Indonesia

Part 3. Bali

Day 1
June 19 Happy Birthday to my mom, who would have been 95 today. I can’t imagine how they traveled with 5 children all over the world, I can barely take care of myself somedays. Another long travel day. Flew to KL and then onto Bali. Then a 2 hour car ride from the airport to Ubud where we finally got to the Healing House at 10 pm after leaving at 6 am. The not so fun part of traveling.

The next morning, as we looked out over the beautiful rice fields and swimming pool, and watched as the rain poured down, we realized that our plan of sitting by the pool all day wasn’t going to work, not just because of the rain, but also because we really had only 2 days in Ubud. So it was off for some adventures.

Healing House

Healing House

Healing House

First off we went to Studio Terka, for a jewelry making class. We were able to design our own pendant, ring or earrings. I chose to make a heart pendant. The teacher, who has been making jewelry for over 17 years helped with the soldering, and other minor details, and told us what to do, but we had a big part in designing and making our pieces. Melissa is into pineapples and she made a ring, earrings and a pendant. Jane and Lisa made leaf pendants. They turned out pretty professional looking and we loved it.

Next it was off for a little lunch, Indonesian curry and avocado smoothies. Then we headed for a couple hours at the spa, and what a treat that was.

Helena, our friend who lived in Bali for years recommended Nur Salon and Spa. It was the most beautiful setting ever in a Balinese garden with so many beautiful plants and water features. So peaceful. We started by getting undressed, in front of the lady, which was a little weird. Then we had an hour massage that was one of the best I’ve had. Followed by a full body scrub. Then we were rinsed off with warm water, and finally we soaked in a tub filled with rose and frangi pangi petals. It was so relaxing. It was about 30$ for the treatment, and well worth it.

We left, wanting to stay all day, and did a few more minutes of shopping, and then decided to go for a facial. 5$ We went into what looked like a family home and they had a spa upstairs. Lisa and Melissa had some young girls work on them, and I had a mother, who had been holding the cutest baby earlier. More relaxation.

We then did more shopping for jewelry, and I picked up some nice pieces for my sisters and daughter-in-laws.

And then off to dinner for more Indonesian curry for me, with an ice-cream for an appetizer. Yum!

Day 2 June 20 Adventures in Ubud.

We woke up today and the girls decided they wanted to see The Monkey Forest before we went on our bike trip. We walked out from The Healing House and found a taxi. Of course they tried to charge us more, but we got them down to about 5$ and we should have booked him for a ride back, but thought we could catch a ride. There weren’t many people there, and the monkeys weren’t jumping all over. Although one did get into someone’s backpack and steal a bag of tissues. This place is best if you go early in the morning before too many people come.

We couldn’t get a taxi back, but this nice older guy let us in with him and we got back to the place and hurried and packed up. Ebikes Bali picked us up and in large golf cart and off we went to meet the bikes nearby. The golf cart carried all our things and followed us the whole way. These bikes have electric motors and you don’t have to pedal at all if your don’t want to. It was nice as there were lots of hills. We mostly stayed on the roads in the country and spent a lot of time in the beautiful rice fields. We were able to go into a Balinese home and see the “compound”. We went into a cemetery where they bury the dead, and then when there are enough people to do a group cremation, dig them up again. The tour guides told us that it’s not so bad if they have been buried for a few years, but if its only been a couple of months it’s quite “tramatic” was the word he used. Only the rich people can be cremated just after they die, as it’s very expensive. Very interesting custom, and I can’t see myself digging up my relative.
We had dinner near a temple and were able to catch the end of a parade where they were going to a ceremony. The weather forecast has been super rainy, unusual for this time of year, but luckily it held off for our ride. And no one fell or got hurt. This is where I believe the true beauty of Bali is. And after watching the amount of work it is to grow rice, every grain is precious.

We got a ride into Sanur and stayed at Villa Bunga, and airbnb. We walked out after putting our stuff down and got some dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Day 3 June 21 Double ice- cream day. There is a fantastic ice-cream shop in Sanur with 30 different flavors of gelato. We passed it on the way to Villa Bunga, and walked back about 20 minutes to get it. My friend and I stayed at this Airbnb Villa called Villa Bunga last year in March and loved it. The house is lovely, there is a pool and it’s walking distance to the beach and shopping. And Surpani, the housekeeper lives here while the owner lives in another country. She cleans and cooks and takes care of the place. Her food is delicious and the price is perfect. It’s a great place to stay, although it’s a little noisier that I remember from before. And the dogs are barking more often.

Day 4 June 23
Uluwatu Temple

It was one of those 5% days. We spent a lot of time in the car. First the driver took us to this dance show, the costumes were unique, but it rather long and expensive. We then went to this temple on the cliffs. Uluwatu Temple We watched a monkey steal a guys cell phone. Luckily the worker there threw food at the monkey and he finally dropped the phone and got it from him, but it was next to the cliff and very dangerous. This is a rather small temple, but overlooking the beautiful ocean on high cliffs.

We finally went Pandan Pandan beach to swim. The beaches were super dirty because of a strong storm, so we wanted to go to a different beach to swim. There were lots of people there. It was a long long day, I think we are all tired. Traveling is exciting, but it’s not always easy.

