Gusti Bad Man

We really liked Ubud and wished that we had stayed there longer, but we were so ready to leave after the 5 days of heat exhaustion that, at the time, we couldn't even entertain the possibility. There were a few things that we still wanted to see in the area, (for which we needed transportation)so we arranged for Made (Maday) to take us back to Ubud for the day. We left at 9 AM. Our first stop was just south of Ubud in the stone carvers area. Made had said for us to just yell stop when we wanted to stop, and true to his word, the minuted I yelled stop, he did; right in the lane of travel. Apparently it's fine to stop whenever you wanted, as long as you pulled over to the left as far as possible. It sure does make things easy, unless you're the person driving behind us.


P- Gi, look at the guy up there. He's carving limestone into flowers.

G- That's cool. And look at the tools. Just like the wood carvers, he's just using metal pieces, I guess they're chisels, and a malot.

P- He said the black ones are carved from lava.

G- They're very pretty. Look. A butterfly just landed on my shoulder. You think it's a good omen?

P- I know it's a hell of a lot better than a bird shitting on your shoulder.

G- Such sage words, Gladys.

We watched the man chisel his limestone for a while, walked around the yard looking at the beautiful pieces, all of which were too heavy to carry home, and got back into the van.

Next we stopped at a batik shop. We watched ladies, and some men, sitting around a little fire, with a little pot of melted wax on top, drawing designs, on fabric, with wax. They dip a little instrument that looks like a measuring scoop with the world's tiniest funnel on the end, into wax, then tap the tiny funnel end (maybe it looks like a tiny humming bird beak) onto the fabric to apply the wax. Then the fabric is dyed and the designs are painted in. They make everything from shirts to sarongs to dresses to silk ties and scarves. It is very pretty. You can tell if a fabric is true Batik because the color & design is the same on both sides of the fabric. A design that is pressed onto a fabric is lighter on one side than the other. In addition to the batikers, there were several women weaving with large looms.

After the batik shop we stopped at a wood carving shop. Our guide explained that the men (we have only seen men carving the wood and women sanding and polishing) learn wood carving from their fathers and begin at an early age. Of course, the same techniques are applied here as at the other wood carving shop we visited............ larger chisels for the initial carve, gradually becoming smaller for the fine cuts..............the piece is held with the legs and feet.........the carvers are sitting on the floor with their metal files next to them on an old cloth............no doubt with rampant backache. We were looking for something similar to the eucalyptus Buddha on a lotus leaf statue we had seen at the prior place, but we could never find one. We ended up purchasing a Hindu Goddess bust carved from Mahogany. Our guide wrapped it very securely for shipping.

Our next stop was Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), carved out of a mountain in the 11th Century. It is believed, based on a 14th century Javanese poem, to have been the dwelling of a Buddhist priest. The ouside of the cave is carved with crazy faces of animals with an elephant head right above the entrance.

P- The priest supposedly slept in one of those 2 carved out areas near the front of the cave.

G- Ugh! Looks terribly uncomfortable. I hope he put down a layer of palm leaves first.

P- And how tiny must he have been? I'm too tall to lye down in them. And he supposedly meditated in the smaller carved out areas in the back.

G- Gawd, the smell of incense is killing me. Not much to the inside of this cave, but I can see why it would make a great dwelling.

The cave is in a valley, to the left. In front of the cave is a rectangle (about 40' by 20') carved into the earth, with 6 goddess statues pouring water from vessels into ponds of ???? holy water. Even further to the right were several flights of stairs, leading down to a stream, in a lush, green rainforest. Near a waterfall was a fallen statue of Buddah. I was guided around the fallen Buddah by a little old man.

G- How cute is he? He's so spry for as old as he is.

P- I was having trouble getting past the teeth that were the color of yellow corn.

G- Yes, they were terrible. He told me that an earthquake felled the Buddah statue in 1917.

P- I can't make it down by the waterfall. The rocks are too steep for my knee, but grandpa sure did scamper down there with no trouble. Could you see the statue?

G- Well, the large bolders are the statue, but I couldn't make out very much of it due to the moss.

P- Look at that huge banyan tree!

G- The roots system is incredible!! And look at that lizard eating the offering.

P- What's it's eating?

G- Fruit and I think some rice.

P- It's good to be a lizard or a bug around here. You're well fed by the daily offerings.

G- Look at that lotus pond. What an idyllic little setting. I see why the Buddhist priest lived here.

Sweaty and tired from climbing all of those steps, we climbed back into the air-conditioned van and drank some water as Made began driving us to the Monkey Forest.

G- Made, please tell Phyllis she doesn't have to be afraid of the monkeys.

Made – No. They ok. Just take off earrings, shiny jewelry, and sunglasses.

P- You should put the cameras in your bag.

G- Gladys, I am not walking through the Monkey Forest without my camera. I'll keep the black one out and hide the silver one. Ok?

