With our purse dilemma past us we had 5 hours in Bangkok before we had to head to the airport, so we had to make the most of our time there. After dropping our bags in storage at the main train station we went to the Grand Palace. We arrived at 8:30am when the gates opened with a few hundred other people.
We walked around for the next hour or so in awe of all the temples, buddhas, paintings, statues and reliefs. One of the highlights included The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This buddha (actually made of jade) wears a different outfit for each season, and the day we were there he was being changed from his winter to summer outfit by the king. The changing of the outfits was closed to the public, but it was cool knowing the king would be there in a few hours.
Walking around we noticed a ton of locals dressed in black and eventually we came to a barrier and a long queue. We checked our flyer and it said viewings for deceased royals and those close to the royals were held in this area. Who knows what may have been around the corner for us to see, but that brought our walk to an abrupt end.
Next we walked to Wat Pho. On our way we encountered a man who tried to perpetrate the most common scam in Bangkok, sorry the temple is closed today. He is trying to take you to another, lesser temple close by where he gets a kick back. Luckily we were hip to his trickery and said we don't think so and pressed on. Wat Pho is known for the reclining buddha. It was huge! 46 metres long! It was unbelievable and we were in awe as we walked around it. You would need a fancy camera with a wide angle lens to take a full photo of him.
Before heading to the airport we took a taxi to a different part of town to find a restaurant, Crepes and Co. that had been recommended to Evan. We splurged because they took credit card (it's very rare to find a normal restaurant or cheap hotel here that accepts cc) and we had amazing savory crepes for lunch and a banana and nutella crepe for dessert. With our stomachs stuffed, we hopped in a cab to the airport to catch a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
As we are over halfway through our trip I thought I'd share some of my thoughts with you.
Random thoughts... ...Clothes that were white two months ago will never again be white. ...I will do whatever it takes to find a western "lazy" toilet. ...Thailand and New Zealand have been my favorite countries so far. ...Traffic in Vietnam scares me the most. ...I really like monks (mostly because of their outfits and shaved heads). ...I don't like big cities and would much rather tour the countryside. ...I have faith that the world is full of good people. ...America is far from a perfect country. ...I haven't bitten my nails in 18 days. ...Evan is the best husband and travel partner even after being with him 24/7 for 12 weeks straight. ...When people email us or write a comment on our blog I get super happy. ...Wine was super cheap and beer expensive in NZ and Oz and it's been the other way around everywhere else. ...People over here find squatting comfortable (which is probably why they like their toilets). Their heel touches the ground and they somehow balance with their butt a few inches off the ground. ...I have started drinking tea with breakfast, but still don't like coffee. ...I like to sit on the right side in the back seat when the driver is on the left and sit on the left side when the driver is on the right and get car sick if I do otherwise.
I'm excited... ...To see my family, Pacha and friends! ...To sleep in my own bed where I don't have to worry about bed bugs. ...To have more than 4 pairs of underwear so I don't have to do laundry every 4th day. ...To have cereal for breakfast. ...To drink diet cherry coke. ...To listen to country music on the radio. ...To have a bigger wardrobe (only have 2 pants, 2 shorts, 2 skirts, 2 longsleeve shirts and 4 shirts). ...To travel some more.
We took the night bus which left Chiang Mai around 8:30pm and got us into Bangkok around 6am. The bus was surprisingly comfortable as I was able to sleep just about the whole trip. You've already heard Evan's thoughts at 3 a.m. in a previous post, so you know what he thinks. When we got off the bus Evan handed me the blackberry to put in my purse (I'm in charge of money, credit cards, the bberry, passports, tickets, etc and he's in charge of finding us good places to eat and our daily itinerary). I was in that still sleepy state until I realized that I didn't have my purse and must have left it on the bus. I ran back to where the bus had parked, but it had already left (it had only been about 3 minutes).
Going into panic mode I ran into the information office and told them what happened. They had Evan stay there with our bags, and I went with a guy who quickly put me in the front seat of a bus and sent me away with a non-english speaking driver. After driving about 5 minutes he pulled into a parking lot and pointed at my bus. I hopped out and found the bus attendant and she informed me that she had found my purse and left it at the ticket window at the bus station.
