Cultural heart of Bali

Ubud is often regarded to as the artistic and cultural heart of Bali, as it is home to many famous local and international artists. The town itself as well as the surrounding area have a lot to offer, and therefore it has developed into a popular destination for tourists in recent years. However, unlike South Bali, where I started writing this blog, Ubud's focus has remained on the remarkable Balinese culture and thereby on its original creative atmosphere. Our days here were a blast, and Ubud was definitely worth the struggle to get there.

The company we booked our previous 5 night/6 day boat trip with would arrange our transport to Bali. Due to an accident with the fast boat, our only option to travel from Lombok to Bali was by ferry. This trip takes four to five hours while the fast boat would only take around one and a half. Too bad, but things could have been worse. What we didn't take into account was the fact that all people on the same route were now forced to take the ferry, resulting in a highly overcrowded harbour filled with inpatient travellers and locals trying to swindle them. A total chaos it was, as there simply were too many people and too little ferries. It took hours before it was our turn to get on board, and after a final fourteen(!) hours of travelling we arrived at our hostel in Ubud.

Our first day here we explored the city center by foot, and stopped in at any of the boutiques and markets that caught our eye. There was no end to the things I would have liked to take home. We ended up buying bags, singlets, and sunglasses, but we saved the majority of our souvenir shopping for our last day in Ubud.
After we had given ourselves a fresh new look, we strolled down to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary to spend time with the adorable long-tail macaques. At the entrance, we bought some bananas, and before we knew they were all gone. Yes, the monkeys were very well-supplied. Personally, I was extremely pleased at least to let the macaques scale my body and climb atop my head. For a moment it felt like I was back in the wild life rescue center in Costa Rica.

Back in our twenty bed dorm room we met Nick and Jordan, with whom we rented a scooter the following two days. Bali is a perfect island to explore by scooter, and for us it was a great way to spend these days taking in the gorgeous landscapes and panoramic views.

The first day we drove all the way up North to Lovina. We were not very well prepared for the trip as we made a mistake in the distance: it was a rough 85 kilometers to get there instead of 45. The only thing we were prepared for was to come across the police. Bali's police are among the most corrupt in the world, and bribery is a common practice. The vast majority of foreigners that rent scooters here are driving without proper paperwork. So, police have made it a task to grab tourists since they know they can likely take a bribe to pocket. We took an extra wallet with some small money with us so that we could pretend that was all we had, just in case. We were told that if a police officer would try to stop us, we should just ignore them. The thing is, they just wave to all tourists and wait for the stupid ones to stop. So, when somewhere in the mountains a police officer waved at the four of us, we just shouted 'go, go go!!' to Nick and Jordan who were in front of us, and drove away as fast as we could. The police officer made another attempt to stop us by blowing his whistle, but to no avail. What a joke!

Later, in front of a little fruit stall along the road, we met a local who invited us to have a drink at his brother's coffee farm. We cheerfully followed him to his brothers' place where we later tasted several types of coffee and tea, such as Balinese coffee and Lemongrass tea, for free. Only for a cup of kopi luwak coffee we would have to pay a few euros, but we were more than happy to do so. Kopi luwak refers to the seeds of coffee berries once they have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet cat. Although kopi luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called the most expensive coffee in the world with retail prices reaching 550 euros per kilogram.

Eventually we reached Lovina beach, a 12 kilometer stretch of coast. We took a nice break there and had a late lunch at the Global Village Kafé, a unique social business venture with all the profits being used to support local initiatives. As the outward journey took longer than expected, we had to drive back on an unlit mountain road with no other source of illumination except the scooters' headlights. We were not too excited about that, also taking into consideration the dangerous driving habits of the locals. In the Netherlands one would immediately be pulled to the side of the road when driving like the Balinese do. In the end it turned out pretty well, and tired but satisfied we returned to Ubud.

No visit to Bali would be complete without seeing at least one of its temples. So, the other day we took a small trip to a couple of highlights in the area: Goa Gajah, Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul.

Our first stop on the route was Goa Gajah, a significant Hindu archaeological site located just ten minutes outside the city center. When we arrived at the parking lot, we had local women instantly trying to sell nicely crafted sarongs to us. As we had to cover our legs when entering the temple, we seemed to be lured into purchasing these. Luckily we found out that they were lend out at the entrance for free. Goa Gajah is locally known as Elephant Cave, because the primary figure carved into the rock at the cave entrance was once thought to be an elephant. For such a busy tourist attraction, the cave itself is actually quite small. We entered through the dark, narrow passage, and the cave abruptly ended in an intersection. The left passage contained a small niche with a statue, and the right passage held a small worship area. We were invited to place an offering. Offerings are an integral part of daily living for the Balinese, the majority of whom are Hindu.

Crafted out of natural materials, the simple offering consisted of a green leaf, holding a small amount of rice, fruits and flowers. We placed one in front of the temple, and then left it untouched to be destroyed by the animal kingdom. The woman who invited us, dropped holy water into our cupped hands, and wet our hair with the final splash. After the holy water ritual, she took a pinch of rice and stuck it to our forehead and throat. Rice to the Balinese is the source of life.

Sticking it to your forehead appears to serve as a reminder of what is important in your life.

Not much later, on our way to Gunung Kawi, we got lost. I am really glad we did. For an hour or so we wandered around the jungle and the side streets in the villages located far away from the tourist crowds. That’s where we found the real Bali. Now that was amazing, observing the local children playing carefree and smiling curiously.

Before entering the temple complex of Gunung Kawi, we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beautiful rice paddies. The complex itself comprises ten rock-cut temples carved into a cliff, and can only be viewed after descending 300 stairs. It was well worth the trek down as it was very different from the other temple.

At last we visited Tirta Empul. This temple is highly sought out for its holy water. The sacred spring that feeds the temple provides holy water for priests and for bathing for Balinese who believe that a dip hereabouts can bring good fortune and health. So, the temple is actually a functional one and while we were there, we got to watch locals making an offering before climbing into the long main pool to bathe and meditate. Especially because of that, this temple was the most impressive and interesting one we had been to that day.

Thoroughly exploring the Ubud area made us realize we hadn't seen enough of it yet. So, even though we were supposed to leave for South Bali the day after, we decided to stay one more day. During that time we visited the Sang Spa where we enjoyed getting a traditional Balinese massage, and Ubud's palace where we enjoyed seeing a traditional Balinese dance. Both really amazing, and impossible to properly describe!