My second last day in Ubud is greeted by a vile green sludge in the pool. Closer inspection reveals it to be some sort of insect larvae so I don't think I will be dipping my toes in until it is removed. Ironically, the small pool/spa area attached to the larger pool is larvae free. Perhaps the insects are selective. Who knows, another of life's mysteries......
I decide to wander through the town, down the hill and up the hill to the Yellow Flower Cafe where I had a lovely dinner last week. The cafe only had one other group of diners so finding a seat was not a challenge and I selected the only outside table next to an antique wooden rocking horse. As I was sitting waiting for my 'revitalising' juice, I noticed that there was a strange sort of fog in the air. Kind of like a light mist. My juice was lovely and fresh and the omelette light and fluffy and served with cooked toast as opposed to bread waved over a flame. A really delicious breakfast and the ladies working there are full of smiles and very friendly.
I return to the villa to contemplate a swim but the pool is still covered in the green slime so I decide to have a little nap and read for a bit. The strange mist is still present. Perhaps it is my eyes? I remove my contact lenses thinking perhaps they have a little dirt on them but the mist remains and the lenses look spotless.
I return the contact lenses to my eyes to assist me with my walk into Ubud and to improve my chances of successfully running the gauntlet of touts down by Bridges. The little wood carving man now sees me as a friend rather than a potentially customer having being able to convince him that I definitely, 100%, without a doubt do not require a carved head of a Hindu god. We have a little banter about his day and how much longer I am in Ubud for and I continue through town, trying to avoid the hordes of Japanese tourists standing pointing their cameras at nothing in particular.
I am on another mission today. Well, it is actually yesterday's mission that failed - I am off to Melting Wok. As I approach I see a group of three girls being rejected at the front and pray it is not full. Just as I arrive and am told they are full, a young guy seated alone makes a move and I am offered his table. Result! I'm in, I'm ready, let's get this show on the road. I am immediately offered a printed drinks menu and select a Bintang and water. I sit looking out over the street in my strange new misty outlook and rub my eyes which are stinging due to the two chain smoking europeans next to me who literally light another as the first is going out. My evil look does nothing to deter them so I suck it up as after all, smoking is permitted in here. The waitress brings over two blackboards and explains the menu to me. There are two specials - one is pork based, one is mahi mahi. Then, the other options available are to choose your meat (pork, chicken, beef) or tofu or tempeh. Then you choose noodles or rice, then with or without coconut milk and how spicy you would like it. I opted for tofu, coconut milk, noodles and very spicy. Oh my goodness, what a fabulous meal. Bean sprouts, green beans, sliced tofu, peanuts, spinach type vegetable, truckloads of chilli & noodles. Quite possibly one of the best meals I have ever had. The restaurant is heaving with people coming and going as there is only nine tables. I can fully see why it gets such excellent reviews and the French owner is a really friendly lady and justifiably proud of her success.
I am in the process of applying for a job but the inconsistent wifi at the villa is causing a few problems. I remember from a few years back that Nomad cafe had good wifi so I head up to Jl. Raya Ubud and am led to a table at the front overlooking the street. Due to my strange new misty vision issue, I find this seat far too bright and I ask if I can move further back into the restaurant. Not a problem at all and I spend the next few hours finalising my resume and putting together a cover letter for the job application. I enjoy looking out at all the tourists while enjoying another Bintang and count over 24 buses going past while I am there. Wow - Ubud is so busy and I am so pleased I decided to stay the week up in Penestanan. At one stage, I see a poor Japanese or Chinese lady trying to navigate the footpaths with a walking frame. The poor thing didn't stand a chance and every two or three steps required assistance from members of her party.
By about 4.30pm I think I have outstayed my welcome and I wander a little further along the road until I find another bar offering happy hour. I walk through the little bar to their area out the back which is a beautiful little oasis overlooking a lush green garden. Only 20 meters off the main drag but another world away. I order myself a Pink Lady cocktail (vodka, guava juice & triple sec) and sit back to enjoy the peace. Beside me is some know it all creepy middle aged Australian guy trying to impress a young German girl who is on her first trip to Bali. I am sure he meant well but it was all a little bit weird so I just smiled and pretended I didn't speak English and read my book.
By early evening, my vision is still not improved and I decide to head towards home and find somewhere to eat. I remembered reading about Uma Cucina on Trip Advisor so found myself a taxi driver (never a challenge in Ubud!) and off we go. The restaurant is located in the posh Uma Hotel north of Ubud past Tjampuhan Spa & Bintang Supermarket and is on the first floor and is open plan. It is absolutely beautifully decorated and I could have easily been in a five star hotel in Melbourne (except that it would be 10 degrees & raining). The staff were excellent, very efficient and clearly all trained in hospitality. To start with I ordered the mixed bruschetta which came with one slice of ciabatta topped with fresh tuna, another with a variety of char grilled capsicums and the final slice with grilled mushrooms. All were really lovely and the portion size was suitable - small but due to the toppings, plenty. My main meal was a spinach pizza that was again, fantastic. The crust was super thin, had clearly been cooked in a proper wood fired oven and was covered in a good serving of fresh spinach and nutty talleggio cheese. This was my most expensive meal to date on this trip, coming in at $40 which included a beer but it was totally worth it. I'm disappointed that my eyesight was so bad as I could not really enjoy the view from the restaurant but I am sure the problem will sort itself out overnight. The Uma Hotel provide you with a courtesy taxi transfer back to your hotel as well which is a nice touch and makes the meal cost even more justifiable.
