Bali Again – Indonesia With Our Boys, Part Three

After the peacefulness of Gili Air, Kuta, during the holiday season, appeared insane! The chaotic cacophony was made worse by the heat in the un-air-conditioned van that slowly made its way through the congested convoluted streets. Upon arrival at the hotel, we found an error in the booking, and three of us did not have a room. Following a long exhausting debate over what we should, could and would do, Dwayne, Alex and I found another hotel room for a couple of nights. 

The disorder at the next hotel would have been comedic had I not been so tired. They gave us a room with one king size bed – for three of us! I have no idea what they were thinking! Eventually, we all had a bed to sleep in for the night, so we hired scooters and convened at the Rooster Bar. A few games of pool, dinner and an early night.

We all did our own thing for a day or two, meeting up for dinner or lunch and sometimes breakfast. Dwayne and Alex went shopping for bargains, bought some singlets, played pool and had a massage. Kye got his surfboard fixed, and he and Kailey went parasailing. Jedd and Marie shopped and found a great little place for breakfast. They took us to ‘The Drop’ in Seminyak, where they served delicious breakfast, first-rate juice, and smoothies.

We decided to ride our scooters to Ubud for the day, unaware that the aforementioned holiday chaos had, if possible, increased in intensity! We had a great day, but we were exhausted by the end.

Our first stop was a Luwak coffee plantation. We did not plan to stop at a coffee plantation. I don’t drink coffee and had no idea what Luwak Kopi was. A local guy told us to visit and told us to follow him. Once there, we were told about the coffee beans fermenting in the Luwak’s (civet’s) gut before being defecated and used to make coffee. They also had tea to taste.

It was sad to see the civets in the cages. So I looked into this idea of civet coffee. Apparently, the people ‘making’ the coffee do not just wander through the natural forest collecting the poo from the wild animals – that is how it used to be created and why it was so expensive. Now, however, it is made by force feeding captive civets. If you think visiting a Luwak Kope farm is something you’d like to do, please read this first. I am glad to say none of us bought the Luwak coffee, and I will not visit another Luwak coffee plantation.

As we were leaving the coffee farm, it started raining. As the fat rain drops fell thick and fast, we sat with some of the plantation staff under a small shelter. Someone played the guitar, and an impromptu sing-along started. Then Marie played some songs on the guitar, and we all sang along – we were terrible; it was hilarious, and the staff enjoyed laughing at us!

The rain didn’t look like it would let up, so we hit the road and visited the wet monkeys. We were a funny sight in our colourful ponchos, but we indeed were not unique. Every clever bunny was wearing a poncho!

The monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud are not in cages. They are in fact, free to wander the forest and temples. There is, however, the contentious issue of feeding the animals, thereby keeping them reliant on the tourist for food. Whether we should or shouldn’t feed the monkeys aside, being wet did not dampen their appetites, and they ran to us for bananas. The monkeys often get a bad rap about being nasty and aggressive, but if you follow the rules, i.e. don’t hide food etc., they are a lot of fun to visit.

It was still raining as we walked up the main street of Ubud to find a place for lunch. As is often the way in Bali (during the wet season), the downpour suddenly ended, and the sun came out. After lunch, we walked down to the Ubud markets for a look and a shop. These markets are enormous. The markets have grown and now sell much of the same stuff you can buy in Kuta. It was not easy to find the unique handicrafts and carvings that Ubud is renown for in amongst the t-shirts, sarongs and phallic objects that litter the stalls.

The labyrinth-like markets were a bustling hive of activity. Colourful and noisy, the aromas of the bazaar ranged from delightfully aromatic to very unappealing. Paintings, bags, knives, statues, jewellery and of course, sarongs! I think we all bought something before we jumped back on our scooters and headed back to Kuta.

That night we caught up with Stewart and Elaine, from Adelaide, who were holidaying in Bali. We went to Rosso Vivo for dinner. This restaurant is not a cheap Indonesian Warung, but the smoked duck pasta was yummy and well worth the treat.

The long bike ride to Ubud had wreaked havoc with my back, and with a cold and hay fever on top of that, I spent the next couple of days lazing around the hotel in bed. Dwayne and Stewart went with the boys to Uluwatu for a surf. Kye put another ding in his surfboard, so he again dropped it off to be fixed.

We had New Year’s Eve dinner at The Rooster Bar. We had Babi Guling (spit roast pig), nasi goreng, mei goreng and sambal, gravy and a spicy curry sauce. Stewart joined us for dinner, but Elaine was indisposed with severe sunburn. We had a feast, played pool and then, because I was still feeling average, I walked back to the hotel while the others hit the bars and clubs. I had a 180-degree view of the fireworks from the hotel balcony. Selamat Tahun Baru! Happy New Year!

The following evening it was time to say goodbye. Some of us got a little teary as we rushed to get last-minute photos. We can’t wait for the next adventure with our boys. There are plenty more exotic, exciting and beautiful places to visit together! Sampai Bertamu Lagi… Until next time.

Next up – More Bali

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