She had a guy help me cross the fairly busy road and bring me back to the station. My purse was there with all the belongings intact. Woohoo! Then I went off in search of Evan. Since they had driven me away from the station I didn't know what terminal we had started in and nothing looked familiar. After 15 minutes of searching I finally asked someone for help at a different information booth. He spoke some english, but not enough because he kept asking where I wanted to go city wise and didn't understand that I was looking for Evan. So then I decided to tell him the story of how I left my bag on the bus and they drove me away to get it back. I showed him my ticket and he saw the office where I had gotten my bag back and took me back there. He must have thought that I had lost a different bag or something was missing because when we got there he told the lady that I was missing something and she thought I was accusing her of stealing something out of my purse so she started yelling at him and pointing at me.
By this time I was getting very frustrated because of the language barrier and to make matters worse the information guy left and told me to figure it out with the ticket lady who spoke even less english. Luckily she was smart and got on her cell phone and started making calls. After 3 or 4 calls she finally handed over the phone to me and there was a guy on the other end who spoke perfect english. He asked me what was wrong and I told him the story and when I mentioned that I was missing my husband he said, "Husband? Not a bag?". Yes!! Then I handed the phone back to the lady and he relayed the message and you could just see the light bulb flick on over her head. We were finally getting somewhere! She made another phone call to find out what terminal we had arrived in and had another lady point me there. This terminal was 3 terminals over from where I picked up my purse and I had to walk through a hole in a fence to get there, so I don't think I would have found it by myself. Evan and I had a tearful reunion and hopped in a cab to Bangkok.
We spent our last day in Chiang Mai at the Thai Farm Cooking School. Before we made it to the cooking school, they took us out of the city to a Thai market and showed us the fresh produce, meats, rice, chilis, etc.
The cooking school was on a farm, so we were able to tour it to see the fresh fruits, veggies and herbs.
Now, it was time to cook! We started by making curry paste (yellow for Evan, green for me). After the paste was completed, we made the curry (we both chose chicken). Then it was Tom Yam with shrimp for me and veggie soup for Evan. We both cooked stirfry in a wok. We took a break for lunch to enjoy our meals. When the teacher would give us peppers to add to the recipe, I wouldn't put them in. I did put the green pepper in the curry because she told me it wouldn't have any color otherwise and it wasn't spicy. This proves the difference in our taste buds! I didn't put the peppers in any other recipe, but it was all spicy (except the stirfry) because of their herbs. I did eat the shrimp out of the Tom Yam, but the broth was too spicy (and so was the curry). Needless to say, Evan ate everything that he cooked because he loves spice! We also tried sticky rice which was quite tasty.
Side note, at lunch another guy from our group got out a bag of fried grasshoppers that he had bought at the morning market. Evan couldn't resist passing up the opportunity to eat one. His thoughts...crunchy, not very tasty, but not that bad.
After lunch we went back in the kitchen to make dessert (banana in coconut milk for me and mango with sticky rice for Evan). Both were delicious! As we ate our desserts, we cooked our last dish, Pad Thai. This has been my favorite thai dish as they bring out the chilis separately, so you can decide how spicy you want your dish to be (I put none in my dish, Evan dumps them all in). Unfortunately, I burnt the pad thai, but that's okay as we were stuffed from lunch. I'll have to try again when we get back home.
The first thing we did after returning from our trek was to take a shower. We were really dirty! As soon as we were presentable, we walked across the street to receive a blind massage. Everyone that works there is blind and it's a great source of work for them. The main guy, Mr. Knot, gave Evan a massage and he loved it. Thai massage is a lot of pressure points and stretching. They compare it to yoga. At the end of Evan's massage Mr. Knot got on the bed and had his knees in Evan's back and pulled Evan backwards and popped his back in at least 8 different places. All for 150 baht or about $5.
Refreshed after the massage we decided to head out of the old part of the city and had a great authentic thai meal at Hong Tauw Inn. We had about four different dishes and enjoyed everything. Evan mistook a green chili for a green bean and paid the price.
