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SOUL-SEARCHING IN BALI
Our original idea for Bali was to avoid the crowded beaches, stay only one night in a hotel in the South and then head straight to the hill-country of Ubud. However after undergoing a two day bus-marathon the plan changed! We slept the night in a little hotel in Sanur on the quieter east coast of South Bali just down the road from a nice beach, some craft markets and lots of eateries - easy decision; we stayed on for a couple of days and enjoyed doing nothing at all! We walked along the seaside, paddled in the ocean, built sand-castles/sand-turtles, watched yet another All Blacks game, swam in the pool, took a few 'nana-naps', ate Balinese cuisine and for once actually quite enjoyed a brief 'beach holiday'! And just when we were starting to feel completely relaxed, Bali shook us with a reasonable-sized earthquake (big enough to make me leap under a doorframe and for the hotel staff to race out into the street!) probably just to remind us that we are still in the 'ring of fire' and not to get TOO comfortable!
After beaching, we headed to the charming (albeit very touristy) little town of Ubud. Walking down the main road it was tempting to stop outside every shop we passed; the artwork here is absolutely fantastic - vibrant paintings, intricate carvings, striking sculptures and chic pottery - definitely the downside of travelling with already bursting backpacks! We did however make one purchase; a very cheap little ukulele (both Joel and I have always wanted to learn to play this despite the fact that we're absolutely useless on the guitar so fingers crossed one of us might be successful now that we own one). We continued exploring the town checking out Ubud Palace and Monkey Forest, literally a forest-park full of brazen, wild monkeys and a couple of pretty temples. The just-purchased ukulele came in particularly handy for warning off the overfriendly, slightly intimidating (potentially rabid) primates!
Joel feels it is important that the hotel pool "makes the blog"! Surrounded by Balinese sculptures, an eye-catching rock-wall waterfall and tropical gardens it was, admittedly, very beautiful and we certainly made the most of the facilities (especially knowing how cold it's going to be once we're back in New Zealand in a couple of weeks' time).
The following day we took a trip out into the countryside and up into the surrounding highlands. We started off exploring Goa Gajah Elephant Cave Temple and the Pejeng Moon Temple, both still actively used today. We then went to Ganung Kawi Temple; beautiful stone structures impressively carved into a cliff-face overlooking picturesque rice terraces, lush forest and a crystal-clear stream flowing below. Here in the rice-fields we met a kind, old woman who took us on a winding walk through the paddies to a hidden waterfall where Joel braved the cool (almost certainly snake-infested) water for a photo under the falls! We then continued on our journey up to Mount Agung for lunch and views of the nearby volcano, Mount Batur. Our final stop on our tour of rural Bali was the Pujung Rice Terraces where my camera-clicking-finger went a little crazy with shots of the spectacularly green, tiered hillside.
Back in Ubud township, Joel made one final impulse-buy; a little statue of Happy Buddha. For those who have been following our journey, you'll notice in our photos that we've both put on a lot of unwelcomed weight over these last few months. Joel in particular has acquired a slightly "rounder" belly (presumably from sampling every beer in every country we've visited) and much to my amusement has been given the nickname 'Happy Buddha' by a number of locals in a handful of countries. I guess indulging on all the delicious cuisines of the world has been a fair trade-off for our figures though!
After a pleasant first week in Bali we were beginning to think that the place really doesn't deserve the bad rep that it has amongst fellow-travellers … and then we stumbled into Kuta! This place is heaving with tourists and heavily targets Australians and Kiwis with sports-bars, burger-joints and rugby-league paraphernalia everywhere you look! As Joel pointed out, contrary to Ubud, the place feels a bit soulless and retrospectively we were very pleased to have made the decision to stay in Sanur rather than popular Kuta before leaving for Ubud.
High: Tiki-touring around the beautiful countryside in Ubud (oh and Joel says the hotel pool!)
Low: It's a bit of a sad reflection on Aussie tourists when you walk past any shop in Kuta and locals (who all assume you're Australian) try to entice you in with their crass "learned" lingo: "G'day mate, everything in here's bloody f*cking cheap!"
- comments
Margo Thankyou Tanya and Joel. It's been wonderful reading about your journey. You Guys have had the most amazing time
Mumsy I have fond memories of Ubud. If I remember correctly it was the nicest budget accommodation we had experienced in the short time we had been traveling.
Leanne I will remember this & avoid Kuta! The 'happy Buddha' comment made me laugh out loud! Tony & I were only yesterday discussing how we would keep the weight off over the 7 months we'll be away! X