The Fine Art of Chilling

I think I may have used this title before in my blog while in Turkey.  Oh well, if you are really good at something, may as well repeat it.  I have the fine art of chilling down to a science.

Breakfast is served daily on my private lanai, including eggs, toast, fresh fruit and a whole pot of coffee.  Days are spent in the fabulous shops and galleries of Ubud, trying to decide how much money to part with for all the fabulous stuff.  A shower and afternoon massage at my guesthouse are a nice way to wind down the day.

Siam Sally's at Sunset

Another Caipirinha, please

This is usually followed by 2 for 1 caipirinhas at Siam Sally’s just before sunset.  Then comes the decision as to what fabulous restaurant I want to go to for dinner.  When I get back to my guesthouse, I might have cheese and crackers with a gin & tonic on my lanai… my room has a fridge and there is a large supermarket just down the street.  I even bought some candle holders and tea candles to add a little atmosphere to the lanai.

Mango body scrub, Lemon grass soap and Lavender body butter

What a wonderful end to an amazing trip.  See you all in a few days.

Our Intrepid Group - Jakarta to Ubud

                           Nova – Indonesia

Ket – UK    Maarje – Holland    Jack – USA    Neil – Canada   Marit – Holland

Sylvia – Poland/UK  Siobhan – Ireland Kim – Canada Mark – Canada Isabel - UK

                         Claudia - Holland

And then there was One

On Friday, we arrived in the beautiful town of Ubud in Bali.  I have been here before, but had almost forgotten the absolute beauty of this place.  In spite of all the tourist and travelers, this place still retains the magic and spiritualism that is Bali.



















Our last night was spent at Artini 2 Cottages in Ubud, another nice place.  Some people were extending their stay here, some were heading for the beaches and nightlife, some were going to other islands and others were joining the next tour of Bali.  This always happens on the last day of these types of tours… we were scattering like dandelion seeds.

Swimming Pool - Artini 2 Cottages

We had a wonderful farewell dinner together, thanking our guide Nova for all his help.  The next morning, it was sad goodbyes, with promises to keep in touch by Facebook or email.

Marit and Sylvia at the farewell dinner

I found myself a wonderful little guesthouse just down the road for a very reasonable $38 per night.  I have three more days in Ubud to just take it easy.

My new guesthouse in Ubud

Tanah Lot Temple, Bali

Tanah Lot Temple, Bali

Somehow in my last two visits to Bali, I had managed to miss visiting Tanah Lot, a must see on the island.  Thousands of tourists come out every evening from the beaches and resorts of Bali to see the sun set behind Tanah Lot temple, which sits on rock out in the sea.  As the Lonely Planet guide says, the hordes of tourists and vendors takes away from any kind of spiritual experience the place might offer.

That was no problem for us, however, as we were scheduled for 2 days of R&R at the Dewi Sinta Hotel just 100 meters from the temple.  It was very nice, and as the place “rolled up the sidewalks” at about 7:30 every evening, we spent a lot of time eating, drinking Bintang and telling crazy stories every evening.

Dewi Sinta Hotel pool

Daytime was very relaxing, with few tourists around the town and temple.  We could shop, eat and snap photos without the crowds.  Besides the temple, there was some absolutely stunning seaside scenery in the area.

Another seaside temple near Tanah Lot

I did brave the hoards of tourist to get some great sunset photos.

Bali Crossing

After our long traverse of the island of Java, it was time to cross the water to our next destination… Bali.  I must admit, I was expecting an older rusty version of BC Ferries, but was surprised when we came across a very small rust bucket ferry.  It looked somewhat seaworthy; Nova quickly got us tickets, and we clambered aboard as foot passengers.

Boarding our ferry

Nova told us that if the ferries were capable of sailing straight across, they would only take about 20 minutes.  However, this was not the case, and we took almost an hour to cross.

If you look at a map of Indonesia, you will see that both north and south of Java and Bali there are huge bodies of water.  The strait between the two islands is very narrow, so the current runs super strong, from north to south.  So our ferry motored north-east toward a deserted stretch of Bali.  As we approached the island, we turned south,  and caught the current towards the dock on Bali.

Passing another ferry in the strait

We hopped off the ferry, and as usual, our minivans were waiting right there with our drivers (yah, Intrepid).  It was another long and twisty drive to our next destination – Tanah Lot.

Coffee, Cloves and Rubber

After our Bromo climb, it was time to head back to a more gentile Java, the historical plantation area of East Java.  Like Goldilocks, we found the perfect climate, not too Hot (the tropical lowlands), not too Cold (the high alpine volcanoes), just right (plantations at 700 metres elevation).

The familiar minivans took us to the scenic hills near the town of Kalibaru, and the lovely Margo Utomo Agro Resort.  After our long travels, this seemed like absolute luxury.   We checked into our comfortable fan cooled rooms, checked out the huge pool, and proceeded to really chill.  A couple of the ladies indulged in spa treatments by the pool.

The open air dining area was very nice, and both Jack and I indulged in our first glass of wine on the whole trip (very expensive in Indonesia).

After lots of delicious Indonesian food on this trip, I decided screw it, I feel like some Beef Stroganoff.  All I can say is mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

The next morning, we were up to freshly made individual omelets, and something the Dutch girls (and the rest of us) have been craving… fresh cheese from the on-site dairy farm.

We then hopped into the minivans for a short drive to a plantation that was over 100 years old.  It was very interesting, in that they grew, and processed, coffee, cloves, and rubber.

  

We wandered amongst the coffee and rubber trees, being shown how they tap and collect the rubber sap.   It was then inside, to see how rubber sap is processed into the rubber we are familiar with.  Unlike spices and coffee, this was all new to me, and quite interesting.

The first process is mixing the rubber sap with powerful acids.  We were all a bit horrified to see the friendly workers doing this with their bare hands!

Processing rubber sap with acid

We saw less daunting processing and storage of the coffee and cloves.  I got some excellent shots of the historical building interiors, complete with old machinery and signs.

A 100 year old rubber press

It was then off to the beautiful plantation house for snacks and fresh hot Java coffee

Sylvia, Claudia, Siobhan and Ket

Suddenly, to the traveller's surprise, Gollum appeared