Ok, now we were out of the airport..asked my driver to quickly make a stop by poppies 2 (acting as if I knew where it was) to get my husbands suit fitted at Janoko's, before we head off to Ubud. Lets just say as soon as we pulled out into traffic, I quickly strapped on my seatbelt. LoL Shocked at how congested the roads were, surprised to see soooooo many scooters (especially with families riding together-young kids included) and the lack of road rules. I was FLABBERGASTED!LoL I swear it felt like an hour to get from the airport to Poppies 2 and the kids were getting agitated and hungry. The hope of getting my husband fitted for his suits went out the window when we arrived at Poppies 2 and soon realising there was no where to park, with heavy congestion we decided to escape out the madness. I had never experienced anything like it in my life, so it was all very overwhelming. We then headed off to Ubud to our pre-booked homestay family.
Another veeeeery long drive so by now my kids were complaining of hunger, tiredness, boredom..and I very much wished there was a macdonalds drive through on the way to solve our problem LoL But no..the best we could do was stop at a circle K store to buy some snacks and nice cold Aqua water bottles to quench the thirst.
By the time we arrived in Ubud, it was dark so we didn't get to see much of the scenery-darn it, but I was happy in the fact that our homestay accomodation was on Monkey Forest Rd, surrounded by numerous choices of restaurants. Our accomodation was called Ubud dream (found in trip advisor) and it was everthing I had expected. A two storey building with the upstairs containing 2 large bedrooms and private bathrooms(which we booked out for our family). Considering the very affordable price we paid for it, we got 2 large CLEAN and MODERN rooms with breakfast provided. I was delighted to see the size of our bathroom...possibly the size of a single bedroom.
The next morning we woke up to the sound of the neighbours rooster, now that was funny. Breakfast was served, the yummiest banana and coconut pancakes I've every tasted!
Now it was time to explore the shops on Monkey Forest Rd. As soon as we stepped out to the footpath, we were asked by everyone we passed on the street, "Taxi?"..."Taxi?" or with a paper sign, 'perhaps tomorrow?' LoL We kindly refused and even that didn't satisfy them as they started to follow us and ask where we're from. It was a mission getting from our place to Ubud markets. Not only because of the drivers on the side of the road asking for work but the effort it took to maneuver our pram on the uneven footpath and pavements.We were swerving on and off the footpath to avoid potholes and cracks, paranoid of getting run over by a scooter or taxi..but we quickly learnt that the Balinese drivers were quite respectful of pedestrians and other drivers. I could only imagine if this was back in Australia, the amount of road rage we would be experiencing. In Bali, no road rules yet they still managed to give way to each other without road rage and scooters could weave in and out of traffic without creating a hazard. Truely amazing!