December 18, 2005
It has been a couple of easy days that started in the mountains at Candikunig and ended in a town in south Bali called Sanur. We decided to skip Ubud and stayed an extra day in Candikuning where it rained and rained but the cool temperatures felt so good and it was nice to have a room without AC that didn’t feel like a sauna at night. If I were to buy land in Bali it would be high in the mountains.
From my experience Candikuning was not a place that western tourists visit but a place where Indonesians and Balinese go for short weekend getaways. There was a Mosque and a Temple and each had a loud speaker that broadcast prayers in song at various times during the day. I am sure if I knew more about each religion the times would have made sense but to me it was kind of enchanting to hear them in the mountain setting with clouds rapidly rolling over the tops of the mountains and into the valley below. At one point both loudspeakers were broadcasting at the same time and we joked that they were having a bit of competition where one would say "We have spirit yes we do we have spirt how about you?" and the other would reply "we have spirit yes we do, we have spirit more than you." Our jokes went on and digressed a bit until we remembered " U-G-L-Y you ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, you ugly", followed by "M-A-M-A we know who is to blame, your mama, your mama." It was all in good fun but I am sure the locals would not have found the same humor in what we were saying.
We found a great restaurant! There were Basko soup carts lining the streets and I thought about having some but remembered I had three days left and the thought of being sick while riding on an airplane was not what I wanted to do so I ignored the good smells. Instead we walked up the road and found a nice place where we had soup, rice, tofu and ginger tea. All were outstanding and it was nice to see Jodi eating again since she has not been feeling well. I think the food must have given her something she needed because the next morning she felt better than she had in days and when I asked her what she wanted for lunch she said "the same thing we had last night." The girl who waited on us the night before took our order again and we said the same, so she pulled the ticket from the night before and brought all the same things again. They were all good once again and we left with a full belly.
We noticed on our map that they had several attractions we wanted to see so we asked the hotel manager where we would find the Botanical Gardens and the Geothermal Project. He said that the gardens were just up the road but the power project was not for visitors. Jodi and I were both disappointed to hear they didn’t run tours but set out into the rain for the Botanical Gardens. They were nice and they were very big and clean. Since going on this little adventure I have learned the Botanical Gardens in my home town of Denver are nothing compared to those in Christchurch, Sydney and now Bali. Each are large, informative, free and well cared for. We spent several hours walking in the forests and along the neatly manicured rows of flowers with my favorite being the exhibit of medicinal plants. It is remarkable how everything we need to fight the things wrong with our health are right in our backyards waiting for us to discover them. There was a tree that has a chemical in its bark that helps kill malaria, a root that helps with intestinal parasites and many more. What I found most interesting was how the local plants seem to help fight local problems. For instance you don’t see plants that are good at fighting Malaria in Alaska but you tend to see them in areas where the problem exists. Weird!
The next morning we thought we were in for some luck since we were leaving and it wasn’t raining. We loaded our bikes talking and ate some breakfast all the while talking about our good fortune. I was putting the final touches on my bike and taking it out the door when it began to rain lightly. I still thought this isn’t so bad and continued on my way. By the time I reached the bottom of the hill if was a down pour and Jodi wanted to see if we could wait it out. We tried but the clouds were getting thicker and the rain heavier with each passing minute. It was already late in the morning and we had a long ride ahead we decided to brave it. We donned our rain jackets and surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. We had a short climb of about 1km and then it was 30km down to the coast. In the rain the views were still beautiful and we took it slow occasionally snapping pictures along the way. About 10km down the rain let up but we remained in our gear to dry it out and because we were not working very hard we stayed cool.
To Jodi’s annoyance I often ignore the map and say lets turn here and before we know it we are lost. I did it once more and found that we were on a much better road without traffic and the warungs lining the street. I loved it but my better judgement, called Jodi, was saying from behind we had better not get lost because we had a long way to go and 20km out of the way was not something that was going to be fun. Surprisingly, it was all pretty straight forward and we found our way to Sanur without any trouble.
Sanur is nice but a little more touristy than I like. There are many businesses wanting to sell sarongs, wood carvings, custom made clothes, and paintings. There are more people of European descent here than I have seen any where else and I suspect with them comes the problems of the European world. The beach is lovely and the only white sand one I have seen. There appears to be a really nice reef break about 300 meters from the beach that I saw many surfers getting some good rides out of. Along the beach are many resort hotels and some have pools like the hotels in Vegas that appear to have all the amenities, good food, golf courses and ready made tours. We our staying at a small homestay with a pool, restaurant and AC that is perfect for us. Along our journey we have discovered that we like the homestays better because they are usually small, quaint and the owners very helpful and ready to please unlike the annonymous bedroom cubicles of the hotels.
Last night it rained and we had dinner at the homestay. We each had gado gado, a dish of cooked vegetables with tempeh served in a spicy peanut sauce. It was the best meal we have had so far and surprising since we are the only customers.
Today we make a short ride to Kuta to a hotel that has been storing our bicycle boxes since we arrived and we pack for our next trip to Singapore and onto Malaysia. Looking back I would offer the following advice to anyone wanting to travel here, "Do it!" Just before the last bombing Outside Magazine did a story about Bali, read it because it will make you want to go but ignore the travel advice since it outlines an itinerary of pricy beach resorts. Stay off the beaten path, avoid anyone offering you transport or to find you accommodation but find them yourself. There are many rewards to taking the more difficult road because it is your road, the one you made yourself with your own cunning and creativity.
