From Lembongan to Ubud

We awoke with the sun on Saturday in our Lembongan island bungalow-with-a-view. Aron and Carol rented a motorbike to explore the island for an hour or so and reported finding a pristine beach on the other side of the island some 20 minutes away. Since there are no cars on Lembongan, it was not practical for us all to go. At midday we took the same boat that brought us back to the mainland at Padang Bai. There we enjoyed a delicious lunch in a funky little café. You can never tell by appearances where you will find the best food.

Back in our rental car again, we took the heavily trafficked road in the general direction of Ubud, our destination for the remainder of our visit. We stopped twice along the way to visit historic/religious sights along the way. The first one was Yeh Pulu, which featured a 14^th century stone wall carved with a pictorial story of a Hindu hero’s triumph over wild beasts and other adversity to win favor of a lovely maid, a time-honored theme in many cultures. As our guide led us down a stone path in a lush forest, we were shocked by the sudden appearance of a large unruly water buffalo galloping toward us with his master close behind. We scampered out of the way just in time feeling the adrenaline rush of escaping danger. We were the only visitors at this venue we read about in Lonely Planet. It was so obscure we needed to ask directions three separate times to find it. We were fortunate to have our sweet and helpful translator Hapny.

Our next stop was a heavily visited site called Goa Gajah, or elephant cave. This 11^th century site was still a very active religious and ceremonial location. Soon after, we arrived in Ubud, the so-called cultural heart of Bali. We found it teeming with Westerners, mostly European or Australian. (We’ve encountered very few North Americans here so far.) If this is the off-season, we shuddered to imagine the crowds at peak season. The city features street after street of upscale boutiques and restaurants catering to well-heeled tourists and the large “ex-pat” community living here.

Aron drove us to a beautiful garden setting with rental bungalows surrounding a pool, called Sari Bamboo. At roadside of this relatively quiet neighborhood was a large 3 story Balinese house with restaurant downstairs open to the pool and garden. We were so pleased to stay here and couldn’t wait to get out of our sweaty clothes and take a plunge. Aaahhh!! We enjoyed dinner of BBQ baby back ribs at a Japanese garden restaurant where we were the only guests. A stop at a local jazz club later featuring an Indonesian Janis Joplin, and then home to Sari Bamboo for the night.