Our hotel in Ubud, Nick’s Homestay, is very different from the one in Pemuteran, but
just as great. It’s basically an
expanded version of a traditional Balinese compound – the family who owns the
hotel lives in the compound’s front buildings, and the buildings in the back
hold guest rooms. Our double room
is about $23/night – again with a discount – and has a patio, a fan, and an en-suite
bathroom that sometimes has hot water.
Breakfast is included, and the hotel staff brings it to our patio each
morning whenever we ask. It’s
usually tea, fruit, and a banana jaffle, which is basically two pieces of toast formed into a pocket and
stuffed with a filling, like fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese, or meat.
Since Ubud is the center of Bali’s tourism industry (and of
its ex-pat scene, as far as we can tell), the town has a huge variety of
amazing restaurants serving all kinds of Western food. We decided this would be our time to
indulge in all the things we missed in Rwanda and splurge on lots of nice meals
out. I’ve had humus, nachos,
salads, a chicken quesadilla, Greek pizza, chicken and vegetable pizza,
fettuccine with feta and veggies, spinach- and ricotta-stuffed tortellini with veggies,
and gnocchi with pesto and chicken.
I’ve also tried Bali’s most common beers, Bintang and Bali Hai (I definitely preferred Bintang, but thought both were pretty good),
as well as the local Hatten
wine, which was really good, though a little odd in that the red was served
chilled. The restaurants in Ubud
have been amazing, and exactly what we were hoping for coming from Rwanda, but
I’m looking forward to eating lots more Indonesian food during the next portion
of the trip.
In addition to great restaurants, Ubud is practically
overflowing with cute shops selling all manner of clothes, accessories, décor,
and other souvenirs. I managed to
limit my impulses somewhat, but did end up with a few things for myself and
some gifts for people at home. We also
discovered an outlet store selling name brand stuff for really cheap –
Abercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Express, Victoria’s Secret, Aeropostale,
American Eagle, and more. I got a
cute White House Black Market top for $10!
Ubud is not only about consumption, though, it’s also about
art. There’s so much happening
here and so many things available to visitors – multiple performances every
single night and various types of classes, not to mention museums and
temples. We went to a shadow puppet – yes, shadow puppet – show one
evening. Shadow puppetry, known as
wayang kulit, is a prominent feature of Balinese culture and tradition and has been
recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. During the show, a puppeteer sits next
to a lamp or flame behind a screen, and holds the puppets between the screen
and flame to create a shadow. I
should note that these are typical puppets that you put your hand inside (nor
is the show a person making shadow puppets with their hand, which was all I
could think of before seeing it); they’re more like stiff paper dolls, with
individual sticks controlling each limb.
The show told the story of man who offered to sacrifice himself for his
people, but used his supernatural powers to overcome the demons fighting
against him. The experience of the
show was pretty strange – and particularly incomprehensible to us since almost
all the dialogue was in one of several Indonesian and Indian languages – but it was really interesting, and, considering
how important shadow puppetry is here, I’m really glad I got to see a show.
Another night, we attended a Balinese dance performance, which was also different than I had
expected, but really cool. Bali
has three major types of dances, and the one was saw, Kecak, is known for its use of fire – a
fire is lit the center of the stage at the beginning and burns throughout the
show. More than just dance, a
kecak show is a
combination of dance, dialogue, and music. Actually, no instruments are used; rather, the men perform
elaborate organized chanting, which sounds almost like instruments. They sit in a circle around the fire
throughout much of the show, while the other characters dance around them. The show depicted a prince who must
fight against a demon king to rescue his wife. Dance is a huge part of Balinese culture, and it seems that kecak is the most popular form, so it was great to be able
to see a performance.
Balinese cooking classes are also quite popular in Ubud, and
we took a vegetarian course at a local restaurant. We learned to make several dishes: a soup, a salad,
vegetables with peanut sauce, tempeh with sweet soy sauce, tofu steamed in
banana leaves, fried noodles, and Indonesian crepes. I learned a lot about different spices, herbs, vegetables,
and cooking techniques, and everything we made was absolutely delicious. Most of the ingredients we used are at
least somewhat available in the U.S., or have easy substitutions, and we got a
recipe book at the end of the class, so I hope to make some Balinese food when
I get home!
Another big activity in Ubud is going to the spa, which is
great both for relaxing and for scrubbing off the African dirt! In what was probably one of the most
luxurious and indulgent days of my life, we purchased a package at the Jelatik Spa and spent about five hours having
various treatments there. And it
all cost about $55 – the price of a single treatment at home! In addition to a facial and pedicure, I
had a hair cream bath, which seem to be popular here and is basically a deep
cleaning shampoo and deep condition with steam, and the traditional lular treatment,
which consists of a massage, body scrub, yogurt rub, soaking in a floral bath,
and body lotion. It was SO
relaxing, and I feel cleaner than I’ve felt in two years – it was more than
worth the $11 an hour!
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