We haven't been in Ubud a day yet and already we have hit a hectic pace!
FAST BOAT TRIP
It began by jumping on one of the fast boats we have been watching come and go for weeks. These boats are long narrow, totally-enclosed boats with 4-6 huge outboards on the back that bullet through the seas between Lombok and Bali.
The ride itself was surprisingly smooth, but the pervasive odor of gasoline had even stout sailors like us wondering if we would make across with out breakfast. We did, but a few did not. Five or six intrepid backpackers opted to forgo the gassy protection below and take the ride on the boat's back bench; they arrived totally inundated by spray.
The fast boats cut across the strait at its narrowest point and then follow Bali's rugged east coast south to Padang Bai. This coast with its black sand beaches of jagged cliffs and dry-looking hills is not the typical lush and luxuriant Bali one thinks of. It is a hard looking land with no raods visible. Still, every small sandy cove was lined with dozen of outriggers pulled to the high water mark topped by the roofs of a village on the hill above.
PADANG BAI
Padang Bai was a zoo. The fast boats slow to a crawl and inch across a wide cove of coral shallows ending at an actual dock. Drivers hustling fares for their taxies press forward while you are still on the gangway, despite the fact that most fast boat tickets are sold with transfers to your destination. Next there is a gauntlet of ladies selling snacks and/or sarongs from baskets balanced on their heads. Finally you press onward to your particular fast boat office where they distribute your luggage to you and you to cars going to your destination. This was a little tricky for us since Don had been persuaded to take a ticket with somebody else's name on it. (They are not supposed to refund tickets, but the Gili Air harbormaster had succumbed to a backpacker's teary plea.) Since the name was something we couldn't pronounce ourselves, it was a bit dicey to recognize it!
In the end, we had a nice taxi ride with five passengers and a smooth drive to Ubud. The route follows the coast south a bit before it turn inland into farmland for the upland climb. Now you begin see the lush Bali, with its rice paddies and corn fields in a crazy quilt of cultivation. We could tell we were getting close when the sides of the highway began to be thronged with the output of furniture makers and woodcarvers.
UBUD &UBUD INN
Then suddenly we were in Ubud proper, passing the infamous Monkey Forest (where naughty monkeys are known for very forward behavior (Did you get your rabies vaccination today?!!!) and pressing into a warren of boutiques, cafes, spas, homestays and hotels. Without reservations, it was mind-boggling, when suddenly, on the right was a name I recognized -- Ubud Inn, a hotel nestled in a riotous garden right on the main Monkey Forest Road thoroughfare -- where rooms could be negotiated for prices we could afford.
We were given a small room in the front, and after dropping our bag set out for a late (3pm) lunch. Then we walked the length of the road (stopping once for a latte) to the Ubud Palace where Bette Lee promised all sorts of performances would be taking place. Well, not this night. The Palace was closed for a private ceremony. Something to do with the King's family? But there was plenty to chose from at other venues. We opted for the Kecak Fire and Trance Dance.
With a couple of hours to kill to performance time, we stopped off for some tapas at Terrazo, a very nice Asian Fusion restaurant on Suweta Street. We had Vietnamese rice paper rolls (YUM!) and Duck spring rolls, a Bintang Beer and a glass of wine. Very delicious, very elegant...and very pricey! Yikes. 2x a dinner at Gili Aire with the service charge added on. The bulk of this was my glass of wine! It turned out to be $16! Holy cow. Well, I confess, I really enjoyed it!
KECAK FIRE AND TRANCE DANCE
The Kecak Dance was set in a beautiful open air temple venue under ancient trees lit by kerosene torches for a candlelight effect, with the audience accommodated in plastic chairs on three sides. Kecak is a special dance that is accompanied not by a musical orchestra or even Bali's very typical gamelan (gong) orchestra, but by an orchestra of human voices, in this case that of about 60 bare-chested men. They move, sit, sway, interweave in three concentric circles lit by firelight telling the story in a percussive vocal symphony led by several chanting leads, while the dancers enact the main characters in their midst, coming and going via a staircase of fifty, slower-strewn stone steps. We neither of us have ever seen anything like it.
The story was a fragment of the Hindu epic Ramayana which was summarized in some very entertaining Asian-English on the brochure which came attached to the ticket. Unfortunately, when the ticket is torn out, it takes with it a crucial chunk to the explanation! But even if we didn't all the time know who was who or what was happening, it hardly mattered! It was a fabulous visual and aural spectacle, and one I'd be happy to see again.
Plus, it ended with the "Sanghyang" -- a "God inspired trance dance the function of which is to protect society against evil forces and epidemics" -- wherein a dancer is lulled into walking through a bed of burning coconut husks! Hmmm....
Afterwards the crowd streamed homeward down a street much reduced in traffic, but still hopping with restaurants still serving and nightclubs just beginning to thump. We had thought we would take a taxi back to the hotel, but ended up walking. When we finally hit the bed, we were a couple of tired puppies.
No comments:
Post a Comment