A Sunday trip to Ubud and Penestanan Bali

After a great day out and about I am having an awful time battling Balinese internet cafes.

Ubud is a favourite destination for many visitors to Bali and this being Sunday I wanted to explore some more. Filling up my bike at the gas station on Jalan Raya Kerobokan I rode past Global Xtreme internet café and took the detour around the northern edge of Denpasar.

The ride took me an hour and I arrived downtown Ubud at Jalan Raya Ubud around midday. I remember a very cool veggie place I went to before and quickly found it again. Its called Bali Buddha and is located on Jalan Jembawan in front of the Post Office.

To be honest I don’t think I’m cool enough to be in a place like this, I haven’t learnt how to lounge in my baggies properly yet. Maybe its because I have a job. Still it’s a chill spot with friendly staff and good food. I ordered a pot of mint tea for 6,000rp and a Italian avocado and tomato sandwich for 18,000rp. Both were good and I feel the positive karma I got from supporting a place like this will ensure plenty of wins for Arsenal in the coming months. The place also has a health food shop on the ground floor.

Ubud’s main streets are on a kind of grid and many tourists just wander these. There are a ton of galleries, instrument shops and great places to eat.

Of course there is another side to the town and having a bike enabled me to scoot around and look at things. I really like the quiet little lanes in Ubud and the fact that there is a real core of artists here.

I rode through to west Ubud to the small village of Penestenan, famous for its bead work. To get here you have to drive west along Jalan Raya Ubud and take switch back up a very steep hill to Penestanan. After a few minutes of shops and galleries the scenery gets back to rice fields and small houses. I rode around for maybe 15-20 minutes and came to a main road which gave me the idea to double back. On the way I took a ride past this bead shop. The owner, Wayan and his wife Made were on hand to show me their goods. Wayan said that it takes him 3 weeks to make this basket as he has to put on the beads one by one.

His young daughter was crawling around and when I gave him my business card she wanted it. She liked the boots design on the back and started to brush it clean. Maybe they’ve got her trained at polishing shoes or something.

If you like the look of Wayans work his number here in Bali is 0361 976014.

Wayans shop is on a hill and I watched a food vendor doing his best to guide his cart down without losing control.

Riding around the area I saw a bamboo structure spanning the street and young people cleaning the covered structure next to the road. These girls giggled as they carried and spilled a pile garbage they were taking to dump. I think doing in front of me made it worse. This guy was sweeping so fast I could hardly see his hand sweeper. He shouted to the girls to get back and help him.

The other folks were taking things easy and arranging the offerings.

Cruising around I saw the cages of cocks at the side of the road. Its Sunday and that means cockfighting in Bali. These guys seemed in no hurry and I chatted to one fellow who told me his bird was 1 year old but had never fought. As we chatted it tried to escape forcing him to grip it tightly. In the small street right next to them a older lady had spread grain out and was sweeping it into one long strip.

The Balinese never skimp on ceremony and even at the edge of a field is a place for offerings.

Heading back into Penestanan I saw locals getting ready for Full Moon celebrations, the volleyball courts covered in bamboo structures and decorations. Someone ran over this snake and I spun around for a photo.

The villages that circle Ubud make different kinds of products ranging from carvings to stonework to paintings. It pays to take a local guide if you are thinking of buying things ( one who you can trust and not someone you meet on the street).

About 4pm I was ready to hit it and stopped in at a roadside stall for a ‘teh bottle’. The caffeine is a good prep for a bike ride.

On the way home I went through Denpasar which was a bad move. I really don’t like the town and am always hoping for something good to happen. This time the polici patroli had blocked off some streets for a celebrations and that added to the one way system and congestion meant we sat in traffic for a while.

Oh well, I’ll remember to avoid Denpasar unless absolutely necessary in future.