It's not lazing, it's a hiatus for my mental health

It's a gorgeous day today. Hot and bright and clear. I went for my early morning swim and then relaxed on the balcony having a cup of tea or two. Then I wandered up to the restaurant for my breakfast of eggs, fruit and tea and am sitting here blogging with another cup of tea... or three. I'm officially relaxed and, as this is my last day, I've decided to do, well, very little.

I might take the shuttle up to the palace a little later and take some photos. Maybe a facial? An afternoon swim. And then to dinner somewhere nice before packing my bags and winging my way home. I paid for the room for tonight and I'm glad I did as it means I can just relax and take my time, before going to the airport around 8:30 tonight.

Bye bye Bali. You've been great. New job next week and now I think I'm mentally prepared for it.

Photo: Little Red Dave relaxing outside my room in Agung Raka

Photo: Little Red Dave relaxing by the pool at Agung Raka

No, I've never read Eat Drink Pray Love... and I never will

What a turgid piece of writing. The locals, you'll notice, never mention it. Tourists won't shut up about it.

Today was another good day as I took a shuttle in the morning up to Bumi Bali Cooking School. Bumi Bali is apparently the cooking school for Australians, which is ironic because I just chose it from walking past it in Monkey Forest Road on my first day. When my driver this morning found that out, he laughed all the way there.

What can I say? Great day. For 230,000 I got a Bumi Bali apron, a cook book, and so much food and drink I could barely walk afterward. The day started with a trip to the market to shop for ingredients and then back to the school for a foray into everyday Balinese cuisine.

We cooked, with help from Ketut, fried vegetables, sweet tempeh, chicken curry, sate, and spicy tuna. We also got black rice pudding with coconut cream and a local rice wine punch. All washed down with a Bintang. And all we paid for extra was the beer. Great day.

I walked slowly back to the hotel afterward, stopping only for a foot and leg massage and then went for a late afternoon swim and am about to settle in for an early night. I definitely wasn't interested in dinner after that feast.

Monkey gods and golden bows

Rama and Laksamana, attended by their servants and the monkey generals Sugriwa and Hanuman march their monkey army to Alengka to attach and destroy Rahwana.

Why? I have no idea but that was the general plot. Rahwana makes Sita (Rama's husband) believe Rama has been destroyed and Trijata has to stop her from killing herself. Who's Trijata? I'm not sure but then I don't know who Meganada is either (apart from Rahwana's son) and he's the main bad guy using sorcery to trap the monkey army. Then the mighty bird Garuda (isn't that an airline?) comes to help Rama. Battles ensue and Rama wins. I think. He's the good guy isn't he?

So, I couldn't entirely follow the plot but the dancing was excellent and only cost 80,000. Dances are performed in several places every night in Ubud and are well worth it.

Kecak Ubud Kaja
The Death of Kumbakarna: An episode from the Ramayana epics
Performed by Krama Desa Ubud Kaja

Temples and sarongs

The morning dawned overcast and slightly muggy. It had rained the night before and the moisture was still hugging the land like some light throw rug.

I got up and went for an early-morning swim and then cranked up the ancient jug so it would slowly boil water while I had a hot shower. Then I sat on my verandah and had a cup of tea while the sun rose. I wandered up for breakfast about 8am and had my Nasi Goreng, fruit juice and tea.

Feeling more comfortable and relaxed, I was regretting booking a tour. I had been recommended a taxi driver from a friend of mine but had tried to ring him and only got his answering machine. I'd left a message but it was in English so who knows how successful I'd been.

When I'd booked the tour the day before, the man hadn't spoken any English so I had no idea what would show up (or if it would show up at all). I had a nightmare scenario of an air-conditioned coach with 30 people in it so I was pleasantly surprised when a 4WD drove up with only four other tourists in it.

We took off first to the Goa Gajah (the Elephant Cave Temple) where we bought a sarong. Covering the legs is necessary to enter all the temples for both women and men and, even though Goa Gajah had sarongs to borrow, I decided to buy a lovely batik one for 100,000 so I'd have one for all the temples we were going to.

