Getting out there in Ubud Bali

Saturday afternoon for me was spent exploring some of the internet cafes and shops in Ubud. The town is in the hills NE of Kuta and I had to ride through the capital Denpasar to get here.

Ubud is known as being an arts center and more mellow of a place than Kuta. I’d say Ubud lives up to that reputation, its elevation mean the climate is slightly cooler and the size is just not that big.

The are many cafes that specialize in healthy food and I visited one on Jalan Jembawan called Bali Buddha ( ‘Earth Concious People serving Health Food’ ). I had a green tea and it came with some kind of garlic bread and 2 dark brown cookies. Very relaxing and the menu would of fitted into Eugene Oregon’s scene easily.

Another cafe owner told me she was going bankrupt with the low tourist turnout and having to come up with 100,000rp every couple of days for ceremonies. I asked what they did with the money and she said her job was to pay for rice cakes and bananas. These folks go through a lot of rice cakes. Each business contributes to the cost of the ceremonies and afterwards the food is eaten. I tried to find out why so much money is needed ( presumably if you put in 100,000rp for rice cakes and bananas someone else will do the same for chicken, someone else for apples etc. If many people contribute that’s will still equal a lot of food unless there are groups of people who don’t put in ). I never really got an answer other than it was required and understood.

Riding down Jalan Raya Ubud I watched a long procession on its way to a ceremony, all the ladies dressed in the same colored outfits.

A little furthur down the road I saw what I thought was a roadside offering taking place. The small crowd and smoke were evidence of a satay stand ( bbq’d thin strips of chicken served with plain rice ). Smelled great although I didn’t try any. If I tried everything that smelled good here I’d look like John Madden in no time.

A roadside pet shop had these little guys nervously flitting around. Hope the satay guy doesn’t run out of chicken.

My losman ( guest house ) was on Jalan Hanuman which runs N-S and cost me 40,000rp per night including breakfast. Turning from Jalan Raya Ubud onto Hanuman I stopped into Krisna Bamboo Music Art Shop owned and run by Agung who showed her rattles and drums. I asked ‘berapa harjana’ ( how much? ) for the drums. She told me the one shes playing in the photo is 450,000 rp ($50) and a decorated version like the one in the bottom left is 650,000rp ($73). This is asking price of course, the asking price on my losman was 80,000rp.

My friend Yumi was finishing work in Kuta and was on her way so I showered and organised my notes. She had to borrow her friend’s motorcycle as she sold her old one in Denapasar and was waiting for the plates on the new one.

She arrived around 7pm and We went out to the same Thai food place on Monkey Forest Rd that Sean and I did. They have tables set in a bamboo structure which are Japanese style ( low to the ground with cushions ). It was more fun playing footsie with a chick than my buddy ( though he was excellent company ). The food was so so but the place was cool. Seems like to get Thai food you need a Thai person cooking it.

Strolling up the road after dinner and we stepped into a bar with live music. The 4 piece band was local and played a selection of Eagles, Santana and Beatles tunes. The lead singer pointed at me and asked if I had a request. For a milisecond I thought of asking him for a rendition of that female rap tune thats discusses licking body parts, but couldn’t remember the title. I politely said I didn’t have anything in mind and they launched into a Latin request….’Black Magic Woman’. My ‘go to’ drink here in Bali is arak madu ( arak, honey, lime ). It usually costs around 8,000rp and is somewhere in the neighborhood of a margarita. A real margarita, or the Bali idea of one made with tequila would cost 35,000rp so I will make do.

This morning we had our breakfast of hot tea, fruit ( banana, papaya and melon ) and a jaffle ( grilled sandwich containing egg a tomato ) on the porch. The breakfast varies slightly at all the losmans, when Sean and I came we got a chocolate crepe instead of the jaffle. I’m not complaining.

I wrapped things up and visited more internet cafes a couple of regualar cafes. Yumi had work so shot back to Kuta.

The first place I stopped at for my pot of black coffee ( got to get jacked for action! ) was a little place on the curve of the road at the bottom of Jalan Hanuman here it turns towards Monkey Forest. Its called something like ‘Forest View’ and was totally empty. It backed on to paddy fields I watched locals get on with the rice harvest. The waitress, Kadek was several months pregnant and I asked if it was the ‘wayan’ ( first child ) and she said yes.

Paintings were hanging from the rafters for sale if you felt like it.

Ubud is getting some renovation including a new banjar temple and some road construction up on Jalan Raya Ubud.

I talked to many locals and visited many cyber cafes within close proximity. A good deal of them were either empty or had 1 customer. I really hope we can work together and get people coming back to Bali. I’ll tell you this is the time to come. Streets are comparitably empty, prices are low and there are all kinds of super places to eat. If you are interested in arts, crafts, clothing or musical instruments deals abound here, with everything negotiable.

We’re at the start of the dry season which translates into dry sunny days and slightly cooler temperatures. The good surfing on the SW part of the coast is coming soon…in maybe 6 weeks and it will be awesome for surfers.

My final stop before riding back to Seminyak was a restaurant on Jalan Raya Ubud that I choose at random. Walking in I could detect it was a fairly classy place, the staff on their toes and dressed in elegant sarongs. From table I had an unobstructed ( other than an older German lady giving her husband a lecture ) view of this temple.

Looking at the unusual drinks on offer I went for a ‘hypertension relaxer’ made from beetroot, carrot and cucumber. It was red in color and loaded with goodness. For lunch I had a bread thingy with various toppings ( am I giving BaliEats.com a run for their money or what! ). Very tasty with different oil and cheese dressings, it cost 19,000rp ($2.14).

My ride home was smooth and quite pleasant and I’m here in my room typing as the heat of the day subsides. Just another day in Bali which more people should come and enjoy.

Related Posts

• More photos from Ubud
• Scenes from Poppies Lane II
• The scene around Poppies Lane and Jalan Legian, Bali
• Nasi campur stand in Seminyak Bali
• Taman Legian warung, Legian Bali

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