December 01, 2003

Today we left Ubud for Penelokan, a town on the rim of a volcano that last erupted in 1968. The ride was not long, only about 30km but difficult because it consisted of one hill that went on for 27km and we had a late start causing us to ride in the heat of the day. Leaving Ubud I was amazed at how many art stores there were, with a continuous string going on for about 8km. They sold masks, paintings, mosaics, furniture, wood animals (i.e. cats, frogs, giraffes, snakes and birds), and pottery. As I kept riding I thought, “how can these places all stay in business?” but the further I moved up I realized I was witnessing a factory assembly line. A tree is harvested from a forest high on the mountain, then taken by truck to a mill where it is cut into boards, then carved into a mask, then painted or stained and sold to a store. Each task occurred a little lower on the mountain with the final step being the stores where the items are sold. I thought how could there be so much demand for these things when there are so few tourists visiting Bali. Then I started noticing how poor these people were and how much they need visitors to survive and how all these Balinese treasures would find their way to stores and eventually homes in the western world where they would become an interesting trinket. In the end I became thankful that I had visited Bali, something that I was hesitant to do after the most recent bombings, because I learned how kind and gentle everyone is instead of the few extremists we see on the tele. A friend of mine always says, “if something seems scary it is probably worth doing” and I said this same thing to Jodi as we were flying into Depensar and I suspect when we leave we will think Bali is special.
Further up the mountain we stopped for a couple of Sprites that cost 60 cents and I had a bowl of a local dish called “es” for another 20 cents. It was a soup of coconut milk, mung bean sprouts, rice and a little cabbage and I though it tasted quite good. As I sat in their roadside stand I pulled out a map of the Island and asked them where we were and they became quite excited to show me and teach me a few Balinese words. Of course I forgot them as soon as I mounted my bike, but it was fun nonetheless. Continuing on, the road became steeper but still fun because of all the children calling out to us as we passed “hallo” and at one point we passed a school where we heard so many hallos that all we could do was our best to respond with a smile and “hallo” back to them. Another time a scooter passed and I looked up to see a man and a women seated riding with child standing on the seat in between them calling out “hallo” and waiving. It was really heart warming and brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now. We must not be something that they see very often because they were so fascinated by our riding up the hill. About 1km from the top the road became pretty steep and we were both exhausted from the heat and the climb so we began walking our bikes into Penelokan. Usually when I arrive at the top of a hill I am filled with a sense of relief but the top of this mountain brought anxiety. It seemed Penelokan had fallen on hard times and our arrival brought out everyone who wanted sell us something or take us to accommodation. I learned what famous people must feel like when they are mobbed by their adoring fans. I was losing it fast and fortunately Jodi just kept us moving through the throng until we were clear. We rode down into the volcano crater and found accommodation for $8.00 including breakfast. At first we were a bit put out because we thought they were saying 800,000 rp which is a little over $80USD and we both felt so silly when we finally listened well enough to learn they were actually saying “80,000 rp.” We checked in, and I went outside to sit on the porch for a few minutes and ended up buying a small painting from a very persistent local. He explained all the religious figures and their significance and the $10 seemed like a small price to pay for the information and a reminder of the day. We then went to the Café next door for some lunch and to bed for an afternoon nap that went well into the night and the next day.