No Doubt Ubud It

When we arrived in Ubud, I was shocked by the amount of people walking through the streets. Luckily, we had booked a little home off the beaten path, away from all of the craziness in the city's center. When we arrived at our home for the next week, our scooter was waiting outside and the incense were ready to be lit not to mention the entrance to our home was so inviting. Don't these doors look like you'll walk into a mystical place when you walk through them?

                           

                                     

Isn't it adorable? By the end of our week here we were really starting to fall into a routine and it was nice to feel settled for a bit. We made breakfast every morning and spent a few nights watching movies and reading books in our little home away from home. Mike even got to enjoy a bath! For those of you who know about Mike and his bath time, it was a big deal.

Day 36- We took our scooter and went exploring with no destination. Our initial goal was to drive as high as we could to get a nice photo of some rice fields, so we kept driving and driving and driving and the colder it got, the higher we were getting. As we were driving, we were flagged over on the side of the road by the local police. They asked to see Mike's drivers license so he took it out but it wasn't what they wanted. They wanted to see his international drivers license. We just so happened to get one for each of us before we left Calgary but we had left them back at our guesthouse. In all of the other places we've travelled to so far they say you don't even need a drivers license to drive a scooter, let alone an international one. The cops took us aside to write us a ticket and all the while each of them were so kind and had big smiles. When we explained that we had given the information of our international drivers license to the guest house maintenance worker, he allowed us to call him to get the number. The officer said he believed us so he would let us go but we have to travel with our license anytime we are driving in Bali. He shook our hands then sent us on our way. We asked him if there was anything nice worth seeing in the direction we were headed and he said "yes, there is a beautiful volcano with a lake in the crater". So I guess we were going even higher!

                                  

We arrived at Mount Batur shortly after. The giant crater in the center was filled with a huge lake and an entire town of people who live inside of it. The last time the volcano erupted was in 2000. We were absolutely frozen from the drive up so we enjoyed some hot soto ayam (chicken soup) at a little restaurant at the top.

On our way back down we took a wrong turn and continued our drive to nowhere. While we continued to descend, I saw a sign for a temple and lots of foreigners walking around, so we decided to stop to see what it was. The place is called Goa Gajah and it stands for elephant cave. According to about travel.com, it is a mysterious hindu site that allows visitors to enter a cave that looks like a demonic mouth, apparently suggesting that people are entering an underworld as they go inside.

We were quite pleased with our random adventures but still cold from the drive so we went back into town and settled into a nice backpackers spot called Clear Cafe, known for their great wifi and vegetarian and vegan menu. As you can see Mike was in his glory with good wifi. Mike even let me drive us to our next spot. 

                         

   

We finished off the day with some live music at a cool local bar called Laughing Buddha. 

Day 37- Woke up to a peaceful little breakfast on our veranda. 

We went to monkey forest sanctuary and prepared ourselves for some monkey business. We were cautious and a little scared going in because our last roommate had gotten bitten by one of the monkeys and our travel doctor told us that a lot of them have rabies. When you enter the forest there is a sign that states the rules of the area. Don't scream or make fast movements if they jump on you and don't look them in the eyes because they see it as a sign of aggression. We walked through the forest with caution but we both wanted at least one photo with a monkey, so we bought some bananas. Mike was up first and he put the banana on his backpack so the monkey would grap it without jumping on him. Well, Mike must have been putting off a calm energy because his monkey came over, took the banana, then helped himself up on Mike's knee to enjoy it. Slowly. He was in no hurry to get on his way.  For a moment, him and Mike became good friends. 

                                         

Then it was my turn. There was a big monkey who watched me get the bananas and he ran right over to me, so I handed him one, then I walked over to a smalller monkey to give him the other banana. The big monkey saw me, came over and took that one too. He was a bully. 

I didn't think he was being fair so I bought some more bananas to give it another try. I sat down and saw two monkeys look at me at the same exact moment. Then they looked at eachother and now it was a race of who could get my bananas faster. I did not scream. I did not make any fast movements and I don't think I could have looked them in the eyes if I tried. Mike said "Lisa, smile" and this was the result.

                              

                             

                

               

After monkey forest we returned to Clear Cafe to enjoy another coffee and some snacks. I love how much care and attention the Indonesian people put into their businesses. I wish we had places like this in Calgary. Everyday they use flowers to write a message on the steps up to the cafe. I loved this one and wanted to share. 

                                   

We enjoyed a nice night at home and watched a movie. Here is our sweet set up.

