Cycling Trip to Ubud

I like Ubud and visit it a lot especially during my off day. Visiting Ubud too many times makes me wonder what else can we do beside just walking around. So my freelance guide friend, invite me to go with him for a cycling trip to Ubud and he promised that he will bring us to see the other side of Ubud..

Yeah well, I visited almost all five star hotels in Ubud and knew that they do have the stunning view to the valley, hills or to the river. So what else could be the other side of Ubud?

We started in the morning by rent the bike first. There were 4 of us including the my guide friend. The bike rental normally is Rp. 50.000 per day but we bargain alot and we got Rp. 20.000 per bike for that day. I am so proud of my friend who can bargain that much.

I choose a small yellow bike with a basket in the front to put all my things: water, jackets, camera and one of my friend put his raincoat on my basket (he said just in case it’s rain so he doesn’t want to get wet).

We started from Ubud art market and went along the busy road which is not too busy because it’s still early. A group of elementary school children with Balinese costume walked along the road with us. They went across the street to the temple near the river. We followed them, not to the temple but down to the river. The road is a bit slippery and children running along the narrow lane makes it difficult to control the bike.

After passing all those children we have to take our bike climb up through the step. I already complained for the step because my bike is quite heavy. But as we reach to the top, I was stunned with the spectacular view. We were on the hill where we can see all the hotels along the main road in Ubud. Apparently this hill is the view from that hotels.

This hills was covered with the high grass and some trees. The pathways were already built crossing the hills. My friend said that this is Sobek’s trekking path. So I hope Sobek don’t mind that we were using their path. My friend said it’s ok. It does not belong to them.

We met some expat walked with their dogs and also some others passed by with their bike, just like us. Other than that is just silence and the sound of the wind touching the grass, the sound of the nature…

We cycle very slow in that path until we reach the end of the hills. There were some workers building a new villa. We stopped for a while imagining that the villa will have a stunning view to the hills.

We passed the village and the ricefield. Some farmers were sitting down and have a rest after planting lots of rice. It seems life are simple here, but I don’t know maybe for us who enjoy the view, yes it is seems simple. Maybe for the farmers it is not simple at all. They have to work hard planting rice and took care of the rice, harvest it later and sell it cheap. What if there was a storm that destroys the rice or what if some bugs eat most of their rice. They will have nothing to eat and their family will struggle with the need.. But I am sure the farmer live a happy life and the harvest will bring them lots of rice to sell..

Enough about rice, when we reach the end of the village, we took a shortcut back again to the centre of Ubud. None of us want to take the offer to continue the trip to taro village which is quite far as we are already exhausted.

We met some other people, who use bike for their daily life. Some kids wento to school with their bike. We met a “Bakso” (meatball) seller who had their cart on the back of the bike, I am sure it’s heavy but the seller never give up promoting his “Bakso” with the unique sound of his bell. The smell of the meatball broth rise in the air made me feel hungry.

As we reach Ubud central again, rain suddenly fell. We stopped at the nearest circle K convenience store and bought some drinks and snacks while waiting for the rain to stop.
It’s fun watching all the people passing by through the rain. Some tourist use a colorfull umbrella, some don’t care about the rain and let themselves wet. Some motorbike driver use the raincoat to pick up their kids from school and few people took shelter at the hall.

Rain quickly stopped, so we continue our trip to return the bike. We use motorbike from denpasar to Ubud so we keep our motorbike parked in front of the shops near the bike rental. After returning the bike, my friend got panick as he couldn’t find his motorbike key. The shopkeeper, a young boy came and gave him his motorbike key and explained that he found the key hanging on his motorbike so he took it to save it. After thanking him for his kindness, my guide friend said “ That’s the difference between Ubud and Kuta, here people are still honest. If you hang your key in your motorbike in Kuta and left it, surely your motorbike will be quickly gone”

I thought maybe it’s true…

A Visit To Elephant Safari Park

Yesterday I got invitation from Bali adventure Tour who managed the Elephant safari Park at Taro Village in Ubud to attend the launching of their new package of Safari Under The Star.

Since I never visited the Elephant Park before, I was so excited to finally see it with my own eyes the real park which I ussualy recommend to my guests to visit. All the information I have before are only from their brochure.

The journey took about one and half hours drive from Seminyak to Taro village. However the view along the way is stunning, The countryside in Ubud reflect the real Balinese life and it seems like untouchable by the busy and touristy life in Kuta and Seminyak. Who would wonder that there are somebody who build heaven for elephants in this beautiful forest.

When we get there, I just cant wait to see more of the park instead of just sitting and waiting for other party to come. So I asked the staff if I can take a short walk along in the park and get closer to the elephants. The friendly staff offered if I would consider ride the elephants to show me around the park. Well off course I said yes.

