May 2014

Bali 2014 literary

In  2014 I travelled to Bali with Frances and this map shows roughly where we went over the 16 days. Go to the start of the 2014 trip.

In 2013 I travelled to Bali with Simone for a short trip and stayed in the Ubud area. Go to the start of the 2013 trip.

Day 1 - Denpasar, Ubud

Our plane dwarfed by
Singapore Airlines

Off to Bali again, this time with Frances, and again to meet up with John and Tamar, but this time to do some touring around Bali. We left Sydney at 4:20 on Virgin Australia on what appeared to be a very small plane - only 6 seats across. The flight was about 75% full so we had 3 seats for the 2 of us. Flight took about 6.5 hours and we had 1 meal which was just edible. Fortunately there was free wine in little 187ml bottles which helped.

Puri Saraswati at night showing
the swimming pool

Arrival at Denpasar was pretty uneventful as the new airport is much better and more efficiently organised than the old one. The new airport is quite different and modern, a lot less chaos & ad-hoc-ery going on. We were conned by a porter into trolleying our luggage which required a tip, although we passed customs quickly with his assistance. We ended up catching a taxi for 300,000 Rupiah ($30 AUS) which is a bit high but convenient.

We arrived late in Ubud, around 11pm local time at PuriSaraswati, and went for a short walk along the main road, Jalan Ria Ubud, but everything was closed so we just crashed.

Day 2 - Ubud

Entrance to the bungalows

Puri Saraswati bungalows (actually a number of 2-storey stone buildings set within a very dense and lush complex) is a well-known venue in the centre of Ubud. It was built in the early 1970s by part of the then royal family who I believe still own it. It adjoins the Pura Taman Saraswati (Temple) which includes a large lotus pond. The temple is devoted to Dewi Saraswati the goddess of learning, literature and the arts and features a fine padmasana (lotus throne) beyond the lotus pond.

Breakfast consisted of fruit salad, tea or Balinese coffee (definitely not to be drunk with milk), eggs (poached eggs Balinese style is pretty different), toast with butter & jam and banana pancakes with palm sugar & coconut (I'm not to keen on cooked bananas so I'm having plain pancakes now). The staff are great and very friendly.

We decided to walk along Monkey Forest Rd after breakfast look at the shops - mainly selling tourist stuff and clothing, and interspersed with hotels and eateries. By hotels, I mean groups of cottages behind narrow entrances guarded by the usual collection of statues and shrines. It was pretty warm, but we continued on to the Monkey Forest, ominously showing a First Aid station near the entrance. The monkeys are notoriously aggressive, or at least unafraid, and will steal food, etc. from unsuspecting tourists.

A 'friendly' monkey

The sanctuary is larger than I remember, and so we spent quite a while exploring the area, including a sacred spring down in the valley - it was not only hot, but incredibly humid so it was like walking in a sauna. Photography was also difficult as the sunlight filtering through the jungle vegetation created areas of incredibly high contrast.

A woman making an offering
at the temple within Monkey Forest

We'd almost finished and were heading out when Frances decided to take a swig from her plastic water bottle. Before anyone knew what was happening, a monkey ran to Frances, up to her shoulder and stole the water bottle, spraying water everywhere.Frances was quite shocked by the suddenness of it all but fortunately she only received a scratch on her hand. Consequently we had to make use of the first aid station we'd seen at the entrance, attended by a nurse in an extremely highly air-conditioned room. It was almost too cold after the outside atmosphere. After washing/rinsing her hand for five minutes, the nurse disinfected the wound and allowed us to leave - she said she deals with about three bites a day, but fortunately the monkeys do not have rabies!

Mixed Juice drink with decoration

At the Tropical View Cae

We decided to walk back to Puri Saraswati along Hanuman Road which is quite similar to Monkey Forest Rd. Along the way we stopped for refreshment at the Tropical View cafe which did indeed have an excellent view of rice paddy fields - the first Frances had seen here. The overall cost of food and drink is quite low, although higher than outside Ubud and other tourist centres, and almost always presented well, with Balinese touches like hand-made decorations.

