Ubud (continued; last part)

My first journal entry described my first three days in Ubud. Here are my final 3:


A new friend

After my adventure with Madé, I tried to find him the next day but he was not around. So I befriended a new guy, a taxi driver, named Ketut. He is awesome!! Long story short, I wound up spending two days in a row with him. On the first day, he made a deal with me to take me to the famous Tegenungan Waterfall for half the price as well.

Our ride there consisted of storytelling and me asking him questions about life in Bali, and I told him about my adventure with Madé. There was some kind of competitive nature within him after hearing all that Madé showed me, which made him want to do the same!! Tegenungan Waterfall was the first stop, but I will say that I felt rather lonely coming here - it would have been nice to go with a friend. Still beautiful, though. I also had an unbelievable, ice cold, HUUUUGE, freshly cut coconut after (it had - I kid you not - enough cups for 6 people to drink).

After the waterfall and many chats in the car, he then took me to so many different places after knowing that I was an art teacher - we stopped at a wood carving factory, a batik dyeing studio, a larger silversmithing studio watching men at work with silver and a coffee plantation again for me to try the famous Luwak coffee.

The woodworking place was interesting, I met the owner and watched people at work, carving these amazing sculptures for different clients. He said they also work with Pier 1, so some of the things they make here are bought by Pier 1 and sold for 6 times the price.

Batik dyeing studio was not really a dyeing studio - I wish I could have seen more. But the coffee plantation I went to was even better than the first one, with rice fields right in front of you. We chatted it up for a long time with the coffee server, who sat with us as we sipped our (free!) samples. You had to pay for the Luwak coffee...

Luwak Coffee

This is... interesting. Luwaks are Civets, and Luwak coffee is made in the strangest way. Unlike regular coffee beans, these coffee beans are fed to civets in the wild, where they are later found sprinkled somewhere on the ground after they've been "naturally fermented" (if you catch my drift...). The smell and taste are thus stronger, fuller and richer. It was actually so delicious. And not to worry, they apply standard sanitation and hygiene in cleaning them. So I had my first cup of pooped-out and ground coffee beans to go with my 14 coffee and tea samples, with banana chips.

Day 2 with Ketut

So after our full day, Ketut said, "What we do tomorrow???" And I told him about this crazy idea I had to go really far up north (about 1.5-2 hours away) to the central mountains of Bali at a higher altitude. He said OK right away and we made a deal to make that 1/3rd the usual price, since I was on my own. We decided to meet at 8AM sharp the next day.

The trip over was amazing... We had a dance party in his car pretty much -- I hooked up my phone to his speakers and we sang and danced to every song. The funniest part was, his face completely lit up once I put on some hip hop. Fetty Wap - "679", specifically - he went "OH YEAH!! I LIKE THIS!" bumping his head up and down and tapping his wheel. It was hilarious and so much fun. He also enjoyed Justin Bieber and I have a video of us singing his song "Sorry" together. All of that made the ride go much faster, as we went on a steep hill climb through winding hills, further and further up where my sealed water bottle was completely flattened by the air pressure.

Pura Ulun Datu Beratan

This is an iconic place... a staple of the entire Bali island. So unbelievably serene, peaceful and beautiful - This place is known to be really misty in the mornings but it was bright and sunny. I almost wish I saw it on a misty morning at dawn, but it was still fantastic. It seemed other-worldly to me, with the calm of the water and the backdrop of the mountain, thankfully we arrived when there were very few tourists. It sits right in the lake of Danau Beratan.

This is looking the other direction than the previous pic.
I was sitting on a bench right here. Amazing place to sit and think.

We stopped at this amazing restaurant on a hilltop's edge, which had a steep drop below and overlooked more rice fields. They are literally everywhere. After that was one more temple, Taman Ayun. So gorgeous, but we didn't stay here long.

After this long morning/afternoon, he took me back to the coffee plantation a second time (my 3rd time) so I could have another go at free coffees and teas. The coffee server remembered me also and welcomed me back. These Balinese people are just too nice! He, along with other motorbikers and taxi drivers I've met during my week here, kept telling me to be careful once I entered Gili islands and Java. "They're not as nice as us Balinese people, they cut your bag, steal your things, be careful and keep everything with you." They really look out for us travelers. Ketut and I kept in touch and I gave his business card to a couple of friends I made at my hostel. He said he was happy to take me around - taxi drivers here on average only get around 1-3 customers a day, the competition is high.

Ketut!

When I got back to my hostel, I spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool where I made a new friend, Alex from France. He and I made plans to go to a holy water temple the following day. That night I also figured it was time to try a Balinese massage. This only cost me $5 USD for a full hour!! It was amazing, and didn't hurt at all unlike some tend to.

Hikes

Yesterday before the holy water temple, I decided to do a long 3.5 hour hike that Lonely Planet suggested, which took me through uphill and downhill paths through elephant grass and small villages found between the two main rivers. It was beautiful and definitely a workout that I had needed - but I finished it in 2.5 hours!

Tirta Empul Temple

Upon returning to my hostel, Alex and I made our way to Tirta Empul Temple, which has been a sacred spring for over 12 generations - a place where people go into water, give offerings, pray, and then cleanse themselves under fountain-pouring water filled with koi fish. It's meant to have curative and purifying properties - somewhat as a place to repent your sins. What I found weird was that tourists could also try it if they want, as long as they wore a sarong. I can't guess tourists' religions, obviously, but some of them I'm sure were praying in this holy water without ever having prayed a day in their lives and didn't give any offerings either (but wanted a family member to capture it in photo) - a local who was standing next to me noticed that too and chuckled a bit.

Locals and tourists

Alex and I drove 30 minutes back on motorbike through back streets and different areas before arriving back at the hostel again. That night I went to my sister's friend's restaurant for dinner at Kebun Bistro - not a place for typical Indonesian cuisine, but it was amazingly delicious. Nowhere else on this trip will I be eating at such a fancy, air-conditioned and clean place. A place to indulge for a meal for sure... finished with a chocolate cake.

Where I am now

Sort of unfortunately, still in Ubud. They messed up my boat ride for this morning even though I booked a full week in advance - saying that the boat today was full. They gave my money to the boat company but never solidified a spot on the date I told them. Aïe aïe aïe... So I have to wait another whole day before arriving on Gili Trawangan. I've done everything I wanted here in Ubud, so will be lounging by the pool and writing in my journal. I really hope there are no problems tomorrow with pickup. Fingers crossed...