Neither of us slept well, for the dumbest reason: the A/C was too cold. And like two dumb dumbs, neither of us turned it off. I got up and put on my raincoat and slept in that for half the night, because that seemed practical to half-asleep Kate. I never claimed to be particularly smart. Anyway, the two of us being tired and cranky really didn't set us up for a great day, but then Bali still gave us one.
Wayan (the young and energetic one) met us for a rice terrace trek at 9am. That was good because we had time to get up and apply bug spray before heading out and since we didn't have any coffee/tea that was more of a process than it might have been. The silent guy who followed along behind Wayan did so again for the trek. It was so beautiful. Lush, green, and filled with information about the types of rice they grow and how they do it. We met several farmers along the way, and really enjoyed seeing the terrace we had observed from our house to close and personal. You basically had to be a mountain goat to make it along the pathway without looking like a nincompoop, but we were well equipped with bamboo walking sticks and those palm leaf, cone-shaped hats that the rice farmers wear. It worked out well and the hats were clutch for keeping us cool.
The whole thing was upbeat until the last 5 minutes when Wayan suddenly froze on the pathway and said "stop!" in a very nervous tone. He pointed to a little green snake that was poking its head out of the greenery and told us it was a green Mamba and had to be killed. Silent guy swept into action using Wayan's walking stick to whack the little critter to death. Wayan was clearly shaken up and was very much in the "live and let live" camp, but also had to acknowledge the practicalities of living on a rice terrace - venemous snakes that left us alone might not do the same for the farmers that work there every day. It wasn't a happy note to end our trek, but it sure gave us an authentic taste of the way folks live here.
The tiny restaurant next to our house was open after the trek, so we headed that way for a blunch overlooking the terraces. The food was stupendous and the best part was the banana fritters and ice cream we had for dessert! We had about two hours to eat, shower, pack, and go to be on time for our 1pm pick up from Dina to get some of the sights in and head to Denpasar for our flight to Yogyakarta in the evening (*a note about pronunciation: jog-juh is what everyone calls Yogyakarta. It's rarely called by the full name, and you see it spelled with Y, J, and even Dj, but everyone leaves off the extra "karta" at the end).
Dina was prompt and we got rolling on our grand tour. Because we hadn't realized how long it takes to travel any distance in Bali by car when we planned the trip, we wanted to get in a few of the sites we had assumed we'd easily be able to see already. Before we left Dina and Ketut's warung the previous night, we laid out a basic plan of action for our tour and travel to Denpasar. We definitely wanted to see Tanah Lot, a Temple on the Western coast, a bit north of the big beach towns of Canggu, Seminyak, and Kuta. We definitely wanted to see Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave. We definitely wanted to see the Sacred Monkey Forest. Everything else was gravy. Dina suggested we check out Pura Tirta Empul (Pura just means Temple), located just north of Tegalalong, where our rice terrace is. Then we'd head south twards Ubud to Goa Gajah and the Sacred Monkey Forest (practically around the corner from each other) and then we would still make it to Tanah Lot for sunset if all went well. Away we went!
Dina is Hindu and his English is fabulous so going to Tirta Empul ended up being an incredible experience. The temple itself is dedicated to Sacred waters that flow from a natural spring there. Dina brought offerings for the temple so he was able to get in for free to worship, and he was so patient, explaining the layout of the temple compound (three parts, meant to help worshipers move physically towards holiness as they move mentally towards holiness through prayer), the history of the temple (basically Wishnu had to kick a bad Balinese king's ass because he had decided the people should worship him and then he killed a bunch of minor gods when they came down to try and stop him by poisoning them with the water at Tirta Empul. Wishnu not only cleaned the water after nixing the king, but he also blessed it so that each of the spouts of water imparts a different blessing to those who wash in them - everything from improving your memory and getting blessings for building a new home to washing your soul and forgetting the bad things that other people have said to you), and helping us to know how we could respectfully take in the experience without accidentally offending anyone. It was invaluable. Plus, the water was so clean and clear that we drank some and washed our faces (who doesn't want blessings that help us to stay mentally grounded?!). Other folks hopped all the way into the bathing area to wash under each spigot. People were mostly respectful, but I guess you can go anywhere in the world and find people taking glamour shots of themselves in sacred spaces. In short: touring with Dina was already a good idea.
