Naughty Nuri’s

One place you we always try to visit when we go to Ubud us Naughty Nuris. We go there for of all things…BBQ Ribs. Like, American Style, really yummy BBQ Ribs. It’s an non-AC place, covered, with a young lady gilling away near the sidewalk and it’s fab. Also, you get Martini’s (for Paul) and Margaritas (for me). They are known for making a martini so the waitress fills the glass, you have to take a big sip, then she pours some more to finish the shaker. Sometimes that takes a few sips…

Great ribs.Great drinks. Great times.

Great name as well

Facing the street- grilling away

Pour. Sip. Pour. Sip.

Post Rib & Martini rest…

People in Ubud

One of the things I enjoy about Ubud is the people. People there are so friendly. Granted some are just offering massages and taxi rides, but everywhere you go, I find they smile and say hello. I like Singapore, I really do, but I miss being around people who are more outgoing at times. People here are very closed off at times, there’s little interaction when you are out and about. In Ubud, we would pass people in the villages or at stores and be greeted with ‘Hi’ and ‘Hello’. You could just tell that people in Ubud were OK to speak to you and ask how your day was. It always refreshing and adds to the enjoyment of our time there, being around so many friendly, outgoing people.

So, of course I could not help but take a few (Paul would say a lot) of photos of some of the people we came across. Most of these are from our hike and bike tour thru the rual village areas.

Bali

Well, aside from the fact that Tammy could not join us, we had a great time in Bali once again. It was off to a rough start when we arrived though. 1.5 hours to get thru immigration!!! Even Paul was losing his cool, which is saying something. It did not help he had an old Chinese Uncle who kept nudging him the whole time.  This was the first time we’ve had that kind of problem, they were just slammed with too many planes arriving at one time, and not enough desks to process people. Almost all the desks were full, and the staff moves fast enough, but too many people were arriving and it made a big bottle neck. I hope they correct that soon.

But, once we got over that shock it was smooth sailing. We stayed at a great villa Paul found. It was close to downtown Ubud, but down a small lane, and then only accessible by walking or scooter (no cars) and you soon found yourself surrounded by rice paddy fields. Sublime. They had just finished the rice harvest and every morning there were 50-75 ducks making their way thru the fields, waddling and quacking the whole time as they ate the left overs from the rice paddies.

We did the usual routine, which is fine. A walk thru the rice paddies and a local village. Great weather and a nice way to relax. The next day was a bike tour (all down hill) thru some paddies, but a lot of village areas as well which was interesting. A spa day, and some shopping in Mas village. Plus pool time at the villa, Naughty Nuri’s for ribs (YUM!) and in general lazing about.

Ducks making their way thru the rice paddies

Villa courtyard

Villa terrace

Villa pool

Outdoor dining at the Villa

Kitchen

Sitting room

Villa foyer

Living room

Relaxing by the pool

Bali time (again)

We took another trip to Bali recently. Well, I took a long weekend, Paul took 5 days. It seems he could carry over some vacation time from last year, but only until March, so he HAD to take some time off or lose the days he had left over from last year. Tough life right?

Well, what better place to burn some vacation time than our favorite island, Bali. Paul headed to Ubud for some R&R and then came down to Nusa Dua to stay at the Conrad where I joined him. Since I was only there for Friday night thru Sunday we just planned one outing on Saturday. We book a boat and went snorkeling in Lemogwan, which is  a short boat ride from the main island. We spent the day snorkeling at three different sight, followed by a nice lunch at a beach shack (nasi goreng, yum!) and then a sea kayak tour thru a nearby mangrove. A fun filled, and tiring Saturday. Sunday was spent lazing about the pool and truly relaxing.

I must say I was in love with the landscaping at the Conrad, they did an amazing job with little areas to explore and discover during the day and the night.

The snorkeling was great. Crystal clear water, lots of fish, and a nice treat.

Roosters in Bali

Alas, not all the chickens are just for eggs and food. Some are still used for cock fighting….

Civet

This cute guy is a Civet, he loves coffee fruit, and when he poops them out, people pay good money for the beans to make coffee.

Heron village

Continuing with your theme of animals in Bali we took a walk from our villa down the road to a local village where every day 8-10 thousand Heron return each evening around 5-6PM. It’s a quiet little area, just one road really, but up and down are large tree and every evening the birds fly back here and nest in the branches. The sun is going down and as you look up, flocks and flocks of big white birds are flying thru, landing on trees or sometimes fighting for spots on branches. It’s quite a site to see.

