Ubud is a city on the Island of Bali in the country of Indonesia
Bali is a small island at the bottom in the middle
After the 3hr bus ride to Cebu City, i shared a taxi with another couple to the Airport to catch my 11pm flight to Manila, then a 4am flight on to Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
The regional airlines do not allow you any checked baggage on their flights; unlike the TWO 50# bags i was allowed getting here. Although i only have 1 bag now, it is still closer to 50#. Another reminder why i need to scale back my 'necessities'. Although, you can purchase 20kg (+-44#), which i did. The nice check-in lady assigned me an Exit Row Seat on both my flights. But she told me i was over my 20kg and i owed an extra 800,000php. I told her i would see if i could pitch some things, which i anticipated and was ready to do. She said, ‘oh, i could give you a discount - 500,000php’. That was very kind of her; but when i tried to hand her the money, she ignored me and said no one should know. Then she motioned to her 'cohort' and said he would accompany me to the gate. I said i could get there by myself, she said they did that for ‘seniors’. ok, so let me get this straight…. i am capable of assisting passengers in an emergency from an Exit Row, but i can’t find my way to my own gate? …. now i see the wisdom. i had the 500,000php in my hand, and her cohort continuously glanced at it and at the appropriate time, he motioned for me to give him the $$$. Slick! What a racket !
Good WiFi in the Cebu airport and the flight to Manila went without incident. Now i have 5 hrs to kill a the Manila Airport. At midnight, the airport is quite lively. I walked around, the ‘transit lounge’ looked like a refugee camp: people with carts and bags all packed together sleeping on chairs and the floor. Not lookin' like something i wanted any part of. I walked and wandered until i found a few restaurants that were closed with some nice cushy long bench seats to sleep on. Perfect! But, the WiFi was great there too, and i ended up uploading photos for my blog instead of sleeping. I sacrificed my sleep for my blog followers :) I am way behind :(
I was the only one in my Exit Row and was able to ‘stretch out’ on the other seats and get about 3 hours of sleep during my flight. We arrived in Bali around 8am. Visit the ATM machine is first priority. Ah yes, another currency and another thing to remember. i have a BAG full of Indonesian Rupiah, and it’s not worth much. 100,000 Rupiah is about 8USD.
To all my ‘smart phone’ friends … i am truly LOVING my smart phone! I know i kicked and screamed ‘i don't need no stinkin smart phone’ for years, but…. i’m not too proud to say i was wrong :)
In Philippines i bought a sim card and was able to text and phone for reservations… it was a great revelation. So when i arrived at the Indonesia airport, i did the same. Although the bitch selling the cards was a bitch and rude and not helpful at all. i had no idea what i purchased, nor how to use it. But it turns out, i have WiFi on my phone….somehow ! It has really been helpful because it worked when the local WiFi would not.
An American girl tried to help me and told me to load the GRAB App, so i could get good/cheap taxi service, kind of like UBER. She showed me kind of how to use it. I tried it, and it worked, i got a taxi driver that accepted my request and for 143,000 Rupiah instead of 300,000 for an official Airport taxi.
However, what she didn't tell me was how to FIND my taxi driver. I spent an hour walking around the airport exterior, all the time being hassled by the Official Airport Taxi Drivers. Language was a problem, but i finally figured out that GRAB was not allowed inside the Airport. I needed to meet my GRAB driver, somewhere else….. but i never could find out where. So, after an hour, hot sweaty and frustrated, i finally agreed with a very persistent Official Driver to go with him for 250,000, plus i pay for parking and airport fees. He promise it would be less than 300,000.
It’s 1-3 hour drive to Ubud where i had a reservation for 3 nights. It will surprise you to know that, Ubud is no where near any water. What am i doing there? Getting cultured. Meeting Hindu people, very gentle, kind, and appreciative the Balinese people. The customs and traditions and beautiful architecture.
My taxi drive had the address of Sudiana House and a GPS; but he got frustrated and stopped in the middle of this tiny street and took my bags out of the taxi and asked for his money (plus a tip) and said it was around there somewhere. It was a tiny street and we had 6-7 people/vehicles backed up waiting for us to move, it was hot, they looked irritated. So i got out and went to the first coffee house and asked for help. They didn’t know where it was either, but let me leave my bags there and go find it; ... so much for the kind gentle people :(
We had passed it a block away. I found it and met my hosts. Kim stayed here and said it would like it. I did. Nice couple and good location.
I took a quick power nap and then took off for a walk. On the list of things to see, other than temples; is The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. I was hoping it wasn't a 'zoo'; but thought i should check it out.
As i got closer to the area, i noticed this
This review will give you a nice break from all the fish photos :)
And this main dude was sitting outside on the street welcoming visitors. i love the way he is resting his arm on his knee ... how human !
They have the Macaca or Macaque Monkeys. They have sweet potatoes all day long, and they eat throughout the day.