P- Ok, but if the monkeys snatch your camera, you're gonna have a stroke.

Made – You be ok.

G- We'll be fine, Gladys. Calm your nerves.

We entered the forest and hadn't gone 30' down the path when we encountered several monkeys and heard a big ruckus in the trees. I looked back at Phyl and she looked a little freaked out, but so far she hadn't run..

G- Look at these monkeys. They're only mildly interested in us. They show no signs of attacking.

P- I don't like the noise the others are making in the trees.

G- They're way up there and they seem to be fighting amoungst themselves. While their attention is diverted, we'll just walk along quietly. Let me take your picture. Stand still.

We walked through the forest and saw hundreds of monkeys sitting, eating bugs off of each other, swimming, running and eating. We saw many mommy monkeys with tiny little babies clinging to their bellies. Of course, the little babies were the cutest. We stood next to a European family as they watched a group of monkeys playing in a tree. The daughter, maybe age 11, was so excited to see a juevenile, but she hadn't noticed the babies. I tapped the mom on her shoulder to point out the babies, and the woman nearly jumped out of her skn. Monkey Forest rule #1 don't feed the monkeys unless you want more attention than you've bargained for, and rule #2 don't touch anyone because it scares the shit out of them. Phyl & I walked off laughing. We saw the cremation area, the cemetary, and the temple, then headed back to find Made.

We had told Made that we just wanted something cheap and quick for lunch. He said he'd take us to a place with a nice view. The restaurant's entrance should have told us that this was not what we were looking for, but we were quite captivated by the view which included a deep, lush ravine with a river at the bottom. It stretched as far as the eye could see in either direction. We were seated and given menus. After reviewing the menus, we quickly decided that the restaurant was too expensive for a quick lunch.

G- I don't want to stay here. We don't have much time and it's more than we wanted to spend for lunch.

P- I totally agree but I hate to get up and walk out of here.

G- Well, I don't like the idea of being forced to eat here simply because Made brought us here.

P- I agree.

G- The view is spectacular, but today's lunch is just about eating to stop our stomach's from growling, it's not an experience.

P- I agree that I want to leave too, but I just feel weird about it.

G- Ok, get up. We're going.

I explained to the waiter that his restaurant was lovely and the view was beautiful, but that we wanted something very quick. He tried to tell me they could be quick, but we said thank you and headed out the door. Made was surprised to see us back so soon. He shrugged his shoulders at the hostess and off we went. I don't care what arrangement he has with that restaurant to bring people there, it wasn't what we wanted that day. We had Made drop us off at the market in the middle of town and we walked to Dewa Warang, the restaurant where we ate the ginger cashew chicken when we stayed in Ubud. Unfortunately, it started to storm while we ate but we could not sit and wait for it to end. We put on our ponchos and headed out into the storm. We were scheduled to meet Made at 3:00 pm and it was 2:30 pm, but we still had to walk into the rice fields to purchase a painting we had previously seen that we now wanted.

P- Damn! There is no way we can walk all the way to Gusti's hut, way in the rice field, and get back here in time to meet Made. Whah! I want that painting.

G- Maybe there is some reason this is not working out. Maybe we're not meant to have that painting.

P- But I want it.

G- Well, so do I. We saw motorcycles on the path the day we walked it; I'll ask one of these guys if he'll drive me in on his motorcycle. It should't take more than 20 minutes total and I'll only be minutes late for Made. You wait here for Made.

P- Ok. You remember the painting I want? The one with the blue sky and the volcano in the background.

G- I remember.

Fortunately, the rain stopped and I found a man, named Agung, who agreed to take me. I jumped on the back of his bike and off we sped. For the record, I am no fan of motorcycles, I was certainly not wrapping myself around Agung like a snake, and was not wearing a helmet. I told Agung that we needed to hurry, but that I wanted to be safe. I tried to hold onto the little handle on the back of the seat, but there were times when I had to grip Agung's waist, like when we went up a hill at about a 45* angle.

I had remembered the path as being wider and mostly paved. Unfortunately, my memory proved incorrect because the paved part of the path was only about 12” wide and, due to the recent rainstorm, the mud on the sides of the path was completely saturated and slippery. We encountered many ruts and patches where we fishtailed. Agung was clearly not enjoying the ride and seemed very nervous. The going was excruciatingly slow and at times, I had to get off the bike so he could walk it through a rut or up a small hill. Several times we met motorcycles going in the opposite direction and we had to pass each other in a space about 2' wide. When that happened, I had no idea what to do with my legs that were sticking out unless I clamped them to Agung's thighs, which I was not doing. Basically, it sucked! I kept looking at my watch and was stressed to see the time ticking away at a rapid pace. I also kept apologizing to Agung because it was taking much longer than I had told him when we agreed on a price, and because the conditions were so bad.