Free the turtles

After the buffalo races we took a small tour of the area.

Our guide brought us to a turtle sanctuary where we met the local care taker who spoke with us about the turtles and what they were doing.

I’m unsure what to make of this set up to be honest. It consisted of a fenced off area with sand, where the eggs are placed to keep the safe after being laid on the nearby beach. Once hatched the baby turtles (hundreds of them?) are moved to three tiled pools for about 30 days so they have a better chance to make it out in the wild.  The whole thing smacked of a NGO set up, like some Gringos came in, said “Hey, you used to kill these things and eat them, but we will pay you to raise them instead” The care taker spoke some broken English to tells us about them and was quite nice, but the whole operation had an odd feel about it.

Lastly he took us to a shed where there were yet more turtles. Picking up a round plastic bin with about 15-20 turtles in it, we helped him carry it to the shore, where one by one you could pick up the baby turtles and place them on the beach to be swept away by the waves. Afterwards was a guest book, where you could fill out your name, where you were from, and how much you would like to donate….how convenient.

Regardless of how legit it may be, it was neat to see the baby turtles and to release them back to the water. Not something you get to do everyday.

Makepung in Bali a.k.a I heart Bali more than ever

As I mentioned Mom and Dad could not make their trip to Bali with us, but the tickets and villa were already rented and paid for, so we did not let them go to waste. We’ll consider this trip further “research” into Bali for their future visit (and anyone else who comes to visit!)

Out in West Bali, in the Negara region, the local farmers do Water Buffalo races (Makepung) on Sundays. I had read a little about this but did not know all the details. The schedules are a little hard to find since this is mostly a local event, and not aimed at tourists (yet). When Mom and Dad had to cancel, I decided this would be a good time to go explore and see what the story was. The trip to see the races needs two days. Negara is about a 3 hr drive from the airport, and the races start around 7am on Sunday morning so it’s best if you head out that way the day before. So we landed on Saturday, drove to the region, rested at a wonderful resort and then started early on Sunday to see the races. They run till about noon or so I think, but after about 3.5 hrs there we saw plenty and were ready to head out. By the time you see the races and a few other things, it’s time for lunch and then a long drive back wherever.

A big shout out to the Puri Dajuma resort (http://www.dajuma.com/). Their staff was excellent, I emailed about the races and schedule and they were able to confirm the races were taking place and arrange transport on Sunday morning for us. It’s a lovely place, right on a black sand beach and the food at the restaurant was excellent. The races have an odd schedule, so it’s super nice to have people in that region who can call and verify the location and date of the races before you make the journey.

The races take place out in the rice paddies and are attended mostly by locals, we were one of the few gringos there. What’s nice is that everyone was very friendly, a few odd stares were quickly converted to warm smiles just by smiling first and saying hello, it was great.

The farmers dress the buffalo up in fancy headgear, painted crowns, and cover the horns with colourful fabric. Two buffalo pull a two wheeled cart that is brightly painted and carved with the wonderful motifs from Bali. The buffalo have the great necklaces of brass bells that I am determined (obsessed?) to get as a souvenir the next time we visit. It’s become like the birdcage from HK, I’ve set my mind that for this location the bells are the thing to have, and thus we must get one. Before they race they all line up waiting their turn, and it’s like a mini parade. The farmers don’t speak English, but if you point at your camera and then the buffalo they are happy to pose for photos. The farmers were racing from two different villages this day, so there are red shirts and green shirts to tell the teams apart.

Now for the slightly sad part. I feel bad about this, really I do. But…..to get the buffalo to run, the farmers use a long stick, the end of which is covered with small 1/8″ spikes (possibly nails?) which they smack the rumps of the buffalo as they race. At the end it was not uncommon to see some bloody rumps on the poor buffalo. That part was the toughest part to deal with, because it was a fun event and sight to see the races. I would not be surprised that as they realize this is a good tourist event, they may stop such things. We’ll see.

But, let us not dwell on that unhappy business. The weather we experienced on our trip was SUBLIME. I would say the best weather we have ever had. Sunny skies, wonderful breeze. Just so nice. It made it so pleasant to be out in the uncovered rice fields to watch the races. The whole atmosphere is like a county fair, with vendors selling sweets and peanuts amongst the crowd, while old and young, men and women, gather on patches of grass to catch up and watch the racers go buy. I would go back in a heartbeat to share such a unique experience with friends and family when they visit.