Pool in Puri Saraswati

By the time we arrived back at Puri Saraswati over 3 hours later, we were desperate for a swim in their pool which was immensely welcome after the long, hot walk. 

After the refreshing plunge, we met up with Tamar & John at Cafe Luna for lunch - one of the most well-know cafes in Ubud and run by Janet DeNeefe. She met a Balinese man from Ubud in 1984, and moved there. They own the Casa Luna and Indus restaurants, and more recently, Bar Luna. She has published a book on Balinese cooking and runs a Cooking School where people are taught the secrets of Balinese cooking. She also conceived and co-founded the the annual Ubud Writers Festival, as a healing project in response to the first Bali bombing, which is now a major annual event in Ubud.

Lunch in Cafe Luna

The food at Cafe Luna, although sounding quite pedestrian on the menu was very good. Frances & Tamar both had the Nasi Campur, a selection of small dishes serves with a 'cone' of the local pink/white rice. I had a seafood 'paella' made with a tomato-based sauce and saffron rice - really delicious - while John had a Tempe-based dish which he enjoyed as well.

After lunch, it was still hot, time for another plunge in the pool. Frances said it was the first time she'd seen me swim twice in one day!

View of the Barong performance
with the temple in the background

We decided to have dinner at next-door Lotus Cafe as Frances wanted to try the Rijsttafel which is a dish created when Indonesia was a Dutch colony, and is a type of banquet with many small dishes of different foods. the Cafe/restaurant backs on to the Lotus Temple - a beautiful spot to eat or just chill.

Blurry close-up of the Legong dance

About three times a week there are performances (mainly for tourists) in the temple and there happened to be one that night - Legong (female dancers) and Barong (storytelling). Although some distance away across the lotus pond, we could still see and hear (very clearly) the gamelan orchestra. We were so impressed that we decided to go to a performance if we had a chance.

Day 3 - Ubud, Panestanan

The ducks of Panestanan

The lily pond at Lala & Lily Cafe

Breakfast as usual, then we decided to walk to Panestanan where T&J were staying. Although we wanted to resist buying souvenirs, we each bought some practical clothing along the way. 

A Lily at the Lala & Lili Cafe

 Our aim was to explore Panestanan but we ran into T&J at a the Lala & Lili Cafe  along one of the paths. After refreshments (cool, fresh, fruit drinks), we walked on to the Vespa cafe and then went back to their villa (in name only) - it was very small with poor facilities, which they plan to vacate very soon.

After some more exploring, we agreed to meet for lunch at the Yellow Flower Cafe - an old favourite of theirs. The lunch; Balinese Tapas (vegetable fritters, tofu fritters, tempe, strips of raw veges, accompanied by a mild tomato dipping sauce and what they called kimchi (which was like pickled ginger rather than cabbage), a Cabbage Salad (red & white cabbage dressed with tahini) & poached eggs on toast with a tomato sauce). It was OK but not stunning as the breakfast I'd eaten there nearly a year ago.
Memorable though, was the almost Italian-style tasty ragout with the eggs (tomatoes, zucchini, onion & garlic) and the slightly disorganised preparation and service.

The dishes were served in a haphazard way, and they forgot to serve the main dish which sat in the kitchen for some time before we inquired when it would arrive! It was also the first opportunity to taste Luwak Coffee. This coffee is made from the seeds of coffee berries once they have been eaten and egested by the Asian palm civet. It used to be incredibly expensive but the cost has come down as more producers have entered the market, although there are some concerns for the conditions for the civets. The taste was interesting, much milder than normal Balinese coffee and much less bitter than in usual coffee.