Finally, after 20 minutes, we arrived at Gusti's hut only to find it empty. Agung called to a man working in the rice field behind Gusti's hut and was told he had went home, down the side of the hill. While I took off my poncho and found the painting, Agung disappeared down the side of the hill in search of Gusti. Thankfully, he returned in just a few minutes, Gusti in tow.

G- Hi Gusti. I was here, with my friend, 2 weeks ago and we were interested in one of your paintings. I'm back to buy it.

Gusti – I don't remember.



Agung

 G- (seriously doubting the veracity of this statement) My friend and I were walking the path and you climbed that tree and got us a coconut, cut it open for us to drink the juice, then cut up the meat for us.

Gusti- No. I don't remember.

G- It doens't really matter. I see the painting we want and I'd like to buy it.

Gusti – (Took his time opening the windows, and acted uninterested in making the sale – a VERY unusual way for a Balinese to behave.) What was the price we discussed?

G- You told us it was 100,000 rupiah but that we'd negotiate the price.

Gusti – No, I don't remember.

G- Ok, whatever. I have to hurry, so will you take 60,000 rupiah for the painting?

Gusti – No. I can't sell it. I have people who are coming back to buy it.

G- Yes. You have me, from 2 weeks ago, and now I'm back to buy it.

Gusti – No. I can't sell it.

At this point I am totally pissed off and ready to beat Gusti to a pulp. I got that look on my face (some of you have seen it) with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows, that says 'you are a dick and a liar'. I raised my eyebrow and shot Agung a look. Agung had been watching and listening, and after I shot him the look, he and Gusti engaged in a terse conversation that I could not understand.

G- Agung, he's not going to sell me that painting is he?

Agung – No. Gusti bad man. (He climbed back onto his bike.)

G- (I gave Gusti another 'go fuck yourself ' look and climbed onto the bike.) Shit!

Agung – Shit!

G- That damn, lying Gusti!

Agung – Damn Gusti! Gusti bad man.

G- Yes, he is a bad man. And after all we went through to get here! Dammit!

Agung – Dammit!

Having Agung repeat every curse like a parrot made me start to laugh. I wondered if he'd just continue to repeat me if I slung every curse in my arsenal. I found it amusing. I tried one last time.

G- Oh well, Agung. I hope the gods are very angry with Gusti and he is punished. Bastard!

Agung – Yes, me too. Bastard!

Agung and I had now bonded. Neither he, nor I, were as nervous traversing the sodden ground on the way back. We chatted about where I was from. When I told him America, he exclaimed, “America! Oh, Barak Obama. He in Indonesia last month. He live here when young.” This is the same reaction we have received from every Indonesian and they are very proud that America's President lived in Indonesia.

By the time Agung and I decended the 45* hill and drove up the street, 45 minutes had passed. I knew Made & Phyl would be relieved to see me, but I had no idea that she had been freaking out for the past 20 minutes. When I negotiated a price with Agung, he had started at 50,000 and I had negotiated him down to 30,000, but after all we had gone through, I paid him the 50,000 and thanked him profusely.

G-Sorry it took me so long

P- Oh my gawd! I am so glad to see you! I was about to have a heart attack!

G- Well, I know it has been longer than we thought, but why are you freaking out?

P- I started thinking that I sent you off on a motorcycle,with a man we don't know, because I wanted some painting. When you didn't come back, I was thinking you could be raped and murdered up in the rice field.

G- That's a bit extreme, don't you think?

P- Maybe so, but my mind was running away with me and I kept thinking about Natalie Holloway,

and that I just sent you off with some strange guy into a rice field for a stupid painting and I may never see you again! Then I asked Made if he thought I should be worried and he told me maybe so. I really started getting panicked after that. I went back to the place where you found the guy with the motorcycle and asked his friend if he had returned.

G- Ok, ok calm down. I'm fine. When you found out he didn't return, why didn't you just think it was taking longer than we thought? The path was horrible from the rain and it was further than we remembered.  And, you saw Agung, he's not very big.  I could take him!! 

P- I was irrational at that point.  Oh, yes.  I know that you think you're big and bad, but your not.  I'm just so glad you're back and safe. Where's the painting?

G- Gusti would not sell it to me!!! (I told her the story.)

Made – Not all Gusti are bad man.

G- Well of course not, Made. But that Gusti was a very bad man. Even Agung thought so and he spoke to him in Balinese.

It was nice to be back on the bus. Made told us that we'd still be on time for the Kacak Dance at the Uluwatu Temple. We sat back for the long ride.

Damn Ants

We returned from our river rafting trip, took a cool shower, and dressed.

G-Damn it to hell!!!

P- What's wrong?

G- The freakin ants are in my bag again!! Every day I move my bag and every day I come home to find a stream of tiny ants running to my bag and all inside my bag.

P- What's in the bag? Is there food?

G- There's no food in it.

