These are impressions from a first time visit to Bali.
My friend and I arrived in Bali after some hard yacca in Singapore. We had a mere week. The idea was to relax .We work in the arts.So Ubud it was...
Immigration officers looked grim...I felt a certain irrational anxiety...what was I worried about?..I didn't have a boogie board.....Through we went, no scams, no porters..my name was spelt seriously wrong on the hotel sign but somehow recognizable all the same. As we headed for the foothills the scene out of the window was not particularly attractive. It looked like any other developing country I'd been to-a certain bleakness, rubbish on the verges, people sitting bored in shops. I was not to know that the Bali which has bedazzled travelers for so long was only a left turn or two off the main road.
Alam Shanti in the village of Nyuh Kuning can hardly be referred to as a hotel. Shangri-la..paradise..heaven... all the other myriad clichés we found ourselves sprouting as the week went on, comes closer. From the moment we arrived my senses were aroused , stimulated and soothed simultaneously. The scene before us was of a peaceful, aesthetically perfect garden filled with orchids, hibiscus and frangipani and ringed by paths of mosaic pebbles.Our 'room'(we called it the palace) was enclosed by lotus ponds on two sides, a vegetable garden on the third and a wonderful outdoor bathroom on the fourth with more ponds and stone carvings of monkeys,owls and fish. From our verandah we could see the beautiful organic garden full of corn and other goodies that a man who we assumed was the breakfast cook would visit regularly with a scythe. And from there we watched the lizards and the gheckos, the butterflys, birds and bugs,caught glimpses of the sacred Mount Agung and saw the rain dancing like diamonds on the lily pads.
And then there were the sounds. The constant but soothing rhythms of the crickets, the chorus of frogs -which could have been irritating and persistent but seemingly like all else in Bali somehow managed to be gentle and friendly instead.....except that one night when I threatened to throttle the bullfrog reciting gibberish by my head and he obligingly-how Balinese-took himself off to another lotus pond.In the mornings we heard a drum beat in the faint distance and often the gamelan coming from the temple in the Sacred Monkey Forest at the end of our road.
(The said monkeys didn't attack us, which is not to say they wouldn't. But we took no food and just observed as lightly as we could and had no problems.)
One morning we walked to the forest at dawn only to find it humming with the activity of preparing for Nyepi- the men cooking sate for breakfast, all manner of things being made inside the temple.Our prescence was greeted with respect but no ceremony-'please come and pray with us tonight '-the night before Nyepi -a man said. Unfortunately for us we would be on that big bird back to Oz.
In Bali I felt the gentlest breezes caress my cheek. I smelt the most sublime scents drift in on that breeze. I watched the landscape change with the weather and the rhythms of the day, from the dreamy foggy soup of the dawn to the gentle, dappled sunny morning, the fierce heat-fuelled noon-when all gods creatures should be having a siesta or in the pool - and the stormy, drizzling,sometimes gloriously torrential rainy afternoons rolling in that timeless way into langorous evenings whose darkness caressed and did not frighten.
And presiding over all other memories of my (very) brief time in this realm of the senses my lasting image of the gracious,dignified, centred, welcoming Balinese people-who like all colonized people and inhabitants of nations besieged by tourists have more reason than any to be filled with resentment and cynicism and instead seem to display only tolerance,good humour and curiosity towards we marauding crowds. Smiles can hide mountains-but smiling with the eyes tells no lie.
So ends my attempt to describe in language what only the senses can fully know. I am in love with Bali like so many before me.Please excuse my generalizations(nothing else possible in a week)also my florid excesses and romantic indulgences. I blame Bali.
And to be practical for a moment heres a quick update on our impressions of some restaurants, spas and tours in the Ubud area:
The Dirty Duck- (Jl Hanoman)We came here on our first night. The food was good but the environment was glorious.We sat on cushions in a pavilion watching the hundreds of little garden lanterns making sculptures out of the shrubs. An evening treat.If youre in Ubud and in love a must...
Batan Waru(JL Dewi Sita)-deserves its reputation for food. The most expensive restaurant we ate at(but when I say that it was still only $15 aud per person for dinner , dessert and drinks)but definitely the best food we had.
Nomad(JL Raya)-went western here , had a club sandwich and chips!! Delicious and the most gorgeous and potent cocktail made with Arak(local liqueur). Was quite a happening scene relatively late(10pm) at a quiet time of the year.
Tutmak-(JL Dewi Sita)as the guide books state the best coffee with real milk-Lavazza in fact, and they draw frangipani flowers with the milk froth!!
Rhumah Rhoda Homestay(JL Suweta or Kajeng)- one of the simplest, most wholesome and delicious meals we had , and the cheapest.Also looked at their rooms out of curiosity.80,000-90,000 Rp -very basic, not much more room other than bed but very clean and the family seemed lovely. Great location.
