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People bathing and washing
in the river below |
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| Trees are very organic |
We had an earlier start today and headed off to Cafe Vespa in
Penestanan which is about a comfortable 20 minute walk to the east. Comfortable, but slow.
The path winds up and down the steep hills but is wide enough to ride scooters which adds a little excitement as we walk.Custome scooters are popular here, especially with loud mufflers.
We saw on parked along the path that was based on a 1970s Honda that has a custom petrol tank and racing style seat, hand-welded in aluminum, with rear-set foot-pegs and clip-on handlebars.
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| Home-made 'Boy Racer' based on a 1970s Honda |
It was like being in a time warp seeing motorbikes like this. Deus in Australia apparently has a workshop here in Bali where they modify motorbikes to achieve this type of retro look.
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Giant spider with (we assume)
a much smaller male |
The vegetation is incredibly lush, with plants growing on every exposed patch or earth. Of course they then attract greater numbers of insects and the frogs and birds that feed on them - and the insects are so much bigger here. We saw a spider with a body almost 5 cm long in a web with an almost miniscule male spider (we assume) next to it.
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| The Bali Children's Project |
Next to the cafe there was a Bali Children's Project building which was an example of non-profit organisations providing assistance to Bali.
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| The Vespa Cafe |
The Vespa cafe has a ....Vespa motif, and is decorated with paraphernalia dedicated to the iconic Italian motor-scooter. The food though is pretty normal Balinese cafe fare, although the bake their own bread and pastries. We had variations on the 'big breakfast' which came on wooden plates topped by a banana leaf.
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| Cafe Vespa big breakfast |
It was pretty good, but the blueberry crumble was excellent, with 2 kinds of pastry.
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| You can't be too connected |
We've found that almost every restaurant and cafe has free WiFi which has
been really convenient. It means that we've been able to check and send emails
wherever we are. Of course for John and Tamar, who are managing their business
while on the road, this is extremely useful
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| Aggressive plant-dwelling ants |
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| Pundi-Pundi Grill & Asian Cuisine |
We had to go into Ubud to get some network cables for the
house, so took the opportunity to go
to Pundi- Pundi
grill and Asian restaurant for lunch. Although near the centre of Ubud, it
backs onto paddy fields which provides a relaxing ambience for dining. While
steadying myself against a post to photograph the scene, I accidentally elbowed
a nest of what seemed like fire ants (large and red) they swarmed out of their
leafy nest and attacked my arm - it stung like hell even though I only received a
few bites. Fortunately the pain subsided fairly quickly so I was able to enjoy
the meal.
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| Harley-Davidson Servi-Car |
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| At Pundi-Pundi |
A feature of Pundi- Pundi was a circa
1950s
Harley-Davidson Servi-Car, manufactured from 1932 to 1973 and favoured by US police departments. In the 70s they were a popular platform to graft VW Beetle motors and rear wheels onto, to turn them into high-powered 3-whelers.
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| Vegetable Tempura |
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| Nasi Campur |
The food was OK, Simone having her first Nasi Campur - a traditional
dish consisting of selection of savoury
dishes with steamed rice.
I had a Vegetable Tempura, the most interesting aspect being large battered leaves
which had a slight spinach flavour.
That night, we decided to eat at home and have a simple meal using the ingredients to hand. The result: A lettuce, tomato, capsicum and olive salad dressed with lime juice, French salami, potato and pumpkin mash, a green bean, tomato, onion and garlic ragout and grilled baby eggplant topped with vintage cheese, accompanied by the local Cape Discovery rose.
