Though I took plenty of photos, as per my usual, they were NOT compliments of the scheduled photography tour. After someone from Honeymoon Guesthouse picked me up from A.’s house the night before and after getting up extra early to shower, pack my camera equipment AND have breakfast, the photography tour guide did NOT show up at my hotel at 7:00 a.m., as promised. I called his number from the phone in the reception area, but didn’t get any answer. I checked my messages on the www.withlocals.com website, as well as my E-mail, but there was no word from him. Thus, I sent him a message via the www.withlocals.com website letting him know that I’d been waiting for him at 7:00 a.m. and wanted to know what had happened. I noticed that he’d answered a few hours later, merely saying that we must have had a misunderstanding of the date and time. He said that we could easily reschedule. I was only in Ubud for 3 nights and this was my second day! I already had plans for the following day. In truth, I could actually have gone out on the street and bargained with a driver to take me to the places that I wanted to see – Tukad Unda and the Mangrove Forest. Instead, I decided to have a relaxing day doing nothing in particular.
I had a dinner reservation at Copper Kitchen in the new Bisma 8 hotel for 9:30 p.m. That morning seemed like the perfect time to wander down to the far end of Jalan Bisma to get an idea in advance of how long it would take to walk there and exactly what to expect upon arriving. Jalan Bisma is nearly developed all the way down now, which was something of an unhappy surprise for me. I don’t want Ubud to come full circle into the modern world; I don’t want any American chains there (although Starbucks has already invaded); I don’t want the construction of new hotels and villas to block the views of the rice paddies. Bisma 8 was pretty much at the end of the road. It was huge, modern and very nice. I wandered inside and up the stairs to the restaurant. Before long, a gentleman greeted me. I said that I’d like a table for breakfast, but that it would only be me. He introduced himself (Kumar) and asked if I’d prefer indoor or outdoor seating. I opted to sit outside, which, though humid, offered a beautiful view. Kumar seated me, returning later to change my chair as he didn’t think the one I was sitting in was comfortable enough. He said that their Eggs Benedict and rosella drink were the most popular things on the menu. I ordered the Eggs Benedict, but had strawberry juice rather than the rosella drink, as I have no idea what rosella is. Kumar checked in with me several times to make sure that everything was ok. When I was finished, he even gave me a mini tour of the hotel, bar and restaurant. He told me that many of their ingredients were fresh from their own garden plot. They have a garden area, which they let a couple of local farmers farm for free, only asking that the restaurant be able to use some of the fresh food grown there. The food did, indeed, taste very fresh. I explained to Kumar that he would see me again for dinner, if he was around.
I wandered the rice paddies and the Ubud Market for awhile. In the market, I went straight to the jeweler that I’d bought from in October. I found another beautiful gold ring to buy. I don’t remember what the name of the stone was, but was told that it signified success and money. The actual jeweler didn’t speak much in the way of English, so another vendor came by to be the go-between. After purchasing the ring, said vendor asked if I might look at some of her products; she sold scented oils, which could be used for massage, in baths or simply to scent a room. After sampling several, I settled on lotus and gardenia. When she asked me how many times I’d been to Bali, I confessed that this was my tenth trip and that my dream is to live in Bali, preferably in Ubud. She told me a story about an Aussie woman who, like me, came to Bali nearly every year. She’d told the vendor early on that she wanted to die in Bali. Whenever the vendor would take her to the airport, the Aussie woman would tell her to leave quickly and not look back, to make it less painful for her to leave. I understood that so completely and began to feel slightly emotional as she conveyed the rest of the story. As fate would have it, the Aussie woman DID eventually move to Bali, where she continued her close friendship with the vendor. She passed away in Ubud at the age of 89 and a huge cremation ceremony was held in her honor, thus her dream had come true and she had died happily in the place that she loved. “But I don’t want to make you cry,” the vendor said, as she’d already noticed that huge tears had welled up in my eyes. Even though she changed the subject, I couldn’t help but cry and continually wipe my eyes. I can’t imagine how my soul would be lifted if I were able to move to Bali, yet I know full well the depression I feel every time I’m forced to return to San Francisco. After finally managing to compose myself a bit more, I thanked the vendor, assured her that I would be fine and said that I’d see her on my next trip to Bali. While looking at a silver Barong ring while still wiping my eyes, a man came out to show it to me. When he realized that I was crying, he was especially gentle with me and I DID buy the ring. Bali people always touch my heart. (Strangely, as I write this, I’m crying again.)
Anyways… I went back to the hotel and laid out by the pool for awhile. Their resident calico cat, Sweetie, remembered me from last year and came running. She has to be close to me all the time!
After sunbathing, I headed over to Melting Wok Warung for lunch. I had their beef curry with coconut milk, along with their delicious crème caramel. The small restaurant is as popular as ever and the owner, Geraldine, as kind as can be. The food is very good and affordable, too. On my next trip to Ubud, I hope to stay at least a week and eat there a minimum of 3 times.
In the evening I’d decided to see the dance performance at the Ubud Palace. I arrived an hour before the show began to get a front row seat in the middle; I even remembered to bring my BIG lens for the DSLR this time. Some of the scheduled dances were the legong “trance” dance and the kebyar, two of my favorites. In my opinion, my photos were some of the best dance ones I’ve yet taken there.
Copper Kitchen and Kumar saw me again promptly at 9:30 p.m. I sat outside and ate the beef penang. There were also complimentary spicy kale chips and an amuse bouche of tomatoes, radishes and onions. I was already half full by the time my main arrived! The chef, Miles, stopped by my table to see how everything was. Many times when I’ve had Australian beef at high end restaurants in Bali (think Bridges, Sarong, etc.), it tastes a little strange (at least, to someone who was raised on beef from the Midwest) and is often rather tough or chewy. That’s why it was a little risky for me to order beef penang that night, but it did NOT taste strange nor was it tough or chewy. I was impressed. After dinner, Kumar invited me to sit at a table with him inside. We talked about other restaurants; his son had agreed with me EXACTLY on my consensus of the deep fried spring rolls at Hujan Locale. While chatting, Kumar asked me to try some snakefruit. He assured me that I didn’t need to finish it if I didn’t like it. I’m sure that I’ve had a taste of it at the Ubud Market, but didn’t recall its flavor. I by and large do not like many tropical fruits, though. However, once I bit into the snakefruit, it rather tasted of apple and cheddar to me. Weird, I know! Kumar was such a gentleman. He walked me downstairs and instructed one of his staff members to drive me back to Honeymoon Guesthouse, although it was only a five minute walk down the road. He also invited me to stop by the following afternoon and have tea with him.
Two Ubud locals during my morning jalan jalan
Kids at Ubud Market
Legong trance dance
Kebyar
Beef coconut curry from Melting Wok Warung
Eggs Benedict from Copper Kitchen