Days 10-12: Hello Southern Hemisphere--Getting to know Bali

After so many days of enjoying the wonderfulness of Malaysia and testing the limits of our stomachs, it was time to move on. 

In one respect it was sad to leave the country--we found the people to be some of the most incredibly friendly people we had ever met, and the vastly diverse culture left so many new things to experience and explore.  We were blown away with how happy and welcoming the locals were.  In some places where we've traveled, when a passerby is overly nice it is because they are trying to make a sale.  Here, however, we could tell people didn't just see us for our tourist dollar, because when we would go running (without wallets, of course!) people would still smile and wave at us, or shout "hello!" as we ran by.  There were a few other tourists around, but just enough to prevent us from being novelties. Where we visited in Vietnam, for comparison, folks don't see Westerners all too often, and eyes would stare.  

On the other hand, we were excited to see the Indonesian island of Bali, particularly the city of Ubud.  We read so much about how it was so famous for its arts that it basically became a hippy haven (ie. people with 'alternate lifestyles', to be more PC).  Since it is the only Hindu island (the rest of Indonesia is Muslim), it also became a big retreat for Yogis, as well as for vegetarians.  We were so impressed with this description of Ubud (particularly its rich arts culture) that we booked a 4 night stay.  

We flew out of Malaysia (we took a *reliable* taxi to the bus station, then rode a bus to the airport in Kuala Lumpur) and arrived in Denpasar, Bali (southern part of the island) later in the evening.  We arranged to have a driver pick us up and we drove 90min northward to the hotel in Ubud.  We could tell right away that Bali would be different.  For one, it seemed more chaotic than Malaysia, almost resembling Vietnam.  The streets were packed with motorbikes swerving about, circling our van.  It was nice to let someone else do the driving.  

We eventually made it to our hotel, which was beautiful, lush, and in the open air.  We were starving, so hit the streets to find some nice local food... which, to our dismay, did not seem to exist.  The only people we saw out and about were frazzled-looking and sunburned westerners, and the few locals we saw were women with babies and arms stretched out to beg.  After Malaysia, this came as a shock.  There were no street hawkers, and all the restaurants were western-style and rather expensive.  We stopped at the first place that had local food on the menu:  

This look summarizes our food experiences in Ubud: salty instant noodle soup that left one feeling very hungry.  It was time to pay penance for our indulgences in Penang and Melaka. 

It became clear to us very quickly that this would be a different sort of experience from what we had in mind.  Four more days in tourist-infested Ubud... 

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The next morning we went out in search for a place to jog.  Not finding one, we just ran alongside the traffic on the side of the road.  Actually, most of the traffic was children going to school!  Regardless of the heavy tourist presence and the bad food, the scenery was decidedly breathtaking.  It was lush, glowing, green, and tropical, and you could tell that people took pride in personal appearance and decorative details.  Indeed, flowers were everywhere, even the men wore them in their hair! 

A nearby school.  The children were singing at the start of the day.

These temples were tucked away EVERYWHERE

Getting away from the busy streets

Finally, a view of some countryside

The restaurant where we ate breakfast every day.  Flowers always carefully lined the little bridge, and each morning fresh offerings were laid at the entrance.  This was very common.  It seemed like at least once a day people would set little woven offering baskets filled with flowers and treats.  These were placed at every entrance, shrine, and in other precarious locations.

At the entrance to the town market, women gave offerings

The market was pretty run-down, and mostly filled with tourist crap and pushy sales people

Not too surprisingly, people were actually super friendly when they weren't trying to sell something and you tried talking to them.  These ladies did a very nice job of explaining the local treats.

Our buddy, Made (pronounced Muh-DAY).  We actually did end up buying three very nice masks from him.

Babi guling, roast suckling pig.  This is one of the most popular dishes of Bali, and this shop was the best place to try it.

It was neat how they sit on mats on the floor

The suckling pig with blood sausage.  This was actually really good, though a bit rich.

A back street

It was freakin' hot, so we cooled off in the pool outside our bungalow.

I thought it was very cute how the people dressed up their statues.  This dragon is wearing a turtleneck :o)

Tea (and papaya!) on the terrace of our bungalow

Trying out a vegan restaurant for dinner.  The 'local food' was typically more expensive than in Malaysia (about $3 per meal vs. $1.50), and the portions were tiny.  However, the salt was very generous.  I suppose the sodium was necessary for all the sweating we did.

In the evening we did what we came to Ubud to do: watch some Balinese performances.  Here is Legong (girls dancing)

This is the Barong (the monster dancing with the monkey, Hanuman)

In the middle of the performance came the monsoon.  The streets quickly flooded and the dance was moved to the covered stage next door.  We took off our shoes and waded the nearly knee-deep water across the street.  After this I always carried flip flops in my backpack!

Bali was really big into their spa treatments.  It was amazing: manicures for $4, facials for $6, 60min massages for $5 (which surely all of the western tourists eat up).   The only thing I really wanted to try was Dr. Fish.  For $4 you stick your legs and hands into a tank filled with these little 'doctors', and they suck your dead skin cells right off.  It tickled and tingled, and in the end my skin actually did feel really nice.  I figured it would also be good for my heat rash, which was getting really bad.

We went inside during the afternoon monsoons.  The hotel gardeners would go fishing in the tiny pond outside our bungalow.

Finally, we found some edible food!!  Sure, it wasn't a local hawker stall, and it catered to tourists, but it was still better and more "authentic" than anything else we saw (added bonus: it was right next door to our hotel). I had the tourist version of nasi campur (rice with various side dishes), and avocado juice.

At night, geckos were very common (I remember seeing these guys in Vietnam).  This was in the restaurant (almost all buildings were open-air like this)