5/23/10 (ubud)
Annie Lin
Ubud – Penelokan – Ubud
Today was our final full day in Ubud. We had to forgo climbing Gunung Batur since we were both still recovering from our motorbike accident. Most people start at the base around 2am to catch the sunrise at the top of the mountain. It takes about two to three hours to reach the top. Even though we were really bummed about not being able to do the climb we still wanted to see a sunrise over the volcanic mountain. We made arrangements with Suma to take us at 5am just before sunrise to a town called Penelokan. When we arrived we were surprised at how chilly it was. It was even cold enough to put on a jacket. The sun was just coming up as Jon set up his time-lapse video.
Right next to the still active volcanic mountain is another mountain though smaller and a river in between. We were quite a ways from the mountain and could see small villages at the base of the mountain. To our left was Gunung Agung, the highest peak in Bali. The sky was scattered with patches of red, orange, and yellow. It was a beautiful view.
However, with the blink of an eye a thick layer of fog engulfed the tip of the mountain. Jon had to stop his video since the humidity was fogging up his camera and the fog was so thick we could barely see anything. We were really bummed. No one knew if the fog would dissipate. The man who ran a coffee shop nearby assured us that the fog would be gone after we got a hot drink. We decided to take his advice and wait it out for a little bit. After about fifteen minutes it did seem that the fog was thinning and we could see the tip of the mountain again. Jon decided to give the time-lapse another try but after a few minute the fog rolled back in again. We decided it was time for us to leave. For that brief moment when we caught the sun rising above the fog and clouds it was a pretty spectacular view.
We arrived back at our home stay around 9am and after lounging around a bit it was time to write our backlog of daily updates. We hadn’t written any since we arrived in Ubud and decided before we leave we need to get caught up or be too far behind. After we finished writing our updates we grabbed lunch and posted the updates on our blog. Even while traveling we’ve learned that procrastination doesn’t pay off when we let our blog fall by the waist side.
After lunch we headed to the Perama station to buy our tickets to Lombok, an island east of Bali. We heard that Lombok is more laid back and not as busy as Bali. The ex-pats we met the other night highly recommended Lombok and said there were some great surf spots. Getting to Lombok wasn’t going to be easy. We had to take an hour long bus to Padang Bai, a four hour slow ferry to Lembar, and then an hour and a half bus ride to Sengiggi. We started to get mentally prepared for the trip.
When we returned to our home stay we packed our bags and snapped some photos and video of the place. Originally we had only intended on staying for three nights but ended up extending to five nights. We were a bit sad to leave the place. While we weren’t going to miss the roosters croaking all day long we really enjoyed our stay. Our hosts were very hospitable and did everything to make sure our stay was comfortable. They even had a table brought in from somewhere for Jon to use in our room because they noticed he was using a small nightstand as his computer table.
We chose our home stay because we wanted a different experience and it was the top choice on trip advisor. I usually take the ratings on trip advisor with a grain of salt but this time I have to stay they were pretty spot on. We got to stay in the middle of rice fields and though they didn’t have air conditioning the other amenities were more than we expected. It was located just off the main strip so close enough for us to walk to restaurants. We would consider staying there again if the farmer figures out a way to quiet the roosters.
Sawah Sunrise Bed and Breakfast – Ubud
Host: Suma (Mary actually owns the home stay but Suma runs it while she is away)
081-337-229-247 (cell) or 361-318-2740 (home)
For a small fee of 20,000 rupiah he will pick you up from the Perama bus station.
We also recommend renting a motorbike from Suma’s friend though I don’t remember his name. He only operates in the Ubud area and will bring the bike to your accommodations. He charged us $70/day (including insurance for up to $200 US dollar). We later found out that you don’t really need the insurance and haven’t gotten it when we have rented motorbikes again. He was a little bummed we scratched his bike since it was brand new but we worked out a deal and paid him $20 for the minor scratches. Overall he was a cool guy.
Surya Transport – car and motorbike rental
Dagus_gony@hotmail.com or 085-237-260-646 (cell)
Reader Comments (1)