There's a long stone stairway down to Goa Gajah through what I can only describe as lush rainforest. At the bottom, there was a temple where I stopped for a moment to take stock of this quiet and extraordinary place. The history of Goa Gajah is somewhat of a mystery. Guide books, websites and locals contradict each other but as far as I can gather, the cave was re-discovered in 1928 and is thought to date back to the 11th century.

Photo: View of Goa Gajah from the top of the hill

Photo: Grounds of Goa Gajah

Photo: Grounds of Goa Gajah

The cave itself is small and contains statues of Ganesha and Vishna. Built around it are the temple buildings and a sacred bathing pool.

Photo: Elephant cave entrance

There are more temples and shrines scattered throughout the forest but while we were down there the skies opened up and we got a monsoonal downpour that soaked us to the skin. I sheltered in the main temple for a while and then scooted back up the stairs and into our car.

The rain continued to pour through our second stop was Tempak Siring (The Holly Spring Temple), probably my most enjoyable stop in the tour because there were a large contingent of worshippers there bathing in the main pool and giving offerings to the Gods.

Photo: Supplicants waiting to bathe in the sacred water

Photo: Bathing in the sacred waters

Photo: Bathing in the sacred waters

There's something more powerful about seeing the vibrant chaotic activity of religion in a place rather than lonely empty buildings devoid of life. I could have stayed here a longer time as I enjoyed simply watching the supplicants.

Photo: Making an offering at Holly Springs

After the Holly Spring Temple, we visited the coffee plantation where we toured the grounds and did a tasting. They did have lovely tea and coffee, including the colloquial "poo poo coffee" that is made by gathering the coffee grounds from the excrement of a Luwark (Asian Palm Civet).

It was still raining as we drove through the mountains and, unfortunately, it meant that our view of Mount Batur and Lake Batur was mostly a view of clouds with a few small rice paddies visible through the haze. Lunch was next though and we went to Bukit Jambul for a lovely buffet lunch and a fantastic view of agricultural rice paddies.

And finally, Besakih! The largest temple in Bali, also full of supplicants today, and an attractive Hindu temple. Not as enjoyable as Holly Spring but still very worthwhile and there were some lovely views from the top.

I will say, however, that Besakih was full of far more touts, local 'guides' and, most annoyingly, so-called temple keepers who offer to take you into the central area (reserved for worshippers) for a donation. I turned them all down and recommend other people do too. Our driver told us that there were "no good people" at Besakih. I'm inclined to agree.

Of course, compared to the hassle of India, this was nothing. In fact, I'd go so far as to describe Bali as being a lot like India but with sane people. It's India-lite in many ways and I found the relaxed prosperity of the locals far easier to deal with than their mad Indian counterparts.

After Besakih, we went to Klungkung to see the Old Court Justice of the Klungkun Kingdom and then drove back to Ubud for cocktails and some tapas. Then I and a Danish tourist named Jacob went to see the dancing. And I'll tell you all about that in my next post.

Photo: Klungkung

Dirty Ducks

Duck is a significant part of Ubud cuisine and the most famous dish is it's 'dirty duck' (bebek bengil) or crispy duck. The Dirty Duck Diner (Bebek Bengil) is the place to eat this dish and so it was on my 'to do' list for this trip. I headed up there tonight as it's just up the road from my hotel and seemed appropriate for my first real meal in Bali.

Photo: Bebek Bengil in the late afternoon

I had no real expectations of the meal as I hadn't been to a restaurant in Bali before. As such, I was unprepared for just how picturesque the actual restaurant was. The restaurant looks small from the road but goes back from the front an entire block and consists of a large manicured garden with small bungalows and tables dotted throughout the Tiki-torch lit grounds.

Photo: Bebek Bengil's courtyard pond and the
bungalow seating for the restaurant behind it

I stupidly ordered an entree that turned out to be similar to salt and pepper squid (I don't really like fried food) and so didn't eat that much of it to the waitress' horror (she demanded to know why). But the crispy duck was moist and delicious and served with a series of spicy accompanients. All in all, a great first meal out.

Monkeys and massages

The Balinese long-tailed macaque is much like any other monkey. The alpha males are tyrants, the babies adorable, the young children mischievous scamps and the females the glue that holds the society together. Much like us, actually. And they love bananas. They really really love bananas.