In the afternoon it was back to Puri Saraswati for another swim and a rest before dinner.
Meanwhile T&J managed to find some other accommodation and were moving that afternoon. We had decided to go to a traditional Barong and Legong concert and to skip a joint dinner. As an alternative to a big dinner  because we were not too hungry, I bought a single Nasi Goreng meal from the Paon Restaurant a few doors down the street - for around $5.

We sat down to eat with a Gin &Tonic each, and when I opened the package, the meal turned out to be huge. Not only was the fried rice excellent, but the package included little plastic bags of accompaniments including a kropeks (a cross between a prawn cracker & a papadam), a type of green bean salad, a spicy anchovy flavoured sauce and a quite hot sambal olek (chilli sauce).

Day 4 - Ubud

Detail on a carved doorway

Entrance to Neka Art Museum

After breakfast, and a look at the Ubud market, a Puri Saraswati driver took us to the Neka Museum, about 2.5 km west of Ubud. The Neka Art Museum was opened in 1982 and is named after a Balinese teacher Suteja Neka who collected paintings as a means of artistic documentation.

Nowadays the museum has a great selection of works from many famous Balinese artists and Expats who have lived here and influenced local artists.It is the largest art museum in Ubud and is well worth a visit. It has a great collection housed in a number of buildings dating from the beginning of the 20th Century and includes historic photographs (by Rober A. Koke taken between 1937-41) and modern work as well

View from the terrace of the Indus

We stopped briefly at the Indus restaurant to take in the impressive building and the view over the valley. Perched on the side of a valley just east of Ubud, it is also run by Janet DeNeefe and is more up-market than Cafe Luna, and has an excellent menu and stunning views.

Mural on farmhouse commenting on
the sale of the adjacent arm.

For lunch, T&J offered to take us to one of their favourite  warungs (it usually means shop/eatery) in Shriwidari located in paddy fields surrounding Ubud. 

This is also the area where last year there was a massive "Not For Sale" sign on one of the farms. Well, the farm has since been sold, and now on the adjoining farm there's a mural painted on the farmhouse wall with the caption "Sold Out"!

Lunchtime in Warung Jepun

After a short drive, including over the new bridge (unfinished on my last trip) we arrived at Warung Jepun on Jalan Shriwidari.

Gado-Gado, stunning presentation
and flavour for a countryside warung

A standout dish at Warung Jepun was the Gado-Gado, a common dish and often done quite differently in different restaurants. This was no exception. The vegetables were wrapped in lettuce, steamed and then sliced and presented beautifully. The subtle peanut sauce topped it off. 

Although we ordered 4 different meals; Chilli Prawns, Vegetable Curry, Fish in Butter and Chicken in Banana Leaf. There was a certain sameness to the flavouring, mainly turmeric & chilli, nevertheless they were delicious and there were no complaints.

The fresh tumeric drink

Frances took the bold step of ordering a turmeric drink - it was incredibly yellow and had a slightly carroty flavour and texture, but out there on its own. The straw stained yellow as the drink was sipped and it was definitely the kind of drink, and in fact a whole meal, that you would not want to consume wearing anything white!

I must admit the food photography has suffered a little on this trip, partly because, by the time we eat, we seem to be really hungry and eating takes precedence over photographs. Another way of looking at it is that photographing a partially eaten dish shows the meal stripped of any contrived presentation techniques and reveals the dish in its natural state. Jury's still out on that one.

After lunch we adjourned to T&J's new villa for a swim (it's still hot) and a laid-back afternoon.

Inside Murni's Warung

Cascading levels into the gorge

For dinner we decided to go to Murni's Warung which is just this side of the bridge to the east of Ubud. 

Although I'd seen it many times I always thought it was a backpacker hangout. It is in fact an up-market restaurant over four levels cascading down the gorge towards the river - very smartly decorated with lots of statues. It dates from 1974 and claims to be Ubud's first real restaurant. The staff were great.

Slow cooked chicken dish

John & I had fairly typical Balinese food, with a very nice small vegetables in broth dish, but Tamar & Frances had a Slow Cooked (8 hours) Chicken dish which although quite spicy had excellent flavours.

