Bali Hai! (Warning: lengthy)

February 5th - Last night, my AirAsia flight was pretty easy and arrived around midnight. The flight from Singapore to Bali was about 2.5 hours with no time change. In my guidebook it had stated there was an increasing number of Chinese tourists which seemed very evident as one Chinese passenger had to help about 8 different passengers and translate departure / customs card instructions and tell them they can't just sit anywhere.

After getting my luggage, I walked outside. As I surveyed the name signs for pickups, I became aware of 2 things:

1. I could read 80% of the signs as they were Korean names / couples.
2. My hotel had forgotten to pick me up.

So I called my hotel in Ubud and they said there was no driver available and had thought the 1 way airport transfer was for drop-off (I later learned they use a 3rd party booking service who screwed up the arrangement). However, I had just confirmed this about a week ago and the correspondence evidences this. Unfortunately, I don't need a drop off as my scuba shop is picking me up on Monday and dropping me off at my Kuta hotel.

Fortunately, I did have the choice of 1 airport transfer, 2 days of motorbike, or a massage. I was going to get a massage in Kuta, but I guess I'll get one in Ubud! ;-)

The drive to Ubud is usually about an hour, but in the middle of the night it took about 25 minutes. I suspect this is because there is really only one road. This actually applies to everywhere in Bali.

My bungalow at Agung Raka in Ubud is 2 story with a bathroom on the first floor. I have a lock for my bedroom and a lock for the bathroom. The bathroom is traditional Balinese (open air) and the bungalow is all thatched. Surprisingly it had air con. Throughout the night I could hear insects and birds, and in the morning the rooster crowed a lot. I definitely felt one with nature.

For breakfast I had nasi goreng (fried rice) with a runny egg on top, mixed fruit juice, and tea. All eaten in my open air living room on the 1st floor and part of the package.

My driver, Bina (found at tripadvisor.com) met me at 8 am and took me to Besakih temple, also known as Mother Temple. This is the most sacred and holiest temple in Bali. It's not the most beautiful, but as it was the most sacred, I specifically requested this be included in my itinerary. He also brought me his wife's sarong as it is customary to cover yourself. Bina knew the head tourism manager, Futu, who took care of me. You have to walk around with a local guide which costs 100,000 rupiah but supposedly they can demand more or be difficult. These guides work at the temple and clean it and only go home to their families once a month.

Besakih Temple

I learned later that Futu was the one who kept calling my guide on his cell about 5x to make sure he wasn't trying to cheat me or get me lost in the complex of 22 temples / pagodas. Roundtrip and up a hill, the walk is about 3 km. But Futu gave me a ride to my car via motorbike and refused to take any tip as he was friends with Bina. Bina said his past clients have gotten screwed by the local guides and therefore makes sure Futu is there for his clients. My driver basically "knew a guy." ;-)

At the temple I saw the different places members of the caste system and royal family prayed and parts of the temple that are still made from 1,200 year old stones. Some parts have been renovated with stronger stone due to volcanic eruptions. A large Balinese family came to the temple to pray and make offerings. One of the members took pictures of me. Like in India, the locals are excited to see tourists.

We then drove by Mt. Agung, the largest mountain but couldn't see it due to the fog / rain. We went to Kintamani for lunch to see Mt. Batur and again didn't get to see the mountain until we were leaving as the fog had cleared. We headed to a coffee plantation where I tried different kinds of teas and coffees including coffee from luwat. Luwat is a type of mongoose / cat that digests the coffee bean and then poops it whole. Supposedly the Dutch would only let the Balinese use the coffee beans on the ground rather than the beans on the plant. Only later did they learn the Luwat coffee is much better, smoother, and very expensive.

We then headed to Tampaksiring where there is holy water and then to Gunung Kawi which is the cliff side temple. There were hundreds of steps but really interesting. We then stopped to see the most famous rice terraces in Ceking Village.

Tampaksiring Temple

Returning to the hotel all sweaty, I decided to go for a swim. Just left of the pool are more rice terraces and to the right our bungalows. So pretty!

I made plans to meet a woman named Lynne for dinner in Ubud center. She sat next to me on the 18 hour flight to Singapore. She missed her connection to Bali due to our snow delay in NY. We started chatting the last hour of the flight. She's in her 50's and recently divorced. In a stereotypical "Eat, Pray, Love" fashion she spent 1 week at a yoga retreat and is spending 1 week in Ubud. We exchanged contact details and we agreed to meet. She's a nurse / case manager for Aetna and lives in Hartford.

We had dinner at Naughty Nuris in north Ubud that's famous for their ribs and as an expat hangout. The ribs were super tender and I had my first Bintang beer. We then bargained with a cabbie that drove us to the "best coffee house" called Tutmak. We ironically had teas and some mee goreng. Then it started to really downpour.

As Lynne's hotel was pretty far away and the cabbies were quoting an arm and a leg (by Balinese standards), I got my hotel shuttle to give her a ride. To my surprise, when I arrived I learned my hotel has an hourly shuttle to / from Ubud center but you have to confirm you need it. But tonight they offered to pick us up at the coffeeshop instead of their normal pickup points. This was so money considering the rain! Cyn for the win!

Now I'm in my bungalow about to fall asleep. I look forward to some more Ubud sights and food tomorrow!