Bye Pemuteran; Hello Ubud!

Although we only spent two nights in Pemuteran, it felt much longer than that. I think checking in at 9 AM had something to do with it. And well, Pemuteran is the place in Bali for R&R. We got much-deserved rest and were rejuvenated, ready to explore the rest of the island. 

At 11 AM we thanked Pak Taruna and his wonderful staff for their wonderful accommodations and hospitality, and were picked up by Bapak Ketut of Ubud Transport & Taxi for our three-hour ride to Ubud, a city in central Bali rich in the arts and culture. 

The drive consisted of narrow roads and some twist and turns, which reminded me of Maui's road to Hāna, except in Bali there is no banana bread to be bought along the way. Instead, we passed small villages, homes, kids playing outside. It was a picturesque scene as we rode past acres and acres of peaceful, green rice terraces, and even a huge lake by the name of Danau Bratan. 

Before we knew it, we had arrived in Ubud. The driver drove us down a long, narrow, stone-path alley before putting the van in park. We weren't too sure where our accommodations were until a young Balinese man rushed out asking for a Dewi Aldrich. 

"Excuse me, excuse me, are you Dewi Aldrich? I'm Wayan, the man you're renting the guesthouse from." Oh I see. We paid Pak Ketut, the cab driver, who helped us unload our bags, and walked up a set of stairs to our room with Wayan leading the way. His wife then presented herself and welcomed us as if we were family. It's the Indonesian way. 

The room at Raka & Rai Guesthouse had everything that I had arranged in advance with Wayan -- plenty of room for us to sleep for the next six nights, a private bathroom, a small outdoor terrace with wrap-around balcony, and even a private kitchen. 

Outdoor terrace for daily breakfast with coffee and/or tea

The guesthouse landscaped grounds

But my mother wasn't pleased. She pointed out that even though the space was large, nothing was clean. The bed sheets were old, the curtains were falling apart, and the kitchen -- from the plates, cups, and utensils, including the sink -- was filthy! In the morning, mom complained that her back hurt because the mattress on the bed that she slept on was so thin and soft that she could feel the springs through her back. She also said she felt very itchy, possibly from bed bugs. Even though the rest of us slept fine, she was appalled. Breakfast consisted of banana pancakes, nothing special, and when we returned to our room, we found cockroaches AND a lizard in the sink. That was it. We all had it, and mom broached the idea of walking around town looking for another hotel.

We must have gone into five or six different hotels along Monkey Forest Rd. -- some were sold out for the week, others were available but out of our budget -- when Sahara spotted the Sagitarrius Inn. It was a sign that one could easily miss while walking Monkey Forest Rd. Nothing pretentious. Just a man all alone in traditional Balinese attire standing by the doorway as if he was guarding a secret garden. My mom inquired about availability and the man lit up, happy to be of service. He led us down a long corridor to the hotel. In fact, many hotels in Ubud are like this, long tiled or stone-crafted hallways tucked away from the streets that you continue along out of curiosity only to come out and find yourself in total serenity. He showed us a few rooms at various rates that were available for the week, and we instantly fell in love. 

We decided on the deluxe family suite and put down cash for the entire weeks' stay. Each night only cost us $55 USD and breakfast was included. We felt so at home we didn't want to leave. But we had to go back to the Guesthouse, tell the innkeepers the issues we faced with the room in hopes they would improve for future guests, and get our luggage. Fortunately, we had only paid for one night there. 

My mom and sisters in our deluxe family suite, a big improvement!

A separate stand-alone shower was behind the door

My favorite part of our room -- the private outdoor patio where complimentary coffee & tea are served every day.

My mom and me enjoying our outdoor patio

Sahara & Gigi enjoying the beautiful hotel grounds

The stairs that we climb up and down every day to reach our humble abode

Screw Snorkeling, Go Biking Instead!

I woke up still not feeling well.  My stomach was aching, and there was no way I was going to risk having an accident during the snorkeling trip.  It was a decision I didn't want to make, and in fact I was very, very disappointed, but I had to say no to snorkeling and good-bye to the opportunity to visit Menjangan Island.  Why force it?  I told myself I will have to come back to Pemuteran in the near future.  It still sucked though to be so close to something and not get there.

Pak Taruna was very kind and understanding.  He suggested that I have toast and eggs for breakfast and that I spend the day taking it easy.  He also let us know that he rents out bikes for free for all guests if we were interested in riding out to some of the temples in the area.  That definitely piqued our interest.  

Toast & eggs

Fried rice topped with an egg

The most popular breakfast item in Bali: banana pancakes - we had to try it!

Fresh fruit

Love, love, love Taruna's tea sets -- super cute!

Cute elephant tea kettle!

Daily breakfast is included, and Taruna's breakfast menu is quite impressive.  They offer both Western and Balinese cuisine.  When we travel, we usually go with the country's specialties, but every now and then we miss home and go with the Western selection, of which Taruna does a good job.  

