Bali by Bike - Part 2

After a hearty breakfast of eggs, Balinese coffee and fresh fruits, we rode our first ride to see the Neka Museum about half hour away by bike. The museum houses a good collection of local art as it evolved through the years.

A sample of Balinese painting at the Neka Museum

We also learned that a special religious event called Galungan was happening in 2 days. Celebrated every 200 plus days - offerings are brought into the local temples, bamboo poles adorned with offerings are erected in front of every house and everybody dresses up for the occasion. We decided to extend our Ubud stay a few more stays to catch the celebration.

Bamboo poles are decorated with woven coconut leaves in preparation of Galungan. Each house erects a pole as an offering to the Gods.

Lunch was at Cafe Wayan - a restaurant rated highly by Bon Appetit. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping and soaking at the pool.

Wanting to try another hotel, we ventured out into the outskirts of Ubud and into another town. We found Cahaya Dewata - rated as one of the top places in the guide book. At $55 per room nett with breakfast included (2 persons) , aircon rooms, pool, and a grand river view vista - it was a step up.

It was obvious at this point that this vacation would be low mileage. The humidity was slowing us down. Instead of racking up the miles, we would be using the bikes to get to know Ubud inside out.

Past lunch, we decided to visit 2 very expensive hotels in the Ubud area. Amandari was a super exclusive hotel with bungalows charging $500 to $1000 a night. Even at that rate, they were all fully booked.

The Four Seasons Hotel a few kilometers down was a little cheaper ($250 plus). Still way out of our budget!! The architecture and layout of the place make it worth visiting. Carved and hidden in the river valley, it housed bungalows accessible via golf carts. A single drink costs (comparable to US prices) more than what a meal would cost for four at a cheap place.

Typical Ubud road. It's not as congested as Kuta. Roads are easy to ride.

Aside from the scenery, Bali's beauty is the people. They are friendly and always have smiles on their faces. Everybody is hardworking and entrepreneurial. Never saw a homeless person or a panhandler! They may seem to oversell sometimes, but it is just part of earning a living. A"no" is not taken personally.

Bargaining is part of the buying process we bought sarongs for 20,000 RP with an initial asking price of 40,000 RP. You can get an hour long full body massages in Ubud for $3. Give them $4 and they will be smilingly grateful.

Being the wet season, it was only natural to expect a rainy day. The next day was all rain and not safe for cycling. To make the day productive, we took a tour offered by the hotel. For $55, we got a car and driver for the day to lead us through the major sites.

Our car tour gave us a good overview of the road conditions on the island. When you ask around to ask if the road from Ubud to the Volcano up north is rideable by bike, locals tell you it is steep. Coming from a non cyclist perspective, I can respect their opinion.

For a cyclist, the road is a very gradual climb. The only steep section is about a kilometer or two right before the summit. At under 30 km from Ubud, the route would be a good day's ride. It was too bad we were not able to ride it. For those of you attempting to do this section, IT IS RIDEABLE !!!

Road going up to the volcano from Ubud. Too bad we were not able to ride it due to rain.

The rest of the day was spent visiting a temple in Bangli and Besakih (the mother temple). The last stop was at Ubud's famed rice terraces.

Besakih temple is the biggest and considered the mother temple.

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