20 December 2017
Yesterday late afternoon, we were greeted with torrential rain when we arrived at DenPasar airport. The chauffeur who came to pick us up had to drive really slow and it took us some 1.5 hours to get to our hotel – The Bali Spirit Hotel just outside Ubud. It was difficult to make out where we were going as the traffic jams with all the motor scooters were all so chaotic! As I’ve been to Bali before some 7 years ago, i knew very well that the Balinese are very friendly people but this was new to Gerry!
At the hotel we were shown to our suite overlooking the jungle and river – from our balcony we could constantly hear the rushing murky brown waters of the river. After having freshened up we went down to dinner. This hotel complex is built on a hillside so it has steps and pathways going up and down between the luscious green foliage of the cultivated jungle. So we literally made our way down to the restaurant armed with umbrellas as we did not dare take the chance of getting wet on the way back. Our dinner was simple but ever so delicious – Gerry had a carrot ginger soup followed by a fillet pepper steak ( note this is imported as cows are while I had a soto ayam (chicken soup – good for my cough!) followed by a seafood nasi goreng (fried rice).
We woke up quite late this morning but on time for breakfast – I’ve turned quite local here – fresh watermelon juice, slices of mango and pineapple……….. and simple nasi goreng zand green tea. This morning we were meeting with our travel agent to book a couple of activities and later on we both had a full body acupressure massage. Ee had such good masseurs that we booked another session for Friday. Well tomorrow we are going on a trip to a few villages, the waterfall and rice fields and some temples . Looking forward to this but also hoping that the monsoon we are having right now will have blown over. It has rained constantly for more than 24 hours!!
In the afternoon, we took the shuttle into Ubud town centre and although it was still raining, there were quite a lot of local people around as well as tourists. We’ve been told that right now because of the danger of the Agung Volcano erupting any moment now, tourists are staying away. Actually our hotel has only 6 rooms occupied right now…….
We visited the palace, the Puri Saren Agung which was the official residence of the royal family in Ubud. The intricate rock carvings and statues within the palace walls are magnificent – however there was quite some activities going on as though preparing for some festivity. Well later on we learnt that today was the last day of a religious temple ceremony held between 17-20 December to commemorate the day the temple was founded as well as Sang Hyang Widi Wasa ( the day of the Gods). The ceremonies were held at the Desa Ubud Temple and there are various elements of offerings – all men and women are dressed very beautifully and carry offerings to the temple. There is also trance music and dance. Unfortunately we could not stay as we were not dressed appropriately.
By the time our shuttle came to pick us up, we were totally drenched even though we had umbrellas but then the water was gushing around our feet and it was a miracle that we did not slip…….. Great to be back for dinner and a shower afterwards. nd looking forward to tomorrow’s trip! Goodnight all !!