Next up: Goa Gajah. The temple itself is only a few years old (some portions were built as recently as 2015), but the cave itself dates to around 900 AD. We walked in and sort of got suckered into having a tour guide take us around for what ended up being ten bucks, but he was funny and the cost of upkeep is all through those donations and the $2.50 or so that it costs to get in, so it was probably a good thing. The guy is from the highest caste here, for holy people. Brahman I think it's called. Wayan had explained during our terrace trek that even though Balinese follow a caste system, it's not socially rigid the way it still is in India (despite attempts to dismantle it). So our guide has been studying and living by Goa Gajah since 1991, and sounds like he spends a lot of time meditating. He explained that the cave originated as a school, a place to learn to meditate in the darkness of the earth. Inside were niches cut into the walls where folks would meditate for hours or days at a time. Because the site is such a popular destination, you can only meditate on the floor now, but it's open 24hrs a day for practice. He said that there are always students on hand, so twice a week he sleeps at the temple to help other worshippers. It was fascinating. There was also a Buddhist temple on the same grounds until the '60s, or thereabouts, when a huge earthquake leveled it. Apparently it was something to behold, and the rubble has been left there to commemorate what once was. Our guide was a bit long winded and Dina was checking his watch an awful lot, so we wrapped up and headed towards the Sacred Monkey Forest.
As we were driving, Steve and I briefly discussed skipping it in order to ensure our arrival at Tanah Lot before the sunset. Fortunately, Steve nipped that plan in the bud and we proceeded according to plan. And thank goodness we did!
My pal Bruce, from Elmira, had warned me about the Sacred Monkey Forest. When he was in Indonesia back in the '70s, he went there and said he had never been more frightened in his life. He said the monkeys were vicious and aggressive, and he was just happy to leave without being bitten. I mulled over whether that meant it was skippable but ultimately decided we should give it a whirl - things had likely changed since the '70s. They definitely have. It's a little like walking into Sea World, and costs probably as much (something like $40 per person, a ridiculously expensive admission price for Indonesia). Everything is clean, the ticket counter is very modern, and the decor looks like it came out of a hotel. There are also large signs with instructions for interaction with the monkeys that include tips like "don't make eye contact or smile with teeth" because those are signs of aggression, "don't feed them snacks" besides the bananas and sweet potatoes that are available inside, and "don't scream if a monkey jumps on you." Cool cool. We had 40 minutes before we were due to meet Dina outside, so we got hopping.
The area is sacred because of the temple located inside the forest, but it's a tourist trap because of the monkeys. And the place is TEEMING with monkeys. There are pathways around the area for visitors to stroll along, and the little critters popped up out of nowhere. We first saw monkeys back in South Bali at Ulluwatu Temple, where they would sneak up on folks around sunset, when they were distracted by taking photos, and would try to steal hats, glasses (sun or otherwise) and flip flops. We had watched one there sneak up behind and follow a little boy in flip flops to try and snag them as he walked. Little nudge. Anyway, at Ulluwatu there were monkey minders who walked around and clucked at the naughty things and made them get away from the people. But the critters were smart! As the sun set, they headed towards the main pathway that folks would take to get out so that they could more easily find things to snatch! Fortunately, the monkeys in the SMF were either better behaved or better fed, so they weren't interested in causing a nuisance. The critters had NO fear of people and just pretty much went about their business. So many Mama monkeys with teeny tiny babies running around. We sat and watched two infants, barely scooting around, as they explored. One young Mama was very protective of baby (or maybe it was an overzealous babysitter) and would grab him by the foot or tail every time he tried to get away to explore. The other Mama just sat and was groomed by a friend while her baby scampered around newrby, practically running into my feet as he checked things out. We got some really cool, really close up photos. Steve could see me antsing to touch a monkey and asked if I wanted to buy bananas to feed them, but I declined - rabies shots are EXPENSIVE, and I still had Bruce's worries in my head. We checked out the funeral temple inside, along with the cemetery located there and made our way to the exit - I was excited about having seen so many baby monkeys and we needed to make our way back to be on time for Dina - and to make it to Tanah Lot by sunset!