Later, as a special treat, we watched Road to Bali with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour which I'd brough with me for just such an occasion. In the movie, they never actually get to Bali, but had numerous mishaps on the way, including a start from Melbourne and hopping onto a train full of sheep to Darwin. 

Many wisecracks, Hollywood studio in-jokes, terrible songs, interestingly choreographed dances and implausible plot twists later, we'd had a pretty good insight into Hollywood's view of the world in the early 50's -but learned nothing about Bali!

Day 5 - Ubud, Kintomani

The iced water slow drip
coffee maker

Today we planned a trip to Gunung Batur (Mount Batur) with T&J but, before leaving Ubud, we stopped for coffee at Seniman Cafe. I'd been here before last year and was impressed by the innovative recycled glassware. It's a real coffee-lovers hangout and they have a number of different styles of coffee.

The cafe also serves a special iced coffee that takes 12 hours to make. Iced water is slowly dripped through the container of coffee - to produce only enough for four cups! An acquired taste I guess, like Luwak Coffee. Before leaving we also visited one of the few op-shops and managed to leave a little money there as well.

View of Gunung Batur from Kintamani

Street-sellers in Kintamani

Eventually, we headed out for Gunung Batur and Kintamani, which is on the western edge of the larger volcanic crater wall. It's about a 2 hour trip north-ish of Ubud with volcanic peaks surrounding the crater lake. There are a number of towns within the mountain/lake area which is a popular tourist spot, for international tourists and for Indonesians because of its religious significance. We stopped briefly at the villages of Penelocan, Batur and Kintomani on the rim of the crater and for the first time we were hassled by street-sellers hawking their trinkets and souvenirs - we didn't stay long. The temperature was also noticeably cooler than in Ubud, which is at a slightly lower altitude.

View of Gunung Batur from the lakeside

Resto Apung at Kedisan Resort

We drove down into the crater to the lake which was quite peaceful, and much hotter than up on the rim. We were again accosted by street-sellers and also by boat-owners offering to take us onto the lake at exorbitant prices. After a very short stay, we decided to look for somewhere to eat, and followed Frances' suggestion of trying a place recommended in the Rough Guide, Resto Apung at Kedisan Resort. Both the book and locals' directions were very confusing, but we eventually arrived at the quiet and secluded resort on the banks of the lake which was a welcome relief after the street-sellers in the town.

The floating dining rooms -
we sat in the one on the left

It was an amazing place, with a large restaurant on the shore, and small dining pavilions on pontoons floating on the lake attached by timber walkways. It looked deserted and we had the pick of the tables - only to be surprised by the arrival of a busload of 60 Indonesian tourists for a buffet lunch.

Fried Tilapia Fish

The restaurant's specialty is fish from the lake, fried or grilled whole and of course we had to try. We ordered a selection of dishes, Fried Tilapia Fish, Cha Bayam (leafy greens with chilli), Nasi Goreng. The fish flavour was a bit strong for me, and John is a vegetarian, so Tamar and Frances really enjoyed the Fried Tilapia Fish.

Cah Bayam - leafy greens

Trio of condiments in order of
ascending hotness

The dishes were accompanied by 3 delicious Sambals (chilli based condiments), the first was tomato-based with superb subtle flavours, the second was based on ginger & garlic and green chilli and pretty hot, and the third was a Sambal Mattar, a traditional Balinese sambal based on shallots, lime and green chilli which was dynamite, even in small quantities. In an effort to improve the flavour of the Bintang beer that's almost obligatory in Indonesia, we mixed it with fresh lime juice which gave it enough of a boost to enhance the flavours in the meal.

We all agreed that it was close to the best meal we'd had in Bali, and almost the cheapest - one of the few restaurants catering for Indonesians and not just foreigners.

