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| Shopping centre in Penestanan |
Here I am in Bali again after 13 years. Ubud has changed so much in that time - no longer the sleepy town with a single ATM, but a busy place with shopping centres, large supermarkets, 24 hr convenience stores and cars clogging the roads.
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| Our house in Penestanan |
The change from Sydney (raining and 16 degrees) to Bali (humid and 26 degrees) took a little getting used to.
Ubud has definitely become a bigger tourist destination evidenced by
the huge number of westerners on the streets and the stores, cafes,
restaurants and other facilities that provide for them.
Tamar and John picked me up from Denpasar airport last night around 10:45 and, after the one and a half hour drive to Ubud, we stopped at a XL Shisha cafe/restaurant for a beer and a snack.
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| Inside the supermarket |
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| The XL Shisha where we had our late night snack |
Apparently there are more good eateries now, but the XL Shisha still had all of the signs of traditional Balinese service.
The food arrives in a hap-hazard order as each dish/plate is made. It's always a lucky-dip as to whether you'll actually get what you ordered (especially if you make any variations in the order) and the beers may or may not be cold, but everything is always delivered with friendliness and a smile.
I had a quite nice Mie Goreng Special - fried noodles, with vegetables and chicken, served with two chicken sate sticks. But when I asked for sambal they provided a Thai sweet chili sauce!
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| View over the paddy fields |
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| The very inviting swimming pool |
I'm staying with Tamar and John in a cottage complex in Penestanan just
east of Ubud, amongst the ever-diminishing rice paddy fields surrounding
the area.
Where we are staying is a complex of cottages interspersed with lush vegetation, so although the houses are quite close, there is a lot of privacy. There's a nice common area with views over the paddy fields and a swimming pool which I plan to make use of - often.
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| Cafe Studio Seniman |
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| Seniman custom furniture - plastic and wood rocker |
For breakfast we went to Cafe Studio Seniman which is distinctive for its range of recycled and modified furniture and utensils.
The water bottles and glasses are made out of recycled and cut-down glass bottles. The chairs are based on plastic molded ones, but set into timber rocking frames. Just the thing for the weary traveler doing a bit of blogging, facebooking or whatever.
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| The coffee 'paddle' at breakfast, with John |
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| Poached eggs, mushroom and toast |
The coffees arrive on a wooden 'paddle' with cut-outs for the coffee, small sweet and glass of water. The food arrives on shaped wooden platters, with banana leaf 'plates' and the food in recycled glass ramekins.
After the late night and long drive, we're all a bit tired so after a short trip into Ubud for supplies and money exchange we head back to the house for a day of relaxation and gas-bagging.
PS: having a bit of trouble with the photo layout - they've changed the interface.