I took everything out of the bag and turned it inside out and shook it out on the porch. Then I opened my little cosmetic bag that contained some meds, and 4 cough drops, and found hundreds of ants in it. I took everything out of that bag and shook it out on the porch.

P- Don't shake all the ants on the porch!

G- What the hell difference does it make? They're all over the floor in the room. Just step on them.

P- It's the damn cough drops bringing the ants because they're not sealed. Didn't I tell you that yesterday?

G- Well I moved the bag from the floor to the chair. Where am I going to put the cough drops to keep them safe? The whole room is open to wild kingdom!!

P- Put them in a ziploc bag. They need to be in something sealed!

G- I should just throw them away because they've also melted a little, but they are the only 4 cough drops I have and what if I need them.

P- I'll put them in the bag with the medicine bottles.

G- Ugh!!

We headed back to Starbucks to use the internet because we were headed to Lombok (an island off the coast of Bali) and still did not have a place to stay. Many people simply arrive at their destinations and then look for a place to stay, but we find that method stressful. Unfortunately, after searching for hours, we didn't find a place we wanted to book. We did stop at a tour booking business and booked a shuttle from our hotel to Lombok, via the slow ferry, for 130,000 rph/each (about $13.50).

Bo and Laurie met us and we went back to Dewa Warang, that Michael had recommended, for more Cashew Ginger Chicken. We met 2 guys from Holland who would be in Chaing Mai, Thailand in January, so we exchanged information because we'll probably also be there in January and will try to hook up for a drink.

On our way back to the homestay, we continued to use the words that Michael had taught us to stave off the hawkers. I cannot overstate how much these hawkers harass and aggravate. It is not possible to pass a single person on the street, even if they're on the other side of the street, without them asking you if you want a taxi, a moped ride, to buy a sarong or other item, to see a Balinese dance, or to eat at their restaurant. Most of the walk to or from your homestay is filled with telling people 'no, thank you'.

It is positively exhausting. Michael taught us to say sudah sudah(sue-dah') which means already did that or already have that. It is helpful because once you say sudah sudah, they generally don't ask again. To those asking if you want a taxi or moped, you say jalan, jalan which means walking, walking. I have no idea why, and no one can seem to tell me, but they tend to say everything twice..........sudah, suday or jalan, jalan or makan, makan (eat, eat). So far we have smiled and politely said no thank you, because we know the poor people are just trying to make a living and tourists are seen as walking wallets, but we are about over it!

We took another cool shower, opened the windows, pulled the mosquito net and went to sleep. Travel days are exhausting and our shuttle driver was supposed to pick us up at 8:15am.

Boom, Boom

Phyl has had white water rafting on her bucket list for many, many years. I, however, have been a little afraid ever since Phyl's mom told us of her experience. She was sitting in the front of the raft and flew all the way to the back. Based on a weight differential, I concluded that had I been in the same seat as her, I would have flown out of the raft. Drowning is very low on my list of things to do, thus my anxiety over white water rafting. We checked into doing it in Oregon, but drowning in below 50 degree water is even lower on my list of things to do. That being said, my girl wants to white water raft, coupled with my sense of adventure, and a rafting we will go.

Maday, owner of our homestay, hooked us up with his friend's rafting company (everyone is a travel agent in Bali) and worked out all of the specifics for us. We paid about $40.00 for transport to and from the river, the guided trip and lunch. An awesome deal by western standards. We were picked up at 9:00 am and taken, by van, about 30 minutes to the river. We arrived at the staging area, put on suntan lotion, stripped down to our bathing suits, put all of our belongings into a water proof bag, were fitted for life vests and helmets, and given our paddles.

(Nyoman) Guy who fitted us with life jackets- (Looks at Phyl's chest, selects a vest, & helps her put it on. As he's trying to clip it....................)

P- Um, Nyoman, it's not going to clip. We need a bigger one.

Nyoman – Yes. (giggles and selects another)

P- Nope. Not this one either, I will need to see over my boobs.

Nyoman – (more giggling) Must fit tight.

P- Nyoman, I know it must be snug, but I have to be able to breath. Find one that won't cut off my oxygen.

Nyoman – Selects a new one, puts it on and clips it. Ah ha! (waives hands in the air triumphantly) Then he grabs a helmet.

P- Way too big.

Nyoman – You have small head.

P- Yes, Nyoman. Big boobs, tiny hands and feet and small head. I'm a freak.

Nyoman (smiles and selects a helmet that fits)

Then he turns to me. Mind you, I have not said a word this whole time. He looks at my chest.........and selects a small vest.

G- Make sure mine is tight, Nyoman. If I fly out of this raft, I want to make sure my life vest goes with me.

Nyoman- Yes, yes. We find one that fit. (he clips mine and pulls the straps as tight as they will go.) Too big.

G- How about the child's size. That's the one I usually wear.

P- You used to wear a child's, but I don't know about now. Since you have gained a few pounds, you now have the arms and chest of a linebacker. At least that's what your mom seems to think. Give her the Dora the Explorer vest. That should work.