From my experience Candikuning was not a place that western tourists visit but a place where Indonesians and Balinese go for short weekend getaways. There was a Mosque and a Temple and each had a loud speaker that broadcast prayers in song at various times during the day. I am sure if I knew more about each religion the times would have made sense but to me it was kind of enchanting to hear them in the mountain setting with clouds rapidly rolling over the tops of the mountains and into the valley below. At one point both loudspeakers were broadcasting at the same time and we joked that they were having a bit of competition where one would say "We have spirit yes we do we have spirt how about you?" and the other would reply "we have spirit yes we do, we have spirit more than you." Our jokes went on and digressed a bit until we remembered " U-G-L-Y you ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, you ugly", followed by "M-A-M-A we know who is to blame, your mama, your mama." It was all in good fun but I am sure the locals would not have found the same humor in what we were saying.
We found a great restaurant! There were Basko soup carts lining the streets and I thought about having some but remembered I had three days left and the thought of being sick while riding on an airplane was not what I wanted to do so I ignored the good smells. Instead we walked up the road and found a nice place where we had soup, rice, tofu and ginger tea. All were outstanding and it was nice to see Jodi eating again since she has not been feeling well. I think the food must have given her something she needed because the next morning she felt better than she had in days and when I asked her what she wanted for lunch she said "the same thing we had last night." The girl who waited on us the night before took our order again and we said the same, so she pulled the ticket from the night before and brought all the same things again. They were all good once again and we left with a full belly.
We noticed on our map that they had several attractions we wanted to see so we asked the hotel manager where we would find the Botanical Gardens and the Geothermal Project. He said that the gardens were just up the road but the power project was not for visitors. Jodi and I were both disappointed to hear they didn’t run tours but set out into the rain for the Botanical Gardens. They were nice and they were very big and clean. Since going on this little adventure I have learned the Botanical Gardens in my home town of Denver are nothing compared to those in Christchurch, Sydney and now Bali. Each are large, informative, free and well cared for. We spent several hours walking in the forests and along the neatly manicured rows of flowers with my favorite being the exhibit of medicinal plants. It is remarkable how everything we need to fight the things wrong with our health are right in our backyards waiting for us to discover them. There was a tree that has a chemical in its bark that helps kill malaria, a root that helps with intestinal parasites and many more. What I found most interesting was how the local plants seem to help fight local problems. For instance you don’t see plants that are good at fighting Malaria in Alaska but you tend to see them in areas where the problem exists. Weird!
The next morning we thought we were in for some luck since we were leaving and it wasn’t raining. We loaded our bikes talking and ate some breakfast all the while talking about our good fortune. I was putting the final touches on my bike and taking it out the door when it began to rain lightly. I still thought this isn’t so bad and continued on my way. By the time I reached the bottom of the hill if was a down pour and Jodi wanted to see if we could wait it out. We tried but the clouds were getting thicker and the rain heavier with each passing minute. It was already late in the morning and we had a long ride ahead we decided to brave it. We donned our rain jackets and surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. We had a short climb of about 1km and then it was 30km down to the coast. In the rain the views were still beautiful and we took it slow occasionally snapping pictures along the way. About 10km down the rain let up but we remained in our gear to dry it out and because we were not working very hard we stayed cool.
To Jodi’s annoyance I often ignore the map and say lets turn here and before we know it we are lost. I did it once more and found that we were on a much better road without traffic and the warungs lining the street. I loved it but my better judgement, called Jodi, was saying from behind we had better not get lost because we had a long way to go and 20km out of the way was not something that was going to be fun. Surprisingly, it was all pretty straight forward and we found our way to Sanur without any trouble.
Sanur is nice but a little more touristy than I like. There are many businesses wanting to sell sarongs, wood carvings, custom made clothes, and paintings. There are more people of European descent here than I have seen any where else and I suspect with them comes the problems of the European world. The beach is lovely and the only white sand one I have seen. There appears to be a really nice reef break about 300 meters from the beach that I saw many surfers getting some good rides out of. Along the beach are many resort hotels and some have pools like the hotels in Vegas that appear to have all the amenities, good food, golf courses and ready made tours. We our staying at a small homestay with a pool, restaurant and AC that is perfect for us. Along our journey we have discovered that we like the homestays better because they are usually small, quaint and the owners very helpful and ready to please unlike the annonymous bedroom cubicles of the hotels.
Last night it rained and we had dinner at the homestay. We each had gado gado, a dish of cooked vegetables with tempeh served in a spicy peanut sauce. It was the best meal we have had so far and surprising since we are the only customers.
Today we make a short ride to Kuta to a hotel that has been storing our bicycle boxes since we arrived and we pack for our next trip to Singapore and onto Malaysia. Looking back I would offer the following advice to anyone wanting to travel here, "Do it!" Just before the last bombing Outside Magazine did a story about Bali, read it because it will make you want to go but ignore the travel advice since it outlines an itinerary of pricy beach resorts. Stay off the beaten path, avoid anyone offering you transport or to find you accommodation but find them yourself. There are many rewards to taking the more difficult road because it is your road, the one you made yourself with your own cunning and creativity.
posted by Kirk & Jodi Roberts at 11:36 PM
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