Day 3 and 4

Day 3 - Continued journey to Ubud

On day 3, our main goal was to get to Ubud, the most touristy city in Bali. That may sound negative at first, but it actually means that there are plenty of opportunities for activities here. Initially, we thought about riding a scooter with all our belongings, but considering the traffic situation, that seemed like a bad idea. So, we decided to get a SIM card, call a taxi/Gojek (similar to Uber) online, and travel to Ubud that way. Unfortunately, we didn't know that the SIM card was tied to the device, which was problematic because the necessary apps didn't work on Erik's old iPhone.

With our internet phone and four backpacks, we sat in the shade of a house on the ground to catch our breath. An local approached us and sat down with us. We talked to him about seasons, skin color, and his work. We were happy because it was the first conversation with a local person who didn't want to sell us something or expect money. Afterward, we went to the Ari Putri Hotel to call a taxi from there.

Regarding taxis in Bali, it's not easy to get a fair one. As a rule of thumb, the 'Bluebird' taxis are the good ones. They have blue cars with the Bluebird logo on the front and sides. There are many scammers who paint their cars in the same color but have similar logos. You should be cautious of them if you don't want to pay German prices. Also, the price should be negotiated before the taxi starts driving. Once the car is moving, it's difficult to jump out and start negotiating the price. Luckily, there was a Bluebird taxi in front of the hotel, and we went to Ubud with it since Gojek didn't really work. During the ride, the traffic became heavier, and we could tell that we were entering a city. We arrived at our new place for the next seven days: the Pecatu Ubud Guesthouse. The check-in process was uncomplicated, and the hostess was particularly friendly. Our room has a balcony, and directly above our room is a pool on the rooftop, which is completely covered in greenery. We were more than satisfied (especially considering the price: 15 euros per night for two people!).

We were rather dissatisfied when we wanted to explore the surroundings. We had to walk on a busy main road without a sidewalk. It wasn't pleasant to have cars or scooters passing by us every 2 seconds. Not to mention the smog on the road. FFP2 masks took on a new meaning here. It also smelled very strong in some places due to burning garbage on every corner. The garbage disposal here is something we can only dream of compared to what we have at home. The overall impression didn't put us in the best mood when we thought about spending 7 days in this city. But there must be a reason why Ubud is so popular, right? We went to a small restaurant for dinner. Freya's food was too spicy and she had to send it back (even though we had mentioned it several times before). People here seem to have a different tolerance for spiciness. A woman who was also a guest in the restaurant briefly talked to us. Her husband is from America, they have 2 children, and she grew up in Bali, etc. When Erik paid, the lady slipped Freya a note with her Instagram name. Who knows which famous person we met there? We'll probably never know. 😄

With these impressions, we went to sleep and planned to rent a scooter the next day to finally experience the freedom that everyone talks about.

Day 4

The day started with breakfast on the balcony, a true joy when the sun is shining and the view is beautiful. We had bought the breakfast the night before at the supermarket. Conclusion: the bread was a bit chewy, but the hummus was delicious! Just as we were getting ready, a staff member brought breakfast to our room. We hadn't ordered it, but we were still very pleased. Free pancakes and fruit, who wouldn't want that! Afterwards, we prepared to rent a scooter at the accommodation. Once again, the hostess was very friendly and had her husband bring one of the rental scooters to us.

(Erik's perspective from here)
That's when things got critical... I stepped forward to receive the speedy vehicle, but I had never ridden a scooter before. Up until this point, the most I had ridden was an e-scooter. The husband apparently noticed my uncertainty and asked if I had ridden one before. I had no idea how to start the scooter, let alone how to ride it. So, telling the truth was the only option. They didn't like that answer and decided not to rent us a scooter anymore, even if we practiced on a side street. That was the last word, and we went back to our room quite frustrated, where we had to come up with a new plan.
(Erik's perspective ends)

The new plan was to use Gojek, the cheaper version of a taxi. With that, we arrived at our destination with ease: the Kajeng Ricewalk. To this day, we're not entirely sure if we took the right path, but we had a great time nonetheless 🌾. The path was initially easy to walk on, but then we balanced along the edges of a river, suddenly finding ourselves in a dense tropical jungle with banana trees, coconut palms, and ferns. At one point, we had to climb 4-5 meters high and ended up on a paved path again. Here, we were at eye level with the rice terraces. In the sweltering heat, we saw workers in the fields. Even walking was difficult for us... It's remarkable what the workers accomplish here. During our hike, we saw rice in all its stages: we saw how rice was planted (by hand), young rice, mature rice, as well as the process of weeding and harvesting the rice grains. Along the way, there weren't many people, so we could experience the rice fields very authentically. Our tour ended at a small café called Organic Farmer, where we enjoyed a refreshing mango bowl. It was delicious! Generally, the Balinese are talented at creating an oasis out of nothing, and this restaurant was also beautifully designed.

On the same day, we also visited the Art Market, where we bought a nice shell bracelet for Freya. We negotiated the price down from 30K to 20K, which is around 1.67 euros. While strolling through the colorful alleys, our first impression of Ubud improved. Between the main streets, there are always small side streets that attract with affordable restaurants and invite you to stroll around. Additionally, there are magnificent temples right in the city. However, scooters are unavoidable. Every road that can be driven on is being driven on (if there's a sidewalk, it's also used). So, no matter how peaceful a road may appear, sooner or later, a scooter will buzz by and leave its own unique scent. We still find the streets quite challenging. But now we understand a bit more why so many people are drawn to this city.

We hope the pictures give you an idea of our experiences, and we once again send sunny greetings from Bali! 🌞