Agung Raka Bungalows is about a kilometre from Ubud centre and from the Monkey Forest. It has bungalows and a few standard rooms overlooking rice paddies and a beautifully-integrated swimming pool. It will be a very relaxing place to be. Assuming I ever manage to relax.

Agung Raka also offer hourly shuttles to Ubub town centre. I showed up on time for the 10am shuttle but it had already left. So they drove me to the Monkey Forest anyway.

The Monkey Forest! What can I say about the Monkey Forest? It's a forest with monkeys in it. Lots of monkeys. Not big monkeys; the long-tailed macaque is a relatively-small primate. But if you've ever had a large male mug you for bananas, you'd know that size, as they say, does not matter.

Photo: The sedate posture shows this is not a large male macaque

Photo: Monkeys in the Monkey Forest

Entry is 20,000 and the bananas cost me 15,000 from a local store. I spent at least an hour photographing the monkeys and walking around the temple at the top of the hill. It was a wonderful experience and, as I walked out of the forest and down Monkey Forest Road into Ubud to have a mango lassi,  I realised that in that hour I'd finally acclimatised from from 'stressed out public servant' to traveller.

Photo: More Monkey Forest

Photo: See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil

Photos: Monkeys outside the temple in the Monkey Forest

Photo: Temple in the Monkey Forest

Photo: Childcare in the Monkey Forest

I walked through Ubud's streets and its main market for another two hours, simply looking at all the arts and crafts, weaving and carving, bought a fake Longines in Ubud market, and arrived back at the hotel approppriately exhausted and acclimatised. I wasn't hungry for lunch so I went for a swim and then arranged for a three-hour massage in the gardens by the pool.

Then I went to the famous Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner) for dinner. But that is another story.

Dazed and confused in Denpasar: part 2

Did the cab driver rip me off? It's hard to say. Negotiating fares on your first day in a new country is always difficult and the little booth at the airport where you're supposed to pay a set price was empty. I don't really care. The sun is coming up as we drive through the streets thronged with an oddly-restrained form of Asia. Hindu architecture, honking horns, motorbikes, the odd Muslim headscarf. But comparative prosperity. No overt signs of poverty. Dirt but no filth. Not like Bangkok or Cairo or Delhi.

I arrive at the Agung Raka Bungalows just after 7:30am and check in. They let me have my room, for which I'm grateful. I put my bags away and have Nasi Goreng for breakfast in their restaurant. Then I sit on the wooden furniture on my private balcony and feel the stress of the last few weeks writhing around inside me like some parasite. Suddenly, between the stress and the lack of sleep it all just seems to hard. Bartering and a difficult language and culture and currency and I'm so wired I can barely sit down for ten minutes together. So I decide to go for a walk. A long walk.

I buy some water, I book a tour, I remember that in Asia walking is apparently a crime. And then I arrange for the hotel to drop me at the Monkey Forest. And that's when my trip really began.

Dazed and confused in Denpasar: part 1

Finish up my job at work rolling in waves of stress like the ocean after a tropical downpour. Pack my bags. Try to sleep. Fail. Drive to airport. Arrive early. As usual. Darwin has a new long-term carpark. Or rather a new interim long-term carpark. How did that happen in one week? Check in. Wait in airport in that strange adrenalin high you get when you have to be awake past midnight. Have a coffee even though it's 2:30am. Go through customs. Buy duty free. A friend wants Port Royal tobacco and I stand in queue for an age smelling it through the soft package. Board the plane and wait through all the usual rigmarole until we're finally airborne to Bali. Just me and half the population of Darwin. The other half is going to Malaysia or Fiji. Try desperately not to sleep through the two and half hour trip because I know that if I do, sleep is the little killer that makes the other end a daze. I fail.

And here I am at 6am; dazed and confused in Denpasar.

Dave does Darwin to death

So, it's heading into the dry in my last year in Darwin (again... no, really, I will be leaving this time, absolutely). And LRD is gearing up for the best year ever. We've already rocked it in SOCSPO, seen the dragonflies come out to signal the dry, and we're about to head off to Bali for the Easter/Anzac Day long weekend.

This year, I'm determined that I won't sprain my ankle or take on full-time study. I'm just going to relax and enjoy being in the tropics.

XOXO
LRD