Off we went for an elephant ride which is quite scary at first because I thought I would fell off to the ground. The elephant, named Tagor are very calm and I happen to know that he was an artist too. I saw his paintings at the souvenir shop inside the park. I saw lots of elephant in the park, eating some grass. They looked happy and friendly. It seems like they are taken care so well here.

Late in the evening, Mr. & Mrs. Mason the founder of the park invited us to see the elephant show and try the Elephant safari under the star. There isn’t stars that night because its rainy. So we use a raincoat and an umbrella to see the jungle at night riding the elephants. This time I ride with Miki, another beautiful elephant who can’t stand to pick some leaves along the way to the jungle.

The experience with the elephants was fantastic and I enjoyed it so much. This time I got more information and experience it myself then with no doubt I can explain it better if my guests asks about Elephant Safari.

Later that night when I already in the comfort of my bed and it is still rain outside, I wondered about Tagor and Miki and the other elephants who plays in the water, aw… I already missed them..

This is our picture with Tagor.. He looked very happy...

The trip to Workplace

Since my house now is quite far from my workplace, I now can enjoy the journey that took about 20 minutes motorbike riding. I just noticed that there is a shortcut from my house to the road near the hotel I’ve worked. The shortcut is much more quiter than the main road where I ussually pass.

On the main road, I have to pass 5 traffic lights, now I can avoid all the traffic light by using the shortcut.

The other thing that is so special about this shortcut is I have to pass the small road in a village and there are a beautiful view of the ricefield along the way. I saw some beautiful villa build among the ricefield. I enjoy most of my trip to work especially when I have to work in the morning shift, I can see sunrise from the distance... Bali dogs I saw along the way looks happy and I’m sure they have a good life with their master.

Its now summer in Bali, almost all flower are ready to bloom. The bougenville are everywhere. Blooming so colorfull. I can smell the dew from the grass and from the ricefield. Eventhough It is hard for me to wake up early in the morning, thinking about the journey and beautiful things I can see on the way to work could lift up my spirit to wake up.. (Still I need an alarm..)

The only thingsI don’t enjoy is if I have to work afternoon shift and get back home at 11 pm. The road is dark and there is only minimum lights from houses along the way. Plus the Bali dogs that are nice in the morning loves to bark in the evening when they see someone passing. Therefore my only option is using the main road with all the traffic lights.

Finally, My Own Dream House.

I wrote in my blog before about the house of my dream which is inspired by my friend’s house near the lake as you can read here. I always wanted a small house in a quiet area not far from the town and have beautiful view of nature.

Well the house is not exactly as I wanted but closer. Me and my husband bought the house half finished and have to refurbish it on our own. It was a terrible days finishing the house. Stessfull because of the rise in price for the material. Finally it is finished and we can move to this house eventhough the garden and the garage is not finished yet..

These days, I am so busy decorating my small house and of course gardening. Now I love shopping for home appliances, decoration and plants for my garden. Yesterday I just finished planting the grass in my front yard..

In my block I only have 4 neighbours and full view to the ricefield. I hope this area will not growing fast as the other area did. People buy the land and build houses and there will be no more ricefield. I like the ricefield just in front of my house, the sound of the chirping birds in the morning and frogs singing at night, so calming..

White Water Rafting

Recently, I experienced several adventurous activities like Buggy Drive and Surfing Lesson . This week I got invitation for white water Rafting arranged by Sobek. Off course, eventhough I am not an adventure person, I took the invitation excitingly and start counting the day for this exciting adventure on the river.

Sobek is one of the famous company for rafting in Bali and was a pioneer of White Water Rafting in Bali. We recommend Sobek for our guest in the hotel if they would like to go for rafting and now they invited me to know better about their company and experience the thrill of white water rafting.

Well, I am quite nervous and scared of rafting as I thought it is quite dangerous. But Mr. Tiger (our Rafting guide), who was very funny and friendly told us that it is very safe if we are following the rules. I was with one chinese family, a father, a mother and a child approximately 11years old in the rubber boat. Unfortunately they can’t speak english so it is difficult to start a conversation with them. After Mr. Tiger explained about the safety then we hop on to the raft and already my adrenaline rushed for excitement.

I forgot to mentioned that I went for rafting at Ayung River in Ubud. The River is famous for its natural beauty. Many first class hotel are taking the advantage of the river’s view for their selling point. The river is actually flat for those who seek a thrilling rafting, but Sobek also offered rafting at Telaga Waja which is famous for its Class III + rapids.

Anyway after a few meters of paddling on the raft I saw the towering cliffs that was carved from the bottom. The carving tells a story from Ramayana Epic I guess. The relief was so beautiful makes me wonder who did all this carving and how many days it took to finished it? Mr. Tiger told me that it was carved by the local artists that lived around the river.

After several raft in the river banks, we saw another rubber boat that stuck between rocks in the river. We laugh at them and splash them with water by using our oars, they were definetely wet. After few metres we did not realize that they were free from the rock and tried to catch us for a revenge. A very fun water splash war happened then. We laugh so hard. I feel like a child again, playing with water and feel happy.

