Antics in the Monkey Forest (Ubud, Bali)

Our outing to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary proved most enjoyable. There are about 560 Balinese macaques that currently reside in the forest, separated into three main social groups. Though the monkeys are wild they are obviously very used to people being around, accepting food such as bananas and papayas and climbing on shoulders to gain a different perspective. It became apparent very quickly that the monkeys were really attracted to Dennis (who isn't?) so I manned the camera to get a ton of cute candid shots! It's a lot funnier to view them all so I decided not to try and pick out the best picture.

Intricate stone carvings covered in moss ... hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil -

Soft little hands and feet, cute little faces, intelligent eyes - we loved them!

Dennis put his hands on his hips, a strategic move to push up his attractiveness factor. But we weren't expecting any monkeys to snuggle on the inside of the triangle it created!

The Holy Monkey Temples were built during the mid-11th century. Below is the Pura Dalem Agung Temple. This photo was taken when it was bucketing down with rain. We ended up getting soaked but quickly dried off when it cleared up about two hours later.

Dennis had an amazing interaction with a monkey at this temple - the full anti-flea treatment!

The entrance fee to this beautiful and magical place was IDR20,000 each, or about US$1.65 each!

Note on current exchange rate: US$1.00 is about Indonesian Rupiah IDR12,160 is about ZAR10.60

Bali - First Impressions

After a smooth two and a half hour flight from Singapore, we landed at Denpasar International Airport at 7pm on the 2nd of January. The VOA (Visa On Arrival) service was quick and easy, no questions asked, please pay cash in any currency you choose. We handed over US$50.00 for the two of us, allowing us to stay for up to 30 days. Next was immigration and by the time we were done with that our one checked bag was on the carousel ready for collection. Going through customs was a slow experience as they scan all the luggage even if you have nothing to declare.

The taxi driver we'd arranged through our airbnb host was waiting for us, hopefully holding up a handwritten sign that said "DENNIS & KAREN". We sighed in relief - our flight had been delayed by half an hour and processing had taken just over another hour. Turned out he'd been waiting for us for two hours - we were impressed that he'd stuck around! We had about a 2-hour drive ahead of us, inland to Ubud. The traffic was horrendous getting out of the airport and through Denpasar; stop and go a few feet, stop and go a few feet - cars and scooters vying for position and passing within a hair of each other. We were very thankful that our driver was both skilful and cheerful!

It was dark so we couldn't see any of the scenery we passed. It felt like there was never an end to Denpasar and a start to Ubud, other than the roads narrowed and deteriorated. Our driver brought us directly to the studio and we paid him IDR350,000 - the equivalent of about US$29, for almost six hours of his time and a ride 2-hours long! The studio had a musty smell and for a while we weren't sure we'd made the right choice. Instead of thinking about it we dropped our bags and went across the street for a late dinner. We shared a potato and smoked cheese pizza and not having eaten anything for hours, it was one of the best pizzas we'd had in ages!

In the morning we made our tea and coffee and sat outside on the patio. Quietly pondering our new surroundings we had the strange feeling we'd been transported to another world. Our little studio (# 4) consists of a bedroom that includes a desk and more storage space than we need. The bathroom is behind the bedroom, perhaps a third the size of the bedroom. But the toilet is different in that it doesn't have a flush mechanism. One has to manually scoop water from a bucket to 'flush' the toilet. Also in the bathroom is our drinking water supply, which has been blessed, as well as crockery and cutlery. The shared kitchen (with the studio next door) is outside on the patio, consisting of one gas hotplate, a large fridge and pots and pans of varying sizes.

Our kind neighbours soon appeared and offered us maps, information, bananas and eggs. All very welcome! Then later, when they overheard us asking our host for matches, promptly appeared with an extra box. Incense had been provided so we immediately lit a stick and that took care of the musty smell. After all, it is the rainy season and we had come to realize that the pervasive damp smell infuses almost everything - our towels and bed linens smelled fresh. We also arranged a scooter rental; we're still reeling from the price - IDR300,000 for a week. That's the equivalent of about US$25 ... for a whole week!!! Dennis assured me he knows how to ride a motorbike, though in the whole time I've known him (more than 16 years) I've never seen him on one. I let him have a few go-rounds on his own first before we hit the road together.

