The rain woke me up this morning, bright and early at 6:00 a.m. There has been a fair amount of rain, considering it is the dry season. After this morning's sprinkle had passed, we walked to Sari Bamboo for breakfast, only to realize we didn't have enough money to eat. Jake decided he wanted to eat cereal at home anyway, so he went back to Londo. Macaela and Ibu walked down the path and down the Campuhan steps to Sama Sama to change money. They don't have the best rate, but they are the closest.
So now, with full wallets, we headed back to Sari Bamboo and had a wonderful brunch. We've kind of gotten into a two-meal-a-day habit, since we've been eating "breakfast" so late. Afterwards, Macaela went back to Londo to hang out with Jake. Ibu and I walked back up the road and checked out a few little shops and restaurants along the way. We continued down the hill and across the river into the village.
Somewhere along the way, we decided to make our way through the village and back home by way of the jungle path. It has been five years since we've made this walk and things have changed a bit - not to mention that our memories have gotten a bit foggy. So we steered by intuition. When we weren't sure about our next move we stopped at Vespa Cafe for a cold drink. We each ordered an iced tea for about 20,000 each, and while we thought the place was nice and had a good bathroom, the tea was not that great and definitely not worth the hefty price tag. But the tea did refresh us and perhaps lifted the brain fog a bit, because we emerged from Vespa pretty sure about where we needed to go next.
Talk about change! The jungle "path" is now a road, and where once there were only small private homes and a few secluded rentals, there are now immense villas, a couple of expensive hotels, shops and restaurants. The traffic is still mostly on foot, but motorbike access is easy. Close to home we found a new hotel property which has only been open for 10 days. Ubud Heaven Villas is lovely, and in a couple of years when the screening vegetation grows in, it will be even better. They already had guests when we were there, although their restaurant was not yet open. We asked to look around and a nervous young man named Wayan showed us a one bedroom and a two bedroom villa. Each villa has a complete kitchen and a small pool. These rent for $250 and $460 per night, but they're set up for long term rentals.
After our tour of Ubud Heaven, we made our way back home and rested for a while. I had promised Jake a home-cooked burger meal and we figured tonight was a good night to do it, so we took our supplies out of the freezer to thaw. We were running low on snacks and stuff, so I called Made for a ride to Bintang Supermarket. I'm used to big American bikes, not little Balinese motorbikes, so I almost knocked Made over when I got on his.
I tried to hurry at the store, because Made had come directly from playing badminton and had not had a chance to go home yet. But while I was shopping, I realized that some of the things I was buying had BOGO deals on them. So I shopped carefully, making sure that I was picking up the right free items. Well, it doesn't work the same as in the U.S. I ended up paying for all the items I put in my basket, and I had to go to the information desk to get my free items. Except when I got there, they told me they were finished. I did get a free milk to go with our cookies, but I had to surrender my receipt. I think next time, I'll ignore those deal signs.
So back home to cook dinner. I made sauteed onions, fried the bacon and cooked the burgers. It was sort of like cooking at camp, but in a kitchen. It was a good dinner, but I won't buy those pre-made burgers again. Everyone liked them but me, but I just couldn't finish mine. The flavor was very different!
Now that we've settled in to our regular location, I feel a bit more relaxed.
Up at 6:00 this morning to shower, get dirty clothes together to take to the laundry, open all the windows to let in the sounds and smells of Bali morning, sweep the porch, fill the water bottles, and catch up on writing. We've been accustomed to having a big thermos of hot tea delivered to our bungalow each morning around 6:30, followed by breakfast around 8:00, but things have changed. Made's father had a stroke a while back (and has reached the age of retirement for banjar purposes), so various village and temple responsibilities now fall to Made to take care of. Kadek has two young children and also has temple and family responsibilities. So now we're on our own for breakfast. Not a big deal, since there are several great restaurants within a 10 minute walk.
When everyone was ready, we set out for our day. We started by dropping the laundry off next door at Agus Laundry, then went out to the road for breakfast at Sari Bamboo. The food here has always been delicious, freshly prepared, and very reasonably priced. Their iced lemon tea is just about perfect, too. Macaela had banana juice and banana jaffle, followed up with pisang goreng (fried bananas). I couldn't resist choosing one of the wonderful entrees instead of traditional breakfast fare.
After breakfast, the kids walked back home to lay around and chill for the day. Ibu and I decided to explore side streets. We noticed a for rent sign for a joglo style villa with one bedroom and a guest house for only 10 million per month (rupiah, that is), and decided to go check it out. It wasn't really a side road, more like a side path, but it leads down into the rice fields behind Sari Bamboo. There were several private villas, some great views, and even a spa if you venture far enough back.
We had not planned to be out and about in the sun, and we didn't have our hats, so when things started to heat up, we headed back to Londo. Made stopped by to check on our plans, and we decided today would be a good time to visit Tegallalang for more shopping. It was sad to see the number of shops that seemed to be closed permanently (many were closed for the afternoon due to a local ceremony). Also, it used to be that you could drive through this village and find a huge variety of carved and painted wooden items - toys, puzzles, windchimes, mobiles, key chains, flowers, sculptures - almost anything. Now what we mostly saw was shop after shop of the same things. There are loads of shops selling glass or mirror mosaic things. It seems like all the imagination and creativity we used to see has been replaced by duplication.
Since we were so close, we asked Made to take us to Petulu (15,000 per person to enter the village) to watch the herons come to roost. Now, this is something I've done before, way back in '95, and at the time we parked, looked around and said "OK, now we've seen it, can we leave?" And it is kind of like that; it's a bit dirty, and there's not much to do. But, I enjoy birds, and it is pretty cool to watch the hundreds (thousands?) of herons come in from all over the surrounding countryside and return to their few favored trees. You can easily see which trees those are as you drive through the village. Don't stand on the white parts of the road! After you've wandered around a bit, you can cross the rice field to the tiny warung and order a fresh young coconut to sip on while you watch the show. The sign here claims they have the best view of the birds, and the owner also loans out his binoculars.
After all that excitement, we had Made drop us on Jl. Monkey Forest for dinner at Jaya Cafe again. We ordered tuna steak, baby back ribs, "Chicken Gordon Blue" and a BLT. All were great, except the BLT, which just didn't make the grade. We tried to contact one of our regular drivers for a ride back home, but he was taking people to the airport. So we walked. Just past Ubud Music on main road, we finally hired transport back to Londo for 30,000 (five years ago, it would have been 10,000). Off to bed, for there is a big day tomorrow.
So now, with full wallets, we headed back to Sari Bamboo and had a wonderful brunch. We've kind of gotten into a two-meal-a-day habit, since we've been eating "breakfast" so late. Afterwards, Macaela went back to Londo to hang out with Jake. Ibu and I walked back up the road and checked out a few little shops and restaurants along the way. We continued down the hill and across the river into the village.