Café Lotus-(JL Raya)seemed the most touristy joint . Heavily frequented(lure of Mick and Jerry?)The food was pretty ordinary and the waiters seemed a little jaded-until the crowd died down and they could breathe and chat and laugh.We had the Arak cocktail here too but it wasn't presented so well and didn't have the same kick-ahhh
Cahaya Dewata-we were the only ones here! Went to see the view and other than that (gorgeous spectacle of the river) this place was very bleak, tired and desolate. The food was the worst we had-plastered with sweet soy.
Spas:
Zen(JL Hanoman)- by far our favourite. Had one massage with a very inexperienced and light-touched masseuse which was pleasant enough but not that effective on my western muscular tension! Explained this and got great woman next time. Ask for Siti(SP?).Cost approx $11aud
Bodyworks(Hanoman) The original Ubud spa? I loved the environment. They have a reputation for being very strong and it was indeed the hardest massage I've ever had. I had a Mandi Lulur here-massage, scrub with turmeric,sandalwood and rice, dolloped with yoghurt then bathed in bath strewn with flowers.Divine.Cost approx $19aud
Nur Salon(Hanoman)-sadly my one lousy experience in Ubud. The general vibe was much more clinical and about financial transactions than the other places. We had booked at the last moment so perhaps that was a factor.The actual facial was pleasant enough but my masseur seemed a bit surly from the start(probably exhausted and I understand this). When finished she led me down the stairs which were not lit anymore . The whole place looked like it had been closed up-the door shut and the outside light off. As I came through the door I picked up my sandals and turned left-straight into an unfinished water feature!!I was in shock and my wrist was blowing up like something serious had happened.People came running including Nur. The poor young masseur was mortified apologizing for not putting the light on. She was promptly ushered outside and given a talking to. After that she didn't speak again. By now my wrist was really not looking good and my friend began administering first aid, asking for ice etc. Nur was standing by telling me that I was obviously jet-lagged and that's why I fell!and how I shouldn't call a doctor because they are so expensive and they always tell you there is something wrong with you when theres not!!Its funny in retrospect. Then she did me a big favour tho her motives, I believe, were less than altruistic. She called an old healer guy , Ketut,to check out my wrist. Ten minutes later I was in the hands of a master. Contrary to the Western medical paradigm of ice ,rest, compression, elevation he massaged my wrist and applied pressure to various points and I watched the inflammation disappear before my eyes(he also applied a poltice of leaves from the garden). I was quite blown away.He insisted 'no more ice'. I know from experience it was a nasty sprain -I could have been bandaged up for the rest of my hols and beyond-instead two days later I was on a bike!
Baik Bike-run by the ever-enterprising Wayan.Thanks to all the recommendations from this forum we found ourselves with the gorgeous Nyoman and Nyoman in the exquisite hills of Bali, visiting a lovely coffee plantation-with delicious Ginseng coffee and great home-grown tobacco(Idont smoke really!)and having breaky overlooking Mount Batur. At this point the weather came rolling in-all drama and mystery, and by the time we reached our bikes -sitting in a neat, hopeful little row -the rain was torrential. Nyoman 1 turned and looked at us as much to say'here we are' and we nearly wet ourselves. Wayan was busy ringing every few minutes ,there was more condensation inside the van than out from how funny we found it, and dear Nyoman was earnestly telling us he could give us raincoats before falling about himselfBack to the plantation we went to await the rain ceasing. Anyone reading this who knows the velocity with which it can rain there can picture how impossible it would be to see two feet in front of you on a bike-but the funniest thing is my friend and I were contemplating doing it til the very wonderful and authoritative Dutch woman, Monique, that we were sharing the tour with took charge and organized for us to be returned to Wayans for lunch and to try again for the cycling two days hence.Lunch at Wayans compound, cooked magnificently by Wayans wife Made Rani was legendary- ten dishes and lashings of it-which we needed from all that exertion on bikes!!
Two days later we were back on the tour, this time joined by the delightful Adrian (of BTF-hi Adrian if you're reading)and our newly arrived friend Annie.We thought we were just doing the bike bit but no, back to the plantation we went!more ginseng coffee, more tobacco that I don't really smoke-we practically gave the talk on the way in of what plant was what- this time we managed a good hour or so on the bikes-truly wonderful-we visited a school, cycled through wonderful villages, thrashed some rice and then the heavens opened.....back to Wayan and Made Ranis for lunch again.
I can only recommend this great tour-its not Butlins,thank god, but its full of spirit and fun.Cost 350,000 RP
Still don't know how it is a week could feel like a year. I've traveled a fair bit but I can honestly say I've never returned wanting the people I love and care for to experience a place so much. Thanks to all contributors who provide such great info anf advice here.