...I'm not sure about rubbish collection, as I didn't see trucks collecting bins, or not many bins anywhere, and no recycling being encouraged anywhere... 

The island really doesn't have the infrastructure to receive the millions of visitors it receives. 

With Bali closed to tourist during the pandemic and with no Government help the people really suffered and struggled financially as they mostly rely on tourism, and I found that we could hardly walk around without being approached to buy something - clothes, wood carvings, bone carvings, souvenirs.... I felt bad, because

much better off then the locals I wish I could help everybody, but I don't need any more stuff, more clothes, and we couldn't help everybody...

We bought 3 sarongs and a shirt and hat for Jose and wooden box. But I hate haggling too!

I was also aware of a lot of street dogs and cats. Some had collars so they might have belonged to people but just wandered around... On the other hand there are a lot of organizations doing good things like sterilizing animals and taking care of street animals and try to get them adopted and educating the Balinese in caring for "pets".

Was it a dream destination? Will we return?

We didn't really enjoy our first few days in Seminyak, it was just streets of shops, restaurants, hotels... the dark volcanic sand beach wasn't as pretty as most of Perth's beaches either, a lot of construction (hotels) right on the sand... 

In hindsight we should have arranged transport and gone to see other nicer areas nearby.

We loved Ubud - the lush surroundings, the temples, the waterfalls, the food, the kind people, the cultural and spiritual aspects...

We are only 3 1/2 hours flight away, and I know people in Perth who go to Bali a couple of  times a year, others who have been there 30 times.... 

I would certainly like to go back, maybe to other areas that are not as tourist oriented, or where you don't feel the pressure to buy things. 

There are those who go to fancy resorts (which are still cheaper than any hotel here), but they just stay in the resort, going from the private beach to the pool, but I don't think that you get to know people or culture, if you don't leave the resort, so that's not ideal for me.

Who knows? There are so many other countries on my bucket list 😉

Monday Mural - Bali Airport 2

I love murals and street art. If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme is for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  Once you start looking you will find murals everywhere.  The "Monday Mural" meme goes live on Monday at 12,01AM, Perth,Western Australian time. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters. Looking forward to your mural finds this week. 

Thanks Sami.

More murals from the Denpasar Airport in Bali.

The G20 summit was held in Nusa Dua, Bali in Nov 2022

Monthly Wrap- up - December - Bali & Signs (part 3)

Following from From part 2:

Wednesday 28th - we checked out from our villa in Semyniak at 9am, and our driver Yoga, drove us to Ubud, the cultural area in the foothills of Mount Agung in northern Bali.  Due to the chaotic traffic, it took us 1,30h to travel 30km (18,64miles) !!

On the way, we stopped at the Tegalalang rice terraces - one of the most visited tourist attractions in Ubud with its terraced layout of the rice paddies.  There are a couple of small stalls scattered in the fields that sell drinks, coconut water and souvenirs. 

If you want to take photos on the swings or in front of signs that are all over the fields someone will always pop up to charge something. It's not much of course, but it can be a bit annoying. I would rather they charged an extra fee (additional to the RP10.000 (1 Aud) to cover photos, etc and even have signs explaining how rice is sown, harvested, etc, because you leave the area not knowing much about the culture of the rice anyway.

The rice fields were the highlight of our trip, truly beautiful, even though you have to be fit to go up and down the fields, climb narrow steps, step over puddles, avoid the muddy areas, etc. I was almost breathless as I reached the top on our way out. 

We then had lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the fields - Surya Terrace, but I could only manage a fruit platter as I was tired and sweaty with the high humidity.

The restaurant was down the stairs overlooking the rice fields.

My fruit platter lunch

Panoramic view from the restaurant over the rice fields

Back in the taxi, our next stop was the Tirta Empul Temple (dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu God of water) not too far from the rice terraces. This popular temple is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and dates back to 960AD. The complex was built on top of a crystal-clear natural spring. 

Both Hindus and spiritual tourists visit this temple for the purification/bathing rituals. (We didn't take part in this).

Everybody is lent a sarong to wear to cover their legs, which is included in the entry price.

The temple was magnificent, with some beautiful doors and statues, the huge Koi fish pond and huge banyan trees being the main attractions.

After the temple we visited a coffee plantation that do coffee and tea tasting - Segara Windhu Coffee Plantation.

The staff explained the processing of coffee beans, the various types of beans, the roasting process... and then you sit down for a tasting.

They had kopi luwak or civet coffee, which consists of partially digested coffee cherries which are eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but neither Jose, Karina or Thomas enjoyed the various coffees they tasted, all too bitter. 