Thursday morning we toured the town. Our first stop was Wat Phra Singh where we were impressed by the size of the temple complex and its jade buddha and golden buddha.
There was a park area in the complex that had some signs full of advice:
And in the park there were monks surfing the net:
The next temple we went to was Wat Chedi Luang. This was also very impressive as it had a very old crumbling structure with a buddha up at the top as well as a temple with an embalmed monk in it.
Our next stop was to the women's prison where we both got foot massages. They let the inmates specialize in something (sewing, massage, etc) and they get to keep part of the profits for when they get out. These aren't murderers (or at least we think not) as they are about to get out in the next 6 months. For $4/hour it was a great deal. That evening we went to the night bazaar (a big market) which we found quite enjoyable as the merchants weren't too pushy and we enjoyed bargaining with them.
We arrived in Chiang Mai around 6pm. We had barely made our connecting flight through Bangkok and when Evan's bag was the first one off the plane and mine didn't follow I had the feeling it wasn't coming. Luckily Thai Airways was great in tracking it down, put it on the next flight and delivered it to our hotel.
We were picked up at 8:30am on Monday the 17th for a three day trek through the jungle to visit some hill tribes. The first stop was a touristy visit to an orchid and butterfly farm. I don't know why they throw those things in unannounced besides the hope that someone will buy something. The orchids were beautiful, but the butterflies weren't anything special.
Next we drove to the outskirts of town in the back of a pickup to visit the Longneck tribe. They start putting the coils around a girl's neck when she turns 5 and they add a coil almost every year until she turns 45. They do it for two reasons. First, they idolize dragons and swans because of their long necks and want to look like them. Second, they used to live in the jungle with tigers and this way the tigers wouldn't be able to attack the women and carry them away by their necks. Hmmm...The men don't wear them, so does this mean that they aren't protected from the tigers? Don't know.
After some pad thai and fruit for lunch we started our hike straight up a hill. We were definitely ready for our first break when it finally came. Because we only have one day pack we loaded it to the max with our clothes, towels and toiletries. Evan is my muscle man and carried for 95% of the trip. It's the dry season so everything was brown and the sky was hazy from the fires in the jungle.
On the way to the first village we passed an interesting plant, check it out...
We eventually made it to the village of the Mong people. We all went into nap mode for at least 2 hours. Dinner was curry, rice and veggies. Despite the nap, we all went to bed early. We slept on mats in a big room that they had built for groups like ours. Bugs weren't a problem as we had mosquito nets, and the mats were surpisingly comfy! And, they had western toilets! That was my biggest fear...getting to the middle of nowhere and only having a hole in the ground. They had a shower which is just a hose hanging on the wall in the bathroom, but the water was freezing so I only rinsed off my legs which were so dirty from the dust.
The next morning we rode the village's elephants! Evan and I rode the oldest elephant and he was also the hungriest. He stopped every 15 feet to eat some bamboo or whatever green stuff he could find. I think our guide told us that they have to eat 250 kilos every day...hungry guys!
After cruising about 20 minutes the guide jumped down and I (Michelle) moved up to ride on the elephant's head! I had my legs tucked behind his ears and just held on as best as I could. I was sitting on his shoulder blades, so I could feel every step he made.
Any other elephant rides I have seen are just walking around on flat ground. We definitely were going up and down some steep hills which was pretty nerve racking but fun!
After the ride we had breakfast and set out on our hike. It was so hot...we were dripping sweat. After about 2 hours of hiking we came upon a waterfall and jumped in. The water was freezing but refreshing.
We hiked a little further to a village for lunch and took a nap in the shade. After a few more hours of hiking we finally made it to the Lahu village. We could hear some thunder in the distance and after awhile the skies opened up and it poured! In the dry season! After about 30 minutes it let up and the haze cleared and the view was great. Dinner was potato curry and fried rice and then the village children came and treated us to a performnce. They sang a variety of songs (some were Christian songs which was surprising). They were super cute and definitely the highlight of our interaction with the hill tribes.
I encountered my worst fear in the Lahu village...the first eastern toilet. Now, don't get me wrong...there were plenty of eastern toilets along our way. I just always kept searching until I could find a western toilet. This one was a hole in the ground in a shack. Not too pleasant. It was a bit traumatic, but I survived.
