Today is my very last day in Ubud and still so much to see!I am sad I didn't get to visit the artisanal villages Sang Made wanted to show me,specially the gold and silver craftsmith. He had also found me a cock fight that I could attend, I am really sad I will miss that. It is another part of their traditions I wish had the chance to witness.Not enough time. There is still a few restaurants I wanted to try, notably I just find out, just up the road from where I am staying, there’s a good restaurant with a view on the paddy fields, who serves all organic food. I could off gone tonight but I had to pack and write, instead I went up the road, to buy my last can of cat food for my poor Bamboo, who was faithfully waiting for my return from Lovina, not far from my room. I now, have to leave him for good. I hope the gods will take care of him. I think the staff as gotten used to him and they will probably keep him. One admitted to me, that he had given it sausage while I was gone. At the small restaurant, I didn’t ask how much, just if they had take out. She said yes, I told her the three choices I wanted. Snake beans, corn fritters and vegetable noodles. She wrapped everything in a brown wax paper and stapled it, that is my take out container! You eat in it as well it is fully biodegradable. Very little packaging and no pollution, also a lot less cost for the operator of a food business. I had to make her repeat when she told me how much; the cost for my meal was $1! And it was very good. Sadly I discovered here, that MSG is also everywhere and I sure would like to find out how this was introduce to them, because I know every family cooks with it. When we went to the market with my cooking class, we bought our ingredient at a stand, while she is explaining me a few things, people come by and buy this bag with white crystals, I know salt enough to know this wasn’t salt so I ask her, what was that white bag every- one was buying. She said MSG . I was shock, MSG who ever thought them to use that in their great food! Probably some government brainwash about preservative, since they only cook once a day. Also here, a few things are subsidize if you live by the rules set by the government For instance the rice. The government is the one asking them to use chemicals for faster and more frequent crops. If they don’t used the chemicals, there is a catch 22, just like they first subsidized the seeds for rice. Instead of keeping some rice to replant, an incentive program was in place that they buy the seeds. Farmers didn’t know that humans could manipulated seeds, the seeds they were buying were GMO (genetically modified) if you use the seeds from that crop it does not grow again, it is design for a single crop, so farmers keeps buying seeds. The seed company ,were also allowed to patent the seeds since it is not found in the nature this way. Many farmers didn’t keep seeds from previous crops when the GMO’s arrived, so now, they all have to buy seeds for their rice. And yesterday I was told people don’t bath so much in the rivers because it gives them itchy skin, for the first time ever, they are starting to have diabetes, which here they call the rich disease. All, from commercial food ,entering the doors of Bali. Funny enough I found a MSG free diner tonight, and yesterday, I had completed my chapter “Be aware” and MSG was a big part of it.
In town in did my few last errands, buying some ingredients for Balinese dishes, a few good books that I know I will not be able to find in Canada, otherwise I would wait, books can add to luggage weight pretty quickly. Mailed my last post card and this was an interesting stop. I ask the young girl for 2 stamps for Canada, than I ask her if she could show me more stamps. She didn’t understand, so I pointed to her book and ask her to see the stamps. First page are the ones she just gave me, no, no next page please, yes give me one of those. Then she says, but not the same price, it’s ok I said, she gives me the stamp but takes back one stamp from before, I said no this one is not for Canada. She looks at me, and I say,for collection ,not to mail. I ask her more stamp and she ask again for where, I said, next page please. I ask for that stamp and I said how much, she gave me my total, on the last stamp she gave me one of those looks like I was a lunatic or crazy person, you want stamp but not too mail? Collection means nothing to her, she does not know that as Westerners we have money to waste on things that we will never use, or even worst spend money on a collectable item with great expense, which would feed them for a whole year! I knew there was more stamps in the book, but my husband will have to be happy just with these two stamps for his collection. I was near causing a riot there, as every one behind started to talk and look over the counter and wondering who’is the cocoo buying stamps that will never be mailed.
I went to watch a movie at the Rendez vous doux café, own by French people, it is a café library style. You can buy all kinds of used book and they have a giant screen. Everyday there is a screening of “ Bali 1930”, filmed by the anthropologist Miguel Covarrubias. Although, black and white and silent, it is a magnificent film. Back in the 30’ the women were bare breast, the young girls too. The film shows that very little has changed since. Their food was prepared the same way, the men wore the same cute scarf around their heads, and the dances were very similar. The Temples were exactly as you see them today. You can also see the Temple of Uluwatu, which is a very popular tourist `attraction; the Temple sits on a tiny island, mainly rock, in the ocean, apparently guarded by poisonous snakes. I am not sure if there is many left, just by looking at all the purses and boots you can buy here! Most of the beautiful “post card rice paddies you see, are already in the film. This means they have been standing there for at least this long, back in the 30’s this was no easy task to build the terraces. At some point in the film the women are wearing a sarung around their breast. When I return, the porter knew I went there, because I couldn’t find the place before and he told me where it was. I asked him, he said it was around 1940 that the Balinese women started to cover their breasts. The screening is free, and well worth it.
