May 23rd, 2009
Here we go..UBUD, a district about 2 1/2 hrs northeast from Kuta.
Known and recognized as the art and cultural centre of Bali.
We set out with 4 people and 2 bikes loaded with our bags.
Hitting the busy trunk road with dangerous traffic and with heavy bags compromising even our visions,
we were just thankful to arrive UBUD in 1 piece.
Crazy experience...:_l
Crazy experience...:_l
Anyway renting a bike from Kuta cost RP 35,000-40,000 for a semiauto,
(~Rm 10-12) after bargain.
That's right, always do some research before settling for the best offer.
This is Andi and Efvi, both from Medan, they are cousins and make up a very cute pair.
My pillion rider is Janne Niutanen, from Poland.
On our way to UBUD, probably somewhere in Celuk, we came across
a number of gold, silver, wood craft shop-cum-factory-cum-musuem along the road.
Couldnt possibly made a pit stop for our stuff were heavy.
Arrived UBUD around noon, found a hotel near town centre that was cooling, beautiful and neat.
And it cost around RP 120,000 - RP 150,000 for a room with 2 double beds.
(basically less than Rm50)
And they do serve simple breakfast.
The hotel taker and his family are friendly and helpful.
Which is quite a contrast with people in KUTA.
Its a well known fact that people in UBUD are friendlier and more easy-going.
Btw, UBUD is known for its "home stay", which cost ~RP 250,000 per pax (Rm 75).
1 would be introduced to the local culture by staying in village homes and given the opportunity
to perform their daily routine..cooking, crafting, even planting paddy.
Representing the "United Colours of Benetton".
Me, Janne, Efvi Sho and Andi.
Speaking of which the designer never inteded Asians to put on his designed clothes.
Venturing out into the town of UBUD, it was easy to locate the attractions for it was all nearby.
This, is the gate to Ubud royal palace, which is no longer occupied by the royal family,
and its open to public.
Just opposite it is the central market, another tourist atraction.
A place to bargain for souvenirs, sarongs, clothings, crafts, and lots of other local products.
Its Efvi's favourite shopping spot.
Frankly speaking the 2nd reason after shopping we came to UBUD was for this.
Babi Guling Ibu Oka.
Just so u know muslims in Indonesia do enjoy pork, something that is non-halal in Malaysia.
Situated just next to Ubud Palace, it is a crowd puller among locals and tourists.
Customers line up for place to sit,
and for fresh hot oven baked pork to be brought out to be feasted.
What you are about to see now are gruesome pics not for the faint-hearted (...and vegetarians).
As the pork is being ushered out, everybody starts snapping pictures
of the local celebrity (no, its not Ibu Oka).
Apparently such public display of reducing the pig to oblivion
does not deter viewers of their appetite.
Instead, stand close enough and the sweet aroma of roast pork will make it a mouth-watering experience.
A lot of heads rolling each day...
Dining place is designed in a village style setting.
So full that the seats are always warm, even in a cooler climate UBUD.
And there's a variety of pork preparations or parts to choose from.
The crispy skin, the juicy succulent lean meat, the tasty fat meat, the minced meat with spice,
topping it up with their trademark essential chili sauce.
Most ppl would go for the mix variety type.
Forgive me for the poor picture, but it actually taste and look much better than this.
And its exquisite spiciness rare to my Malaysian tongue simply blew my taste buds up the roof
...seriously it tasted that good.
Even Janne was totally engrossed with it...
Here we are, Andi, Yanne and me planning our trip ahead,
by bikes, of course.
Oh did u know, in bahasa Indonesia,
bike = bicycle
automobile = car
kereta = (..guess what) motocycle
So imagine on our 1st meeting when i actually offered Andi and Efvi a short ride to the restaurant on my bike,
imagine what awkward look on their face they were giving me :_l
:-p
After lunch we headed southwest towards Tanah Lot, a temple built by a rocky sea shore.
Guided by Andi's map and any directions we could get from the locals,we set out to reach just on time for its beautiful sunset.
Bali is an island with hilly and mountaneous geography located at its heart.
So as one travel up north away from the hot sand of KUTA, the climate turns cooooler.
There is change of fresh air, cooler breeze, and closeness to nature..
Stopped by green paddy terraces, a far cry from the ones in Tegallalang village,
which is featuring in my next blog.
No farmers in sight..i think their job of ploughing and sowing are done,
just awaiting harvesting season
when the mature paddy would turn its field from green to gold.
Enjoying the closeness to nature....
Until to my horror i returned to discover my helmet fell into a pile of mud.
Had to clean it with the little irrigation system we could find
and it wasnt a complete job..
So with mud on my face i was closer to nature now.
PURA TAMAN AYUN
(Pura = Temple)
It wasn't part of the plan to drop by Taman Ayun
but we decided to with some time to spare.
As the name suggest, it is a temple built in a garden.
Here's the location, southwest from UBUD.
The entrance...
Beyond that, greeting us is the beautiful well maintained garden.
I made my friends do this..haha..
A still calm river flowing by the garden...
A few painting exhibition....
This pic is taken by Janne, he's good with camera angles.
The temple is in the inner part of the garden,
giving the location a serene and peaceful environment.
And all this while i thought Pagodas can only be found in China or Japan.
Made from either coconut husk or hay, point is they're very susceptible to cigarrette buds.
A few of the teaching huts...
One of the gates to its worship place.
Strangely there wasn't that many idols around..
Frankly i hadn't the faintest idea or interest how the devotees pray either.
Soon we were on our way to the very popular landmark.
TANAH LOT TEMPLE
As i have mentioned earlier Tanah Lot is a temple built by a rocky seashore.
What's unique about the Pura Tanah Lot:
During high tide the temple will be surrounded by the sea,
therefore being cut off from the mainland, it forms an island.
The area outside has lots of souvenir shops,
and under shady trees makes it another ideal place for shopping.
As the path becomes widen the trees and shops give way to a breathtaking view of the ocean,
with sea gulls flying in its light blue sky.
A row of stairs lead us down to the rocky shore
... lo and behold there lies the temple.
Built on a slighly elevated ground the temple is shaded with canopy of trees.
Nearing sunset time was peak hour
So many visitors throng the area, can barely see the ground.
The temple is only assessible to the "temple guardians", ie
just people who go there to provide their offerings and worship.
There's also a place below the rock with a flowing stream of clear water (dunno where it came from)
where people seek blessings from the temple guardians.
The closest i got get to Pura Tanah Lot.
A picture of diplomats coming together to witness the awesomeness of God's creation.
This is Andi doing a cool yoga pose.
As u can see the ocean is slowly taking over the ground surrounding the temple
signifying high tide.
A prize catch? Wish Efvi was a mermaid
Beautiful Tanah Lot now an island under the setting sun.
The rocky shore where we stood to watch the beautiful sunset.
The ocean hitting against the rock made it appear like fountains of gushing water.
Crowd gradually dispersed as darkness and sea creeps into the land.
As we rode home the sky started pouring more than half our journey.
Freezing and hungry, nevertheless the fulfillment of our backpacking experience so far, and each other's company kept our hearts warm at the end of the day, pumping young blood to our bodies yearning for more adventure before the time of youth passes us by.
Tomorrow~~ Mount Kintamani & more!
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