The roosters decided to start crowing around 2am and continued all through the night, so no one slept too well. After breakfast we started our hike home but first had a side trip of rafting. It would have been great in the rainy season, but we kept getting stuck and our guide would have to jump out and pull us off the rocks. After an hour of rafting, we hopped on a bamboo raft for a float down the river. The raft was about 18 feet long and Evan was nominated to be the captain in front. This job entailed pushing off and guiding the raft along the correct route along the river. He did a great job as we didn't hit any rocks! After lunch we jumped in a truck for our 2 hour ride back to Chiang Mai. Evan and another guy rode on top which was a little scary for both of us. He said their were great views, but he had white knuckles from holding on so tight. Crazy boys!
Welcome back! I hope you've missed us as much as we've missed you. With our time in Singapore over, it was on to Thailand for beaches and Buddhas. Our first stop was Ko Phi Phi, which is pronounced Pee Pee, and the Ko stands for island. We chose this spot because of its proximity to Phuket, which has direct flights from Singapore and the incredible scenery it is known for.
Upon arrival we quickly learned that an organized taxi and boat mafia was a real asset to the pocket books of the drivers and the easy negotiating ways of Bali were gone. Oh well, we're talking about trying to save a buck or two, who really cares. After a taxi to the marina and a 2 hour boat we were treated to the spectacular scenery that makes Phi Phi arguably one of the most beautfiul places on earth. We took a long tail boat...
...to the quiet side of the island and were dropped off at our bungalow, Ao Toh Koh.
The afternoon was just what we were looking for, laying on the beach, dozing off, swimming, laying in the hammocks, you know, beach stuff.
The evening was highlighted by a tasty dinner and our first (of many) Chang beers, 6.4%, in Thailand.
The morning brought with it banana lassi's to drink and omelettes to savor while we dined overloking the sea. More lounging on the beach before grabbing snorkeling gear and heading about 15 mins north to Rantee Beach for some fish finding and some Pad Thai for lunch, check out the view!
At dinner we found a couple from Germany who also wanted to check out Phi Phi Ley, the island next door, and the location for the movie, The Beach. We were excited to find some others to go so we could split the cost for the three hour adventure.
Our first stop on the way to Phi Phi Ley was at a little cove where we found a family of monkeys more than willing to take the bread we had to offer. The patriarch of the group definitely had control and we had to fake him out in order to get some food to the mama and some of the little ones in the back. This one loved hanging on to my shorts.
You get the impression that this place is something special when you pass it on the way in, but not until you make it all the way to the island up close do you fully appreciate how spectacular it is.
As we traveled closer to the cliffs we could see tons of ropes hanging from the sides of the vertical faces, these are used by climbers to fetch birds nests which are a culinary delicacy and the reason the island is protected. Our first destination was the film site, Maya Bay.
Luckily we were here before most of the other boats, but they were not far behind and soon enough the place was a complete madhouse, but thats the price you pay for paradise.
We took some photos and soaked in the beauty for a few minutes before throwing on the snorkel gear and going for a swim. We saw a bunch of great fish, but the highlight was the family of sharks that were patroling the waters. We had the added bonus of our long tail captain throwing some bread in the water after we had changed spots for snorkeling and we were surrouinded by 100's of fish within an instant.
From Maya Bay it was on to the other side of the island where we cruised through another amazing cove and checked out the trees full of bats and all the scenery.
The ride back to Ao Toh Ko was very choppy, but we made it and spent the afternoon lounging as usual, mixing in a bit more snorkeling and Nemo hunting. We were successful at finding Nemo, may we add, and we both decided that they must have chosen that fish in part because they are so curious and never swim away when you get near them.
That night we had some drinks at the bar and took our first Thai lesson from the girl at the bar and it was very helpful as we made a cheat sheet and referenced it the rest of the way through the country. Pretty much, Sawasdee Ka(f)/kop(m)(pron. saw wah dee ka/kop) is hello, krup kune ka/kop (cop kune ka/kop)is thank you and mai pet is not spicy...that's 95% of what we needed to know. Michelle has been seeking out the word for spicy and not spicy everywhere we've been and we think it's saved her a lot of pain.
