The Wenzel’s Big Adventure

In Bali, we spent time in Legian, Ubud, and Sanur. Legian is a beach suburb of Denpasar on the island’s west side, Ubud is a jungle town near the island’s center, and Sanur is another beach suburb of Denpasar on the island’s east side. Each spot was beautiful and unique.  

Legian is located by the trendier Kuta and Seminyak beaches.  These areas are home to large resorts, hostels, homestays and villas.  The area bustles with tourist activity and has the most tattoo shops I’ve ever seen.  Every 3rd or 4th shop you passed seemed like a tattoo joint, and there always appeared to be someone in the chair. The beach along this coast is beautiful, with white sand and clear water and is a hot spot for surfers.  Although the beaches are stunning (here and throughout Bali), there is a real problem with garbage.  It washes up and piles up on the beach and can be found when you’re out swimming.  It’s a problem that the Balinese government and the resort/tourist community are working on, but it will take years to get through.

We rented a three-bedroom villa in Legian with an open-air kitchen/sitting area and pool. The beautiful property gave us unrealistic expectations for our future properties (more on that later). It was a 10-minute walk to the beach and was within walking distance of eateries and markets.  We spent three days in this area and split our time between our villa pool, the ocean, and walking around the markets.  This was the twin’s first experience with the sea, and they absolutely loved it.  At first, they were apprehensive and held onto Corey, Carly or me, but that quickly changed, and soon, they were floating on their own, swimming and getting rolled by the odd wave. They both enjoyed searching for sea shells, and each came home with a handful after our first day. 

Next up was Ubud. Ubud, known as Bali’s arts and cultural capital, is located near the island’s center and was 33km from our first villa. Due to the congested traffic, the trip from one spot to the next took 1.5 hours.  The roads are narrow, there are tons of vehicles (buses, cars, scooters, trucks, bicycles), and you can’t go very fast; we hit a max speed of 60km/h on the highway, and it felt like we were flying.  To me, the traffic appears to be one big game of Tetris.  The lines on the road don’t seem to matter; it’s about positioning as many vehicles into one space as possible, and they do it without any road rage; it’s pretty impressive.

In Ubud, we rented a two-bedroom villa with an open-air kitchen/sitting area and pool. The property had the potential to have been very nice, but a lack of maintenance and upkeep made it feel grungy and a bit dirty. We expect this later in our trip at the places we spend $20/$30 night on, not $100. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed our time in Ubud. The kids continued to hone their swimming skills in the pool as they did not seem to mind the odd missing tile.  

There is much to experience in Ubud: temples, waterfalls, rice terraces, trail walks, traditional Balinese dancing, etc.  On our second day, we happened upon a once-in-a-lifetime event – A Pelebon, a Royal Cremation Ceremony for a member of the Royal Family.  For this celebration, Krama Banjar (locals) constructed by hand a Bade, a wooden sarcophagus in the shape of a Lembu (bull), a 25m tall cremation tower which included nine tiers known as Trumpangs and a Naga Banda (dragon).  Traditionally, the Bade is black with gold and red accents, but in this case, the deceased requested the colour to be royal purple (tangi), which in Balinese can symbolize rising or waking up. Large groups of the Krama Banjar took turns carrying the three structures a distance of 1km from the Ubud Palace to the ceremonial cremation site at the Dalem Puri Temple.  The funeral process included traditional Balinese warriors and music, and the atmosphere was so surreal (it almost felt electric).  In my opinion, it was a true celebration of life and not the sad, gut-wrenching funerals we have back home.  At the site, the body was transferred from the cremation tower to the Bade, and the cremation ceremony continued. The whole experience was a fascinating insight into Balinese culture and traditions.  

