Bali Indonesia

I said I’d never do it, never ever go to Bali. Too many ugly Australians, too many tourists, too much commercialism, but faced with the desperate need to get on a plane and go somewhere and with limited time I did what I said I’d never do – I went to Bali. Our destination was Ubud in the hills of Bali.

We stayed at a delightful boutique hotel set a little out of the town in lovely gardens. The Alam Indah is small collection of bungalows with a pool overlooking a canyon and it was the perfect place for us as it was away from the maddening crowds but still close enough for us to walk into the main street of the town.

The hotel was right next door to the famous monkey forest and every day the monkeys came to visit and while they may look cute they are nasty little things who steal whatever they can and hiss when they do not get what they want. The staff at the hotel kept them at bay with sling shots and pea shooters.

We ate frequently at a restaurant in town called Cafe Wayan which was owned by the family who owned the hotel. They had an interesting story, the father once had a rice and coffee stall on the track that led down to the monkey forest, he sold coffee to the local workers. Tourists starting wandering down the track to visit the monkey forest and they also bought his coffee so he started stocking a few snacks and things grew from there…now he has a successful hotel and food business. Great story.

Bali was nice for a rest and the Alam was lovely but would I rush back? I don’t think so, it really was as I expected over crowded and too commercial, the Ubud of old has long gone.

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