It's
only our third full day in Bali. We've hit the road again. This time
we're traveling from Sanur to Ubud. Our driver and her son are pretty
quite so I just look out the window. It appears to me that the
roadside is on a reel. It's a movie reel that starts with an image of
a food stand of watermelons and corn on the cob. It's followed by
statue stores, cement, hindu shrines, piles of junk, wood carving
studios, plant nurseries, snack shops, laundry mats, and gas stands.
Rewind. Repeat. Stop for traffic. Rewind. Repeat. There's a ton of
traffic as usual. There's a million locals on mopeds. There making
bold maneuvers; like texting while mopeding...with their kids poised in front of them napping on the handlebars. The curbs in Bali are painted in an
alternating white and black pattern. It reminds of the part in
Beetlejuice when he turns into a snake. I wonder if Tim Burton
has been to Bali. I tried to ask the driver about the meaning of the
black and white, but I didn't get a real definitive answer. I think
it's a language thing.....
The
hotel we happened to reserve in Ubud was gorgeous; and their staff
was amazing. Did we luck out again, or is Bali always this
delightful? By the time we arrived we were starving. We had lunch
directly across the street at Warung Enak. Every restaurant's name
begins with Warung. I think it must translate to cozy
little inexpensive local restaurant. In German I think it would
be stübl. It'll be no surprise to you; the food at Warung Enak
was perfect. By this time I was convinced that it's impossible to
have a bad meal in Bali. Normally I'll refference a guide book for
restaurant tips, but in Bali it isn't necessary.
After
lunch we went to the Monkey Forest. It was a skip and a jump from our
hotel. It's not a place I thought we'd visit. To me, the name and
purpose of the forest just reeks of being a tourist trap. But since
we didn't have any other plans for the afternoon we figured why
not? I was pleasantly surprised. We had a blast. It may be the
best tourist attraction I ever visited. (That'll teach me to make
assumptions I guess.) The Monkey Forest is a mini jungle in the
middle of the city that is home to over 600 monkeys. They are
amazing. Walking through the forest and observing their behavior is
mesmerizing and astounding. Watching the other tourists interact
with them presents an equally as amazing mental trip. Many people do
many stupid things. We saw a guy walking with a bag of chips; they
weren't even open. He got jacked by a monkey in about 15 seconds. The
monkey ran up his leg, stole his chip bag, ran back down his leg,
ripped the bag open, ate a couple of chips, and then threw the rest
of the bag on the ground and moved on. His boys came behind to finish
off the bag. It was almost like the first monkey was more interested
in proving a point than eating the chips. Hilarious. The monkeys will
steal anything. I found them to be so cute, gross, devilish, and
comical; all at the same time. Being so close to these monkeys; I
felt like I didn't know what to do (or make) of myself. I'm pretty
sure I laughed nervously a lot. As we strolled further into the
forest, enjoying the scenery and the company, Phil pointed out that
if you stop to listen you can hear nothing but laughter. Laughter
sounds the same in any language; and there was a representative from
just about every country on the planet in The Monkey Forest that afternoon. I think it's one of the happiest places I've ever been. How
can you be sad around a ton of fat, spoiled monkeys entertaining the
daylights out of people? I don't think it's exactly what nature had
intended, but it's pretty symbiotic.
Ready
for the run-down on dinner? We ate at a restaurant called Murni's.
I found it in the guide book; and just had to check it out. I guess
it's pretty famous. It's been around forever. I'll also add, it took
us forever to figure out where it was....not close to our hotel.
Needless to say, we walked there and taxi'd back. This was another
meal we ate cliffside; but mountain cliffside not beach cliffside. We
were on a porch about three stories up. We were looking out over
moonlit treetops. Phil had ribs; he loved the ribs in Bali. I had
chicken stew; another traditional dish. That evening I also ordered a
glass of the local wine, Hatten. It's something I never did
again. When it comes to wine I don't think I could recommend the
Indonesian; certainly not over the French, Italian, German,
Chilean....etc. In Bali you are better off sticking to beer and
tropical drinks. In fact, that evening Phil tried to order a dirty
martini. It's a toss-up as to whose drink was worse. Unlike the
drinks at Murni's, the dessert at Murni's was amazing; and the
waitress was an expert at upselling. By the time
she was done with us we had a large bowl half full of black rice
pudding and half full of tapioca with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on
top and whip cream. It was marvelous. I could have swam in it.
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