Tropical Storm Tour: Bali Part 6
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Pura Marajan Agung in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
A delicious plate of gado gado at Lada Warung in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Looking through the gate at a Hindu temple ceremony at Pura Desa in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
A couple of strange things went down today. Out in a common area at the guesthouse, when I went to grab the little rack that was holding my clothes to dry in the sun, I noticed my towel was no longer hanging on the center rung the way I had placed it, but sloppily thrown across all three rungs. When I asked Suartha’s wife if she knew what happened, she made hand motions like it must have got knocked down by the wind. A couple of minutes later, I asked a group of girls who were hanging out there if someone used my towel to clean anything or if anyone knew what happened with it. One of them got pissed and raised her voice at me, saying maybe her mom found it on the ground and put it back on the rack.
Offerings at a Hindu temple ceremony at Pura Desa in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
A gamelan and Hindu devotees at a temple ceremony at Pura Desa in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
A scenic lane leading to Campuhon Ridge in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
I highly doubt if that happened, because I’m always careful to center the towel so it won’t slide off, and if the wind had kicked up, my little no-show socks surely would have fallen off first, but there they were, still on the rack. So, with no answer from anyone about what happened, and because the pissed girl started talking shit on me in Balinese to everyone else around as I walked back to my room, I made plans to start looking for a new place to stay. Bugs in my bed that left itchy bumps on my arms and legs, construction noise next door and wi-fi that only worked 50% of the time also contributed to that decision.
Walking past the palms on Campuhon Ridge in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Sunset in the jungle as seen from Campuhon Ridge in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Campuhon Ridge set ablaze by the evening sunlight in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
After washing and wringing out my towel, I walked east down Jalon Raya Ubud to the same ATM I used a few days ago, because their maximum withdrawal limit is 3,000,000 rupiah instead of the usual 1,500,000 or maybe 2,000,000 if you’re lucky. But, oddly enough, their 24 hour ATM booth had a closed sign on the door. Walking back west, I suddenly heard a loud “Crack!” sound in the middle of the street, followed by an explosion. But, this was no terrorist’s bomb; it was a horizontal rain of sticky goo that got spackled all over the front and side of my pants. A little bit even got on my shirt sleeve.
Unintentional minimalism on Campuhon Ridge in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
The captain’s chair on Campuhon Ridge in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
The Janger Cahya Warsa gamelan performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
When I scanned the street to see what happened, I noticed a crushed plastic bottle with more of the mysterious liquid still inside. I scooped a little bit of it off of my pants and gave it a whiff. It smelled like liquid soap. So, I had become the unwitting victim of the sudsy shrapnel from an unintentional soap grenade. Or was it placed in the street on purpose? I had to schlep a couple of blocks out of my way back to my room to scrub out the soap stains with a wet cloth.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
After that one-two punch of random acts of lameness already today, I set out on a nice, long walk up Campuhon Ridge, a very scenic trail that stretched north of Ubud for several kilometers. Following the crest of a hilly ridge, the trail, much of which was covered with several rows of square stones, proceeded through thick rice fields and jungles, and passed by several temples, family compounds, warungs, villas and resorts. I started the trek just in the nick of time, as the evening sunshine really set the rice fields and jungles ablaze with beautiful yellow light.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Oddly enough, there were more Balinese people than foreigners out on foot. A little while after I reached a paved road, I turned around 180 degrees to traverse the several kilometers back to Ubud before dark, as most of the trail was unlit. Although I was hungry, I had to postpone dinner, because I wanted to enter the Lotus Pond early to hopefully get a front row seat for the Janger performance at 7:30. Even 45 minutes before showtime, a few people squeaked in right before me and sat in the middle front, forcing me to sit about six seats left of center. By the time the show started with the small gamelan ringing out a festive tune, all of the plastic chairs were full, and people even sat on the ground down front and on some steps on the left side of the stage.
Janger Cahya Warsa performs the Janger dance at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
The Janger Cahya Warsa gamelan mugs it up for my lens at the Lotus Pond in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Hindu devotees prey during a temple ceremony at Pura Desa in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Hindu devotees prey during a temple ceremony at Pura Desa in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Boasting at least 75 to 100 people, it was definitely a packed house. The Janger dance consisted of one long, uninterrupted piece that told a tale from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata about Arjuna’s battle with Dewi Siwa. It was fairly unusual among Balinese performances in that the dancers smiled with their teeth showing while singing really cheerful, happy melodies. After a while of that, other characters appeared on stage to sing solo and recite dramatic dialog. Of course, if you’re unfamiliar with the language, that aspect of the performance is tough to get into. As the story wrapped up and the performance drew to a close, the audience was invited up on stage to pose for photos with the dancers and / or musicians. Back in my room, I hit up Trip Advisor to look for a new place to stay tomorrow.
Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.
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