Our last full day on Phi Phi we hiked across the island to exchange some money for our bill. The hike was straight uphill for 45 minutes, and by the time we made it to the top we were treated with some views that were second to none.
Exchanging money was a breeze and after a bite to eat we were quickly out of the town as it was a bit of a hell hole. This was one of the most hard hit areas during the tsunami and it was rebuilt like a narrow maze with too much going on. Oh well, our place was beautiful and we only hit town once, so no worries. That afternoon I (Evan) went snorkeling and saw some Lion Fish, which were apparently very deadly, but beautful at the same time.
A night of bugs feasting on our legs (inside the mosquito net) was an unfortunate final memory of an otherwise brilliant bungalow at Ao Toh Ko.
We crusied to Phuket the next day, grabbed a bite at Natural Restaurant with cool fish tanks and hopped a plane to Chiang Mai.
All in all this was the beach experience we were after, and what southern Thailand is know for. The climate was perfect, the beach was great, snorkeling right in front, cheap, wonderful food and amazing scenery, what more could you want for $30 a night.
It's 3am, I am curled up in a tight ball on my reclining seat in the bus to Bangkok.
With all due respect to everywhere else, Thailand is probably the best.
IU plays in 8 hours and even if we win its UNC next, so I am not too hopeful.
I ate a grasshopper today, film at 11.
We have been belated talking about our last 10 days b/c we have not been able to get photos onto the web yet, but as soon as we do we're excited to tell you all about this amazing place. I guess this excuse is kind of BS b/c we don't have our photos of Singapore either, oh well.
Pretty much...everyone is nice, there's so much to do, everyone speaks some english, we picked up some Thai (language not women, but nice try) and everything is cheap, so what more do you want?
How about Tiger? Some kind of golf he plays. I will pay good $ or foriegn souvenirs for copies of tourneys I am missing, esp. The Masters, if anyone can record from their dvr or show me how to get it off the net when we get home. Bill, if you have room on your dvr and a flat screen you know what must be done:)
We're in Bangkok today and Cambodia tonight. Like I said earlier, as soon as we get the photos going we'll have some good stuff for you to read.
Michelle is sleeping and I am jealous, so I'm going to try now too.
And if you'd like a post card or anything else email us your address because we're sending them to those that we know, but we'd love to be sending more.
The great reunion was finally here, as only the second non parental visitors to Deepa's outpost, we expected the royal treatment and received nothing less.
We were in Singapore from the 7th until the 12th visiting Evan's bff and best man, Deepa. Our flight got us in around 1am on the 7th, so we took a quick tour of Deepa's neighborhood (Robertson Quay) before crashing and sleeping in until 10am.
Deepa didn't have to be into work until after lunch, so we had a lazy morning and then checked out his office. He then gave us a quick tour of the surrounding complex which was my (Michelle) first taste of crazy malls in Asia. We had lunch at the food court amid all the craziness and then caught a cab back to his place where we relaxed until he got home from work. The evening was pretty simple with a walking tour of Clarke and Boat Quay and dinner at a terrific Indian restaurant with a great view of the downtown skyline.
Staying with Deepa is a curlers paradise, so we slept in again on Saturday morning. When we finally woke up we trekked towards Orchard Road. Along the way we stopped at a Buddhist temple and were in awe of the magnificent golden Buddhas that were at the temple.
We soon learned not to take our malaria medicine on an empty stomach as Evan quickly became sick to his stomach after a whiff of incense. We booked it to a 7-11 (they are everywhere here) to get some crackers and sprite and all was fine after about 20 minutes, but the lesson was learned.
We went to a post office to send some souvenirs home. We took advantage of the cheap prices of the "slow boat" and who knows, we might even beat it home. We had lunch at another popular food court and then went to Chinatown.
We passed on some explicit snuff bottles which Evan is now regretting, but I'm sure we'll find them again on our trip. There were Buddhist artifacts that ranged in price from $500 to $300,000. It was like being in a museum where everything was for sale.
