How To Cure a Hangover

Posted by Tina on 7 December, 2014

Even with a hangover, waking up in Ubud is a joy. The sounds of roosters, ducks, dogs, crickets, geckos and all types of unidentified birds is soothing to me in the morning, along with the ever present scents of flowers and incense. Whereas, in the past, Honeymoon Guesthouse would serve breakfast on your terrace at your appointed time, guests are now urged to eat breakfast in the second floor room above the reception/lounge/café area. The downside to that is I have to get completely ready (i.e. shower and clean clothes) to go to breakfast. Before, I’d have breakfast on the terrace in my sarong and wearing my glasses while organizing expenses or writing in my diary. My breakfast was a fruit plate, watermelon juice and scrambled eggs with toast.

By then, my headache was starting to abate just a tad. A few years ago, someone in Ubud had asked me if I drink jamu to keep myself healthy and looking young. Although I’d heard of jamu, I’ve never had the opportunity to drink it. Jamu is an ancient Indonesian cure-all – an herbal, medicinal drink that’s supposedly green and bitter tasting. The basic ingredients are turmeric, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind and sulphur. Right then, I was beginning to consider trying it. I don’t recall ever seeing it on a restaurant menu, but thought it might be easier to find at the Ubud market.

En route to the Ubud market, I stopped off at the lotus pond to take some photos. Many people don’t realize that there’s a beautiful lotus pond on Jalan Raya Ubud, but you have to enter via the Lotus Café. In fact, since Balinese dance performances are held there, you’ll also find a stage area. Even though not as many lotus were open as I’d hoped for, the photos still turned out very nice.

It’s easy to become disoriented in the annals of the Ubud market. The majority of the time I stay in the “upstairs” area and walk around the outskirts. You can find everything – woven baskets, silver jewelry, paintings, clothing, pre-made offerings and assorted tchohkes. I picked up a few things, snapped a few photos, then descended into the lower area, which tends to have more food products and spices. All thoughts of jamu disappeared when my eyes spied something shiny. As I got closer to the counter, I started to tremble just a little. It was a case of Balinese gold jewelry. The only times I’ve seen Balinese gold jewelry are at expensive retail stores and in Celuk. Even then, the choices weren’t that varied. Finding Balinese gold jewelry in the market was truly surprising to me, as I’ve wandered through that market a minimum of ten times in the past and had never seen it before. I basically dashed over and immediately began pointing at pieces to ask the prices. The prices were very good, too, for gold that was 18K and above. My heart was set on a gold ring with a ruby. She said she would give me the Balinese price, so I got out my calculator in order to haggle a bit. I didn’t have to haggle much and was pretty happy with what we agreed upon. She took my cash, touched the counter with it (as they do for good luck, especially when it’s the first sale of the day) and assured me that she was there in the same spot on a daily basis.

By then, it was time for my appointment at Lily Spa. I began with the Javanese Lulur treatment. The massage therapist massaged me, then covered me in a paste incorporating spices. She left me to relax while the paste hardened. Once it hardened, she rubbed it off, then slathered me in yogurt. The coldness of the yogurt is always a bit of a shock to my system, but it helps to soften your skin. I was next immersed in a flower petal bath for about half an hour, where I sipped on ginger tea. Happy, happy, happy!

I’d booked a one hour facial immediately after my Javanese Lulur, which equated to another hour’s nap. Voila! My headache/hangover was gone!

Honeymoon Guesthouse has a lovely pool area, which rarely sees more than 4 guests at a time. I laid by the pool for about an hour and a half, alternately soaking up the sun and cooling off with a short dip in the water. The hotel has a calico cat that had taken a liking to me. Whenever she saw me, she would run to me for some attention, then would lay somewhere near me. That afternoon, she decided to nap under the lounger next to me. Once again, happy, happy, happy!

Shortly thereafter, my stomach was screaming out for more sustenance. I walked over to Melting Wok Warung, a small place owned by a French woman who’s married to a Cambodian (?) man. Ever since opening 3 or 4 years ago, their place has been extremely popular. Luckily for me, at that time in the afternoon, there were some tables available. Their special for the day was rice with shrimp and mahi mahi, served with a side of papaya salad. I asked for it medium spicy, which was plenty spicy in my book! While I was eating, the owner (Geraldine) was kind enough to ask one of the waitresses to turn the fan more my way. I so appreciated that, due to the heat and high humidity. For dessert, I had the crème caramel with coconut milk and cinnamon. So delicious!

My evening in Ubud ended by attending a Balinese dance performance. I stake out my seat an hour or more in advance, in order to be in the front row and take unobstructed photos. I sat in the front row with my DSLR, my digital point-and-shoot, my iPad Mini and my can of Off spray! My pictures were fine, but I’d neglected to bring my bigger lens for the DSLR, which would have gotten even better shots. I can’t complain, though. As perhaps mentioned previously, I was happy, happy, happy!