Day 2: Ubud

Today marked our first full day in Bali, and our first morning at our home stay. It proved to be a very interesting morning as my roommate Erica and I were awoken at 4am thanks to the homestay roosters. This was my first experience with roosters, and I was very surprised with how loud, persistent and utterly annoying they are. In addition the barking dogs outside our room didn’t help, but nevertheless I forced myself back to sleep and actually got out of bed around 6:45.

Once up we learned a bit of Balinese before enjoying a breakfast of fresh fruit and a grilled cheese like breakfast sandwich, along with my first taste of Balinese tea. All of it hit the spot although I realized I should have taken sugar with my tea, a lesson I won’t forget from now on.
We then visited the Arma Hotel, a local travel resort and museum that also owns rice paddy land. There we enjoyed refreshments, tea with sugar, as well as a a basket of treats such as steamed rice flour with plantain and baked coconut cake, in addition to learning about the history of the resort. The museum artwork was spectacular to look at, and the details that go into every piece of work were astounding. Painters layered watercolors and ink with skill in their renditions of Hindu legends and everyday life. We were also able to watch wood carvers as they made the ornate doorways that welcome visitors to every home. The hotel owner, Agung Rai, told me that he rented out the land surrounding the resort to rice farmers for them to plant and harvest organically grown rice on, and that they get 2 harvests a year. Although this is less than the 3 harvests that conventional growers get using manmade inputs, Agung was committed to this model and spoke highly of the crop that results.

In addition to supporting sustainable agriculture, always a plus in my book, Agung also described how the tourism part of ARMA supported the local efforts that were the main purpose of his compound. After school programs for local children exposing them to traditional Balinese art forms and skills, as well as the open museum to showcase Indonesian artists were all intended to allow Ubud’s youth to learn about themselves before being exposed to outside influences like American music and French fashions.

Post tour we came back to Madra Homestay for lunch, which was tofu, tempeh, shrimp chips, rice, fruit and cassava fries for me. During the heat of the day I could see the appeal of a siesta and all of us had a nice sheen of sweat making us glow, but soon it was time for our next adventure, woodcarving!

We arrived to find our names partially carved with two letters awaiting our creative skills. Unfortunately we seemed to be lacking those creative skills and I was forced to apply some wood glue more than once. Despite my troubles the carving is legible at least, and is undergoing final touch ups and a new paint job before being returned to me. Next I tried out making offerings, which is a daily ritual for the Balinese. Everywhere you walk you will see detailed flower offerings in banana leaf bowls throughout the streets and near different alters for the various high and low gods. This went a little better for me, especially with the help of the cutest and tiniest old woman you’ve ever seen. She showed me how to create the bowls with the help of a stiff piece of straw and then arrange the flowers within the container.

We then returned to our Homestay and ventured off to find an ATM and Internet. Stuffing away my 1,000,000 Rupiah we stumbled upon an Internet cafe that cost only 3,000 Rupiah for an hour, or about $0.30. Running home to shower my roommate and I got dressed in our traditional sarongs before heading off to meet the local prince! Upon arrival he met us at the door and with the most charming sense of humor showed us around his home and fed us fried plantains, jackfruit, hard boiled eggs, bean sprout salad and some other meat dishes I ignored. The food was good, but I had decided to try the spicy sauce next to the chicken satay which proved to be a little hotter than expected, so my whole meal had a not completely pleasant burning heat to it. After our casual meal at the palace we again returned to the Homestay and I completely passed out at 9pm, the end to a tiring first day in Ubud.