Paul and Makepung

Not touch up here, the rice is that green…

I love that this is smoking while he’s racing….

Two sisters-one trip–of a lifetime! An honorary blog post

The Sisters were in town recently. Paul’s sisters Linda and Helen came from a land far, far away to pay us a visit and to stop by Bali and Cambodia along the way. We were happy to play hosts and guides, which for us just meant a good excuse to go out to eat (well, more that usual) It also spawned our very first Guest Blog Entry! Congrats.

So without further adieu:

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First we want to thank our generous and thoughtful brother,Paul, for encouraging our visit, and planning our trip to make the most use of our 14 days in Southeast Asia. We couldn’t have done it without him!  And a big thanks for Ryan for being such a great host.

Leaving Feb 14th from San Francisco and arriving Feb 16th to Singapore (where did Feb 15th go?); seeing Paul and Ryan waiting and waving at us through customs; we knew then that the long travel was already worth the effort.

The first thing I noticed about Singapore, (besides the English influenced driving), was how GREEN this big city appeared. I reminded myself we were in the tropics; nonetheless, compared to other big cities, and given the tremendous space restrictions, it was mature green everywhere. Apparently, Singapore also has a highly detailed and aggressive “Green Plan” for planning and sustainability of the city. I was really expecting a little more heat, given how Ryan and Paul complain of the heat and sun (and given Singapore is just 85 miles north of the equator). But it was delightfully “cool” at about 80-85 degrees or so, cloudy and rainy most of our stay in Singapore. During those brief moments when we had full on sun, coupled with the extreme humidity, I did get a taste of the weather I had heard of. I can honestly say, I’m glad we were there at the end of the rainy season! And being from northern AZ, where umbrellas are mere afterthoughts, I had a hard time remembering to take an umbrella with us.

Our tour of Singapore got off to a rocky start our first morning with some, well shall we say, sickness. It was not a pleasant morning for Paul nor Helen, but it did not get any worse! We are chalking those vomit events up to medicines on empty stomach. My small cold turned into coughing; convulsive at times, but the wheezing did not get in the way of food sampling or city tours! In fact, many of the foods helped to clear my sinuses!

Paul and Ryan introduced us to Little India, China town, wet markets, a world of new fruits, and bargaining for product our first day and a half. We also enjoyed a trip to a Hindu temple, foot massage, and Indian food. A highlight was also dinner with some of Paul and Ryan’s friends for dim sum at a local favourite  The food was phenomenal, as was the company. We enjoyed Ryan’s demonstration on how to eat a pork soup dumpling. I will never forget that! I will say I feel better seeing and speaking with some of their friends I know they have always had a close circle of friends; ever widening; and I feel better knowing my “baby brother” is surrounded by some great folks in Singapore.

Helen and I proceeded to take two morning tours on our own to gain a further understanding of the history of the city; and specifically China town and the large influence (74%) Chinese have on the city.  We did further shopping in Little India then prepared for our trip to Bali for 5 nights

Bali was paradise. We stayed in Ubud, specifically in a village known for wood and stone carving. We struggled (meaning Linda) with keeping purchases that would be able to make the flight back to Singapore. In the end, we made some very reasonable art purchases. Our days were packed with rice paddy tours, cycling tour, cooking class, spa, and temple visits. Something I really enjoyed about the tours was the fact that culture, farming, and history were all intertwined. We didn’t just get on a bike for a few hours. Many a stop to talk about this or that, visit a family, tea tasting, etc.

Last stop for Helen and I: Cambodia. Private tour with good friend of Paul and Ryan: Mooni. He speaks eloquent English, is studying for his MBA, and has never left the country of Cambodia. He is 33 and has a 7 yr old daughter. A few of our highlights with Mooni included peaceful sunrise of the quiet side of Angkor Wat, and a random invitation to a Cambodian wedding (in one of the 1,000+ villages that surround the great freshwater lake: Tonle Sap. )

A common thread of our visits were trying great local foods and shopping. We both traveled back to USA with a full oversized bag in addition to our regular baggage.

Another highlight was spending quality time with my sister and brother (without the ever common child interruption).

It was great!

Linda and Helen

Paul at Monkey Forest Temple

Tourists!

Bali Umbrellas

Wedding Guests in Cambodia

Linda at her Bali Villa

Helen at the Sea Temple

Linda and Helen lazing about the Villa