It's a little unnerving being on the back of a scooter, i.e. not in control, riding on unfamiliar narrow and potholed roads. We joined several other scooters, often riding pack-like to get to the heart of town. Sometimes I thought we were on a one-way street, then seconds later we'd all weave back to the right side (which is the left side here) to make way for an oncoming car! Scooters outnumber cars at least ten to one, perhaps more ... probably more. But renting it was really a no-brainer; we discovered we're a good 10-minute drive from the center of town and it's going to take us to a lot of other places. You just can't beat the daily rental of about US$3.50!

I deliberately left my camera behind when we went out today. I wanted to absorb the feel of this new place without the distraction of taking photos. Our initial impression of Ubud: it's amazing! So different to anything we've seen before; a mix of old and new, Balinese and western, busy and vibrant on the main street but only a few minutes walk away rice paddies surrounded us, derelict buildings overgrown with lush vegetation, incredibly beautiful homes made of rich wood and stone, ornate temples and shrines abound, intricate stone carvings covered in moss ... I could go on and on but I'm sure you'd like to see some photos! The camera will come with me next time!

Note on current exchange rate: US$1.00 is about Indonesian Rupiah IDR12,160 is about ZAR10.60

Changi International Airport (Singapore)

What to say? Try to arrange a late flight and check in as early as you can! Or, if you're lucky to have this airport as a layover, try to make it as long a layover as possible! This is an airport that caters to all your needs and more. Besides the usual retail, service and food outlets they also offer things like free movies, gaming stations, social network activities, interactive e-postcard booths and themed gardens. If you're in transit for more than five hours, the free 2-hour guided tours of Singapore are an amazing option. Or if you're tired, you could head to one of the free snooze chairs ergonomically designed and located in the quietest areas of the airport. For a nominal fee there is a rooftop swimming pool, multiple gyms and laundry services. Wow!

We checked in about four and a half hours prior to our scheduled flight. Before we headed through security we stopped to check out the 'Kinetic Rain' artwork in the public area. The teardrops move in patterns controlled by a software program. It's spellbinding to watch and there were a lot of oohs and aahs from the children in the audience. I'm afraid the static photos hardly do it justice.

Once we'd gone through security and immigration we were free to move about all three terminals via the Skytrain. Each terminal has something special to offer. Because it was right in front of us as we came through security we started by playing at the social 'tree'. Here we could choose a background for a photo, e-mail it to friends and family or share it on facebook.

After that little bit of playful fun we went in search of the orchid garden.

Dennis sat and rested, watching the Koi in the pond, while I took a few photos of these gorgeous flowers. Singapore is famous for its orchids.

The Skytrain left every couple of minutes and only took a couple of minutes between each terminal. This was taken through the window, terminal 2 on the right.

The highlight of our visit to Changi Airport was definitely the butterfly garden.

We thought these butterflies were pretty amazing. They looked just like leaves with their wings closed but had beautiful irridescent blue and orange colouring when open.

Caught this guy admiring his reflection in the glass!

Hard to believe all the photos in this post were taken inside an airport! All too sooon it was time to make our way to the boarding gate and catch our flight to Denpasar, Bali.

New Year's Eve in Singapore!

Fabulous Singapore continued to amaze as we joined in the city's New Year's Eve celebrations. We started our evening low-key by going to a movie, 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'. Needless to say, Singapore has tons of movie theatres and, as far as we can tell, they're mostly showing the latest releases from the States and from China. We loved this movie; it's ultimately a romance but with the background aspect of an ordinary man leaving his comfort zone to do some extraordinary things. Since this involved spontaneous travel to distant and exotic places we could relate to the thrill he felt, though we'd definitely not consider doing some of the things he did once there!

After the movie we headed to Glutton's Corner, a well-known hawker stand for the most incredibly tasty food and variety of food choices. It's located on the esplanade and faces the water where the fireworks were going to be at midnight. The place was bustling with activity and bursting with the fragrant smells of cooking. Having learned from experience at other hawker stands we perused the various options and then found a place to sit, no easy feat. Dennis went to order what we wanted while I saved our seats and chatted with the other people seated around the table.

