Arrived in Bali to then be driven about an hour and a half north to Ubud. I travelled to Bali about 30 years ago and somethings never changed. The roads were a little better and the cars were newer, but they all still drive like idiots. Anyway after the drive we all felt a little relieved to finally get to our hotel. The accommodation was nice with a mountain view over looking a small ravine below. This hotel had very minimal lighting and the walkways were narrow and dark. When we got to the rooms they were very spacious and clean. We sat and talked for a while and allowed the mosquito's to kindly feed on my legs, five days of pain and suffering due to the heat aggravating them daily. Anyway didn't let that get in the way of a good holiday. We settled in and yes it was back to walking again. Luckily all the walking around Alice Springs had got me into the groove of things and it didn't really bother me in the end. As usual the people are very friendly but it does getting a bit much when every person you pass asks you to buy something off them. The village of Ubud had some interesting sights and we decide to do a little trip around so we hired a driver.
We visited rice paddies which is, of course, a staple for the Indonesians. They have rice at every meal. We westerners can learn at lot when it comes to diet. There are no obese Indonesians but a lot of very large Aussies. Next on our journey was the coffee plantation. I am not sure if you know but there is coffee known as Luwak which is made from the droppings of the Luwak (Civet). Yes, this coffee is made from animal faeces and is considered a delicacy and is very expensive. We did sample some, coffee that is, not the other.! All very interesting.
Moving on from there we visited the Royal Family Temple . As already mentioned, Indonesians have their own road rules and so the drive to these places was one full of hazards with cars turning in front of each other, overtaking with on coming traffic and did I mention the thousands of motorcycles. The last place on visit that day was a visit to the Tanahor Lot to view the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so there was no spectacular sunset to view. Nice place none the less. Gabriella succumbed to Bali belly the next day and so spent the day recovering. As I was still happy to venture out and not tied down to the toilet bowl, I thought I would head into town and do a bit of sight seeing and try some of the local food. As I was walking around the others turned up and we eventually ended up at Ibu Oka, they have the famous Babi Guling (roast pig). Unfortunately the shop is not what you would say clean as the owners dogs lay around and get up to eat whatever falls to the ground. The food itself is handed by several female staff who use their hands to pick up and drop into bowls pieces of pork for the waiting hoards to consume.
The strange thing is that, people from all walks of life turn up on bikes, motorbikes, tour buses, taxis or personal drivers to taste and take a photo of the shop. The part that is interesting is they usually look a bit shocked as they move slowly through the maze of people and tables to get a seat. I didn't think it was worth the wait , it was nice but not something that I would try again just in case Bali belly kicked in. Anyway four of the five above tried it and survived, I suppose you can say I ate it and it was interesting.
It was off to Legian next and back into the car for a two hour drive. I was waiting to get to see some beach and actually get some bargains and hit a pool that was a little warmer that the Ubud mountain water fed pools.(cold, very cold) The sign was one mounted to the side of a pub, obviously there was a few guests waiting to be picked up. This was not the only pub in the area as there is one pretty much on every corner, bend road or pathway. Every pub has an aussie flag, a football game showing or the rugby league being shown live. A pub we visited had the state of origin game on pretty much every screen they had plus they setup an area outside and had the BBQ fired up along with pies, hotdogs and of course cold beer.
Michael, we found a long lost brother, this guy is your Indonesian counterpart. He buys and sells books and of course swaps them back if you have time to finish it during your stay. Sorry I had better things to do than read books. The beach and pool were better during the day to cool off. Now as we have missed a few days of the blog I have to continue tomorrow. It's currently 2330 at night and I'm getting tired. Until tomorrow and the next blog goodnight.
Arrived in Bali to then be driven about an hour and a half north to Ubud. I travelled to Bali about 30 years ago and somethings never changed. The roads were a little better and the cars were newer, but they all still drive like idiots. Anyway after the drive we all felt a little relieved to finally get to our hotel. The accommodation was nice with a mountain view over looking a small ravine below. This hotel had very minimal lighting and the walkways were narrow and dark. When we got to the rooms they were very spacious and clean. We sat and talked for a while and allowed the mosquito's to kindly feed on my legs, five days of pain and suffering due to the heat aggravating them daily. Anyway didn't let that get in the way of a good holiday. We settled in and yes it was back to walking again. Luckily all the walking around Alice Springs had got me into the groove of things and it didn't really bother me in the end. As usual the people are very friendly but it does getting a bit much when every person you pass asks you to buy something off them. The village of Ubud had some interesting sights and we decide to do a little trip around so we hired a driver. 
We visited rice paddies which is, of course, a staple for the Indonesians. They have rice at every meal. We westerners can learn at lot when it comes to diet. There are no obese Indonesians but a lot of very large Aussies. Next on our journey was the coffee plantation. I am not sure if you know but there is coffee known as Luwak which is made from the droppings of the Luwak (Civet). Yes, this coffee is made from animal faeces and is considered a delicacy and is very expensive. We did sample some, coffee that is, not the other.! All very interesting. 
Moving on from there we visited the Royal Family Temple . As already mentioned, Indonesians have their own road rules and so the drive to these places was one full of hazards with cars turning in front of each other, overtaking with on coming traffic and did I mention the thousands of motorcycles. The last place on visit that day was a visit to the Tanahor Lot to view the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so there was no spectacular sunset to view. Nice place none the less. Gabriella succumbed to Bali belly the next day and so spent the day recovering. As I was still happy to venture out and not tied down to the toilet bowl, I thought I would head into town and do a bit of sight seeing and try some of the local food. As I was walking around the others turned up and we eventually ended up at Ibu Oka, they have the famous Babi Guling (roast pig). Unfortunately the shop is not what you would say clean as the owners dogs lay around and get up to eat whatever falls to the ground. The food itself is handed by several female staff who use their hands to pick up and drop into bowls pieces of pork for the waiting hoards to consume.
The strange thing is that, people from all walks of life turn up on bikes, motorbikes, tour buses, taxis or personal drivers to taste and take a photo of the shop. The part that is interesting is they usually look a bit shocked as they move slowly through the maze of people and tables to get a seat. I didn't think it was worth the wait , it was nice but not something that I would try again just in case Bali belly kicked in. Anyway four of the five above tried it and survived, I suppose you can say I ate it and it was interesting.
It was off to Legian next and back into the car for a two hour drive. I was waiting to get to see some beach and actually get some bargains and hit a pool that was a little warmer that the Ubud mountain water fed pools.(cold, very cold) The sign was one mounted to the side of a pub, obviously there was a few guests waiting to be picked up. This was not the only pub in the area as there is one pretty much on every corner, bend road or pathway. Every pub has an aussie flag, a football game showing or the rugby league being shown live. A pub we visited had the state of origin game on pretty much every screen they had plus they setup an area outside and had the BBQ fired up along with pies, hotdogs and of course cold beer. 
Michael, we found a long lost brother, this guy is your Indonesian counterpart. He buys and sells books and of course swaps them back if you have time to finish it during your stay. Sorry I had better things to do than read books. The beach and pool were better during the day to cool off. Now as we have missed a few days of the blog I have to continue tomorrow. It's currently 2330 at night and I'm getting tired. Until tomorrow and the next blog goodnight.
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