Day 38- We had scheduled this day in as our health and wellness day. We woke up early to a fresh breakfast in our home, then headed to Yoga at the Yoga Barn. The studio was beautiful and they definitely run the yoga scene in Ubud. I have been dying to practice yoga since leaving Calgary but there have been very few opportunities to date and it was Mike's first yoga class ever, so needless to say I was very excited. We participated in a Vinyasa Flow class taught by Les and it was fantastic, my body needed a good stretch and my muscles thanked me for working them over. Mike did so well and followed along with ease. I think he was meant for Yoga. 

After class we went to the cafe at the Yoga Barn. They are known for their healthy, fresh and nutritious menu so we ordered up some smoothies and salads. Next on our list of to do's was to take care of the sunburns that we got in Maratua. Yes, those sunburns. We definitely did some major damage to our skin and the way my back was peeling was making me look very ill. We went to the spa and booked ourselves in for a sunburn treatment. It was an hour and a half long and it consisted of a massage and scrub with a cucumber mixture followed by a soak in a flower bath. All of which is meant to re-hydrate and repair the skin after excessive sun exposure.  The whole experiene was wonderful and my whole body felt much happier when we were done. 

We took some time to listen to music and read our books before heading to dinner at Buda Bali. We chose this spot based on their healthy options and opted out on beer for this meal. 

Day 39- We had to drive back in to Denpasar to complete part two of our VISA extensions. This took most of the morning but we were happy to make it there and back with very little traffic and beautiful scenery.  When we got back into Ubud we stopped for pizza at a place that also had a deli with a few other cooking items. We were craving a night in so we bought the essentials necessary to make a pasta dinner. After dropping them off at our home we set off one last time to see the beautiful landscape that made Ubud so famous. We couldn't leave without seeing the rice terraces of Tegallalang but it was hard to enjoy the scenery with so many tourists hustling around and also walking on the rice terraces. We took a few photos of the main area but decided to take our scooter further up to find a view with less people. We succeeded and it was worth the effort. 

We came home for our last night in Ubud, enjoyed a pasta dinner and watched a movie. :)

   

    

 

Get in my Belly!

Day 31-  After a rewind of our journey to Maratua, we finally arrived in Canggu, Bali (pronounced Changgu), known for their surfing and food. This place came onto my radar after seeing some photos on a friend of a friends instagram. Our schedule was open and we had nothing booked so we came down and found a little hostel on Batu Bolong street. The food scene in Canggu is unreal and we happily ate our way through this town, one restaurant at a time. We stayed in a cute little dorm room at Canggu Stay, minutes away from some of my new favorite eateries.

We arrived in the evening and went to the little italian restaurant attached to our hostel called Rustica Cucina. The pizza was amazing and the decorations were vintage chic. 

Day 32- I have been following a restaurant on my instagram for the past year, admiring the amazing colors, ingredients and combinations they create. To my excitement, I would finally get to eat at Crate Cafe and it truly was as good as I expected. Life is crate. This is The Brekkie Plate; tomatoes, avocado, bacon, greens and poached eggs served on toast. 

Food for the soul.

We needed to get our Visa's extended so we spent most of the day driving around the city trying to find the immigration office. We were sent to three different locations,  we eventually arrived at the right office only to be told they were no longer accepting applications for the day and we would have to return the next day. Driving can sure take a lot out of you. So we found some food to refuel our bodies.

Canteen makes fresh food with delicious ingredients. Their quinoa salad, with feta, rocket tomatoes, chick peas, nuts, avocado and lettuce is exactly what I needed. 

Day 33- Crate knows how to make this girl happy. Mike had The Bean (first photo), bacon, beans, toast and a poached egg. I enjoyed The Barber (second photo), french toast with a banana in the middle of two pieces of bread, topped with scrambled eggs and bacon. Mmmmmm 

We gave the Visa a second attempt and headed right to the immigration office. The girl working the desk tried to send us to another office, based off of where our accommodations where located in the city but we convinced her to process our applications. We will need to return in one week to continue the process. 

We stopped at another new favorite for lunch. Bungalow Living Cafe, combines beautiful decorations for the home with delicious healthy food. 

                             

I forgot to take a picture of our food but I had the cashew salad and it's to die for. So much flavor in one salad bowl. It took the prize for my favorite meal of the trip so far.

Mike and I are travelling for a long time and there will be points where we need our own time and privacy and I need to be able to get myself around to have my freedom, so it was time I learnt how to drive a scooter. It was magical.