From Chinatown we went to Little India where we didn't see too much except a Hindu temple that was pretty amazing.
We then cruised over to the famous Raffles hotel, spotting this advert along the way. Tell me that's not Troy Bode's signature. Troy, if you read this please let us know.
At the Raffles I had the Singapore Sling and the boys drank beer and ate peanuts. The SS was quite good, but at $18 a drink one was enough.
The rest of our evening was spent enjoying EPL soccer at a bar and grabbing dinner at a brew pub (boys had burgers, I had potato skins...I was craving western food).
Sunday was the laziest of days where the highlight was an afternoon BBQ and watching Pulp Fiction. Deepa had to go to work on Monday, so Evan and I decided to brave the rain and go to the zoo. It was raining so hard that we didn't take any photos, but the layout was pretty cool and our favorite animals were the pygmy hippos, white tigers, chimps, polar bears and a Mandrill monkey (has a blue and red face and a blue butt). After drying off we went to a belgian bar for happy hour. The Stella was only $9 instead of $15...what a deal! Such a huge difference between the prices of Singapore and Bali!
We spent Tuesday morning taking advantage of Deepa's surf station and planned our stays in Thailand and Cambodia. We met Deepa for lunch and tied up some loose ends before the last supper (delivery pizza) and then flew to Phuket early the next morning.
One other note, Singapore is a very clean city that looks out for the well being of all. There are the typical signs on the subway that say no smoking, drinking, firearms, etc but this one also says no durian. Durian is a smelly fruit that would stink up the entire subway (and according to Deepa doesn't taste too good either).
A big thank you to Deepa for opening his place to us. Evan was grateful to have the chance to revive their college language of curling. Also, we both appreciated learning some of Singapore's dialect. Here's an example, lah. Do you think we could go to dinner and then get drinks? Can, can, lah. Pretty much just add lah to the end of every sentence and don't overcomplicate things when a simple "can" will do.
Disclaimer: We were distracted by the beauty of Bali and forgot to take any photos of the Ogoh-Ogohs until the last day, so we are using some stock photos. We have added our photos to the bottom of this post. Also, please note that we left Bali March 6 and we're just a little behind on our posts. We have already been to Singapore and now we're sitting on a beach in Thailand. EFG and MEG
Although our flight was not scheduled to leave until 11pm that night we chose to leave our hotel at 5 because of the parades planned for the evening. We had been cautioned all week that many of the roads could be shut down and we would hate to miss the flight on account of that.
The reason for the potential delay is the planned celebration for Nyepi. Nyepi is somewhat like new years to the Balinese, it is a day of complete tranquility where no one, not even tourists, can venture out on to the streets. The night before is marked by great celebrations where across the island giant papier mache effigies called Ogoh-Ogoh are paraded through the streets to great fanfare.
They represent evil spirits, and at the conclusion of the night they are burned to release the spirits in the hope of a fresh beginning to the new year.
All week long we had watched the various villages constructing their Ogoh-Ogoh's, some more elaborate than others...
...depending almost entirely on the financial standing of the village. When we walked around Ubud we saw some giant Ogoh-Ogoh's, while in the countryside they were more modest, but no less spectacular. We really wish we could get our pictures up for you to see, but in the mean time go to the link on the right and you will see at the end of Bali a couple of these creations.
Now it was time to go to Sinagpore and we still hadn't actually taken any pictures of the Ogoh-Ogoh's or had the chance to see them paraded around town, so we devised a way to kill time waiting for the plane and see the parades. Once we checked our luggage we left the airport and flagged down a taxi driver who after a good bit of negotiation agreed to take us to a parade and wait while we checked it out.
We knew we didn't have a lot of time because our taxi wouldn't wait forever and when we arrived the parade hadn't started yet. We squeezed our way through the crowd to get a good spot and within 5 minutes the first Ogoh-Ogoh was paraded past. We could hear someone talking on a loudspeaker most likely annoucing what village was swinging their Ogoh-Ogoh around. They would swing him in the air, towards the crowd, trying to make him dizzy. We saw three groups with their Ogoh-Ogohs and then took our taxi back to the airport to fly to Singapore where a young lad in the foriegn service awaited our arrival.
