Ubud, one of Bali's cultural centers, is set among steep ravines and rice paddies. We spent our days here walking around the town's various galleries and shops. Most sold traditional Balinese wood-carvings or masks worn in the various traditional dances. Scarves and the omnipresent buddha images were also popular.
Culture aside, the real reason we wanted to come to Ubud was to eat Babi Guling. Balinese suckling pig is stuffed with herbs and spices, basked in coconut milk, and slowly cooked for 5 hours over an open fire. When we first learned of this swine sensation on Anthony Bordain's No Reservations, we added Bali to the trip itinerary. Like Tony, we headed to Warung Ibu Oka, to give it a try at $2/plate. The meat was moist and spiced perfectly, and the crispy skin was sweet from the coconut milk. This is a great meal not to be missed when in Bali.
Following our meal, we walked down the street to get a look at the kitchen. Within the walls of a traditional balinese home, two pigs were slowly being roasted. A proud cook gave us a tour, describing how that day he'd prepared 6 pigs.
In the afternoon, we walked through the town's Monkey Forest, home to 200 macaque monkeys. Steve got a close encounter with one that tried to climb up his leg from behind. One temple within the forest had an Indiana Jones vibe to it, but overall the park was a fairly small place, that basically just offered some monkey viewing.
Following a few days in Ubud, we headed back south to Seminyak to relax away our last days on Bali and in Indonesia.
Our biggest accomplishment, so to speak, was a long beach walk and ultimate visit to Tanah Lot. This temple, which means "Land in the Middle of the sea," attracts a large tourist crowd for its picturesque setting.
One adventure that we should mention was a disappointing trip to the nearby island of Nusa Lembongan. Because Lonely Planet dubbed it as the "bali people dream of but never find" we hoped it might get us back to something like we'd seen on the Gili islands. To get here we took a small public speed boat that ended up being one of our most terrifying transportation adventures yet. Powered by 4 engines, the small craft bounced from wave to wave across a churning sea. Each time the boat's hull crashed down, the deafening thud made you wonder if everything was still in one piece. At times, you could look out and actually see long rolling waves that were above eye-level. It was a harrowing experience to say the least. Surely, we figured, the island must be worth it!
We were wrong. So wrong in fact, that it wouldn't surprise me if "Lembongan" translated to "the island of smelly seaweed". Seaweed, along with some surfing, seemed to be island's focus and every inch of beach or path was taken up by it. We accepted our mistake and headed back to Bali the next morning when the waves had calmed.
Our final impression of Bali is that it's great for surfing and resorts, but it didn't have the best beaches or towns. The island is fairly congested with traffic and we found ourselves having to take taxis nearly everwhere. We do have to say that we got a bit lazy and didn't see all the island had to offer, so perhaps places like Lovina in the north or other hidden spots might prove us wrong. Nevertheless, we're exicted to move on and continue our trip.
One month left and we're mixing things up a bit. More to come.
Culture aside, the real reason we wanted to come to Ubud was to eat Babi Guling. Balinese suckling pig is stuffed with herbs and spices, basked in coconut milk, and slowly cooked for 5 hours over an open fire. When we first learned of this swine sensation on Anthony Bordain's No Reservations, we added Bali to the trip itinerary. Like Tony, we headed to Warung Ibu Oka, to give it a try at $2/plate. The meat was moist and spiced perfectly, and the crispy skin was sweet from the coconut milk. This is a great meal not to be missed when in Bali.
Following our meal, we walked down the street to get a look at the kitchen. Within the walls of a traditional balinese home, two pigs were slowly being roasted. A proud cook gave us a tour, describing how that day he'd prepared 6 pigs.
In the afternoon, we walked through the town's Monkey Forest, home to 200 macaque monkeys. Steve got a close encounter with one that tried to climb up his leg from behind. One temple within the forest had an Indiana Jones vibe to it, but overall the park was a fairly small place, that basically just offered some monkey viewing.
Following a few days in Ubud, we headed back south to Seminyak to relax away our last days on Bali and in Indonesia.
Our biggest accomplishment, so to speak, was a long beach walk and ultimate visit to Tanah Lot. This temple, which means "Land in the Middle of the sea," attracts a large tourist crowd for its picturesque setting.
One adventure that we should mention was a disappointing trip to the nearby island of Nusa Lembongan. Because Lonely Planet dubbed it as the "bali people dream of but never find" we hoped it might get us back to something like we'd seen on the Gili islands. To get here we took a small public speed boat that ended up being one of our most terrifying transportation adventures yet. Powered by 4 engines, the small craft bounced from wave to wave across a churning sea. Each time the boat's hull crashed down, the deafening thud made you wonder if everything was still in one piece. At times, you could look out and actually see long rolling waves that were above eye-level. It was a harrowing experience to say the least. Surely, we figured, the island must be worth it!
We were wrong. So wrong in fact, that it wouldn't surprise me if "Lembongan" translated to "the island of smelly seaweed". Seaweed, along with some surfing, seemed to be island's focus and every inch of beach or path was taken up by it. We accepted our mistake and headed back to Bali the next morning when the waves had calmed.
Our final impression of Bali is that it's great for surfing and resorts, but it didn't have the best beaches or towns. The island is fairly congested with traffic and we found ourselves having to take taxis nearly everwhere. We do have to say that we got a bit lazy and didn't see all the island had to offer, so perhaps places like Lovina in the north or other hidden spots might prove us wrong. Nevertheless, we're exicted to move on and continue our trip.
One month left and we're mixing things up a bit. More to come.
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