Another beautiful morning and a little less humid than yesterday. The evenings at this time are cooler (relatively) and in the mornings can be a comfortable 22-24C before the sun kicks in.
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| Panoramic view across the rice paddies at Bankiang Sidem with the Karsa Kafe at far left |
Around lunchtime we headed north out of Ubud and then looped back to the ridge area of Bankiang Sidem, a popular area for cycling and walking although very hilly. This area is being opened up more for tourism, and when (if) the road is sealed, that development will only increase. The aim was to catch up with Jenny, a long-time Bali traveler who had helped Tamar & John on their first working trip to Bali.
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| Lunch with Jenny at Karsa Kafe |
We arrived at Karsa Kafe and after taking in the view ordered our lunches of nasi goreng, juice and ginger tea. Everyone's version of this traditional dish is a bit different, as is the ubiquitous sambal matar, which at Karsa Kafe was much hotter than we'd experienced so far. Fortunately, because of its position on the ridge, there was a pleasant breeze blowing through the cafe.
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| Women carrying gravel to the building site |
An Australian who has visited Bali over 20 years is in the process of building a spa and massage centre using classic Balinese architectural design elements combined with energy efficient and low environmental impact technologies. As is very common here, women are doing the heavy work of carting the building materials onto the site - on their heads.
Tamar and John are still dealing with their colds, so in the afternoons we usually have some downtime which also provides them with some time to take care of their business back in Australia.
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| The restaurant entrance |
After a longish debate we decide to go to the Ryoshi Japanese Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is stylishly decorated with beautiful polished timber features throughout, including the table-tops made form large slabs of timber.
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| The interior looking across the central garden |
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| The central garden |
The restaurant building itself is built in a "U"shape with the opening facing the entrance and open to the sky through the centre where there is a landscaped garden. Beautiful, but inconvenient as it started raining as we were leaving. The food itself was fairly typical Japanese fare with some interesting twists (sashime salad and eggplant cooked in miso) and not too expensive - by Balinese standards. It was accompanied by a local Cape Discovery rose wine which was not too bad after the addition of ice.
