{"id":201,"date":"2013-09-13T12:22:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T12:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wanderingwithintent.com\/?p=201"},"modified":"2013-10-15T03:27:12","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T03:27:12","slug":"912-913-day-7-to-8-exploring-ubud-biking-in-rural-bali-and-ending-up-at-the-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wanderingwithintent.com\/wordpress\/912-913-day-7-to-8-exploring-ubud-biking-in-rural-bali-and-ending-up-at-the-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/12-9\/13 – Day 7 to 8 – Exploring Ubud, biking in rural Bali, … and ending up at the hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” \u00a0<\/em>— Benjamin Franklin \/\/<\/p>\n

My German friend and I woke up and hired a driver to take us around Bali island for the day.\u00a0 We arranged the driver through our hotel, and it turned out he was the brother-in-law of the hotel owner.\u00a0 Such was our introduction into the importance of family and community to Balinese people, which I’ll discuss in a different article.<\/p>\n

Bali, an island just east of Java in Indonesia, has a population of over 4 million people.\u00a0 In contrast with the rest of Indonesia with is predominantly Muslim, Bali is mostly comprised of 85% Hindu, making for a marked difference in local culture.\u00a0 It is the largest tourist destination in Indonesia, and visitor numbers are up again after a lull in the early 2000s following terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005.<\/p>\n

After stopping off at a 7-11 for some snacks (prevelant throughout much of Southeast Asia), we first went to the Royal Temple in Mengwi, one of the most important temples in Bali.\u00a0 Built an 1634, it is very pretty as it is situated on an island in a river, its inner temple surrounded by a moat — its Balinese name in fact literally means Garden Temple in the Water.\u00a0 It also featured a cockfighting rink, the first of many we would see.\u00a0 Although cockfighting in general is illegal within Bali due to the gambling it encourages, it is legal when done for religous purposes as is required during certain cermonies which dictate a blood sacrifice that is poured on the ground.<\/p>\n

Next, we went to the Batu Karu temple, originally built in the 11th century and one of nine “directional” temples meant to protect Bail from evil spirits.\u00a0 Unlike the prior temple, this one was deserted, situated in the middle of the jungle and quite tranquil, with its many statues, stones walls, and a large pond.<\/p>\n

It was not surprising that this temple felt quite different from the last one, as Bali has countless temples of different sizes and type – leading it to gain the nickname “the island of a thousand puras (temples).”\u00a0 The different types include temples built on the sides of mountains or volcanoes (thought to be the abode of gods), temples by the sea to appease sea dieties, temples within villages serving as the center of Balinese people’s religious activities, water temples which in addition to their religious functions also help manage water allocation, and others.<\/p>\n

From there, we traveled to the spactacular Jatiluwih rice terraces, definitely the highlight of my day.\u00a0 Because it can only be visited on your own by renting a car or a driver, it is not packed with crowds — and at the same time, it is huge.\u00a0 The result is a stunning display of green layered upon green, stepping up from a deep valley and on upward.\u00a0 We spent some time trekking throug the rice terraces, past the occasional farmer or cow, walking along the paths which double as an irrigation system.\u00a0 Very cool. \u00a0Along the top ridge of the field were houses. \u00a0I kept thinking about what the rent probably was for those homes overlooking such a beautiful area … not much, I’m sure.<\/p>\n

Next was a stop to view Lake Bratan, followed by another temple, Ulun Danu, beautifully situated on a lake, and then a trip to Munduk, a hiking area where we took a path down to see a 35 meter waterfall.\u00a0 It pounded with such force you could literally feel the spray from the waterfall at a distance quite far away.<\/p>\n

The next day we took a biking tour of the island, a great way to see some of the less touristy spots of the island and get to know the local culture and religion. \u00a0Before the bike tour began, we stopped at a coffee plantation, where after a tour of the grounds we were able to try 15 different kinds of coffee and tea.\u00a0 My favorites were the teas – lemongrass, ginger, and local flowers, amongst others. \u00a0I have never had coffee before, but tried 7 different kinds while I was there. \u00a0When in Rome. \u00a0I also tried snake skin fruit – tasty!<\/p>\n

Then we rode up into the mountains in Northern Bali and got on our bikes. \u00a0The new 18-speed bikes were in stark contrast with the meager village where we started our ride. \u00a0Throughout the ride, we drove through what I can only describe as very beautiful and very local villages – riding past homes along the street with beautiful\u00a0foliage separated by\u00a0stretches of green jungle with spiders as big as your fist, and then along spectacular ride paddies. \u00a0We made a few stops as well, at local village temples to learn about the Hindu religion practiced at Bali, and at a local Balinese house. \u00a0The house was especially hard to visit, as the family living there was living very meagerly. \u00a0At the same time, the family living at the house we visited was not particularly unhappy, despite their poverty. \u00a0They had each other and they had their religion to give them comfort, which was enough for them.<\/p>\n

In case you were wondering how we ended up at this family’s home — the owner of the bike tour company was finding different homes in need and donating a part of his proceeds to help the families get food, clothing, and other basic necessities. \u00a0Very noble cause for him, especially given that the bike tour company owner himself started as a servant and worked his way up over many, many years to become owner of his own bike tour business.<\/p>\n

Each village had a different specialty item that they made for local and tourist consumption – tourism makes up 80% of the \u00a0local economy. \u00a0We passed by villages that were experts in making painted masks, others who excelled in stone pillars, and some who were making large vases.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the day, I asked my guide about why people in Bali seem so happy, especially those we had seen that were living so meagerly. \u00a0He told me that as long as people have the basic necessities in Bali, they can live very happy and fulfilling lives. \u00a0He expressed his view that money and wealth is what can lead to problems. \u00a0Many people in Bali have accumulated wealth by selling land they own to companies for development and tourism. \u00a0They have become rich over night. \u00a0He told me a story about someone he knew who always had wanted a car. \u00a0This woman dreamed about owning a car, pictured herself driving. \u00a0She saw it as a major status symbol and thought others would look more favorably on her if she had a car. \u00a0After selling her land, she had a lot of money and bought a car. \u00a0She ran her hands along the outside, opened the door, sat in the car seat … and couldn’t bring herself to start the car. \u00a0It was too much for her – what it represented, the amount of money it had cost. \u00a0She sold it without ever driving it (and lived happily ever after).<\/p>\n

All in all the bike ride was 25 km long, a quite enjoyable way to see the area and learn about local culture.<\/p>\n

My German friend, unfortunately, did not make it the whole 25 km. \u00a0Towards the beginning of the trip, he started feeling feverish, and rode in the car that was trailing our group for much of the trip. \u00a0After lunch (overlooking beautiful rice paddies and jungle), he still was not feeling well and was fearing\u00a0malaria, dengue, or worse. \u00a0After a careful weighing of pros and cons, he decided with my input to go to a hospital in Kuta, the main tourist destination in Southern Bali which had better hospitals than our current area. \u00a0I\u00a0accompanied\u00a0him to the hospital (where they checked our car for bombs as we were driving into the parking lot) to make sure he was able to get checked in and to see whether there was anything I could do before continuing on to my\u00a0accommodation\u00a0in Kuta.<\/p>\n

Update: <\/em>\u00a0I recently heard from the German that his physician had run some tests and found a parasite that was being treated – no\u00a0malaria\u00a0or dengue. \u00a0Last I heard he is doing fine.<\/p>\n

Lessons Learned<\/span><\/p>\n