Ubud & Seminyak, Indonesia

Day 13

I felt so horrible in the morning. I went to have breakfast and then went to buy more water. Fever didn’t seem to be so high anymore so I finally got some sleep. But soon I woke up to some singing and smell of something burning. I peeked from window and I saw some women praying behind my door. They were burning coconuts and that’s where to smell came from. They were doing that almost an hour and I was just angry because I wanted to get sleep. Later I realised that they didn’t do that to other rooms. Did the spirits tell that something was wrong in my room (me being sick)? If they were praying for my health it helped because after I woke up in the late afternoon I was feeling quite ok.

I went to the town to eat (in the same cheap place where I had eaten before). When I walked back to the hotel the centre was full of people selling last minute tickets to dance show in Ubud Palace. Because I wanted to see traditional Balinese dancing I bought one ticket. It was one hour until the show was starting so I sat down to wait in a bar drinking honeydew melon juice. Then I moved to Ubud Palace and I got quite good seat to watch the performance. They have these performances every day around Ubud and you can hear the music in the evening echoing around the town which gives a magical feeling. But this show was clearly aimed for tourists. Usually these dance performances last for hours but this was 1.5 hours long which was fine with me because I didn’t feel so well yet. They had 2 different dances in this show. First was short Legong dance performance and then longer Ramayana ballet performance. Both performances were shortened versions of the real stories. But I enjoyed this show and especially the gamelan music.

Day 14

This was my last day in Ubud. I was originally supposed to in Gunung Kawi which is said to be the most impressive ancient site in Bali. But I still didn’t feel perfectly healthy so I decided to skip it because I sometimes felt my head was little dizzy and walking hundreds of stairs didn’t sound very good at that moment. So I was still taking slowly. I went to Ubud Market to buy souvenirs and had lunch in place called Warung Ibu Oka. It’s recommended in every guide of Ubud and by Anthony Bourdain too so it was packed with people when I came there. I shared table with very friendly Australian-Canadian couple. The speciality of this restaurant is roasted pig and that’s what I of course ordered. And it was delicious! And surprisingly cheap! Although the couple told me it used be cheaper, but because Bourdain made this place famous they raised the prices.

Otherwise I didn’t do much on that day. I went back to hotel to rest because suddenly I started to feel little worse again. I organised a ride for me for the next day to beach town of Seminyak where I would spend my last 2 days in Bali. In the evening I went to have dinner in a guide book recommended Tutmak Café. It’s expensive and nothing special so I don’t recommend. 

Day 15

In the morning my ride came to pick me from the hotel. I shared the car with Scottish couple, Swiss woman and American woman. So there were six persons and their luggage in a 5 person car. It was little tight. But we had very nice conversations during the trip. All others left the car in Bali airport so was left alone for the rest of the drive to Kuta. The driver left me at some junction in Kuta and I took a taxi from there to my hostel in Seminyak. Breakfast was still going on so I was greeted with other hostel guests. It was actually nice to have other people around after I had spent many days alone in my hotel room. I had lunch in a restaurant which was other side of the road from the hotel. And the concept of this restaurant soon became my favourite. All the foods are on show and they you just point which ones you want and they fill the plate for you. And it was surprisingly cheap too, probably because many locals seemed to eat at this place too. And the food was delicious. I felt little tired so I decided to rest on my bed for a while. Well, that while became hours of sleep. Rest of the day I spend at the hostel with other guests, just talking and having drinks. I noticed it in Ubud too but here in Seminyak it was clearer because of bigger population:  Balinese people shoot fireworks every evening after sunset, probably to get rid of bad spirits. For dinner I had bad nasi goreng in a bar where other customers were drunk Australians. But it was only place open anymore. 

Day 16

Other guests recommended last night the massage place next door so I decided to try it out too. Full body massage for 45 minutes was only 6 Euros. It was very relaxing and I felt quite numb after that. Then I had lunch again at the same buffet-style restaurant as yesterday and this time I tried different foods. Then I walked to see the beach. The famous beaches of Bali. I must say the first sight was very magical. The smell of salt water, the sound big waves hitting the beach, the wind and the noises from traffic faded in the background. But when I walked closer to the waterline I started to see the truth. The water was full of trash. There were diapers, plastic bags, cans, bottles and even light bulbs. I started to walk south towards Legian and Kuta along the waterline. Suddenly the trashes disappeared from the beach but there was explanation for that; the hotel resort area had started. Beach was cleaned here so hotel visitors don’t need to see the truth. Yellow flags were warning of strong waves but people still in the water. Couple times I almost got sucked by the waves to the sea and I was just standing or walking in shallow water. Somewhere in Legian area there was a gap between the hotels and I got back on the streets. I was feeling so hot and tired so I took a taxi to take me back to the hostel. And as soon I sat down inside I realised that it was a fake taxi. Well, he took me to the hostel but charged a lot of extra; he used traffic as an excuse for that. After that I felt so angry. Again in the evening I was hanging out with other hostel guests. I had dinner in expensive Thai restaurant. We started to watch a Brazilian film in the hostel but soon I started to feel tired and I went to sleep.

I was waiting so much for tomorrow, the day when I would fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and see finally my dear friend.