The next destination in Bali was a beachside town called Sanur. It is in the southern part of the island, close to a lot of development, but still much more laid back than the tourist mecca of Kuta. We were fortunate that our tour guide for the bike trip was willing to take us all the way there after the tour, so we rolled in to town in the early evening and enjoyed a good dinner at a place called the Bonsai Cafe right on the beach.
Our hotel was about 1 minute through a side street to the beach and we found our route after breakfast searching for ways to get back to the main road. The place was called Puri Ayu, Michelle booked it for us in advance, and we couldn't have been happier.
We spent the morning laying by the pool and then headed to the market around lunchtime. We were searching for another restaurant we had heard good reviews for, but it was only open for dinner, so we went with 'Jimmy's' and were plenty satisfied.
On our walk back to the hotel we haggled with a few drivers and eventually settled on one that would take us to the seaside temple called Uluwatu later that afternoon.
Uluwatu is famous for its cliffside location and series of surf breaks down below that only legendary surfers like Matt Head and Kelly Slater choose to do battle with.
The drive took about an hour because of traffic and less than ideal weather, but it was great to see more of Bali and get some info on the area from Joni (sp?), our driver. We knew we were getting close as the road got smaller and the tour buses began to line up in the road, but we were pleased to find it not too crowded upon arrival.
We took a look around at the temple and the views, all the while guarding ourselves against any theft perpetrated by our little monkey friends who roam the grounds looking for glasses, cameras, hats, etc. to snatch.
Lucky for us they didn't seem out to get us and we were able to see the sights...
... and take it all in without too much hassle other than the constant rainfall.
We hiked out to an outlook to the south of the temple that gave us some great views of the surf and the temple.
With it clear to us that there would be no sunset we made our way back to the car and homeward bound. After repeating to our driver for the 20th time that, no, we are not interested in going to Jimbaran for the great Balinese seafood dinner, he dropped us back at our place. No hard feelings, the guy is just trying to make an extra buck on commission whenever he can.
We didn't go to dinner that night with the intention to splurge, but when we found out they took credit card I (Evan) just couldn't help myself. After dominating Bintang beer, appetizers, entrees, and dessert we were finished and stumbled home to golden slumbers.
Thursday was our last day in Bali and we spent another relaxing day by the pool. Checked out of the hotel by noon, and watched soccer and swam most of the day until we had to go to the airport.
We were picked up at 8am for a bike trip that would start us near a volcano and then we were to cruise downhill through small villages and rice terraces. The normal guide had called in sick, so the owner of the company was our guide. Steven, an Aussie who married a Balinese, was great at educating us on the culture, beliefs and customs. We drove north and stopped at some beautiful rice terraces for photos.
As we were driving, a half dozen dump trucks filled with people in the back as well as countless motorcycles and cars filed past. They were heading to the beach to cleanse sacred objects that are kept in their temple.
From here we continued north to where lake Batur was bordered on both sides by volcanoes called Kintamani and Mount Batur. We had breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the lake and volcanoes.
Before starting the ride we stopped by a tourist plantation to see how they grow crops. Nothing is separated - no square of coffee, no square of pineapples, etc. Everything is mixed together in one plot, so you really have to look closely for specific plants, trees, etc. We were able to taste their coffee, tea and cocoa. Evan's favorite was the Bali Coffee and Michelle's favorite's were the hot cocoa and lemon grass tea.
We passed some people carrying offerings to their temple for a ceremony:
We got on our bikes with storm clouds in the distance. The beginning was all downhill and our hands got more of a workout than our legs. We stopped at a Balinese family's compound and took a look at how they lived. They were making bamboo mats from the bamboo forest in their backyard.
Off we went on our bikes and then the rain started. We stopped at a temple, put on our rain ponchos and got back on the road. Minutes later, it was so bad that we had to pull over again. Michelle was the only one in the group to cave in (or maybe the only one with brains) and decided to ride in the car that was following us. It was so hard that her contacts were popping out of her eyes and we were riding through small streams that were now flowing through the streets.
