Bali - Ubud & Beyond

By Rough Guy’d

While partying from sun down to sun up and then sleeping from sun up to sun down may be the epitome of a perfect holiday for some people, I had other plans and with that mindset, I decided to head inland and away from the partygoers. I decided on the town of Ubud, probably the second most favourite location for tourists but the focus turned from partying to arty crafts.

It was this point that I learned that I really liked travelling like a local rather than a tourist. Basically this just meant that I’m crammed into a tightly-packed bus with lots of other people rather than taking an over-priced taxi or scooter. It was even more of an eye opener than when I first came here as I saw more and more people living a simple rustic life compared to what I was used to anyway. Later in my trip, I would see far more rustic village life but this was my first real taste and the memory has remained with me just as keenly.

I arrived early in the afternoon at Ubud and after checking in and resting a bit, decided to walk around the town. One thing that really struck me as I tucked into a delicious dinner of nasi goreng with pineapple juice followed by green pancake and ice cream was that most of the food in Bali was quite different to what I was used to. By the very nature of the place, things like prepackaged foods and drinks were really only in Bali to serve foreigners and that the people of the island were more used to freshly produced foods and drinks. You could taste it as the foods were made with simple fresh ingredients, they really didn’t need much to make it into some of the best food you’ve ever eaten and freshly squeezed juices were so cheap and nice that you couldn’t make it yourself for that price at home.

It was during this meal that I ended up chatting to two other tourists who were in the same restaurant. It turned out that they were from other parts of Indonesia here for a holiday and we chatted together for the rest of the night. As it turned out, I became friends with them and since then still stay in contact with them on a regular basis.

Thursday morning and along with freshly prepared pancakes and fruit, I discovered the second way that the guesthouses made money, by offering one-to-one motorcycle tours of the nearby area. While I had learned to be a bit suspicious of add-on offers, I also had to accept that sometimes there are no alternatives to this type of a tour and as long as their prices were reasonable compared to what others were offering, it was always a good idea to support your own guesthouse.

One of the things that I loved at this time was my belt pack. An over-sized pack that sits on my waist making me look every bit a tourist but necessary to keep the really important things safe such as passport, wallet and of course my rough guide travel book. The thing that made mine a little bit special was that the top of it can unzip open to make me a little daypack backpack and this meant I bring other stuff such as water and as I discovered later, a sarong.