G- Shut the hell up Miss big tits and little head.

P- Hahahahahahah!

Nyoman – Yes. This one fit you.

G- Yes, this one is good. Make sure it's tight!



Young Wayan

 Nyoman – You have bigger head. Try this helmet.

P- In America we call it a fat head.

G- Keep it up, bitch and I'll take your picture and post it all over Facecrack! This one is fine. Shouldn't the chin strap be tighter?

After snapping a few, very attractive, photos.........................

Nyoman – You follow Wayan to river. He your guide.

P- (to me) I wonder how far we walk to get to the river.

G- I don't know, but I'm glad we wore our Keens and not our flip flops.

P- I'm hot as shit in this get up.

G- But you sure do look sexy.

P- Oh, I'm sure that's the case.

We walked about 100 yards, through rice fields and into a dense rainforest. We were drenched in sweat before we even reached the stairs. When I say stairs, I use the term VERY loosely. The stairs were basically hewn out of the mountain that we were about to climb down. They were made with rocks, stones, boulders and no 2 were the same size. One step may have been 8” and the next 18”, with the latter being the norm. In addition to our guide, Wayan, (about my age) we were accompanied by young Wayan (27 yrs old but he looked 16) who was training to be a rafting guide. Young Wayan started at the back of the line but quickly scampered around, frustrated over our slow pace. Several times we caught him laughing at us as we plodded down the “stairs”.

G- I sure wish I knew we were going on a hike before rafting. I wouldn't have taken off my shorts and I would've put on mosquito spray.


P- It's not going to matter if every malaria ridden mosquito in Bali bites me because I'm either gonna die from a heart attack or fall down these stairs to my death first.

G- Really baby, are you ok? I feel like I'm about to drop so I know you're dying. Wayan, let me get some water out of my bag.

Wayan – Yes. Drink water. No hurry. Go slow.

P- Slow! If I go any slower, we won't be moving at all. How many steps are there before we reach the river?

Wayan – 400 steps down.

P- 400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding? How many steps have we gone down already?

Wayan – Maybe 80.

P- Oh my gawd!!!

G- (thinking.............oh, shit! We're in trouble! Sweat ran down my arm and dripped off my elbow.)

Phyl already has a bad knee, most of the steps were about 18” high, and needless to say, there was no railing, so every step had to be taken one at a time and very carefully. Even I was taking each step one at a time because they were so uneven & slippery.

G- Phyl, use your paddle like a cane to brace yourself as you take each step. How is your knee?

P- I'm sweating my ass off, but my knee is ok if I go slow. Wayan, how many more steps do we have?

Wayan – Maybe we half way.

P- Half way? Argh!!!! Sweet Jesus, I hope the river doesn't dry up before we get there.

G- Here, hold my hand so you don't fall. Really, I feel like I'm going to faint from the heat. Your face is so red. You should take off your life vest. (I helped her out of her vest and Wayan took it. Now she's climbing down the mountain in her bathing suit and helmet, using a paddle for a cane.)

P- I don't want to hold on to you. I don't want you to fall if I do. In fact, you should be behind me because if I fall, I'm rolling down this mountain and I'm taking you with me.

G- Take another break and drink some more water. (I also took out the camera.)

P- You take my picture and I'll break that camera.

G- Baby, when it's over, you'll look back on this and laugh.

P- I might not live to see that happen.

G- Well, if you fall over with a heart attack here, you're dying because there is no way anyone could get to you or get you out of here before you died.

P- Well that's comforting.

With 100 steps to go.................

G- How are you doing?

P- The muscles in my legs are shaking. Wayan, has anyone died before reaching the river? I'm going to be some pissed if I die before getting to raft down this river.

Wayan – (laughing) Go slow. No one die. You ok?

G- If it's any consolation, my legs are shaking too. These steps are unbelievable!!!! Listen, I can hear moving water.

P- Thank you Jesus!!



Older Wayan

 G- Really, they should warn people about this 400 step hike down to the river. No disclaimers in Bali.

We finally arrived at the river. Young Wayan had been there for quite some time and was resting in the raft. We jumped into the water to cool off and bring our body temps below 100 degrees. Old Wayan then positioned us in the raft. I was in the front on the right with young Wayan sitting on my left. Phyl was sitting in the middle seat on the left, and old Wayan sat in the back on the right. Then he gave us instructions, which we repeated several times because we had trouble understanding what the hell he was saying and we wanted to be sure we followed the instructions.

Wayan- (In a very thick Balinese accent) When I say “boom, boom” you go on floor in front of you.

G – Wait!! Why would you say “boom, boom”? What would be the reason for that?

Wayan – Maybe we crash into big rock.

G- (looking at Phyllis with crinkled brows) Let's try to avoid crashing into big rocks, ok? And make sure you say “boom, boom” very loudly!!

