March 3-13, 2018

We have now been in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia for ten days. Some of our initial decisions have turned out to be good. We are glad we came to Ubud. It’s very relaxed, compact and easy to get around. The shop owners, taxi drivers and even the few women asking for money on the street are very mellow. We never feel pressured or intimidated, only people going about their business.

Our first Homestay, bed and breakfast, was great except for the location. Though quiet and relaxed with the best red rice porridge and dumpling for breakfast it was a bit far from activities we wanted. So we changed to a small bungalow style lodging nearer to the center of Ubud.  Instead of being $17/night, we pay about $40/night. For this we get a large and very nice room, comfortable bed, balcony where I’m writing this, breakfast, pool, beautiful gardens, and wonderful staff.  Our room has the oddest shower. It’s designed to sit and use a wand. Ok awkward but you can’t properly rinse without standing but that’s not stable and to get in/out there is a 2 feet step and no matter what you do the floor is flooded. We moved rooms. The room is great. A small villa. Two stories. Fish pond. Private enclosure. Outdoor bathroom which we love, for the same price. BUT no Wi-Fi so we are moving again tomorrow in our search for the perfect room.

The weather is HOT and humid. Even short walks result in soaked shirts. I need to change shirts daily. Normally we would walk everywhere but now we take taxis more often. Taxis are pretty cheap at about $3.50 no matter where we go. No meters, so you have to ask before you commit.

Bali is really pretty. Tropical, beautiful, a true paradise. Ubud is an easy city to get around either walking or taxi(car or motorcycle.) The tourists are Japanese, British, Russian, Australian, a few Americans and others. Everyone is well-behaved and respectful.

Tropical fruits are in abundance.   Missy loves the water from young coconut readily available and oh, so good.  We get fresh pineapple, mango and watermelon every morning.  The Rambutan (large Lichi fruit like) grows on the grounds of the hotel and I was offered a huge amount by a Gardner, trimming the trees.  I plan on tasting all of the  fruits here. Most restaurants serve touristy type of food but it’s all good. Maybe a little expensive but good.  We have had the good fortune of having locals guide us to a  roadside café serving traditional BBQ ribs and  another serving Rendang chicken (Sumatran classic dish of long-marinated meats.)

We had our first Yoga class last week. Estee was our instructor. She is Indonesian. We have now been to two of her classes. Missy went to one other class while I took the day off to write.

Early on we met our now nice and dependable driver, Kadek. Since we like to walk we found ourselves way too far from town while looking for a new Homestay. The Homestay was way too far for people without transportation and it was getting ready to rain. The very friendly front desk person had a friend who is a taxi driver. Kadek came to rescue us. Since them when we have used him nearly exclusively. We hired him for a full day to take us to many tourist sites. Driver/car all day, $40. That is the going rate here. Renting a motorcycle would be $10/day and we would have to drive on the left side of the road, British style.

We have been getting to most of the tourist sites. We went to two dance performances. Both are an effort to maintain traditional dance. Neither was a commercial event. They only cost $7. They both were stories of good versus evil in Balinese Hindu tradition. One, a fire dance, supports that Hindu temple.

We have been to a couple of Palaces.  From what we understand the two kings and families are still alive and living in these palaces.  To enter the Palaces and the Temples both of us had to wear wraps (sarong) with a scarf wrapped around the waist and Richard had to wear a headdress.

We went to a coffee plantation and tasted 14 coffee and tea mixtures. We also tried Luwak coffee. The coffee berries are fed to Asian Palm Civet (similar to a Mongoose) who poop out the part-digested beans after several days. The beans are cleaned and roasted. Apparently it has some healing properties.  It’s a thing here. Missy really liked the coffee, I prefered the Bali coffee.  We got some ginger coffee and it is delicious!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak

Massage has been a frequent activity for us and me in particular. We found a great spa. Great deep tissue message for $10/hour. We could pay as little as $6/hour.

One of the highlights of our time in Ubud is meeting a precious Baha’i family, introduced to us by our dear friend, Michael Day, at their art studio (Artomorrow Artspace).  Chix and her two dear children greeted us with open arms and loving hearts.  Unfortunately, Huda, the artist, was not feeling well. We hope to see him and the other Baha’is in Ubud at a gathering tomorrow.

A couple of days after arrival – taking Malaria pills for two days and walking and sweating a couple of buckets full – I developed a rash on the back of my neck that, after a couple of days, spread to the upper part of my chest, shoulder and arms.  We decided to see a local Dr. who sent an ambulance to the hotel to pick me up. The clinic was simple but had all that we needed. The local Dr., an M.D., suspected heat rash but to be sure, he asked that I go off the Malaria meds and take it again a couple of days before arriving in a known Malaria region.  He said that Bali is a ZERO infection zone for Malaria.  He prescribed a calamine type lotion, told me to cover my neck and chest with a big hat and after 48 hours the rash is completely gone.

We are traveling VERY light and do not have room for anything more but as a gesture of appreciation for hard work I could not resist purchasing a $2 hand-held fan from a man sitting on the hot sidewalk making a small living.

Here is a sample of the 100s of photos that we have taken:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/htiQSJjaX3scP2So2

We have a  lot more to share about our time in this beautiful town.  Stay tuned!