The excitement of Ubud continued onto the next day with a visit to the Sacred Monkey forest, located in the heart of Ubud.  This sanctuary is home to over 1,300 Macau monkeys that can freely roam between the site and the adjacent town.  Typically, the monkeys do not venture into town, but if they do, they return each night. Mostly, the monkeys are tame but periodically get worked up when they interact with tourists, as was my case.  Jack and I were walking along a path when we stopped to see a monkey.  The monkey noticed a water bottle in my pack’s side pocket, scurried up my leg and attempted to get it.  This caught the attention of another monkey, who jumped onto me from a nearby tree.  The monkeys fought to get the bottle as I stood there like a compliant tourist (I didn’t want to agitate them or scare Jack).  The monkey from the tree must have gotten fed up with the fight and chose to give me a goodbye bite on the neck.  By this time, Corey’s sister had started shooing the monkeys off me.  I shook my head in slight disbelief as I walked to the First Aid station; not one week in, and I’d already needed rabies shots.  The following day, I walked down to a clinic and got my first of five shots.  

In the evening, we toured the Ubud Palace and took in part of a traditional Legong Dance (Ubud Palace dance); the kids fell asleep 30 minutes in.  The show is quite beautiful and unique.  Each part is a story, with an array of dance moves and eye movements/expressions.  At first, the eye movements seem unsettling, but they complement the dance/moves as you watch. 

For our fourth day in Ubud, we hired Dewa (a local) to show us around the area. He was an absolute gem of a guide and made the day quite enjoyable. First, we stopped at Alas Harum. Here, we traversed beautiful rice terraces and experienced the unique flora of Bali; the kids participated in a Luwak (mongoose) coffee demonstration, and we adults enjoyed a flight of different coffees/teas (you know you’re old when….).  Next, we visited the sacred Pura Tirtha Empul Temple.  Here, tourists are allowed to participate in a purification ritual, also known as Melukat. Corey and I participated in the ritual, which included providing an offering, holding a moment in prayer and then purification at 26 of 30 spring-fed spouts. Two of the spouts are reserved for the dead and prohibited from being used by the living.  Two other spouts are reserved for the local Balinese. The experience was very spiritual, even for Corey, who almost succumbed to hypothermia in the spring water.  Hungry from our spiritual awakening, we went to a Warung (local restaurant/store) away from the tourist areas that served Babi Guling (suckling pig), a local delicacy.  The food was great, and the locals got a kick out of the twins.  Our final stop of the day was the Kempo Lampo waterfall just outside of Ubud.  It was a trek down to the falls, but the climb was worth it.  The falls were beautiful and did not disappoint.  The falls are approximately 20m high and 10m wide.  The only downside was the lineup of people at the falls, all trying to get the perfect Instagram shot; this is also the downside of most attractions in Bali.  After getting our “perfect shot,” we swam in a nearby pool, hiked up to a small cave (that sorely disappointed Jack), found a Banana spider the size of my hand and returned to the Villa; everyone was ready for bed after the big day. 

Our fifth and final “full day” in Ubud was a bit more low-key. We hiked up and then down the Campuhan Ridge Walk, which is located just outside of the Ubud area. The trail offers a fantastic view of the surrounding valley and the area leading out to the sea. After the walk, we hung out in the pool and started packing for the next day’s trek to Sanur. 

Our final stop on Bali was the beach town of Sanur.  As mentioned, it is located on the island’s east side and was Bali’s original beach/resort area. Here, we rented a nice three-bedroom villa with a pool and laundry.  Our first couple of days were spent at the beach.  The sea was much calmer on this side, allowing the kids to start snorkelling and seeing fish.  We also stopped at some turtle sanctuaries, which absolutely made the kids’ day; Hadley even held a turtle, and Jack chickened out.  After eating supper at a small night market, we stumbled upon one of the sanctuaries.  We thought the place was closed and were holding the kids up to see up over the walls, only to discover it was actually open; we just needed to walk around the side (we may receive a few questionable glances from the people running the place). Sadly, Sanur was also where we parted ways with Carly.  She had been a great addition and help to our trip, and we were all sad to see her leave.  We hope she finds time to meet up with us again at one of our upcoming destinations…. 

Next up for the Wenzels is a little bit of Island Hoping…