When it stopped raining, she hopped back on and we cruised on to lunch. After making our way back to Ubud to drop off the other riders, we were driven on to our next stop in Bali - Sanur on the coast.
We arrived in Bali late on March 1st and were greeted at the airport by someone from our hotel holding a "Mr Evan Gilbert" sign. We were able to bypass all of the taxi drivers begging to use them for a ride as well as the money exchangers who were smiling and waving at us just itching to give us a bad exchange rate. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, Tegal Sari (in Ubud, www.tegal-sari.com), we immediately acknowledged the drastic price difference from Australia. A 675ml beer was only $2 in our mini fridge! Coke only 60 cents!
We were given the option to have breakfast in their restaurant or have it brought to our room. We chose to eat breakfast on our porch overlooking the rice fields every morning. Breakfast was great! We had the choice between eggs, omelette, pancakes, a jaffle (thought it would have been a mispelled waffle, but no, it's a toasted sandwhich), and few Indonesia breakfast options. We went for the pancakes and omelette the first day with fresh banana juice for Evan and fresh pineapple juice for Michelle.
One US dollar equals $8950 rupiah, so we felt like kings after we went to the money exchange and left with almost a million rupiahs. Then we were off to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. We didn't buy any bananas to feed the monkeys and encourage them to jump on us, but within 2 minutes one was hugging Evan's leg. There were so many monkeys! Old fat ones, mothers nursing their itty bitty babies, juveniles that were causing trouble (going after the water bottle in Evan's pocket).
Evan had researched some cheap eats in town, so we started our search for "Satri's" for lunch. On our way we were handed brochures about massages and spa treatments every 50 feet. When we finally found it (had to walk through an art gallery and someone's courtyard where they were hanging their laundry and doing dishes), we were ready for a feast! Evan ordered a cocktail made with Arak and Brem which got him significantly buzzed off of one drink. Michelle had a nice cold beer. The food was delicious - Nasi Goreng (fried rice, chicken, eg and satay skewers) and Chicken with coconut. Yumm! And, all for $7!!! After lunch we decided to try out one of the massage places called Padma Hasta. Evan chose the "Lulur" package - a one hour massage and skin treatment to help exfoliate. Michelle chose the "Tropical" package - a one hour massage finished with freezing cold papaya spread all over her. Then a refreshing rose bath after the massages. Total cost for both of our treatments - $20! We could stay here forever!!!
That evening we took in a Kecak show. The story is told through a choir of about 100 men who sit in a circle and sing and chant. A few girls come out and dance around them. It ended with a fire dance where a guy is lulled into the trance by the sounds of the choir and walks on a bed of burning coconut husks. What a day!
On Monday morning we went to Museum Neka which contains many Indonesian and Balinese paintins as well as western artists that have settled in Bali. Two of our favorite artists were Arie Smit and Theo Meier. The details on the Balinese artwork was very intricate.
After the museum, we went off on a search to find another one of Evan's researched restaurants called Made's Warung. I think they hide all of the good places to keep them quiet and cheap, because we have had the hardest time finding places even when we have an address! This one was up some stairs, through some rice fields and tucked way way back. But, again, it was amazing and well worth the hunt.
That afternoon we splurged again at a spa, but this one (Pertenin Spa) was a little more upscale. We both had a one hour massage and Michelle also had a one hour facial - all for $22. The massage was the best one that Michelle has ever had (seriously, best ever!!)! Wow! While Michelle was getting her facial, Evan got his haircut, so he no longer looks like a bum.
That night we watched a Legong dance which was even more entertaining than the Kecak. Their were nine different parts of the program with different dancers telling different stories and surrounded by men playing the gamelan. The way the female dancer (colors were mostly gold, pink, orange, yellow) moved and positioned their fingers was amazing. Their silk outfits were gorgeous as were their headpieces and makeup.
The culture here is beautiful and their religion is apart of everything they do. They are constantly putting out offerings whether they are at work or home (they even left one outside our room every night). Their offerings are made out of bamboo leaves and filled with incense, flowers, food (rice or a bag of liquid). They have so many ceremonies for different stages in life - birth, puberty (teeth filing), marriage and death (cremation) and everyone in the neighborhood helps with every ceremony.
