Bali – Not at all like “Eat, Pray, Love”

As we continued following the sun south our next stop was Bali. Probably like many people we had visions of glistening beaches on the coast and calm, spiritual streets in the mountain town of Ubud. We learned Bali is not all about meditation, yoga and clean eating.

Seminyak Beach

Our first stop was Seminyak beach, one of the strip of beaches around Denpasar for which Bali is famous. The drive to our hotel was an eye-opener. Denpasar is a city of about a million people. It seemed like all of them were on the road at the same time. Traffic moves at a crawl. It took us nearly an hour to go 12 kms.

It was worth the drive. We had a quiet hotel room overlooking the beach. The boardwalk along Seminyak Beach is lined with small, seedy wooden huts catering to the surfing crowd. The beach is wide and long, with fine white sand. Sadly a lot of plastic washes up, especially in monsoon season. For the most part the beach was not busy during the day. Come sunset the vibe changed. It was bedlam. Every bar and restaurant along the beach had live music or techno DJs competing for customers. The locals were complaining about the lack of tourists. We can’t imagine the crowds in high season.

The “streets” between the main road and our hotel were, like most in Seminyak, a maze of alleyways without names. Google maps is essential to navigate as there are no reference points. These 4’ to 5’ wide alleys are also shared by fleets of motorbikes. Some alleys were totally gridlocked, especially at tight corners. Somehow pedestrians and motor bikes shuffle along together without incident.

Mischievous Macaques

Purnama

In contrast to the commercialized tourist industry, Balinese maintain their religious faith. They practice a unique form of Hinduism that incorporates Buddhism and Animism. The cities, towns and countryside are filled with elaborate temples, including many in people’s yards. We stumbled through the gate of one private temple, mistaking it for a public temple. The occupants merely smiled and carried on with their chores while we admired the intricate carvings.

We were lucky enough to be in Bali for Purnama – a full moon day. Full moon days have special significance. Many people were out in traditional attire, worshipping and making offerings at all the temples and small alters on the beaches and streets. Very heartening.

Ubud

To escape the beaches we headed to Ubud, the spiritual and cultural center of Bali. Ubud has long been a popular destination but the 2006 book “Eat, Pray, Love” catapulted it to cult status. The area is famous for its green tropical jungles, terraced rice fields and countless elaborate Hindu temples and shrines.

The town itself attracts hordes of tourists. Though there are many touristic shops, what the town has most of are yoga studios and shops. Amazingly, among the dozens of shops selling yoga attire, this was probably the only place in all our travels we didn’t see a Lululemon store. If you can get past the crush of tourists, the town retains charm. The temples and many traditional buildings are dazzling.

The traffic on the other hand will undo the internal tranquility in most people. The roads are in constant gridlock. It took half an hour to drive the seven kilometres from our hotel to the town.

Venturing to the Countryside

We spent a day touring the mountainous countryside from Ubud to Kintamani village overlooking the Mount Batur volcano, with stops along the way at waterfalls, temples and a coffee plantation. The highlight was Besakih Temple, actually a staggering complex of 23 different temples. It is the holiest place in Balinese Hinduism. The site was crowded with worshippers celebrating holy days and family celebrations.

A visit to the Ceking Rice Terraces was very picturesque but purely for tourists. Lots of props were provided for Instagram Influencers. We got there early so had the place almost to ourselves. By the time we left the line-ups for Instagram shots were stretching out. Some people were going to have a long day waiting to get those perfect IG shots.

The Local Life

Our hotel, the Garcia Ubud, was miles from town, set in the middle of a rice paddy. The best part (apart from being spoiled in the luxurious spa) was exploring the surrounding neighbourhood. Early morning walks through the lush rice fields beside the hotel were a peaceful way to start the day. The only sounds were of the birds singing and water flowing in the aquaducts.

We wandered the quiet nearby lanes where tourists rarely venture. We witnessed people going about their daily lives – washing their clothes in little channels, fabricating cement building blocks by hand, grilling skewers of fish paste over coal fires for sale in the shops. One morning the caretaker (we assume he was the caretaker, he had a key anyway) of a seemingly abandoned temple invited us in for a private tour. He was very happy to have tourists visit.