There about 700 monkeys here and are in six groups/families, each in a certain ‘area’ of the forest. The guide told me there are ‘skirmishes' occasionally. But today was entirely peaceful.
At the current time there were 100-125 infants.
They are juveniles until they are 4, then they are considered a sub-adult
Males can live up to 15 years, average 7-17 pounds
Females can live up to 20 years, average 5-7 pounds
These 3 were up to no good ... so fun to watch their 'monkey business'
This one is still with Momma
I took so many videos of the cute antics of the babies, but as i review them, they aren't aren't as entertaining as it was 'live'.... by the time i got my camera focused on the action, it was over.
They are omnivores: in addition to their sweet potatoes, they are supplemented with banana, papaya leaf, corn, cukes, coconuts and any local fruits. In the video you will see they seem to spit out the outer edges of the sweet potato and go for the inside. And there is a segment of a monkey working on a papaya leaf... and playing with his food, then eating it :)
You can take a look here, or on You Tube: https://youtu.be/PqR_WE7BNk8
Just hangin out
There was a 'museum' within the forest. I thought this was a very 'telling' painting ... sad :(
This is 'Norman'. He is 14 and blind. They have performed several surgeries on his eyes, but have not been able to restore his vision. He cannot find food, so they take loving care of him, safely within this large cage; which is within his 'family-group' area, so he can still be part of it. But he looked sad :(
They are careful to control the population of the monkeys and have a sterilization program in place to keep the numbers in balance. Females can mate at 4 years ..... Males at 6 years, and they mate throughout the year.
There is a 6month gestation period, usually 1 baby is born, the babies stay with the mom until 10 months, then they are on their own.
All the 'moms' help out with all the kids. The darker color (black) the babies are, the younger they are. These are just +-15 days old.
Many statues and temples
and some being used appropriately by the monkeys
It is a nice big cool forest setting. It was a good place to be because it was a hot day.
An unexpected fun afternoon !
Something that's impossible to miss while in Bali.
You will see 'baskets' made out of banana leaves or coconut fronds, filled with rice, flowers, mints, candy, cookies, even cigarettes. These are small offering 'baskets' that Balinese offer to their Gods three times a day. It is a ritual of giving back what has been given to you by the Gods. It is a sharing that is not based upon fear, but on gratitude to the richness of life. Offering appeases the spirits and brings prosperity and good health to the family. It is a duty and an honor at the same time, and in Balinese perspective a very natural and almost logical thing to maintain a good relationship between people and spirits.
On the way home i passed many of these 'offerings' ...
They are everywhere, you have to step over them on the sidewalks and at the entrance to some shops
And take a look at this; not only are the leaves carefully placed in a pattern, but they have cut out parts of the leaves to make a design ... This was all floating in a large bowl/basin filled with water, right on the sidewalk beside the street.
I was surprised at how many ‘upscale’ women’s shops there are here. And, of course, lots of souvenir type shops too. The next day i walked through the ‘market’… hot, busy, and annoying… everyone wanting to sell you something. i’m not good at this. You can’t even look without being swarmed. I have no room for anything else in my suitcase, so i just kept looking straight ahead, smiling, and shaking my head 'no'.
Breakfast was included with my room. I had wonderful LemonGrass Ginger tea. A great banana coconut pancake, made green by some leaves of a plant. Also Dragon Fruit (the red one, that has little black seeds in it like kiwi, and tasted like kiwi. Also papaya, watermelon, bananas, and ....more tropical fruit education below.
Rambutin, the name means 'hairy'. After easy peeling, you end up with a transparent white oval that tastes like a sweet plum, with the same kind of pit inside. Reminded me of the plums behind my Grandpa Pieracini's house :)
Snake Skin Fruit, because the skin looks like snake skin. Easily peeled, it looks kind of like garlic, but with a great fresh crunch, tasting like something between pineapple and apple.
I will be looking for these at Meijers when i get home :)
Another thing you can do here is visit a Rice Field that is pretty much right in town. But you have to find it. I just happened to see a tiny sign and a tiny path that just kept going, around buildings, between fences, along a tree cliff.
I followed it for about 10min and wondered if i was going to end up in someone’s home. Eventually it open up to the fields. The green in front are their 'starters' waiting to be transplanted.
i met up with a couple from Europe, as we were following the path
We noticed there are no oxen at work here ... the power of an engine
... it lead to a small cafe, where we sat and had a cold fresh juice concoction ... really good !
i kept walking and saw some beautiful very large colorful paintings of flowers. As i approached, Wes the artist, came out and we had a nice visit. He also teaches painting. i was so busy talking with him i forgot to take any photos. i mentioned to him that i was going to a performance of the 'local women dances' tonight. He told me that he was part of that group, he was one of the men who make the music, with no musical instruments, just their voices and hands.
it was very interesting ... see what you think ...
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