Day 8 - Goodbye to Ubud & hello Seminyak
My final morning in Ubud and the first thing that I hear, apart from the birds, chickens & frogs, is the pool boy cleaning the pool. Good - the slime will be gone. I prepare a bowl of Special K for breakfast and spend an hour or so packing. I am a shocking over packer even after all these years of travelling. Every trip I go on I take gym/yoga gear, runners, sports bras etc in the hope that I will get my ample backside off a sun lounge and out exercising. It never happens and I think I need to have a long hard look at myself and except the fact that when I go on holiday, it is just that - a holiday.
My eyesight has not improved so I leave the contact lenses out as they tend to make my eyes a little itchy at the moment and due to this, decide to stay local for lunch. This pretty much means either Cafe Vespa or Kopi Desa. Not having loved any of my meals at Vespa except for their omelette, I decide on Kopi Desa. I grab myself a table at the back and set up my laptop to finalise my job application and send it off. Done. I order a mocha coffee and sit there for a while blogging reading the news until I get a little peckish and order myself the vegetarian mid goreng. It's quite nice - plenty of veg, good dash of chilli, not too greasy and for a couple of dollars, who can complain?
I return to the villa to complete my packing and put away my freshly laundered clothes that I have also just collected. They smell fabulous and the ladies have even ironed my pyjamas. How exciting! I can't even remember the last time I wore something ironed - let alone pyjamas.
At 3.15pm my phone rings and it is Combi asking where I am. I ask him where he is and he says he is waiting for me at the parking space. I told him that we arranged 3.30pm and that he was early & could he give me a few minutes as I was still waiting for his aunt to come & collect the key. Shortly after, Wayan arrived, laughing and saying that her nephew is silly and confused the times. No drama. I leave the villa with mixed emotions - I have had such a peaceful stay up here but I'm also looking forward to heading down to the bright lights of Seminyak. Wayan and I weave our way along the footpath to the parking area and the local builders working on new villas call out goodbye to me on the way. They seem like old friends as they have been there every day and I go past 4-6 times each day. Combi takes me through Penestanan, past the restaurants at the beginning of the village that I never got to, down through Ubud and drops me off at the palace.
I sit there for a few minutes watching the passing parade and within no time at all, my friend C is on the phone saying that they have arrived in Ubud and are ready to collect me. Our plans worked well - they are on the other side of the road so I run across, throw my bags into Kadek's car and we begin the long, arduous drive into Seminyak. The traffic is absolutely hideous, not helped I expect by the number temple ceremonies going on in each village that we pass.
We finally arrive at the Paasha Hotel on Jl. Laksmana around 6pm and C, her daughter and sister check into their room. I don't check in yet as we have a plan. The Paasha Hotel has the unique feature that they offer 24 hour check in so we decided that I will check in later so that we have one room on our final day available until we need to check out. Such clever ladies! After dumping the bags we head up to the rooftop bar of the hotel which looks out over Seminyak. I stayed here briefly on a quick visit last November and really liked it for location and the pool on the roof that gets sunlight all day. We order a couple of drinks and sit back to enjoy the complementary snacks while watching the sun set over the horizon. Paradise! For dinner tonight, the four of us head down to The Junction - ironically placed at a junction just in front of Seminyak Square. We were offered a table downstairs although requested one up stairs. They replied it is too hot upstairs and that they have air con down the bottom. Well, they may have air con but they also have building with large areas of open wall so the effect of it was next to nothing. Service was a little slow but they were really busy so that is expected I guess. We ordered drinks and meals - myself and C selecting the prawn and mushroom ravioli in a cheese & lemon sauce. It was nice, the pasta was cooked well but the sauce had a bit too much lemon in it and not enough pepper. It was a bit bland. C's sister chose the salmon pasta and was not terribly impressed and C's daughter the calamari which was ok. All in all, a little disappointing for our first meal in Seminyak but we have plenty more lined up.
We return to the hotel and I check in to find out that I have been upgraded to the Penthouse which is a 70m monstrosity of a room. The room is as big as my entire two bedroom apartment which naturally includes a kitchen, dining room, lounge, bathroom & laundry. It is the same size & it's just a bedroom. Wow! There are windows along two sides of the room and the sliding doors open onto nothing (?) but it's a nice effect. I offer the room to my friends but they are happy with their room which has already been made up with an extra bed. We bid each other good night and I spend the rest of the night trying out all of the different seating options, selecting which pillow I will use, wandering in & out of my walk in robe. So much fun!