Bali (Ubud) - Day 3 -- Arts and Crafts!

After a leisurely continental breakfast at the hotel (including of course the intriguing kopi bali), I checked out and left my excess luggage to be picked up later. Ayub picked me up on his motorbike to go to Ubud, the art and cultural center of Bali. Along the way, we stopped for a traditional Balinese dance recital (45,000 Rp) that included tales of Ramayana, however in a Balinese variant called Ramakavaca. The narrators used local Balinese with a few Sanskrit words sprinkled in, that I could recognize. A nice experience indeed. Later, we visited a Batik factory, where local artisans were working on cloth, walls and canvas. I got a painting of Barong on my shorts. I walked through the gift store, and despite the hard-sell, I didn't buy anything.

After a 30 minute ride, we arrived in beautiful Ubud. After hunting around, I settled on Masih Bungalow (located on Dewi Sita Road) and took a single room at 100,000 Rp, no a/c, but with breakfast included. Ayub returned to Kuta and was pick me up two days later at the same place.
To orient myself, I took a short walk toward Monkey Forest Road, where the famous Monkey Forest Sanctuary is located. I stopped at Cafe Bali for some satay and nasi goreng (80,000 Rp). It was not the best food I've had. On my way back I checked my email at an internet cafe (10,000 Rp/hour) and learned that uncle Ramasubbu, whom I had met in Chennai, India took a turn for the worse and passed into the Great Beyond. May his soul rest in piece!

A little down and out, I meandered toward Masih Bungalow and I stumbled into this beautiful cafe on Dewi Sita Road called Tukmak, by far one of the best cafes I've been to. It's somewhat expensive, but well worth the price. I had the best iced cappucino (17,000 Rp) ever. I was to return to this airy, beautiful cafe many times during my short stay. The wait staff speaks excellent English and is always ready with information about Ubud. Don't miss this place.

Just across from Tukmak was this tiny place advertising Balinese massage (70,000 Rp) for 2 hours and I ventured in. The masseuse was a very friendly woman of roughly 30 years, and she related during our limited conversation that she was having a tough time attracting customers -- another victim of terrorist bombings. It was not the best massage, but I was too tired to protest anyway. After a quick shower, I took a nice long walk through the streets of Ubud. My God, the number of arts and handicrafts stores -- hundreds. Wow! From what I gathered, most of them cater to clueless Western tourists and rip them off. The artisans are so good at imitation, it's hard to differentiate between the genuine art and the fakes. Caveat emptor. To get the real deal, go with someone local you can trust. I will definitely return to Ubud in the future just to purchase art (hopefully get the real art). Beautiful!

I had decided to move out of Masih Bungalow, because the heat was oppressive (no a/c) and the noise level from construction crews practically ruled out sleeping in late. On Monkey Forest Road, I hired a mountain bike for the next day's activities (15,000 Rp) and found Adi Cottages, which to my liking had good, clean rooms with air conditioning. A great place to stay. I bargained the price from 360,000 Rp to 225,000 Rp and booked it for the next day. Yes, you can bargain! Don't be afraid. So, I rode back to Masih Bungalow, left my bike behind and had dinner at a very trendy, yet traditional Bumbu Bali restaurant. You have the option of typical Western seating or traditional Bali seating -- a low table with floor seating on cushions. I chose the traditional style, but truth be told, my ankles were hurting after an hour. For victuals, I opted for a Balinese sampler meal (mixed satay, coconut and vegetable soup, gadi-gadi and rice pudding for dessert). Excellent! And by the way, they also offer Balinese cooking classes -- a half-day course for 120,000 Rp. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to indulge in it. Too bad!

I felt great and in a good mood, I went to Putra Bar on Monkey Forest Road, one of the few places in Ubud to listen to live Jazz and reggae. It's very relaxed, laid back and friendly. That day, two guys played acoustic music and cheerfully took requests from the patrons. Not to be missed. Somewhat tipsy, I returned to Masih Bungalow for a well deserved rest.