Paul in Bali: Cuban nights in Bali

On Saturday 15th September I made a fruitless trip to Ubud, the famous “arts village” in Bali’s central highlands. Well, “fruitless” in the sense that I went to purchase some items but on arrival I was told they no longer stocked, even though I had rung to check on their validity days before. But the trip was anything but a waste of time. I was accompanied by 2 staff and 4 students from Undhira (Universitas Dhyana Pura at Dalung if you are new to this blog). We had a most enjoyable time out together. Only one of our party was Balinese, the others were from Java, Sumatra, Papua and Timor Leste – we were “multi-provincial” and “international”.

We couldn’t leave until morning class and staff duties were over, so at 12:15 we set off and made good time to our first stop for lunch. Ibu Oka is famous far and wide for her wonderful Babi Guling, the crispy skin, spit-roasted, seasoned pig. We ate at her new restaurant in Mas, once a separate town, now an outer southern suburb of Ubud.

Daniel and Vivi enjoy refreshing coconuts at Ibu Oka’s restaurant.
By the evening’s end Daniel was the unchallenged “Coconut King”.

Justi gives a big smile from the balcony

My knees were never good enough to permit this degree of
flexibility. It’s quite common to see people squatting for
long periods, doing all sorts of things (even dozing).

OK. We see the sign. So what's next?

Justi admires the view of Mt Batur at Kintimani

Same spot, Isobel’s turn. Mountain hasn't moved.

From Kintamani we descended to the area around Penglumbaran where there are many Agrotourism businesses providing visitors with the opportunity to see many coffee, cacao and many spices growing in the fertile lower slopes of the volcano. We stopped at “Tirisna Bali”, took the guided walk and then enjoyed local coffee and spiced tea blends.

The Luwak - master coffee producer

This is the Luwak – the civet which eats the coffee beans and passes the poo which is collected to make the world’s rarest and and most expensive coffee. Do you wonder who first thought of collecting the pooh to make the brew. Whew! I don’t think the idea would have come to me.

After the “coffee break” we travelled further south towards Ubud, stopping again for views of the rice terraces and also more the fields of mixed agriculture – palms, rice and other plantings.

N.E. of Ubud. A view across the rice field and coconut
plantations for a rare glimpse of Gunung Agung.

Some of Bali’s beautiful rice terraces. They may be man-made,
thus “artificial”, but they look so wonderfully “natural”.

We arrived in Ubud late in the afternoon and were able to see the outer courtyard of the Royal Palace (Puri Ubud) with its splendid doorway to an inner courtyard.

In the outer courtyard of Puri Ubud, the Royal Palace.
In the absence of a coconut, Daniel guards the crisps.

As we left the palace I looked across the main road and was astounded to see that the site of the recently thriving Ubud market was now a demolition site. How things have changed since I was there just 2 months earlier. Although the market structure was a bit of a shambles in many respects, that chaotic structure did add to the "experience" of shopping there.

What a surprise. Just two months ago that was the site
of the thriving Ubud market. Now it’s a demolition site.

In the brief period of twilight we briefly entered the grounds of the cafe Lotus to see the Lotus pond and front wall with entrance to the Pura Taman Saraswati (“Lotus Temple” or “Ubud Water Palace”). The stage was being prepared for the evening dance performances. I’ve been here several times during the day, but not in the evening when the residual daylight and the artificial lights produce a most attractive scene.

Pavilion within the grounds of the Pura Taman
Saraswati (so called “Lotus Temple”).

Yani and Vivi check phone photos, or messages, or whatever.
No, we didn't go into the Starbucks coffee shop!

The Lotus pond, and entrance to Pura Taman Saraswati with
the dance stage being prepared for the evening performance

Yani and Maria enjoying the surrounds

A private pavilion at the Cafe Lotus – a wonderful
setting for dinner and a dance performance.

From the Cafe Lotus we walked a black “short” kilometre to Cafe Havana in Jalan Dewi Sita which runs between Monkey Forest Road and Jalan Hanoman, the two main north-south roads. On one (MF Road) the traffic runs (crawls) north and on the other the traffic moves south. The day’s outing was prompted by the wish to visit this cafe to acquire 2 of their famous hats (the revolutionaries' black beret with red star). In a phone call to the Cafe in the week before the trip I was informed that the berets were still available. This was not to be the case as I found out when I asked the waiter. Sorry – we can no longer get supplies. The manageress confirmed the bad news so I left with empty hands, but not an empty stomach. The Cafe is famous for its Cuban cuisine, and for the Cuban band “La Bomba” which plays there most nights.

From the cafe web page – staff wearing the
cap which is now part of their uniform

(L-R) Daniel, Vivi, Justi, Paul, Maria, Isobel and Yani at
the Cafe Havana, Ubud. Daniel with another coconut.

Cafe Havana - salsa dancing demo by staff

The Cafe Havana waiters (muchachos) and waitress (muchachas), kitchen and bar staff, give a lively performance of the dance Salsa Rueda (Wheel). And they were all wearing the caps which I had come to buy. I offered to buy "second hand", but they wouldn't part with that significant and distinctive feature of their uniform.

After this display we could no longer resist that wonderful toe-tapping, hip-swaying music from the band “La Bomba” and we tried our hand (or rather feet) at some simple Salsa dancing as we followed the lead of our waiter – dance instructor. Justi was braver, and more able, than the rest of us and tried out some more involved steps. The instructor was surprised to learn that she had not tried this style of dancing before and praised her abilities and rapid learning.

Justi impressing the dance coach with
her style at her first attempt.

Justi in action.

After a selection of tapas, mains and a couple of shared desserts we reluctantly left the cafe for the drive back to Dalung. As we left Ubud the big red car was ahead of us, dropping off some patrons. The Cafe offers a free pickup and delivery service, provided you live in one of those rare areas where the streets are wide enough to permit this large car to manoeuvre.