Bali (Day 3 / Night 4)

Our first morning at Rumah Roda started with a lovely brekkie made up of banana pancakes and lots of fruits.

Actually, the banana pancake is very much like ondeh-ondeh, but one with banana fillings, gula melaka syrup on the outside instead of inside and stretched out thin.

My mouth is watering now just looking at my photos again.

We walked down Jalan Kajeng, where Rumah Roda is tucked away on.

Mum wanted to visit Pasar Ubud to see if there would be anything to buy.

The market was so colourful!

I was bombarded with an overwhelming mixture of smells, sounds and sights. And not to mention ridiculously sky-high prices. Oh yes, you would need to haggle to half price here.

Anyhow, Mum was delighted to find something for the centre.

We ventured down Monkey Forest Road and turned off a smaller road, where we decided to quench our thirst at this funky organic place called Juice Ja Cafe.

How ironic to have us down their world-famous and utterly unhealthy babi guling after that.

There was a queue and patrons literally had to hover over tables, preying on them like hungry eagles awaiting to pounce on an innocent mouse about to exit its burrow.

But I have to admit, the thick and plastic-looking piece of skin was delicious! It was like an extra gigantic piece of skin (minus the crackly bubbles) of roast pork (siew yoke).

They did have greens to help with the digestion so alright, not all that unhealthy.

And then, it was a visit to the place which initiated this trip. We headed to Green School, which I have dedicated a separate post to. The tour of the school took longer than expected, but I was not one to complain. Utterly enjoyed the tour, and learnt a thing or two from it. By the time we returned to Ubud, it was time for dinner and because I was so tired, I totally forgotten to take note of what that restaurant is called! However, the ambience of the restaurant and the food was commendable.

Bro had a carbonara fettucine, the only non-local dish ordered.

I ordered a nasi goreng; fried rice with vegetables, eggs and side of chicken satay and shrimp crackers.

Mum had pepes ikan; steamed fish with yellow paste Balinese spice, tomato, bay leaves wrapped with banana leaf served with sauteed fern tip and yellow rice.

Dad had something similar to mine but had more ingredients, as it was nasi campur; Balinese chicken basa gede, tuna sambal matah, tempe tofu red chilli sauce, chicken satay, grilled prawn, rice, vegetable urap and crackers.

The service was slow and because we were rushing for time, the slowness agitated us slightly. We were trying very hard not to be late for a Kecak performance down the road at Pura Dalem.

Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, Kecak has roots in Sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance. The piece, performed by a circle of 150 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana.

For this performance, there were not that many performers, as it was an enactment of only one episode.

I was so taken away by the complex and multi-layered "cak cak cak cak" chanting into various rhythmic patterns. All a capella and in total sync!

Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus. In the 1930s, Kecak was taken out of its scared realms and developed into Kecak Ramayana. It is believed that this transformation took in the village of Bedulu through the creative efforts of German painter and musician Walter Spies, I Wayan Limbak and the people of Bedulu. However, the current form of the performance was conceived in the village of Gianyar.

The Sanghyang performance took place after. A trance dance functioning to protect the society against evil forces and epidemics, it can take several forms and in this case, it was presented as the Sanghyang Djaran (horse).

In Bali and Java, the hobby horse is associated with trance and is also seen in the Kuda Kepang of West Java and the southern Malaysian state of Johor. The 'horse-rider' is lulled into trance by the repetitive sounds of the gamelan suara and during that stage, he walks on dynamical sounds of the gamelan suara.

It felt a little like a fire dance to me because there was a bonfire built in the middle of the stage and during certain times, the 'horse-rider' actually walks over the firey charcoal (reminded me of Thaipusam, really).

The Kecak performance here is one of the best in Ubud, which is only staged every Friday and Monday evening in beautiful outdoor surroundings under banyan trees.

Our final night here on Bali was capped with drinks at Art Kafe | Bar.

We did not try their famous tiramisu. Instead, I shared a plate of pisang goreng with Bro.

If you are ever in Bali, you must give their choc fudge brownies a go. You will not regret it!

Bali (Day 2 / Night 3)

On this morning, we bade farewell to the frangipani-lined streets of Nyuh Kuning, as we would be putting up the remaining nights at a different accommodation.

We had a short stop at the petrol station and I was a little confused with what they had:

Motor and Roda Dua... hmmm..... for us in Malaysia, they mean the same thing, don't they?

And wow, Solar? They definitely are big on sustainability! But oh, okay, Solar meant Unleaded. Haha...

From that pitstop, we stopped at Pura Taman Ayun, which is situated in a beautiful park with trees and ponds, near the village of Mengwi.

Built in 1634 by the Raja of Mengwi, I Gusti Agung Putu, it is referred to as a Pura Kawiten or family temple, a special temple where the deified ancestors of the Raja and Mengwi Dynasty or religion or Other important temples are honored.

As it was a private temple, we were not allowed entry.

Pura Ulun Danu Batur was the next temple we visited.

According to our guide, this temple is considered a 'powerful' one because this is the temple of the supreme water goddess, Dewi Danu, who the traditional Hindu Balinese, who call their religion Agama Tirta, or Religion of the Water, believe makes the water flow into the rivers and irrigation systems.

The location of this temple is also of significance, as Lake Batur is the lake that provides fresh water to the majority of the rice irrigation systems in Bali. As we continued our journey, we passed through Jatiluwih, a picturesque village with a serene patchwork landscape of green paddy terraces.

Noticing cars stopping at the side of what looked like an eatery of some sort, we thought we might as well answer our hunger pangs and stopped to have lunch at Cafe Jatiluwih.

I gave the roasted rice tea a try, which to me was very fragrant. Glad I tried it.

Bro being the noodle-lover he is, ordered a bakmi goreng.

Dad, Mum and I ordered rice dishes, all local brown rice, like ayam goreng kalasan, ayam bakar sambal kecicang and nasi campur.

We also tried their tahu telor, which wow, was the best! Okay, I am exaggerating it a little perhaps due to my two loves, eggs and tofu, combined into one.

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the main Bali island. It is home of a pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot, and is a popular tourist icon.

It was not hard to gauge the popularity of the place - there were SO MANY people there!

Literally meaning "Land in the Sea", the temple sits on a large offshore rock, which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide. The temple has been said to be started by 15th century priest, Dang Hyang Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast, he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later, he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

Thus, the temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. At the base of the rocky island, poisonous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. A giant snake purportedly protects the temple, which was created from Nirartha’s scarf when he established the island.

In 1980, the temple’s rock face was starting to crumble and the area around and inside the temple started to become dangerous. The Japanese government then provided a loan to the Indonesia government to conserve the historic temple and as a result, over one third of Tanah Lot's "rock" is actually cleverly disguised artificial rock.

The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. Up the hill and round the bend sits Pura Batu Balong.

Where does it remind you of?

Precisely my reaction, too! I thought, "This looks like Great Ocean Road's London Bridge!"

Tonight, we started our stay at a homestay in the heart of Ubud town. Rumah Roda is run by Darta, his wife Suti and his family.

Our rooms were located on the first floor of the three-storey building.

Mum and I took the corner room with a double-bed while Dad and Bro took the other room with a double-bed and single bed.

They had a lovely dining hall, which they open to public on weekends.

Weekends is when they serve a buffet of local home-cooked dishes.

I really liked the rice wine and the fruits which they served with coconut shaving and honey. Yum, very.

We took to an evening stroll in town to digest the food.

And the night ended with something very familiar...