Bali 2024 - Day 6 (March 18)

 After breakfast this morning, we decided to go walking. We set out down the jungle path until we reached the top of the Tjampuhan (pronounced Champ-wan) steps, then turned left down a path we had not explored before. We finally found the Yellow Flower Cafe that Kadek had told us about back in 2003. It is nestled on the side of the hill and kind of has a cave-like feel. The clientele seemed to be mostly organic yoga types lounging on the several couches. We ordered drinks and snacks and rested a while.

Back down the path the way we came, down the Tjampuhan steps, and down the road just a bit brings us to Sama Sama, where Ibu stopped in to check on her clothing order. I decided to wait downstairs because I wasn't up to climbing up to the third floor.

Carved wall outside Thampuhan Hotel

When Ibu got up there, she found that Pande was in. Pande has helped us with our made-to-order clothing a couple of times in the past and since it's been 10 years, they spent some time catching up. Meanwhile, I had enough time to smoke an entire kretek, cross the street to the Tjamuphan Hotel to take pictures, sit and watch the world go by, find a place to get in out of the rain, go back to watching the traffic when the rain stopped 15 minutes later, and consider that I should have walked down to get money changed while I waited.

Eventually, Ibu made it back down to the street and we walked on down to the printer where Ibu had ordered labels for her bags. We approved the artwork and paid a deposit, then continued down the street to the money changer.

Since we started coming here in 1995, we have been warned about money changers, but we have never had an issue. I developed a routine very early on and it has always worked. I calculate how much rupiah we should be getting, I watch them count the money, I count the money. I don't touch anything until they are finished, and they don't touch anything once they have counted. This time, however . . .

There is a little money changer booth at the bottom of the hill where Jl Penestanan meets Jl Raya Ubud. I have noticed that their rate is usually higher than any of the others that we see, so I decided since we were right there, that we would take advantage of their great rate. First red flag was that they did not ask for our passports. I calculated, they calculated, we were in agreement. He counted out three piles that were accurate. When he finished, I picked up the first pile and counted it, then placed it back on the counter to pick up the next one. He immediately picked up the pile I had just counted and counted it again. Once I had counted all three piles and come up with the correct amount, he had recounted all three piles and now we just had one pile. I picked this up and counted again. It was 800,000 short, so I counted again - yep, 800,000 short. He's busy trying to tell me it is correct, while I'm asking him where the rest of it went. He picked it up and counted it out into three piles again, and magically it was all there. I didn't look at his face during all of this (I'm busy watching the hands), but Ibu said he looked angry. When he realized that Ibu wanted to change money too, he sent someone else to the counter. This guy tried the same thing, even going so far as to yank the money out of my hands at one point. We did manage to get away with the correct amount and I wonder if they would refuse to serve us if we came back.

Setra Desa Adat Ubud

After that ordeal, we continued toward Ubud center. We chose to take the side road Ibu had discovered a few days ago. Not really a short-cut, but a quieter and much less hectic way to get into town. There are homes, a few businesses, guest houses, a spa, and a temple up there.

Back on main road, we were looking for Tino's, a store we've been shopping in since 1995. Back then, you could get your photos printed, pick up a snack, buy postcards and various small goods. Over the years, it grew to two floors with a huge assortment of housewares, food, and art supplies. Now, it is no longer on the main road. It's down a little side street in a basement. There's a slim selection of foods, wines, and a few basics. The peanuts I bought there were rancid. Quite a disappointment.

After a quick stop in at the bookstore to look around, we went to Casa Luna for lunch. We have been going here since 1995 as well. The servers here have always seemed a bit arrogant, but we keep going back because their house special pasta dish is probably my favorite thing to eat here. It is fresh made fettuccini with ham, asparagus, and avocado in a cream sauce served with grated parmesan. I think it also has mushrooms and onion in it, but I can't remember. Ibu got a slice of lemon crumble cake and cappuccino. Oh, and the service was quite friendly this time.

After stuffing our bellies, we walked all the way back to Bintang for more groceries. The only way to get seltzer here is in individual cans, and I'm drinking about 3 a day at home, so we need to keep restocking the fridge. 

Now tired and loaded down with groceries, we called Made to come get us. There was very bad traffic, so he and Putu showed up at the store on motorbikes to take us home. And since there was so much traffic, they took us home the long way. I'm getting used to riding side-saddle, but I still have to hold on. It was an exciting trip to say the least.

Late lunch means no dinner. We were both tired and hit the beds early because we're going back to Sukawati tomorrow.