Ubud is lovely. Nearly a paradise. When I arrived I thought I never wanted to leave, but by day four, i was ready to move on. The centre is sort of phony in a perfect sort of way. Inviting restaurants and bars and shops for tourists, English speaking staff, abundant taxis, juice and gelato stands, walkable, clean, easy … and after a day, a bit dull.
I flew to Denpasar for one day and night and realized only then how happy I was to be in a new city. A real city. Dirty, crowded, busy. With a momentum of its own that did not centre around me, the visitor.
The airport is in Denpasar, so if you are going anywhere in Bali you will likely pass through, but most people don’t stay. I would have skipped it myself but I didn’t want to be in a rush to get through traffic from Bali to make a flight. So i took an uber from Ubud (a complete rip off compared to a regular taxi, as it turned out) to Denpasar and checked in at my accommodations: the Nakula Familiar Inn. The rooms felt like your Grandma’s neglected basement spare room, but there was AC, private balconies, and a nice courtyard with places to hang out. And it was about $20 a night and walking distance to most sites. Plus, the manager was great and gave me a map and meticulously marked the best walking routes and stops along the way, after she applied magical healing oil to my finger that i had just slammed in the car door. So A+ for service.
I walked through the flower market, which was busy all day (i walked past it again in the evening) with women selling flowers and petals for use in the little palm frond offerings that are placed at least once a day at every temple and altar, on the sidewalks in front of shops, and on the dashboards of cars. Women set these out, add some food item to the flowers (a candy or cracker) and sprinkle it with some holy water or oil. When they are stepped on or ravaged by monkeys, they are replaced.
From there it was a short walk to the main market, Pasar Badung. It did have a floor of gifty items, but was otherwise a proper market with fruit and vegetables, seafood, textiles, and housewares. It smelled very bad in places, as good markets often do. I browsed around but didn’t buy anything.
I walked to the bird market. Hundreds. Thousands? Of birds in cages for sale. Some common, like chickens and pigeons, most exotic and colorful. I mentioned in a previous post that people hang bird cages everywhere, along the streets even, usually with one bird to a cage. Apparently there are bird song competitions, and also pigeon training, and cockfights. I don’t like seeing all the birds in cages but it was interesting to walk through.
On the plus side, i saw this urban turkey, hanging out in an alleyway.
From there i visited the Pura Jagatnatha (temple) and the museum, which were both nice, but at this point in the trip everything is starting to look the same.
It was then my plan to walk about 2 km to the Bajra Sandi monument. I waved off the offers of taxis. I was content to walk. And, at first, i was. I walked through residential streets. I found a nice vegan restaurant.
But then i realized i was lost. I had gone too far to backtrack, but i couldn’t find my way and no one spoke English or understood my attempts at Indonesian. I would have paid anything for a taxi. It was hot and i was exhausted. I ended up walking 20 km that day. But there were no taxis. Finally, nearly in tears, i went into a bank and found a teller who spoke a little English and who drew me the most detailed and accurate map that got me to the monument. I would send him a thank you card if i knew his name, or that of the bank, or what street i was on.
I arrived at the Bajra Sandi monument completely wasted, but it was beautiful in an imposing and evil sort of way.
I explored its nooks and crannies, then managed to get a taxi. I gave the taxi driver a business card for my hotel which had the address, phone number, and a map. He said he knew where it was. I had no idea how long the drive should take, i had gotten so twisted in my walk, but it seemed to be taking a long time. He said it was the traffic. I then noticed that the area looked more rural that i had seen. He said it was a better road. I then noticed a lot of fancy shops and restaurants and wondered why i hadn’t see them earlier. Finally, he pulled up on the correctly named street at the correct number…but it was not my hotel. Only then did i discover…he had driven to the right address in the wrong city. We were in Kuta, not Denpasar. I don’t know why it happened, why he didn’t see that the business card clearly said “Denpasar”, but there we were. It took another hour in heavy traffic to get back to Denpasar. At least i saw another city, i guess.
But that basically took up my evening. I just had a cigar and went to bed. I am currently at the airport in Jakarta, awaiting a flight to Taipei. And so ends my trip to Indonesia. It has been a good one. I could see myself returning some day to the country, but to visit other islands. Right now though, i am happy to move on.
It is more expensive than the slower means of reaching the city, but when time is short, why would you not ride the world’s fastest train? Finding my way and getting tickets was a breeze and before i knew it my train ride was over.
