Here we sit in yet another gorgeous little cafe! This one is called the Tropical View Restaurant and it is just a few steps past the monkey forest (far enough to have escaped the “aroma” that can come from too many monkeys in one place). We’ve ordered lunch and fancy lattes and now Barb is off taking photos of the most beautiful lotus flowers I’ve ever seen. The pink in these blossoms is breathtaking! And the size....they’re actually HUGE! Seriously....it is a magical view from our vantage shaded from the sun but looking out over the water pond and lilies, the rice field, and a pool in the near distance. Yummy.....they’ve just brought our lattes and along with them a complimentary plate of cassava chips. They are very much like a thick very crispy potato chip. Cassava is a root that is used extensively in the tropics. The most common application I’ve seen for it here is as a chip but I know they also use it like potatoes or for dessert. We know it as tapioca and for those of you who thought tapioca was little round balls....well....its not.....its a root that looks very much like a large sweet potato (and even larger). Once you’ve had sweet tapioca cooked the way they make it anywhere that it grows...those little balls will never be the same for you!
Speaking of things never being the same for people....well Barb can’t go back to her former stance on motor bikes. LOL. Last year when she arrived here she was literally TERRIFIED to get on the back of a bike and this year she can hardly wait to climb on the back of another one. After our 90 minute tour around the local roads and rice fields the other day she’s ogling every bike taxi we pass! In fact when I suggested that perhaps we take bikes to the pyramids tomorrow she practically jumped on me as she screamed “YES!” I admit that I may be exaggerating just a little but honestly.....I think she’s contemplating the purchase of one for herself once she gets home. I had the same thought when I went home last year and almost did it but in the end....one never found its way into my possession. Maybe 2018 will be a different story. LOL.
It’s been a couple of days since we last checked in with this blog and so a little update is in order. The last time I wrote we were heading out to Sedona Spa for chocolate (for me) and green clay (for Barb) massages, facials, and hair cream treatment. Little can be said except that it was AMAZING! As we’d requested we were given rooms that look out over the rice fields and where there is a massive copper tub that is filled with perfectly warm water and flower petals for you to soak in after you’ve scrubbed all of the clay/chocolate off in the shower. The rooms are partly open to the outside and the wall adjacent to the rice field is only about waist high. This is all very beautiful and exotic until you stand up from the table beside your tub and realize you’re not alone! There on the other side of the wall are several workers planting rice in the field! Yikes! Not sure if the one closest to my room or I was more shocked to see the other!
Jati picked us up from Sedona at the pre-arranged time and then dropped us off at a little French creperie (Le Moulin) in Pengosekin (near ARMA for those of you who know your way around Ubud) where Barb and I had an amazing supper of steak and blue cheese and duck, orange, and carmelized onions crepes. We shared them as neither of us could make up our mind but in the end we both agreed that while they were both amazing....it would be the duck and orange if we were to come back here again. During our meal there was a CRASH that neither of us could identify. It was one of the servers who explained that a coconut had just fallen over our heads onto the roof! This prompted a discussion about the number of deaths there are each year as a direct result of falling coconuts. We were very grateful for the roof overhead! That falling coconut also prompted conversation with a fellow diner who’d just arrived moments prior. Her name was Helina and she was travelling on her own for six weeks so far. She had no return ticket (she was from London) and no plan to head home any time soon. She was just going where the wind blew and opportunity presented. Our best guess is that Helina would be about 65-70 years old. What an interesting woman! Afterward we strolled home and appreciated the dry skies and quiet roads and cooler temps. Walking by Monkey Forest in the dark is a bit creepy though and since there are no lights on that stretch of the road....its even a little creepier than if there were. On the upside all of the monkeys go to bed at sunset so there weren’t any of those little buggers on the road trying to steal our stuff!
