Another Paradise!

It's been over a month since I got to Ubud, Bali. A town about an hour ride inland from the beaches synonymous with Bali. Up here where the air is cool, the rice terraces are a brighter shade of green than you can imagine, the hippies congregate, the gurus heal, I find my self stuck. Drawn by accommodation unrivaled during the last seventeen months on the road. The story goes a bit like this...

So I board my flight in the Delhi Airport after the longest, most grueling security process I've encountered at any airport. People pushing and shoving, in typical Indian style, complete disregard for a line. So off to Kuala Lumpur for a pit stop before catching a plane to Denpessar, Bali. Small side note worth mentioning. India being a Hindu country beef vanishes from all menus, so with four months without even so mush as a taste off red meat my only mission to accomplish during my eight hour layover in KL... Eating a cheeseburger with sauteed onions and mushrooms at Chillis in KLCC. Don't say Uncle Sam wouldn't be proud. Remember, "Beef it's what's for dinner!" So having accomplished this one task, savoring each and every delectable bight of that half pound behemoth, grinning from ear to ear, I grabbed my bag from storage and headed to the low cost terminal at KL airport for my Air Asia flight. So back to the story... During my flight a twenty something Canadian guy and a French girl (Jasmine) sat down next to me. The Canadian guy turned out to be a real bore, even worked for GM and was happy about it, if you can believe that. But Jasmine turned out to be a traveler, so after chatting on the plane I grabbed hear Indonesian mobile number and mentioned I'd text her when Brian and I got to Ubud to grab a drink. Jasmine had already lived in Ubud for two months so she had some friends one being Putu, who looks after a house for an American guy who visits Bali annually. So when we all met up for drinks Jasmine made the introductions having already informed Putu that Brian and I are on a budget, he agreed to rent us the house for 100,000 rupiah a night (about twelve bucks!). I guess it's time to mention the house has two bedrooms (mine being on the top floor with an attached balcony with a view), two bathes, a sweet kitchen, open air living room with roll down rattan mats, terraced gardens with a gazebo, all set in the rice paddies, a fish pond with a Ganesha statue. Oh, did I mention there are two servants included (the help as I like to call them, Neoman and Wayan) who take care of the laundry, clean, cook and take care of anything else we needed. Not that Brian or I demanded much, but it was nice to have Neoman say Salamat Pagi (Good Morning) followed by "Coffee?" every single day. So the above is the reason three weeks ago I changed my plans, split back up with Brian and just stayed in Ubud while he headed to the Gili Islands and then to Malaysia to meet up with his Bro. Miss you buddy!!!

It was great to see Brian after not traveling together for over six months but I just couldn't bring my self, firstly to leave these pimp digs and secondly leave Indonesia after only one month. Since I'm not really in the mood to write a long winded tale about the last five weeks I'll mention the highlights of my time here in Bali. Spent the first five days sitting by a pool in Kuta, drinking beers on the beach while the sunset in the background. Went to Jimbaran Bay for two seafood feasts, got to see NOFX the punk rock band from California at the Hard Rock Cafe, have taken numerous road trips on my motor scooter, one to Lake Batur, another to Lake Bratan, the Botanical Gardens and some Hindu Temples. Headed to Seminyak for a night out on the town that ended sometime around sunrise. We had two BBQ's at the house. At the first one Wayan made Balinese Chicken Sate, Neoman added assorted vegetables along with sambal (spicy garlic, onion, chilli relish) plus we ordered two smoked chickens for the feast. During the second BBQ, Putu took charge and smoked/BBQ'd fresh tuna delivered fresh from East Bali and we ate off banana leaves spread on the floor with our hands in pure Balinese style. I've filled my time with numerous balinese massages (less than eight bucks for two hours). And taken some other impromptu rides on my motor bike down random roads just to enjoy the scenery and get the adrenaline pumping.

What's left to tell. After Brian left I was sitting at Dewa Warung, local food spot eating some lunch when I overheard two girls chatting with American accents and I jumped right into the conversation. From that random meeting I ended up spending the majority of my time during the next week with my new friend Tara, from Cali/Texas. We had so much fun chilling, drinking Jim Beam, watching sunsets in the rice paddies Bintang's in hand, going for rides in her jeep down to Kuta (thank-god she drove, because driving a motor bike here is one thing but I am not about to get behind the wheel of a car). I even let her give me two Tarot card readings, can you imagine me having a Tarot card reading? Well, I have to say the cards I pulled meshed exactly with my life at the moment so much that they made me a believer, on some level. Not that Tara told me my future or anything crazy like that. It was more a form of spiritual/mental therapy, if that makes any sense? Anyway, there are some people you meet along the road you know you'll never cross paths with ever again and others you know one day you'll see again, I'm sure you can figure out which one I put Tara in.


So since getting back from Singapore I've started to get a bit bored with Ubud. Not much going on here lately, so with a new two month social visa that's extendable up to six months I'm off tomorrow to Manado, Northern Sulawesi. With my final destination being Paulu Bunaken a small island an hour from shore known for it's diving. Then hopefully the Togian Islands in Central Sulawesi. Looks like the hammock's gonna get some use. Not that this will be my last visit to Ubud, I plan to come back here for at least a week before I end my travels and finally head back to the good old USA. Later from PARADISE!!!

Source: Alan Zapolsky