Tegallalang - everything from cheesy
ice cream parlours to traditional
rice paddies

A young girl holds up her
bottle with small fish she caught
in the aqueduct.

On the return journey we stopped at Tegallalang for some refreshments. The place is a real tourist trap with a picturesque collection of terraced rice paddies across the small valley, and a collection of shops selling the usual souvenirs but with crochet work added as a local specialty. 

The most interesting thing I saw was children, in one of the narrow aqueducts below the road, catching fish by hand and dropping them into a bottle of water. They were having great fun, although I don't know if there were going to become pets or be grown in tanks for eating.

The Bumbu Bali restaurant

That night we were all tired, although we don't seem to be doing very much, the heat and humidity seem to exhaust us each day. Frances and I decided to get a small bite at a local restaurant. We settled on the Bambu Bali near the Ubud Palace which serves Indian and vegetarian food. We has a very nice (although a bit sweet) pork dish with capsicum cooked in 2 types of soy sauce and a Gado-Gado. Again, the Gado-Gado was quite different to anything we'd had before and was very good. These were accompanied by a potato paratha and the obligatory bottle of Bintang.

Day 6 - Ubud, Candidasa, Padang Bai

Dappled sunlight on the balcony of
our room at Puri Saraswati

We had a quiet morning packing and trying to dry clothes we'd washed the night before as we were leaving Puri Saraswati and Ubud the next day. The humidity is so high at the moment that nothing ever feels completely dry. We plan to head east to the Gili (small) Islands near Lombok for a few days.

One of the many direction signs on the
long path to Warung Babi Guling

For lunch, although not too hungry, we decided to try the Babi Guling - a roast suckling pig dish that is supposed to be a speciality of Ubud.

Warung Babi Guling

The card we had for Warung Babi Guling said it was 50 metres down the road, which seemed fair enough walking in the hot sun. But 50 metres later, there was another sign pointing to a side street, and 50 metres further on the street turned into a laneway, and about 50 metres further on, behind a family compound, we finally found ourselves in a huge eating hall, perched on the edge of a small valley.

The unique hand basins in
Warung Babi Guling

The Babi Guking dish itself - various
pieces of pork, crackling, vegetables
and rice

The place was incredibly busy with locals and tourists eating. The menu was very short, featuring pork in most dishes, so we went for the standard dish plus some veges and rice.

The pork was flavoursome although a bit stringy and the chopped vegetable dish highly fibrous - we were still picking pieces of the meal out of out teeth some hours later. The green chilli sambal provided with the meal was one of the hottest we had to date.
 

A Latte at Padang Bai

Beach at Padang Bai

John & Tamar picked us up after lunch for the drive east to Padang Bai and Candidasa. After about an hour's driving, we arrived at Padang Bai and played the "get the best price" game for tickets to the Gilis. The process and the heat was exhausting so eventually, after finally buying our tickets, we headed to a cafe for refreshment and actually had a very nice cafe latte which arrived with the coffee and milk in neatly stratified layers. Then it was off to Candidsa where we planned to stay for a couple of days before catching a ferry to the Gilis.

Signing in at Buana Bali in Candidasa

We arrived at Buana Bali, our Air B&B accommodation in Candidasa which was almost on the beach, and shortly thereafter  we were into the water to cool off.

View west from the shoreline at
Buana Bali in Candidsa

That night we settled on having dinner at Pondok Bamba, a seashore restaurant that was not too expensive. I was feeling like something other than Indonesian food and ordered a beef burger with chips, Frances a Gado-Gado, John & Tamar both had curries. 

The food was pretty good, and the burger surprisingly good, with a nice sambal on the side. We all agreed that the chips were the best anyone had had in Bali (hot and crisp outside) and compared only to those we had at Jimbaran beach a year ago, and nothing like the lukewarm soggy ones John had in Resto Apung at Kedisan Resort. We formed the hypothesis that; the closer to the ocean the better the chips - to be tested further for verification of this theory.