Wayan – Ok. Listen for instructions. The river ok. Only 1 big drop.

G- How big?

P- You ok, Gi?

Wayan – When I say “sit secure” you push foot under side of raft.

G- My foot is going to be stuck under there the whole time.

P- Relax, Gi. You'll be fine. Having tourists drown would be bad for business.

We pushed off from the shore and hadn't gone 30 yards when Wayan crashed us into a rock and yelled “boom, boom”. I dropped to the floor behind me, Phyl jumped to the floor, as instructed, and crashed into me. The Wayans laughed their asses off.

G- (grumbling under my breath) Very funny, mofo! You won't think it's so funny when I shit in your raft.

P- Really, Gi, that was funny. Please remember to go forward when he yells “boom, boom”.

G- I'm trying to remember all of the instructions, and I can barely understand what he's saying when he does say something. You're closer to him, when he says something, say it to me.

P- Ok, we'll get it. We just got started.

Our river trip was awesome!! After a while I relaxed, we got use to deciphering Wayan's instructions, and before long, we looked like we knew what we were doing. After an hour, we didn't even drop to the floor when Wayan yelled “boom, boom”. At times old Wayan would switch places with young Wayan and he would, very politely, call out the instructions. Several times he said the wrong thing and we crashed into the side of the river or go the wrong route through a rapid. We saw monitor lizards sunning themselves on rocks. We saw waterfalls and even rowed under one of them. We passed an old man naked and bathing in the river, and a work crew of younger men, stripped down to their underwear, cooling themselves in the river. They stared at us as we passed and we commented on the way they were unphased by the fact that they were in their underwear. We enjoyed the rapids and the cool water after the long hike. We saw so much flora and several very colorful birds. I was hoping to see one of those bright green, poisonous snakes in the tree, but we never saw one. Overall, we had a great time.

After about 2.5 hours, we arrived at our end and climbed a few steps to a structure where we had a shower and lunch. As we ate lunch, we watched an older Balinese woman carry our deflated raft, on her head, back up the mountain.  Her husband followed behind carrying the paddles, helmets and life jackets.  What the hell? Then we began the 200 stair climb back to the road. 10 steps into the climb, the sky opened and the rain began pouring.

P- Ugh!!! My legs had just started feeling better.

G- Asia diet. Asia diet. Asian stairmaster day.

P- At least the rain is keeping us cool.

Wayan pulled banana leaves off a tree to use as umbrellas, and a large group of Chinese tourists passed us on the path up. We finally reached the top and were exceptionally happy to see our van waiting for us. We happily sat back as we were driven back to our homestay.

P- The trek down to and back up from the river was horribly grueling, but I'd do it again tomorrow to go rafting again. Although I'm sure I won't be able to move tomorrow.

G- You need to stretch when we get back.

P- What I need is a massage.  Where is JoAnn?  Whah!

G- No whining, Gladys!

That Gives Me a Headache

It's not uncommon to see Balinese women carrying things on their heads, usually baskets filled with various things. The balance that must be required to do this is incomprehensible to me. One day we came up the hill and noticed that a pile of cinder blocks, maybe half the heighth but the same length as ours back home, had been delivered and placed on the side of the road. As we passed the pile, we observed about 4 women stacking 3 cinder blocks each, on their heads, on top of a cloth. They helped each other stack the blocks, then the last woman placed a 4th block on her head and stood. They walked, perfectly erect, down the path toward our Homestay. Just before our Homestay, they went up a ramp across the stream, and climbed steps to the top of the hill, then walked back another 25-30 yards to the construction site where they unloaded their blocks.


P- Oh my gawd! Are you seeing this?

G- Um, yes. It is unbelievable.

P- Get the camera and take some pictures. Hurry up, they're already on the path.

G- Geez! How'd they walk so quickly with the damn cinder blocks on their heads? (I had to run a bit just to get close enough to take a photo)

P- Did you get it.

G- Yes, but those bitches are fast!

P- Can you imagine how strong their neck muscles must be?

G- Can you imagine the bulging and herniated discs they must have? They'd be a plaintiff attorney's wet dream!

P- How old do you think they are?

G- They didn't look young, but I'm sure the poor things are younger than they look. This kind of work must seriously age you. They're carrying them to the house under construction across the rice field from us.

P- It's amazing how things get done here.

G- Yes. Man, rather, woman power. In the west it would take 5 times as long to get the bricks to the construction site because a big crane would have to be brought in or a new road built or some way for a machine to be used to move them. Here, 4 women stack the damn things on their heads and walk them back.

P- It sure is efficient.

G- Yes, but it sucks for the women.

P- It gives me a headache just looking at them.

After talking to Maday, he told us that they probably make 1,000 rupiah per brick that they carry. (5,000 rupiah is about 56 cents USD) They had the whole stack of cinder blocks move within a day. Maday told us that he brought back all of the cinder blocks needed to build his home and the bungalows, but he used a wheel barrow. The wheel barrow would only work to the bottom of the stairs, then they had to be carried up the 20 or so steps of varying heights.