;June 24 Sunday

Today Lisa and I attended church in Bali. We were able to catch a Grab for about 5$. Finding the church in another country is always tricky, but so far I have always been able to do it. Today it was a little tricky to find it as Lisa stayed with with the driver while I went and asked at a hotel. One thing I have learned is not to let the driver go until I find the place I want to go, it’s not fun getting stuck in the middle of nowhere without transportation. Anyway, the hotel knew where it was and it was in the back in an alley. There were about 40 people there, and most of them were visitors. In fact, they told us there are no Balinese members, and missionaries are not allowed in Bali. Seemed a lot like my branch, where there are few members and you help with many things. One guy played the piano, passed the sacrament, and even did some of the translating.
It was a good meeting and Lisa and I were asked to give the prayers. When I asked the branch president how he even knew we were LDS he said he could see it in our faces.

Today we had Surpani make us her curry for dinner. It came with rice, corn cakes, vegetables and fruit and this crispy rice/shrimp crackers that are so gross. They have them in Malaysia too. But the rest was delicious. We played a little cards, golf, and headed to bed early as Melissa and I had a 4 am wake up for the trip to the airport. A day in KL and then off to our last stop, Myanmar.

It's our school Spring Break and what better way than to spend it in Bali. It took most of a day to get here from Johor Bahru! But in total the flight was around 300$.

Our first stop was Ubud. We had chosen an airbnb place. It was called The Healing House, and indeed it was healing for the soul. We stayed on the edge of a rice field. Every morning the farmer would be up at dawn working in the fields. Every morning the owner, Putu would come with his helper and fix us an amazing breakfast. A big bowl of fresh tropical fruit. Eggs, or Satay. Fresh squeezed juice or a coconut. Not a coconut like I used to buy the kids in the store that had a few drops of milk, but one containing at least 2 cups of juice.

Putu, the owner and his wife and housekeeper

Airbnb stay in Ubud walk to get there

Airbnb stay in Ubud

Airbnb stay in Ubud

Airbnb view from deck

Airbnb

Breakfast

Morning drink

Breakfast of Satay

Breakfast in Ubud

We hired a driver for the first day and spent the first day traveling to an Elephant Reserve where we watched an elephant show, rode on an elephant for about 30 minutes and walked around a beautiful area. We also drove into a rural community among the rice fields and farms containing fruits and veggies. At one point we stopped at a beautiful roadside stand and purchased mandarins just picked from the trees. 75% of the land here is used for farming. It's amazingly beautiful and there is a peace here. The people were so warm and friendly. We had lunch overlooking a valley and lake and had a view of the volcano that is still active today. We also visited a temple where we had to wear sarongs.
Beautiful first day!

The next day we decided to be super active....and ended up so sore the next day. I would recommend biking one day and rafting another, but we did them both on the same day! Crazy us!
The tour bus picked us up and delivered us up to the top of the mountain where we had been the day before viewing the volcano. We were outfitted with bikes and helmets and rode for 27 km through beautiful plantations and rice fields. Oh my rear end! We stopped at a local Balinese home and took a tour. Usually several families live in the compound that has several small homes inside. This family had a business where they took pieces of wood and carved them into owls. I later saw the finished products at the market all painted up. This home had no running water, and just recently got electricity, and TV. There was a small building that served as a kitchen with a wood stove. We played a little song on the musical instrument on the porch.

We also had a chance to hold an enormous spider. They were all over! Super scary looking, but I held one. My friend Kelly was freaked out!

Following the bike tour we were driven to the Elephant Reserve where we watched the Elephant show...again...and had a buffet lunch. Then it was off to the next activity. Rafting. One of the difficult parts was the 633 steps down to the river and over 300 back up. But the rafting was fun. The rapids were pretty calm, only a few really exciting places. Mostly a nice smooth ride. Monkeys on the way, and some beautiful carvings that were on the rocks.

We were totally exhausted and it was back to the house to relax for the evening.

Sunday we really wanted to go to church, but we were more than an hour away so we listened to Women's Conference while it poured rain. Nice day to rest and relax. We found a little restaurant and enjoyed some Balinese food. We did a little shopping at the market and did some bargaining.

The next day we toured the Monkey Forest. Monkeys everywhere. We fed some bananas, and enjoyed the beautiful forest. Then it was off to Sanur for our next BnB.

We got to experience The Day of Silence or Nyepi in Bali. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyepi
When we planned the trip we didn't know that this was happening. Everything is closed, even the airports and you are confined to your house. Many people leave the county to get away from it, but we enjoyed the experience. There was a huge parade the night before to scare away the evil spirits, and then at midnight there was silence. And darkness. Luckily the sky was clear and the starts were amazing! They want it silent so the evil spirits leave the island.

Our housekeeper kept us fed with her amazing dishes and we just relaxed and swam in the pool, read books and played games. I was worried that I would be totally bored....but it turned out ok.

Our last day we walked to the beach and had a little swim in the Badung Straight. The water was lovely and warm! We met up with friends from work for lunch right on the edge of the ocean. Yummy fish and chips. Then we caught an Uber to the airport and it was off to Kuala Lumpur.

I highly recommend Bali as a dream vacation. I will go back again and spend more time, if I have the time before checking off all the other places I need to get to! Next time I would like to try the snorkeling and beach activities.