I had a French onion soup, I wasn’t expecting too much of an onion soup in Bali, but the broth was from a French cook for sure. The cheese was very different , it didn’t sit on a crouton and was not “gratine” but some melted cheese was in the bouillon, I could not recognize the taste of that cheese. But the soup was good. There is a lot of French restaurants here, as many French people live here. They are called the “expats”. They have been here for a long time and are part of the foundation that made Bali such a good tourism destination. Balinese admit they only know how to farm, business is not part of their skills. Bali is what it is today because foreigners help in a big way. Most of the shops here are either own by Asians (mostly Japanese), Australians, French and a few Americans. As I read the French paper this morning, they even have quite the repertoire of school selections for their kids, from kinder garden to Natural and Eco friendly school to High End Private schools. If you want to buy a house in Bali, you can find a long list of professionals that can help with the legal expertise and advises, most of them are French. So I would have no problem!
Did a few last photo shots, while I was down at the spa, I saw the lady that did my massage, she said hi and she remembered me very well and even told me what massage I had, she was wondering why I didn’t come back, I told her I was here to work, and I had such a bad sunburn, massage was out of the question for awhile. I told her she had an amazing memory, as she seen many people since. Today is the day I could off had another massage, but I have no money left, I need to keep what I have left for my accommodation and food. Also, going to the beach is more costly, the rooms are not as cheap as here. I had a change of heart and decided to go to Sanur. Seminyak is too busy and apparently too many single people, for someone that is not looking for company! Also Seminyak being on the west coast has the beautiful sunset, I am going to the East coast which is beautiful sunrise, It just seems to be fitting my life now, to be attracted by the sunrise rather than the sunset. Not to mention, sunsets are far too romantic for someone who greatly misses the love of her life! I will keep Seminyak for when I return with my husband! Sanur is known as the “snooze” place! Meaning; older people. It suits me fine to be in that category. I am glad I was made aware of this, before actually being there. And it is funny, at the same time I realized why I could never stay at the other place I was supposed to stay in Ubud. The room was very nice, it had windows all around it, but it was right next to the pool, I mean, 5 steps and you’re in the water, so ever one would see me all the time sitting on the balcony, thinking I am lonely and probably need company. I even went back twice and couldn’t decide to stay there, I didn’t know why. Now I know why, because every time I went, all I could see were single guys, every time I walked by, as it is on Monkey forest road, I could see only men’s walking out of there. And they all looked lik,e the kind of men’s that have no string attaches, with lots of bugs, if you know what I mean. The ones that never resolves any issues they had in life and always blames the others. I am glad now, I have the answer, my instinct knew and I followed, but I didn’t know the logic behind. Now I feel much better, I was truly feeling guilty for not staying there, because it was really nice for the price, I could off save lots of money but I rather have paid more and be left alone, with no one feeling I might be lonely! Every one guarantees me that I will have sea breeze in Sanur. I can’t wait to see the golden sand, walk on flat grounds and feel the breeze on my body. It is 11pm here and my thermometer on my clock says 82 degree, that is without the humidity factor!
Again today I witness the power of the nature, somehow there was a dead tiny scorpio on my floor in my room, yes, I was pretty discussed myself. I have no idea who kill it. In the evening the staff always come to your roam and prepare your bed, close the curtains, change the mosquito coil and open the lights. Many one step on it and didn’t know or maybe kill it but left it there. I just know it wasn’t there when I left the room. The tiny aunt that live here, seem to have a highway from the balcony directly to my bathroom and underneath the sink they probably have an access outside the wall and their nest not far behind. One night I had kill three huge aunts, who usually never came in, I had left them on the floor and when I return they were gone, I could tell the staff I not been in my room either and I thought that was strange! Now I know what happen. The aunts were carrying this scorpion, all the way to the bathroom and than I thought, there is no way they can go up the wall, well did they, many time falling right back down, but they manage to carry their heavy load, 500 times bigger than them to their nest. Now, I know what happen to the aunts I had killed.