United Nations

When the rain finally stopped I woke Phyl and we dressed.


G- Let's get to the Lotus Cafe before it starts to rain again. It's 3:00 pm and Michael told us they have wireless internet between 3pm – 6pm.



Lotus Temple

 P- I don't understand what happens to the internet the rest of the time.

G- Beats the hell out of me but it's driving me crazy not being able to get on line since we've been here. I have completely given up on that damn computer they have in the breakfast area. It's slower than dial up.

P- I'm hungry too and I don't want to eat that damn bread again. If they're gonna make break with some nasty crème shit in it, shouldn't they put it by pastries and not with the other bread?

G- Well, I assume that one of the words on the wrapper says it's got nasty crème in it, but since we can't read it, we'll just have to scrape if off as best we can and eat the rest. Grab your headlamp because I'm sure we'll return after dark and that path along the stream has only a few lights for the whole way.

P- I'm sure it's gonna be dark as pitch and I don't want to end up in the stream.

When we reached the Lotus Cafe, we took stock of the fact that it, like all places in Bali, was completely open and did not look at all cool. Across the street, however, was a Starbucks with a fan and wireless internet.

G- I know we said we would not hang out in Fourbucks, but I could use a mocha frappuccino and the internet is probably reliable.

P- Fine with me. The Lotus Cafe looks pricey.

G- And, at least Fourbucks sits in front of a temple and lotus pond, so we can view something beautiful while we sit here.

We sat in Fourbucks (The prices are the same everywhere!!) and savored our frappuccino while we checked emails, uploaded posts to the blog, and searched for accommodations on Lombok. We were at a fairly large table in front of the fan when a nicely dressed group of Indian ladies walked in.

G- How can they look so nice and fresh in this heat?

P- I don't know. We smell like goats and look like hell and they look like they just walked out of a/c in freshly laundered clothes.

G- I use to look neat, pressed, and clean. In my prior life.

P-You still look cute, Agnes.

G- Thanks, but don't be silly.

We made eye contact and smiled at the pretty lady headed in our direction and she asked if they could join us at the table so that they could also be in the fan's path. We welcomed them and moved over. Shortly, a gentleman joined them. I often feel like a bit of a cretan when comparing myself to Indian ladies. They always seem so well dressed, poised, and refined. Words I would not use to describe myself. These particular ladies smelled very good too. I was jealous!!

After a time we began talking to Tarini and Gomzee. We exchanged names, information about our homes, and our reasons for visiting Ubud. They were from Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on a holiday after traveling to New Zealand and Asia on business. The other ladies went off shopping and we sat and talked with Tarini & Gomzee for about 1.5 hours. We talked about our adventure, their business giving motivational seminars, American politics, Indian politics, India's relationship with Pakistan, America, & China, America's relationship with other countries & Hurricane Katrina. It was a fascinating discussion and one we enjoyed tremendously. Of course, Phyllis had Gomzee cracking up at some of the off the wall things she'd say. I had the spark of an idea. Before departing, we exchanged information and they invited us to Mumbai.



Gomzee & Tarini

 P- Tarini told me that she is shy and has never asked someone to join them at their table. She believes that maybe we met for a reason.

G- Well, we did discuss that we were very open to the new ideas and opportunities this adventure would afford us. Talking to them has given me some new ideas about a possible career path. Maybe our meeting was not coincidental. Maybe meeting them today will be the spark that takes our life in a whole new direction.

P- I liked them a lot. How can we know what will be the thing to change our life? But I do feel like we met them for a reason.



Dutch couple

 We walked down the main street, past the large market place and up a narrow side street to a restaurant that Michael had recommended. It was very crowded and we were lucky to get a seat. Not long after ordering the dish he recommended, Ginger Cashew Chicken, Michael arrived with a group of his friends. The restaurant was small with only a few long tables. We sat across from a very interesting Dutch couple who gave us recommendations for a hotel in Lovina. They had traveled all around the world and he had biked from the Pyrenees back to Holland; basically his own Tour de France. To our right was a young couple from the Basque Region of Spain. We were absolutely in love with this international environment and the discussions about the world that it afforded.

We Love a Rainy Day. You Crazy!



Phyl & Michael

 G- (groan) What time is it?


P- 6:15am

G- WHAH!!!!! I need to sleep! I'm not sleeping well at night because I'm sticky and hot. In the morning, when it's finally a little cooler, the damn roosters start and the sun is beating through the windows. Whah!!!!

P- No whining, Agnes! I feel your pain. Let's close the curtains on all the windows and take off the mosquito net and see if we can fall back asleep.

G- Whah! Ok.

We did manage to fall back asleep for a little while, but by 8:00 am it was warming up and the wasps, which we only see in the mornings, had started flying around the room. We got up as a gecko ran across the floor and back into the bathroom where it's wet and cool.