                     

  

                                  

When we got home we made our first attempt at surfing. It was quite successful. We both rode our way to shore a few times and also realized how much we need to build up our arm strength... we were exhausted. We tried every technique possible to get us back out to sea in order to catch the next wave and it was so frustrating when a wave would grab our boards pulling us back to shore. haha We had a lot of laughs and inhaled a lot of water. 

We went to Deus for dinner. It is a huge establishment off Batu Bolong that sells custom motorcycles, apparel, art and a restaurant, all under one roof. The executive chef is great with patrons and includes chatting with the guests amongst his other duties. We had the homemade ricotta ravioli and gnocci. The restaurants makes everything on site including the pasta, ricotta and all sauces. It was by far the best ravioli I have ever had. At the back of the restaurant they have a cool chill out spot with drinks and a DJ spinning old school R&B tunes. The only thing that could have made it better is if DJTJ was working the booth. 

Day 34- Woke up for another delicious breakfast at Crate. It was declious as always. We left our hostel around 9:30 in the morning and returned no more than an hour later to discover that we had been robbed!!!!

                                  

Coming into our room not knowing what was taken and what kind of damage had been done gave us both a terrible feeling in our guts. We think the person must have watched us leave because it is odd to get robbed in broad daylight. A girl staying at the end of the hall heard the crack of our door around 9:40 am but assumed it was someone working on the building. We were incredibly lucky. We had Mike's laptop stolen and our stuff shuffled around but it could have been so much worse. The cabinet in the background shows the handle was broken off when they tried to break open our locked drawer. They were unsuccessful at opening ours but managed to open the other ones in the room. We had everything of value in there, including my professional camera, my ipad, Mike's ipad and my bank cards. Luckily our passports were with immigration so those were not at risk of being stolen. Unfortunately our roomates were not so lucky. One of the girls had locked up her backpack with the professional camera and ipad of her friend inside. Since it was locked, the thief chose to take the entire bag. The rest of our day was spent waiting for our roomates to return to give them the scoop and writing a report with the police. The police consisted of two guys watching a television series in an office and they were counting on Mike tracking down the thief by locating the last used IP address on our dropbox. We knew the thief had hooked up the computer to wifi because my photos all started to upload to dropbox. Unfortunately, the location of the IP address has a 4 km range in all directions so it was impossible to track. Also the girl who had her ipad stolen had her find my ipad function switched off. It would have been sweet sweet justice to catch the guy/girl but it wasn't in the cards this time. We took the rest of the night and went to the shopping district where they sell new and stolen electronics. Our laptop was definitely there (we think) but we couldn't find it. The isles were filled with guys ripping apart peoples computers for parts or wiping the systems clear of personal info. We decided to buy a new cheap laptop to replace Mike's stolen one, otherwise we wouldn't be able to back up our photos or load photos to the blog.  It felt wrong to support the same market that we believe were involved in selling stollen goods but we couldn't be sure and this presented a cheep solution.

After a very long and stressful day, we went to Warung Dandelion for dinner. It was exactly what we needed to relax. When we walked in, it was as if we entered a magical land. They serve traditional Indonesian cuisine and there were litterally bunny rabbits running around the secret garden. (the garden isn't a secret but it just sounds better)

The food was amazing and so was the service. Now it was time to rest. 

Day 35- Woke up to another hearty breakfast at Crate. This one was nutritious and delicious. I had The Blackout (first photo), blueberries, coconut milk, muesli, frozen grapes and fresh coconut. Mike had The Mixup (second photo), yogurt, apples, strawberries, granola, honey and muesli. I look forward to recreating these dishes when we get more settled in somewhere. 

We had so many plans to surf while in Canggu but with our run around with the Visa extensions and the break in, we were too busy trying to settle everthing up. We had to go back to the police station with our roomies to finish the report and waiting for our translator took most of the day. When we finally put the event behind us, we caught a cab to our next destination. 

Canggu, until we meet again.  