We both slept like the dead after having that awesome massage and meal and the next morning were ready to do it all again. So after a typical lazy morning of yoga, meditation time, a walk for Barb, and breakfast served on our patio we set off in the direction of Monkey Forest again. We were headed for another little French place ( Cafe du Monyet) where we located a seat on the edge of yet another rice field and enjoyed Taro Lattes. Taro is another starchy root (like cassava) and in Hawaii it is the stuff they use to make poi for those of you who’ve been to a luau. Taro is a beautiful shade of lavender and the flavour of that Taro latte is almost indescribable. Maybe a little bit vanilla’ish with a super smooth finish. Bottom line....we’ll order it again!
From the Cafe du Monyet we headed to a little bakery in Pengoseken as I remembered they have great air conditioning and I was MELTING! After a curry donut for me and a cinnamon bun for Barb we’d come up with a plan for the rest of the day. We called my friend Komang who used to work at the Reflexology place I went every Monday last year. That place has since closed and so Komang is out of work and focused on getting taxi gigs with his scooter. We asked Komang to find another scooter taxi and pick us up at the bakery. From there we were off and loving the cool breezes that accompany being on the back of a bike. The boys took us along local roads where we could see the people up close as they went about living their daily lives. When I say up close....I mean up close.....the roads in that area are just barely wide enough for a single car but on bikes we had no problem. We zipped through rice fields that were in all states of growth. Some were just being prepped for planting and others were almost at the ready for harvest. In the fields that were being prepped we saw men and women up to their knees in mud. Some were using a rake like tool to smooth the mud and others had a giant rototiller that had tires bigger than the user. What a hard life these people have! But...having said that....when I asked one of them for a photo she smiled for the camera and in truth all of them seem happy in their work. Also along our bike journey we drove through Petulu (the village that is home to tens of thousands of white herons every night). They’re still in their nesting season so there are lots in the village during the day too. As a result we had to be sure to keep our mouths closed and faces averted from the sky or risk getting a mouth full of poop! At one point the road was actually washed out by a mud slide which meant that we’d have to back track and on the back track it meant that Barb and I would have to walk up a very very steep hill that was much longer than it appeared at first glance. As Barb says....the going up was a helluva lot longer than the going down was! On the upside....the views were stunning and we got our exercise for the day in too. By the end of our 90 minute tour our bums were numb and our smiles were from ear to ear. It was a great day! We’d spent enough money this day that we decided it was time to hit Warung Local for Nasi Goreng. The total bill for two meals and two bottles of water was under $4 Canadian.
The next day we had a plan to take Julie for dinner at Batubara, the Argentinian Steak House in Ubud. Batubara has been identified as one of the top 10 places to eat here by those in the know and visitors alike. It didn’t disappoint! Our meal of Flap (some kind sirloin tip steak from Wagu beef, which is like Kobi) was melt in your mouth perfect. The accompanying green beans were crispy fresh and the fries were tender in the middle and crunchy on the outside. All in all....it was a HIT!
From Batubara we were off for drinks at Gin 1717 where I discovered a breakfast martini. It was delicious. They rimmed the glass with a light marmalade and then added lime juice and palm sugar to gin for the drink itself. After drinks it was into the gin lab where we were invited to try every version of infusion the gin maker had in progress. We were even invited to come up with a name for our favourite as it was his newest creation of coffee, orange zest, and palm sugar. He’s seriously considering Orange Bean or Mandarin Bean as he moves to the next stage with it. I wonder if we’ll get a cut of the profits for our creative genius? LOL.
Just as a few drops of rain began to fall, Jati picked us up at the Coco’s parking lot and it was another great sleep once we arrived back home.
Today has been more of the same and as I started this post with....we’re still sitting in the Tropical View Restaurant with a plan to head to the salt room for some healthy breathing followed by a visit to the water gardens at ARMA for an evening of Scent and Sound. We’ll report in on all of that next time....unless something changes between now and when we were set to arrive at either of those stops.
Till next time,
Lorrie and Barb
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