P- It's freakin wild kingdom in here!

G- I am very proud of the way your handling the bug and gecko situation.

P- I am doing well. At home I would have freaked out and we wouldn't have gone
to sleep until you had captured the gecko and gotten it out of the house.

G- And now you watch them run along the floor and walls without batting an eye. It's not as though you have any choice, but you've come a long way in a few short days. Desentization is an amazing thing!

P- I'm dealing with them, but one of the bastards had better not run on me or I'm gonna freak out.

G- Did you hear the frogs and crickets and cicadas last night? It is amazing! I had no idea that frogs could make so much noise.

P- You think it's all frogs?

G- Not sure, but I think it's mostly frogs. And maybe some critters we've never heard of or seen before.

We joined Michael, Laurie & Bo at the breakfast table. Mary soon arrived and we began a discussion about Ubud, travel, our jobs (or prior ones), and any other topic that crossed our minds. Michael gave suggestions of places to eat dinner, and we enjoyed a very slow moving morning. After everyone had gone off for the day, Phyl & I took cool showers, wrapped in our sarongs, and sat on the porch to read.

G- Ooooooh!! Thunder! Look how dark the sky is over there.

P- Good! I hope it rains for a while and we can cool off a little.

Ayu watched the clouds and frowned. She had just put the laundry all around the courtyard (on laundry racks, on the cement, hanging from the tree) to dry.

G- Looks like it's gonna rain.

Ayu – I don't like rain.

P- We love it. Especially the rainstorm we had the first night we arrived.



Wayan

 Ayu- Why the Americans love the rain? Michael say he loves rain too.

G- Maybe it's because we grew up with fantastic thunder storms in New Orleans and then we moved to California where they get little rain showers, and we really miss good storms.

Ayu – It crazy.

While it poured we sat and talked with Ayu. She explained, in her really good, but limited, English about the 4 names of the upper caste in Bali: the first child is named Wayan, second is Made (sounds like Ma day), third is Nyoman, fourth is Ketut. Then it starts over with Wayan again, preceeded by a word that means something like 'the second one'. So, Maday her husband has one older brother. She said that she is from the poor caste, so she did not get a name like that. It seems most people have one of these 4 names, but we've also met some people named Gusti, which we think is from a different caste level. It's all very confusing and trying to translate this in discussion was impossible. Also, the caste system is not rigid in Bali, so there is marriage among the castes.

view from our window

Ayu told us that Maday's parents do not like her, but we never could understand why. Maybe they think he married down? Not sure. Also, Maday (I'm spelling it like this for ease of pronouncing it) & Ayu have a 14 year old son named, Alit. We asked why he was not called Wayan because he is the first born, but we never got an answer we could understand. Lost in translation.

Ayu and I spoke about raising only sons. She lamented the fact that although he had once worshipped her, he was now moving away from her and more to his friends. I told her that was normal and he'd come back one day. She seemed genuinely happy to know this. We talked about how she and Maday had married 15 years ago, purchased this land and gradually built the 6 rooms they rent to tourists. Only days before had they hired someone to help, a guy named Wayan, but previously she had done everything herself. It seemed they had really done well for themselves, especially by Balinese standards. She asked questions about living and working in America and we learned about their life in Ubud.



sunset from our window

 G- Now that was fantastic! That's exactly one of the things I wanted from this adventure; to connect with and learn about the lives of real people in the countries we visit.

P- I wish we could've understood why Maday's parents don't talk to her, because I've seen his mother walk through here to see Maday, but she never talks to Ayu.

G- It was funny when she passed at exactly the time Ayu was talking about her. I made a face at Ayu but she said it didn't matter because the mom couldn't understand a word of English. We could talk as loud as we wanted.

P- She does have a lot to do around here, but I think she thinks it's worse than it is. How many women do we know in America who work, take care of kids, take care of the house and there is so much more to be done.

G- It does seem like a simpler existance here, cook the breakfast, laundry, clean the rooms, but the pace is much slower. And by Balinese standards, they are making a fair chunk of change on a daily basis. She said the place is usually booked. Michael lives here full time and has for the last year.

P- It doesn't seem too terrible, but she's stuck here running it everyday.

G- True. People are all the same, aren't they?

P- Yes. They are.

G- I'm sure we're going to find that everywhere we go.



Ayu & Maday

 After our chat with Ayu we ran from the breakfast area to our bungalow. The rain was still coming down and it was actually breezy and cool. Thank all the Hindu Gods for a small break in the oppresive heat!!! Phyl took a nap and I read.

Photos of Ubud




Nirwa Homestay breakfast area with our bungalow in the background. (photo courtesy of Bo Maslak)

 


Ubud rice fields (photo courtesy of Bo Maslak)

 


The Ubud rice fields (photo courtesy of Bo Maslak)