Coffee beans, sorting and roasting

The civet (which was in an enclosure), the open air tasting area, the various coffees and teas, brewing the coffee

Shortly after starting our coffee tasting, we had to move under cover as it started to rain heavily.

A great view over a forest 

They had plenty of great coffee signs at the plantation:

On the drive to our accommodation, it started raining heavily again. When we were about 10 min away Karina contacted reception as the driver said the car wouldn't go all the way there, and he was right! 

The huts where we stayed were on a narrow lane, wide enough for 2 bikes side by side only. They sent two people in motorbikes down to the main road to load our luggage, and we walked the 5 odd minutes up the pathway until our guest house - Nur Guest House. 

The rain had stopped but restarted as we finished check-in. We had two little Balinese huts side by side, with just a bedroom and bathroom, and the use of a lovely pool which served the complex of 4 or 5 huts.

Our hut, bedroom, bathroom and pool

walkway between the pond to the huts where they had tables to eat while sitting on the floor

The view from the entrance of Nur Guest House - Mt Batur, an active volcano 1717mt high, that last erupted in 2000. Karina was keen on the hike to the top, but it meant a guided challenging 4-hour trek starting at 2,30am to reach the summit at sunrise around 7am. Nobody else was keen, so she didn't go either.

Mt Batur in the distance and rice fields across from Nur Guest House

After unpacking and a rest we went to dinner at Casa Luna restaurant.  

The meal and service were great, the restaurant is partly owned by an Australian Janet DeNeefe who has spent the last 30 years in Bali championing the cuisine and culture of her adopted home. 

She is a cookbook author and also founder of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

After dinner we walked to the guest house and sat outside our hut having a drink listening to the rain fall.

Thursday 29th - I didn't sleep too well the three nights we spent there, as the frogs in the pond at the entrance to the complex made a hell of a racket the whole night, there was music from the temple just 500mt away, there was a cat that miawed during the night, a gecko "sang" in what appeared to be inside our room, someone swept pavements at 5Am (it's a Balinese thing apparently to sweep between 5 and 6am!), the neighbour's chickens started singing pretty early too, grrrrr...

Just around the corner from our accommodation, on the main street of Ubud (Jl Raya Ubud) there was a beautiful temple - Pura Dalem, (Temple of death, dedicated to Rangda, the Demon Queen) with a beautiful gate. 

When someone dies in Bali they are temporarily buried, and their spirit resides in pura dalem until a cremation ceremony takes place and that person is free to be reincarnated.

During the 4 days we were in Ubud, this temple celebrated Galungan, a festival when the Balinese dress up in their finest traditional clothes to attend prayers at the temples, bringing offerings to share.  It's when the Balinese renew their commitment to try and make tomorrow a better day, by making themselves better each day.

During festivities non-Hindus aren't allowed to go inside the temples, so I just took photos of the beautiful entrance gate.

The steps to the entrance were lined with yellow flowers.

The temple at night

Offering to the Gods that are set out daily in front of houses and shops and even in taxis

We had breakfast at Milk & Made, a western style modern restaurant (eggs Benedict for me). 

After breakfast we crossed the street and visited the Puri Saren Agung (Ubud Royal Palace). Most of the structures in this compound were built after the 1917 earthquake, and the palace is still the residence of Ubud's royal family. A truly exquisite lot of buildings!

Gardens and house at the Ubud's Royal Palace

Back on the main road we visited the Pura Taman Sarawasti Temple (Lotus Temple).  This temple has a large pool with lotus flowers and a nice garden with lots of frangipani trees.

Again tourists couldn't go into the temple through the main gate. There is a cafe - Cafe Lotus, with entry on the main street and the back facing the lotus pond.

Lotus Cafe at the Lotus Temple gardens

We ended the morning a walk through the Ubud market next to the temple. 

I read somewhere that very early in the day they sell fruit and vegetables, then later on it becomes a clothes and souvenir market.  I found it sad that they had stall after stall selling similar things, so not everyone would sell.

We had a late snack at Joglo Organik, a small eatery just down the lane from our guest house looking out to the rice fields.  While we were eating heavy rain and thunder started and we just waited it out until we could run back to our huts a few hundred metres away.

On the way to Joglo Organik we came across a Ubud Yoga House - no wonder we used to see lots of young men and women in their gym clothes coming past the lane in front of the guest house. A mural was being painted outside the house :)

I also saw a massage place near the restaurant and later on I went for a 1-hour massage.  For the equivalent of less than $20 it was fabulous and left me very relaxed and even my sore neck felt great.

Dinner was at Miro Gardens restaurant on the main road.

Due to the huge number of photos, I'm posting a 4th and final part next week.

Also joining Tom from "The backroads Traveller" in his signs meme on Wednesday.