The sun was scorching and tourists in Ubud were treated to sights of Balinese ladies carrying bantens of fruit on their heads. Last night was the Purnama (full moon) ceremony and all across Bali temples were having special services. The great thing about the Ubud area is a not only can you find great places to eat and a ton of art, but also some lovely scenic backstreets. We rode down the hill to Campuhan under the shade of the huge banyan trees with long dangling vines. Ika said Mmm its nice, her typical statement of appreciation.
From Campuhan we circled round and before reaching Sayan veered of the road to the right a few times seeking a road less traveled. Many of the village back streets run parallel to the main road and we found that they will run down for about half a mile and then rejoin the road.
Just off of the main road though its village life and the Sunday scene is a relaxed one with kids buying drinks from the roving drink vendors, men gets their fighting cocks ready for battle and women sitting under the bale with their newborn.
Taking a super windy route off of the main road we checked out the rice harvest. Now that the wet season is over thousands of tons of rice are being removed from the stalks all over the island. We watched small groups of locals whack bunches of rice stalks over an A-frame to separate the grains. After this the stalks are taken off for use as straw, the remains are burned and the fields readied for the next flooding.
Signs out in the country do not mean too much to me as many of the kampungs or villages are not on the map. We went exploring and frequently had to turn back as the single track tarmac road went into dirt and then a single file dirt track. I would ask Ika which way, democracy in action. I see no point in making all the directional decisions when I know I am lost. Getting lost in Bali is fun anyway because the island is small and you will hit a main road before long.
Heading down one paddy field wall we ended up outside one familys back yard. The oldest member of the family was there to greet us. She shook my hand and held it for about a minute, chewing betel nut and happy as Larry. Her daughter came out also wearing just a sarong with her husband and kids. Everyone was smiling and amused that a weird bule and his Javanese friend had come to visit.
Following the ridge line around we kept a speed of about 10mph and I was just trying to enjoy the scenery and the quiet. The way the villages seem to be set out in Bali is that they sit on ridge lines, the valley reserved for rice fields. The original routes between the villages where people would walk have become paved roads.
Rounding a turn the road narrowed to about a foot. Jalan kacil (small road) I said. It led us to a valley that over looked some kind of temple. Ika wanted to get off and explore so we parked and descended the stairs passing a Balinese water-temple. This was a special place for sure and we were trying to figure out its significance. There was a locked structure with a notice on the door saying it was the source for Aqua, the brand of bottled water used all over Bali. Further down was a river that looked perfect for an afternoon dip. We have got to find our way back here, I said to Ika. A family coming down the stairs told us the place was called Mambal and was in between Sangeh and Ubud. Its actually between Ubud and Mengwi and back up at the top of the stairs we saw the pipe that ran water from the natural spring up to the processing plant that bottles the water. We have a couple of large jugs of water from Aqua in our kitchen in Seminyak.
If you want to find this stretch of river to go for a swim just head for Mambal west of Ubud and look for the huge filtration plant, its down from there. Once again this was and example of getting off the main road and finding cool stuff, nice people and a place I know tourist do not get too. It makes me think that in the future we could put together some fantastic tours for people accessing locals only places. Ika and I finished off our day by riding home through Dalung and Kerobokan. I had to hurry because she wanted the bathroom. On the way we encountered a whole slew of crazy drivers weaving and cutting all over the place.
A stiff rum and Coke got me into the mood to go for a swim down the road at the pool next to Cin Cin restaurant. We like this pool as it takes 2 minutes to get too and they staff are cool as long as we buy a drink. My Long Island Iced Tea and Ikas juice cost around 50,000rp.
To sum our day we had a coffee and donut in Seminyak, lunch in Ubud at a well known place, a ride around in the country and a swim at a nearby pool. The entire cost of the day was about 220,000rp. Ika really prefers Indonesian food and I could have made this a 100,000rp day, but I like to try new places.
For visitors to Bali I would say you can have a great time by renting a car or motorbike and going for it. Many of the side roads are unmarked and lead to lovely places. Generally a car will get down country lanes and a motorbike definitely will.
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G’Day Nick,
Thanks for letting us being a part of your enjoyable day. That place Mambal strikes a thought. I must check it out when I get back. That’s if you’ll show me exactly where mate!