Our food choices were absolutely divine! We picked two Indian chicken dishes and shared them; Mee Goreng, a spicy noodle dish and Roti Prata Murtabak, a sort of stuffed pancake that came with a side of curry to dip it in. The two very full plates came to a total of S$17. We're still not sure which of the two we liked best - if only there weren't so many other choices, we'd order exactly the same thing again! For dessert I had a celery and green apple juice, freshly pressed in front of me, no ice or water added. Freshly pressed juice in any combination is available everywhere and is relatively inexpensive.

By the time we finished eating it was about 9pm. We meandered along the waterfront listening to the music from the concert in the stadium nearby, and the chatter of hundreds of voices in high spirits. Everyone was having a good time. We wanted to watch the fireworks from the other side of the bay, under the lotus flower building (The Art & Science Museum), pictured below. Notice the spheres on the water are now blue, they were yellow in the photo above. The colour changed every few minutes and sometimes even took on patterns.

We finally got to our desired location around 10pm, squeezing ourselves in between two families willing to make a little space for us. We were probably amongst the last few who were actually able to secure a sitting postion on the raised wall surrounding the lotus pond, under the lotus building. Two hours passes quickly when you're watching people trying to find themselves a patch of ground to sit on. Eventually the crowd swelled to such an extent that there was nowhere else to sit and even the walkway disappeared. The countdown began and fireworks lit up the sky!

Ten minutes later the show had ended and we all started to move out, much in the way penguins move when they're huddled together against the cold. Waddle, waddle, left - waddle, waddle, right. Move forward a few feet, then stop for an equal amount of time. We could have waited but didn't feel the need to, waddling was all part of the experience! Once inside the mall we made our way to the food 'opera' and sat down to a lovely cup of tea while we waited for the rush on the MRT station to slow down. We made the last train home just before they shut down at 2am. What a wonderful night!

Note on current exchange rate: SGD$1.00 is about US$0.80 is about ZAR8.00

Little India & Arab Street (Singapore)

We had high hopes for Little India, a culture-specific neighborhood enclave in Singapore, if for nothing other than because we love Indian food. Armed with a restaurant recommendation from a friend we went in search of 'Lagnaa' for a barefoot dining experience. We asked to sit upstairs, glancing around at the full house on the ground floor this is not a well-known option. After being asked to remove our shoes we were shown to an air conditioned room that we had all to ourselves. Once seated on the floor our server presented another dimension to consider.

We hadn't expected to find a spicy challenge; on a scale of one to ten, how hot can you handle it? It was suggested we try the chicken appetizers to determine our 'spicy' level. They come at an 'easy' 1.5  - perhaps a little hotter than anything we usually make and delicious! We decided to make a small jump to level two for the rest of our meal and were glad we hadn't tried to climb higher. Our curries were spicy and flavourful; it was a wonderful meal. A person eating at level three or higher receives a peg on which to write their name and that gets pegged up on the 'wall of fame'. On the scale of one to ten only one peson has made it to a nine and no-one has reached ten! The restaurant has been doing this for more than ten years.

We walked around Little India for a while and with the exception of the restaurant and our experience there, finally declared it a little disappointing. The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple was hidden under construction scaffolding and the streets were mostly uninteresting and a little run down (below). We decided to walk the fifteen minutes over to the next culture-specific neighbourhood enclave; Arab Street and surrounds.

We had not visited Arab Street on our previous visit and it was a very pleasant surprise, preferring it over Little India and Chinatown. The Sultan Mosque forms the focal point and many of the little streets around it are pedestrian only. It was colourful and lively with lots to look at.

Lots of carpet and light shops -

Quite a few fragrance houses - and that reminds me, the SMELL of Arab Street and surrounds is marvelous! Each shop burns their own incense, near the entrance so that it doesn't overwhelm the shop and at the same time it wafts over passersby, inviting them to come in. We loved it!

Lots and lots of fabric shops, vibrant colours and beautiful textiles -

This tiny street was filled with fascinating shops and eateries -

 

Like this one, which appealed to our spiritual side but we first noticed the planter boxes (stacked on the left hand side) each filled with a different herb. These are used in the fresh dishes they serve. Too bad we were still stuffed from lunch! But we're impressed with Arab Street and have promised ourselves a return visit in April. This area is a lovely gem in a city of high rises!

Note on current exchange rate: SGD$1.00 is about US$0.80 is about ZAR8.00