Lovina-Ubud-Kuta With Si

  Ubud, Indonesia
Sunday, August 20, 2006

We arrive 2hours later after Si had to share a seat with a really big woman in Lovina

Jabba!

and checked into the Penarma losmen a homestay place sharing a twin room,not bad for a quid each!
Lovina really quiet compared to Kuta,and especially after the Bali bombings where they say the tourism still hasnt recovered.But a nice black sand beach with small bars and nothing to do but relax.Loads of travel places offering Dolphin spotting but we got talking to a local fisherman who said he would take us out on his boat the next morning Tuna fishing,and wed get to see the Dolphins without chasing them down too.Watched the Liverpool match at night in one of the local bars,really quiet place got talking to 2 dutch girls but absolutely no one else around and ended up going back at 12 after 5 large Bintangs for a pound each!
Got up at 5am next morning feeling worse for wear and made our way to the beach and jumped into the narrow boat with the fisherman,a big bloke called Kutuk who must have had the biggest hands and feet in the world.

3Quid To Fisherman to take us Tuna fishing!

Gave us a line each with a hook at the end and for next 4hours trawled out to sea on a tiny boat,looking out for the dolphins as theyd tell us where the tuna were.4 hours of dragging the line back and forth like a backhand in tennis-not the best thing with a hangover! Saw loads of dolphins,but everytime they popped up 10 boats full of people charged towards them for the tourists to take photos.Si got one bite but lost it when the line nearly ripped his fingers off and we got back to shore gutted wed not caught anything.

Si,Tuna Fishing

Got up to get the bus to the town of Kandicunning,the town near Lake Bratan,and the temple of Ulu Danu which sits on a massive lake on our way to Ubud.
We get into a bemo,and say take us to the bus terminal "yeah no problem"
So we pull into a bus terminal,greeted by the mob of 20 bemo drivers as normal screaming "where you go!?" And they tell us no you cant get a bus to Kandicuning from this terminal,you have to get another bemo over to the other side to get from there.....Great!So we pay the one bemo,get into another bemo do 10minutes and into another terminal where theres 20 bemos and drivers standing around.Get out of the bemo,ask the blokes hanging round which bus goes to Kandi?......NO! not from here,no bus unless you "charter" a special one for 20,000 each not the 9000 the lonely planet reckons!
GREAT!So after getting really annoyed with the bemo and bus systems in Indonesia we agree to charter a special bemo,which still fills up and makes us wait till its full!
2 Hours later we get to the market town of Kandicuning,and get into a bemo to take us tothe temple of Ulu Danu,a really nice temple which is built actually out in the lake completely surrounded by water.

Ulu Danu Temple

After 30minutes there head back to make our way to Ubud somehow,but get told by the bemo driver that the Perama shuttle bus only leaves at 9am,and we either pay to hire a bemo 150,000 or wait till the next morning.As theres nothing to do in the town we reluctantly agree to charter the bemo as we just wanted to get there after all the hassle so far and travel in relative luxury in the back of a Misubishi Colt bemo for the hour drive to Ubud.

Woman working on building

Check into the Frog Pond Inn in Ubud,70,000 for a twin room and decided to head back along the road as wed passed loads of wood carving shops on the way in.Ubud the cultural centre of Bali,full of Art galleries,paintings,batik clothing and wood carvings and after walking along Monkey forest road where we stayed we got to the row of wood shops in the middle of the road,full of hand made wood carvings.Absolutely amazing stuff,buddhas,turtles even some 10feet tall waterfalls with dolphins,real life horses!
Si bought a dragon,unbelievable detail and I get two statues of people sat with head in hands, 2x30cm high carvings that would easily cost 30quid each in England-the woman eventually agreeing to 30,000 each-under 2 quid!!
Got chatting to a table of 3girls from England studying in Edinburgh but again Ubud really quiet.Our room on Monkey Forest road,basically a Monkey forest sanctuary at the bottom of the road so we get up the next morning and walked around the monkey forest.Bought a couple of bunches of bananas,and within 30seconds get mobbed by the Makak monkeys,grabbing at our pockets for food,climbing on the top of Si's head.Si sits down taking a photo of one,when another one goes round the back,russles through his rucksack and nicks his packet of fags!unbelievable!

Si Gettin Mugged in monkey forest,ubud!

It unzipped the bag,and sat there eating his fags,were laughing our heads off till 2 of them go for us,teeth out warning us off so we leave them to spark up and get the shuttle bus and the hour ride back to Kuta.
Checked into the Bali Manik hotel,room each this time for 35,000 each-2quid!Then spent the next week just chilling out,hitting the beach in the afternoon,getting some Nasi Goreng(noodles and seafood with chilli)for 50p a plate in a place on Poppies 1 before hitting the Bounty nightclub and Paddies.Nightlife not so good until 12 at night but still not as busy apparantly as 2 years ago-all the aussies we met were telling us how the bombings really put them off coming,and Kuta and Bali hasnt been the same since with even the Tubes bar closing!This makes the locals even more desperate and you cant walk 2 steps without blokes shouting `transport!` or for a massage,or hassling you for sunglasses or shorts even though they can see youve already got some!
One night in Paddys bar Si had a local lad sat next to him and by the time i got back from the toilet he says,were going!!!And didnt speak much for the rest of the night-turns out the lad was stroking him and then asking him where he was going later,haha!
Si left for the Gili Islands where Id been 3 weeks ago,so spent the last 4days winding down,getting 2 pineapples and a mango on the beach from Kutuk,our mate the fruit seller woman who chatted to us everyday before getting ready for the flight onto Oz.
Si came back day I was to leave and went out for last few beers in Kuta before getting my flight to Adelaide at 12am.Not before I lost all my Bali and Bromo photos off my camera though,GUTTED!Oz here I come!!!!!