Bali

Last weekend, thanks to the few extra days off work due to CNY public holidays and our neighbours luring us to join them, we visited Bali and Rekku got to go on a 'summer camp' with his buddy Urho to the Mutts&Mittens kennel. I would have 'reported' on our trip sooner, but I got a high temperature the next day from our arrival and for a minute I thought it could be 'the big D' (dengue) but luckily the fever went away in a day and I'm back to thinking it is just related to my upset stomach - which, naturally, is part of travelling out of safe Singapore ;).

Bali is thought of as a paradise by many. I would just say its nice and ok. Not as special as I expected.. There are a million things to do and see, and yet the pace is relaxed and very holiday-like. Therefore it is a good place for a holiday! But it is soooo hot. Even hotter than Singapore, and more humid too. Perhaps this is partly because there is less air conditioned spaces.. I don't think we once ate at a restaurant that would have air conditioning. Huh!!

(click a pic to view a larger image)

We stayed in a villa in Sanur. When travelling with a larger group the villa is great. Privacy, quietness, common areas to hang out in.. but also a bit on the pricey side. It was in a way cool though, as the villa came with a maid who even did the laundry and a poolman who came twice a day to check upon the pool. Sure felt like a queen.. ! Sanur is a small town on the east side of the southern tip of the Bali island. It is quiet. Really. We learned that it's favoured by European pensioners, so very few young party people, and no loud Australian surfers around. I liked the quietness, because it meant less traffic and less sales people on your skin (very close, not giving up..), and it was such a contrast to Singapore. Nice and quiet = holiday.


From Sanur it is easy to go on day trips to other parts of Bali. We went to see Ubud and the area around, and did another trip to Jimbaran, Uluwatu and Kuta. Ubud was nice, small village-type of city with a lot of tourists and souvenir shops, but also a lot of relaxed atmosphere, small streets, smiling faces and lush, tropical vegetation all around. There was also a monkey sanctuary, a forest where monkeys roamed free – one climbed on my camera bag, trying to see if I maybe had bananas hidden under my shirt :D! It was a day trip I would recommend, as on the way we also got to see a lot of the traditional wood and stone carving, rice fields and small non-touristic villages.


On our other trip we ate at the beach in Jimbaran, where we chose two fishes to be grilled and truly enjoyed the very good food. Uluwatu is a temple at a cliff, so the visit reminded us of Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. There were tens of monkeys with strong self-esteem and quick hands pick pocketing the tourists, so I could not see half of the scenery because I had to take my glasses of :D. We went to Kuta out of pure curiosity, and it was as busy, noisy, city-like as we expected. We had dinner and looked around in a few shops and then escaped the buzz that reminded us of Singapore to the quietness of Sanur.


A few things stuck on my mind about Bali. Firstly, the scooters. The were everywhere, and driven by everyone. I saw a young girl sitting on a scooter, not holding on to the driver and texting away on her mobile. And with ease she sat like glued to the seat while the driver turned and twisted. I saw a family of five on one scooter, with the oldest of the small children in front of the driver father, and the two smaller children between the father and mother, who just barely fit on the scooter. I also saw a dog on a scooter, a passenger-boy carrying a large roll of carpet (and trying hard to keep it in balance) and many more that would probably get a 'not allowed, fine 5000$' sign in Singapore.


Secondly, the religion. Most Balinese are Hindus, who believe in several gods (god of the ocean, god of the mountains etc.). There are statues everywhere, either to pay respect to the good spirits or to try to keep away the bad (especially statues on both sides of entrances). Same applies to offerings, which can be seen everywhere. Offerings are put out on the street by a shop or restaurant to bring good luck with customers, and besides the ready-made small 'plate', suitable ingredients are added - e.g. offerings put out by fishermen at the shore on the beach had fish head on them, and the restaurant in Jimbaran had a prawn and a cigarette. Sometimes ingredients are added to keep the bad spirits happy (and thus way). There are also small altars everywhere. Offerings are placed on the altars, and prayers are said in front of them. While sitting down for a manicure and pedicure (first time in my life, can you believe it!?!) after a local, full-body lulur-treatment (which included a massage, scrub, yoghurt-moisturiser and a rose bath ..aah.), we were looking at the altar the place had high up on the wall, right by the ceiling. There was a small rat (or a large mouse) there, feasting on whatever offerings had been made that day.


Overall, Bali was a nice place to visit, safe (at least I never felt unsafe and people tried to cheat us only on two occasions, both which we detected simply by counting how much money we got back) and relatively clean (apart from the beaches that were surprisingly dirty with rubbish) with friendly people. True to my Finnish nature, I did not care for the sales men and women, whom were too persistent at times, saying 'if you come visit my shop I will not have to follow you longer' or 'you visited all the other shops, you must visit mine too' etc. Although the local food was good too (but not so much choice for a vegetarian), Sanur has the best Italian I have eaten at for a long long time. It's called Massimo, and it's on the main street. It had delicious pastas and pizzas (a list so long it was nearly impossible to make a choice) and tens of flavours of gelatto, including liquorice! And you should know how much that means to a Finn..

Ps. There are about 2 million people and 0,5 million street dogs in Bali. (Singapore's figures are 5 million and tens of thousands.) We saw dogs everywhere, but most had a collar and seemed to have a place to live. In Sanur there were some that were malnourished and skinny, and some that were expecting puppies or looked like they had had several litters in their life and could really use a break. The worst sight was an all wire fence cage by a busy road with three puppies in it. Puppies are babies! And they could not stand properly, as their paws went through the holes of the wire fence floor. They had no cover from the street, so no chance to sleep, and puppies really need their sleep. Such a sad sight, and heartbreaking that there's nothing I could do at that time for them. But I can always donate, in this case to the Bali Street Dog Foundation.