Before going biking, we decided to walk off our breakfast by going back to the beach we were at yesterday.  It was nice and sunny out.  

The road in front of our hotel -- in fact, the only road in Pemuteran

Another path to the beach, the one without the creepy cemetery

Getting closer to the beach!

My adorable sisters

Me enjoying the cool waters

My mom is so cute

There were only a few people at the beach.  We spent a couple hours walking the beach and picking up rocks and seashells of all shapes, colors, and sizes.  Then we returned to the hotel for some bike action where we rode up a long street till we reached a Balinese temple. 

 

 

 

 

We did not enter the temple as we were not appropriately dressed, and apparently there is another temple up in the hills that locals say is a great spot to watch the sunset.  Because we didn't want to leave our bikes behind, we didn't attempt to find it.  We simply enjoyed riding up and down the long street, watching kids on scooters play nearby, and taking photos of black pigs that scampered from one neighbor's yard to the next.  

R&R At Our Homestay in Pemuteran

We didn't sleep long, though it felt like a very long time.  When my mom and I awoke, it was close to 12 noon, just in time for lunch -- and we were hungry.  We waited for my sisters to wake up before we headed to the warung in front of the hotel.  The staff was happy to see us, and hoped we were able to rest well.  The warung was a beautiful spot to have lunch.  We had trouble picking which table to dine at, having moved three times.  

The menu ran the gamut of Balinese and Indonesian specialties, such as nasi goreng (fried rice), mie goreng (stir-fried noodles), satay ayam (grilled chicken skewers), seafood, ayam betutu (steamed chicken Balinese-style) and a number of vegetable dishes, like tumis kangkung (sauteed watercress in Balinese spices) and sambal lilit (green beans with grated coconut).  There was so much on offer, we had trouble deciding, but ultimately ordered the following:

Pesan be pasih, or grilled fish in banana leaves

Kare ikan laut, or mixed seafood curry

Mie goreng ikan laut, or stir-fried noodles with seafood

Chicken satay with peanut sauce

The food was delicious!  The portions were generous and the flavors were out of this world.  But despite the incredible food, I still wasn't feeling like myself.  I was still suffering from the pangs of food poisoning -- my stomach still hurt, and I couldn't finish my noodles, which I decided I would save for later.  

Embok Tia and Embok Erni quickly became our friends.  My mom has a special knack for engaging people wherever she may be.  We shared stories of our recent travels throughout Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and the ladies regaled us with stories of their Balinese upbringing and way of life.  We learned that a Balinese girl grows up to be married off into another Balinese family, with whom she will remain the rest of her life.  She is obligated to live with her husband's family in their family compound whether she likes it or not, whereas the sons in the family stay with the family.  It is an interesting way of life, and quite restricted with very little privacy.  Fortunately for Embok Tia and Embok Erni, they both get along well with their in-laws.

After a round of refreshing beverages and watching children walk home from school ... 

A yummy pina colada

Fresh-squeezed orange juice, my new-found favorite drink in Bali!

Uniform-clad children walking home from school

We walked to Pemuteran Beach, which was only a 15-minute walk down a narrow strip of concrete road not too far from our hotel.  There was an old, unmaintained cemetery along this path, which was a little creepy.  We vowed to one another that we would next time take a different path to the beach.  But the staff at Taruna assured us that the black sand beach would be straight-ahead, which it was.  It is a peaceful beach, but not one you would consider sunbathing or surfing at.  It is the kind of beach you would take a leisurely stroll on.

Pemuteran Black Sand Beach

Happy to be in Bali!

Mom & Sahara scouting for seashells, the popular Beach activity

One of many Balinese sunsets

We walked back to the hotel as the sun set just in time for dinner, which we enjoyed in the hotel warung.  This is where we got to finally meet Taruna Homestay's owner, Bapak Taruna himself, a very friendly man whose hospitality was inspiring.  He took the time to check in with each guest regarding their dining experience.  Pak Taruna and I corresponded via e-mail three months before we arrived in Bali while I was working out the logistics of this trip.  He was always so quick to return my messages and was extremely helpful in answering all my questions regarding overland travel to Bali.  It was finally nice to meet the man behind the e-mails and behind such a lovely family-owned establishment.  We loved everything about his homestay.  It was only our first day here, and already we felt like family.  That has always been Pak Taruna's goal in establishing a place for guests from all over the world to stay.  We also met Pak Taruna's shy but adorable 10-year-old son, Pandya, who entertained all dinner guests with his talented gamelan-playing skills. 

Tomorrow, the plan was for us to sail to Menjangan Island where we would snorkel.  This was already pre-arranged through the hotel months ago.  And I was able to snag a sweet deal at Rp. 250.000 (about $25 per person), which includes the boat transfer, guide, snorkel gear, lunch, drinks, and entrance fees.  But given my physical condition, I was not entirely certain it was going to happen.  Pak Taruna, however, was nice and said to just let him know at breakfast whether we would go or not.  Guess we shall see how I feel in the morning.