We stopped at the waterfalls for a few photo shot and a hard shower under the water falls. We also swam in the river. What a view with a fresh air. I feel like I don’t want to leave this river. We continued challenging the river and sometimes saw an interesting trees, or local people along the river. After 2 hours Rafting, I feel tired and thank God it’s finished in front of Sobek restaurant where delicious Indonesian food served near the river. We ate on the terrace river café with buffet lunch while our clothes are still wet. After meals we take a quick shower and change of clothes. Our driver were ready to take us back to Denpasar… Ooowww..I don’t want to leave yet.. It felt like a very short adventure.

Bali Quad and Buggy Drive

Another adventure invitation from Bali Quad for us. This will be an exciting new adventure for me. I am just so glad that Bali Quad invite us to experience Quad Bike and Buggy in Ubud. They pick us up in the morning to go to Ubud. The place is in Marga Tengah Village, near Kintamani which is abpproximately 1,5 hours drive from Seminyak..phheewww what a long journey to start.

The Buggy and Quad Bike are specially designed Off Road vehicles that cope with all kind of terrain. First they give us a clear instruction and practice both Quad and Buggy before I decided to go with Buggy. Quad bike seems too difficult to handle and I am a litle bit scared in riding quad bike during our practice. Buggy seems more safe and easier to handle. like driving an automatic car.

The tour start to explore the off road amongst rice fields and traditional village. I drive carefully because there are lots of mud and pool of water on the road that makes my clothes get dirty when I pass it over. It is quite exciting to get dirty with the mud. things that I did a lot when I was a child. The track become a litle tricky when there are terrain that we have to pass. I am quite nervous driving this Buggy in a difficult track. Once I even hit the Quad Bike in front of me, which is happen to be our guide.. We laugh a lot. Luckily my Buggy did not turn upside down when I hit the Quad.

The track is passed a very traditional villages, where we meet lots of children waving to us with their smile. One child even gave me flower that she picked from her garden. So sweet.. I feel like this is the real Balinese village with their traditional ways of living. We also passed the rice fields and rain forest and have a short coffe and tea in a traditional hut with a view to the mountain.

The Off Road adventure with Quad Bikes and Buggy started to split because some people drive fast and some people like me drive slowly especially in a chalenging track, but the guide never leave us alone. They also split and keep an eye to us and show us the way. After 2 hours of adventure we went back to the place where we start and delicious lunch is ready to be served..

Surfing Lesson at Surfer Girl Surf S’cool

I got an invitation for the soft opening of Surfer Girl Surf S’cool to learn to surf. I saw a lot of surfer everyday and arrange lots of surfing lessons for my guests but never think that I want to larn to surf. It look dangerous and look scary. All the negative feeling always come to my mind first. What if the waves are strong, what if I can’t handle the board, etc..etc..

The invitation looks fun, so I call them if learn to surf is dangerous and what will they teach me and how will I do that. They told me that it is safe, fun and there will be professional instructors teach me to stand on the board. So I ask my friend if she want to accompany me to learn to surf, but everybody refuse. Too many negative feeling as I have. When I desperately look for company, the assistant manager pass by and I ask her if she want to learn to surf? And she said she’d love to. Then the next morning off we go.

First they ask us to change with rash suit that already prepared with very girly color available. Off course this school are only for girl. They also ask us to put safety helmet and a high SPF sunblock for our face, arms and legs. The instructors are female too and they are so friendly and 2 male assistant for back up.

The instructor give us the theory to read the waves, paddle to the sea and ride on the waves. Well I cant wait to practice it. When it comes to practice, we practice first on the sand then to the water. Well it is not to difficult, paddle and ride the waves. We are not stand on board yet. Just paddle and ride the waves but I feel it is so much fun that I wont stop.

The second lesson is about how to stand on the board. This one is difficult. We practice it on the sand. And I can’t even stand fast. The sun is already too hot (it is only 10 am) and I feel exhausted because I got too excited on paddling on the waves. When we have to practice it on the water, Oh my god , it is so difficult. The waves keep me down whenever I tried to stand. I even hit my friend while trying to stand on my board. On one occasion I stand…. Oh yes.. I STAND… I can stand on the board while riding the waves.. Yahoo..! It is only like 1 or two second before I fell again because I can’t balance myself on board. But I feel so happy. I can be a surfer girl someday…. Hehehe..

The lesson finished at 11 am. It is already 2 hours we were on the water. All of us look happy and exhausted. All keep telling each other how it feels when they stand on the board.. My friend even ask me to do it again next time so that we can really really stand on board and ride the waves like a pro..

The Surfer Girl Surf S’cool gave each of us a certificate with our name on it mentioned that we have ride waves and stand on board. They even gave us a goody bags full of Surfer Girl Stuff, like Surfer Girl calendar, Surfer Girl Keychain, bags and lots more.