Bali - The Ubud Story Ep. 1/2
Barong Dance
Our first destination at Ubud was to the Barong Dance. Harby and I contemplated a while whether we wanted to see another show since we have already seen the Kecak dance. We decided to go ahead with it in the end.
The Barong dance is a dance narrating the story of the fight between the Barong (good) and Ranga (evil). This dance is accompanied by an orchestra of traditional musical instruments playing in the background. These guys are really pro. They can play the instrument without even looking at it. I bet they can even play it in their sleep :p. An interesting thing to note is the Barong and Ranga masks are considered sacred. Therefore a priest must perform blessings and offerings rituals before they are presented.
Snapshots of the Barong Dance
As soon as the show ended Putu (our driver) brought us to a local Silversmith. There we witnessed how the silver products were handmade. If you like silver ornaments, you can easily get it within the “factory” itself. Do remember to request for a discount before you buy. It was a quick stop for us because we weren’t interested to buy any silver.
Each of the tiny silver balls painstakingly glued by hand using a special glue made from a plant
Close up
photo by Harby
Wood Carving
Next Putu bought us to a wood carving workshop. Here all the craftsmen do not go through any formal training and all the ideas of their works are created base on their own memory/creativity. Sorry, no books for reference ya! Their fine carvings were really beautiful and intrinsic but too bad the price is not within our budget. For serious buyers who are looking for the “real stuff”, you should really get it from shops like this rather than from the markets. It’s true you can get very cheap wood carvings at the markets, as long as you are willing to forgo some quality. Taking photo is free though ;p.
Kintamani Volcano Lunch
We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the Kintamani volcano. Putu said that there are a few other restaurants around the vicinity with the volcano view but this one is the best. True enough. The beautiful scenery and the cool weather is probably the main attraction of the restaurant. The restaurant serves buffet lunch only. The food was OK. Here are some of the shots I took.
The beautiful volcano
Lake view
Me
photo by Harby
Candid photo of me piggin' out..
photo by Harby
A closer look at my lunch
Coffee Plantation
Our next stop was the coffee plantation. Putu briefly introduced the “Kopi Luwak” to us. Apparently Kopi Lawak is the “premium” coffee of the entire range. Kopi Lawak is produced from the by-product (a.k.a SHIT) of the animal called Luwak (Asian Palm Civet Cat). Eeek-sy? Well Kopi Luwak one of the world’s most expensive gourmet coffee, mind you! Here’s how the price is justified. For starters, the Luwak only eats the finest and ripest coffee cherries. Only the outer part of the cherry is digested thus leaving the beans to be passed out through the system. This coffee has been scientifically proven to taste better than the non-defecated beans. It is understood that the coffee tastes better because the digestion breaks down protein that makes the coffee bitter. So there you go, a cup of RM100+ of gourmet shitty coffee for you to boast about. The plantation here offers visitors a variety of coffees for free sampling (Bali coffee, Lemon Grass, Ginger, Cocoa, etc). Sorry yea.. no free sampling of Kopi Luwak. I wasn’t aware that the Luwak coffee was so expensive. While in the plantation’s shop, I casually asked a sales girl how much a small packet of Luwak coffee costs. When the girl told me “50 dollar” I thought she was saying 50,000 Indo rupiah (which I thought was expensive enough). Then she said, no.. DOLLAR. It finally struck me that she was referring to USD. What somemore…? Terus belah from the shop lar. According to Putu, the owner of the plantation is one of the richest guys in the whole of Bali. With all that “money-shitting” Luwaks in the plantation, I’m least surprised.
The Luwak.. ZZzzzz
TADA, unveiling... the prized shit
Coffee roasting
Coffee beans - before roasting
Roasted coffee beans
Tegal Lalang
Tegal Lalang is famous for its paddy fields. But we already have paddy fields all over Malaysia so what’s the “hoo-haa” about? Well this place is famous for its terraced rice fields. I’ll never forget this place, not only for the scenary. Ok, story time! I was “ambushed” and “bashed-up” terribly by an old nenek here. As soon as we arrived, this old nenek couldn’t leave us alone. We only planned to take a few pics and then leave. But with this nenek bugging us non-stop, we could hardly even walk. So I told her we’ll come back to her again later. After finishing taking the photos, she immediately grabbed my arm asking me to buy a wooden box that came with a set of … I think 10 chopsticks. After taking a close look I told her that I don't want it. But doesn't take a NO for an answer and she wouldn't take it back. I was seriously thinking of putting it on the floor already. She kept bugging me and wouldn’t let go of my arm. I really sympathized the nenek having to sell under the hot sun but this is no way to sell things. But her approach made me more adamant not to buy. The whole scene ended with her scolding me a PENIPU. She said I promised to buy and I broke my promise. Hello nenek.. I never promised to buy from you. I just told her that I want to take some pictures first then I’ll take a look at her things later. While all the commotion was happening, another aunty was trying to tie a sarong around me. Whoa.. hold on a sec. I've learnt my lesson. Once it's around me, she will not take it back and I'll be forced to buy it. I finally managed to wriggle past all the traders there. This earlier nenek purposely sat at the entrance again so that when I leave she could call me a penipu again. I was so pissed off. But anyway it’s common to come across situations like this in tourist areas I guess. Thinking back, I told myself.. Phew, what an unforgettable experience. Haha.
The rice terrace of Tegal Lalang
Ubud Palace
Stone carving
Flower deco
Stone guardian
Entertaining myself
Beautiful carvings on the pillars
Traditional musical instruments
Royal touch
As we were walking out from the palace we bumped into a religious procession. Look at these aunties. Some were just donning just a bra under their laced outfit. Fancy that!!
Guys in their traditional attire
Ubud Market
Another shopping haven. Be careful when you are here though. The traders here are not as accommodating as their counterparts in Kuta. If you bargain and decided not to buy it, be ready for some fierce Balinese words hurled at you. Believe me, we had first hand experience here. Anyway there’s a huge variety of selections at this market. Happy shopppppppping. My camera was out of battery and therefore all the photos here were taken by Harby. (sulk)
Bargain time!
Lot's of souveniers to choose from
Beads-work
What a long and eventful day 3 we had. Stay tune for Ep 2/2.
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