As we headed out we passed by two toddlers - they were still small, but no longer had Mom hovering around - hanging out on a low wall with a built in bench. I asked Steve to play photographer so I could have a photo of me with a monkey nearby. I sat down and one of the things immediately climbed on to my shoulder and down into my lap! I HAD A BABY MONKEY ON MY LAP!!!!!! He was definitely barely past infancy because he was grabbing at my shirt trying to nurse - no dice, bro. So I kept gently moving his hands away and tickling his belly to distract him while he rolled around my lap like a kitten. He would stick his little face into my armpit and then grab my fingers with his little feet. It was incredible. When he turned into a puppy and wanted to play by nibbling my fingers we decided I needed to encourage the little guy to get off me. But he wasn't super interested, so I eventually just stood up, slowly, so he had to scoot. He obliged and we giggled the whole way to the car - I had held a baby monkey!!!!!
We were giddy, but poor Dina had an hour and a half drive in traffic to try to get us to Tanah Lot for sunset. Traffic seemed to be following us, and he kept taking short cuts that helped... But then we'd hit traffic again. The guy is an absolute ace though, and he got us to the temple at 6:15; perfect timing for the start of sunset. The temple is a little odd: it's situated out in the water about 100m off shore and is only accessible at low tide. It reminds me a little bit of Mont St. Michel that way. That said, there's a second temple right next door (maybe 1500m down the shoreline) that is posted on this gorgeous outcropping with a natural bridge to it. It was low tide when we arrived, so the ground in front of Tanah Lot was filled with people. Because it's such a popular tourist spot, they didn't seem to be letting folks inside, so we posted ourselves overlooking the second temple (which I'm pretty sure is Pura Batu Bolong, but I need to confirm when I have WiFi again), and couldn't get over how spectacular the view was. We were SO lucky with sunsets this trip - days we went to sunset spots it was clear and dry, and days we hung out at our various Airbnbs it stormed spectacularly - and this one was no different.
On the way out, we grabbed some fresh roasted corn from a vendor that was absolutely slathered in salt and butter and was, consequently, delicious. It was nearing 8pm and we still had to drive to Denpasar. It took an hour and a half to drive the 25km, and Dina answered my questions and chatted the whole time. Guy was worth his weight in gold, and he wasn't even crabby about having probably a two hour drive to get back to Tegalalong. We had huge hugs, made promises to keep his business card and tell our friends about him, and paid him about $60 for the 8 hours of driving AND his excellent information sharing. We used my Hilton points to stay at a property that practically sits on the airport so that we wouldn't have to face the terrible Denpasar traffic in the morning and risk missing our flight to Yogya, and it worked out beautifully for that purpose. It was, however, very strange to be in a hotel after all these nights of homes! We decided that our Airbnb experience has left us feeling much more in touch with what Bali is actually like than we ever would have in a hotel. Each home has been remarkably different from the last - surfer crash pad in South Bali, partying Beach town in Gili Trawangan, a rice terrace in the agricultural heartland in Tagalalang, and still more to come over in Java. It was our last night in Bali which was a little sad, but we were so excited to get a taste of yet another flavor of Indonesia. So despite feeling like the hotel was a little bit of a sanitized Bali compared to what we've had so far, it was good to be nearby the airport.
We showered (no monkey lice for me, please) and headed down for dinner in the restaurant. It was priced for Americans, so we spent about $30 on some appetizers and beers. Far cry from $1.50 for some fried rice. As we headed up to crash (remember, we hadn't slept well the night before), we checked out the laundry room. It would cost about $8 to do a load and Steve was preparing to throw away some of his tee shirts rather than continue to carry them. I assumed that was a problem. A comedy of miscommunications occurred, Tired and Cranky Kate came out, and Steve was left staying up til midnight doing laundry. It wasn't pretty, but we sure slept well in that temperature controlled room.
No comments:
Post a Comment