Monday, October 24, 2011

ubud (pronounced oo-bood)

> now I write from ubud, in lower central Bali, it's a place full of life and culture and art and music. we got here on Wednesday morning and have found the most perfect little place to live for the next two weeks. it's called the wena homestay, so we live in a little apartment next to the family's home. we have a beautiful mosaic bathroom and our own little front porch with a table and two chairs and a light. we look out onto a pool of coy fish an a statue of Ganesh, all under a mango tree. breakfast is included in the IR 10k we pay a night ($5 each) and we get delicious papaya, pineapple and banana every morning with eggs and toast.
>
> padang bai was fabulous. probably the most opposite of the the tourist and surfer packed Kuta/legian/ Seminyak area which came as a very welcome
> relief. we really vacationed in padang bai, the beach everyday and not
> much other than that. we did go on a nice hike around the bay which included some hills that were so steep it felt like we werent even getting any closer to the top. this brought us to some really cool vantage points and to an unfinished hotel that was started by a Korean company in padang bai. the hotel was never finished because of worker treatment and pay so now it stands, the whole cement foundation and frame complete, two rooms with windows and finished porches and wiring in the walls. we lunched on one of the second floor unfinished porches. we had Nasi campur which is IR 7000 ($.70) and it's boiled rice, tempeh, veggies and potatoes. I think the most delicious thing I've had so far. it's sold mostly at little carts or in home convenience stores that also cook food for locals. it's what the Balinese eat 2-3 times a day. the tempeh here is unbelievably delicious. after our hit and sweaty hike we decided that we should shower and get Balinese massages. so we did. $10 a pop ain't so bad for an hour long massage. I'm
> pretty sure they thought Sarah and I were dating or something because they put us both in the same curtained off area hahahah. Balinese massage is awesome though, they put a bowl
> of tropical flowers in water under your face and they smell really good. then it's a lot of pressure and repetition and they jump on the table over you and its really cool and then pound your feet. whatever it is, it works.
>
> one night at our favorite spot, the sunshine bar, we were well into the bintangs and so we taught the locals how to play a stupid drinking card game called f*** the dealer. it's mindless and just requires everyone to drink a lot, and that we all did. there were probably 12 of us, and then at like 2-ish the power went out.. well that didnt stop us we played by candlelight until the bar owner decided 330 was a good time to close the bar. why on earth would we go to be when we were having so much fun? well a few of
> us decided to climb over the hill to the white sand beach for swimming and the sunrise. turns out the sunrise wasn't that cool cause it was cloudy but we didn't care, we were having too much fun. it made for a very very boring next day.
>
> now we are in ubud, and there are so many things to do it's hard to decide everyday! we have seen the blanco
> Renaissance museum, the royal palace, the monkey forest, and the jazz cafe. the museum was really provocative and interesting. antonio blanco was this exceedingly eccentric spanish guy who's life was sort of centered around painting and the female body. his wife was a famed Balinese dancer, and the subject of much of his work. his son Mario still lives there (the museum is antonios former home) and his work is great as well, we were able to meet him. the property is gorgeous and there are tropical birds all over the place. we even got to see a Balinese offering dance! the royal palace was lovely, nothing overly ornate, but definitely luxurious. Sarah and I both got to
> go into a section thats actually lived in and we learned tiny bits of Balinese dance. it's very hard, all about posture, hands and eyes.
>
> monkey forest day was yesterday and ohhh my god I could live in there. incredible. at first i was definitely wary, but soon enough I had monkeys climbing onto my lap or shoulder and sitting right next to me. they can get fiesty for sure but i had so much fun playing with them. the teeny babies are so cute, they just hang upside down on their mother's bellies and they're so mini. we didn't buy bananas but found a ton in there on the ground so we got to feed them loads. I think we were in the forest for maybe four hours! and I didn't even wanna leave. we are gonna go back later this week with more provisions. last night we went to the jazz cafe and man i felt at home. the place is gorgeous and way too expensive to go to but I would go every day. the jazz trio was great, Bari sax player from England, pianist from Bali and singer from java. she was unbelievable. I chatted with them during their set break and then ended up singing two tunes! it was a great success, they invited me to
> come back on Friday to sing with them
> again!
>
> just had our breakfast and going to check out the botanical gardens today. x

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