Paradise

Day 24- We left Jogjakarta for our next destination at 6 am in the morning.  Our next spot came highly recommended from two separate friends in Calgary who raved about the snorkelling and beauty of the island called Maratua, in Borneo.  In both cases we were told to book early and the hotel would send us all and any information we could possibly need to get to this place. We were warned that it was hard to get to and this was no lie. It's crazy because we're not talking about going great distances, we would be staying in Indonesia, just changing islands. It took three plane rides, a 2.5 hour taxi through the mountains and a 1.5 hour boat ride. Lucky for us the ocean Gods were happy when we arrived and we were able to complete the journey in one day, 13 hours later. It would be insanity to risk crossing the ocean in poor conditions on their small 40 horse power speed boats so we were thankful we had good weather. We arrived to Maratua guesthouse around 7:30 in the evening and we're welcomed by the owner June and a lovely pasta meal. We were taken to our eco room and after a few bug discoveries, we slept with the help of our secure mosquito net.

Windows surrounded the room, which made it feel like we were sleeping outside and it allowed the forest to serenade to sleep. An open air bathroom with cold showers to cool us down after a hot day were the perfect compliment to our eco style room.

Day 25/26- When we woke up in the morning we were happy to find out that we'd arrived in paradise. The water was blue and crystal clear.  When the tide goes out, you can walk in ankle deep water for 100 meters before an abrupt 100 meter drop into the deep ocean.

We also took a 5 minute drive to one of the three villages on the island to find Paradise Resort. Their view was no less spectacular.

The next two days were booked for snorkelling. We stayed within the area of our guesthouse and it really was amazing. Lots of turtles, trigger fish, lion fish, clown fish, baracuda, parrot fish and many many more. 

Here is a video of me trying to swim alongside a turtle. He was my friend and I called him Murtle.

                                    

Although our homeade sunscreen has been working wonders until this point, nothing beats the heat this close to the equator and we had to pay for it. Mike and I both had terrible burns for the next week and they are just now starting to get better. 

                                 

Day 27/28- Indonesia is one of two places in the world that has stingless jelly fish and this has been on my bucket list since I first heard of it years ago. There are day trips that go to jelly fish lake on Kakaban island but these day trips are very weather dependant, as is many of the activities available on Maratua. The ocean calls the shots. We had planned to go there on this day but the night before we had a wicked storm and the sea was angry. So we weren't going anywhere. Unfortunately for us and a few other travellers, the ocean chose not to cooperate for the next 3 days and we were unable to go. :( I was very disappointed but it was out of our hands. I guess we will just have to go to Palau (Philippines) to see the jelly fish there.

When it rains in the jungle, the creepy crawlies like to stay dry, so many of them decided to join us in our room. If I would have known we'd be sharing our room with so many unwanted guests I would have put out some hors d'oeuvres! 

There are no dangerous insects or animals on Maratua but the owner June warned us to be cautious of centipedes. He said "they are not poisonous but their bite hurts like hell, so look out for the big ones, they come in when it rains".  When he said "big", Mike and I were thinking an inch or so in size... but when I woke up in the morning to see this thing crawling into our room, I knew what he meant by BIG.

                            

It was the length of a 1.5 litre water bottle and finger thick around. Needless to say continual bag and clothing checks became part of our daily... hourly routine. Have you ever seen a daddy long leg spider at home and thought, "Eww, who can I get to remove this massive creature from my home!?". A few nights in the jungle will have you begging to hang out with our bugs back home. (Dear Mike, I will still require you to capture and remove all bugs from our home in Calgary, the previous was just an expression)

Since our plans were thwarted, we spent the next few days reading our books, playing our many games with our new dutch friends and enjoying the beautiful sunsets. I finished reading my second book of the trip.. and I must recommend them both. The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion will have you laughing out loud and on the edge of your seat in the same sitting. It was hard to put them down and I was very sad when it was over. 

When the sun begins to set, the bats come out to get there share of mosquitos. I sat back for a while and captured a great photo of our sunset with a bat flying in the orange and blue sky.

Day 29- Maratua has a lagoon on the east side that always has calm water and on the outer edge of the lagoon sits a private island called Nabucco. It is owned by a German who turned it into a beautiful resort island. It takes 7 minutes to walk around the island and there are free boat rides to the island in the morning and evening. We went to enjoy an delicious expensive meal and the powdery white sands.

This photo shows the entire island in one picture. We were two of eight people on the island so we virtually had all of this sand to ourselves. We turned on the speakers and played a game of mini bocce ball. I won.  

We headed back to the guesthouse for dinner. We had arranged with our new Dutch friends to pick up some fresh lobster while they explored the island on a scooter. This night, the Dutch, the Australians and us Canadians enjoyed a fresh and succulent lobster dinner with rice and an expensive bottle of gin with tonic (provided by the Australians). Dinner was consumed overlooking another dreamy sunset.  

Then, Bali bound baby!