Day 52 - Pigs and Ducks

Another day, another morning walk in Ubud attempting to beat the heat but realistically never winning that battle. Today was the Campuhan Ridge Walk. It started with some horrible steps and steep hills which I wasn't sure I'd manage powered only by the Banana Jaffle (a banana toastie?!) I had for breakfast. It brought back memories of doing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks a couple of years ago with Matt telling me over and over that it'd flatten out once we passed the next bit and that not happening for a very long time. Eventually drenched in sweat we made it to the slightly flatter ridge and a lovey walk through more rice fields and greenery. We had a drink at a cafe before turning back. It was a lot easier on the way back with only one final hill to get over.

We had lunch at an Ubud institution called Ibu Oka which by all accounts used to be incredible and now is less so. On balance we wanted to try for ourselves. Their speciality is suckling pig and it's very much nose to tail eating with lots of mystery sausage, crispy skin and unrecognisable things. They start the day with a certain number of pigs and close when it's done. I thought the food was really nice, even if we didn't have a clue what it was. We also enjoy the pig taps, pig tiles and pig statues everywhere as a reminder of what you're eating. Sorry vegetarians.

Then it was time to leave Ubud and we Ubered to Seminyak. (Uber is very much hated here and I get why, the trip was a third of what we were quoted but the taxi drivers price fix over the odds. A fair fee is probably halfway between the two so we tipped the driver accordingly). Seminyak is very different to Ubud. Less about the temples and statues, more about the boutiques and trendy cafés catering for the large number of Australians who come here. They are bloody lovely cafés though. We sampled one on arrival and had an incredible chocolate cake.

Google maps however is less reliable in Seminyak. We needed to wash all our clothes so wanted to find a laundry which wasn't just a man in a souvenir shop taking the clothes home as everywhere seems to be. We found one which looked ok and set out with the bags only to hit a dead end. Over hot and grumpy we hailed the nearest cab and managed somehow to direct him to it, funnily enough the taxi drivers are less clued up on random laundry locations. Cue grumpy sorting of clothes cause they don't do it by the kilo here and leaving praying they won't shrink or dye everything. (Tune in tomorrow for the results)

After all that first world probleming (tiny problems are definitely blown out of proportion when you're hot) we headed back and were cheered up immensely by the best shower of the trip so far. It's hot! It's not a wet room! The shower head is a good height and doesn't fly off! The whole hotel we're staying at is very nice. Only 4 rooms, friendly staff, comfy bed, pretty pool, did I mention the shower? Our mood proved further at dinner. We went to a place called Gapet which specialises in chicken and duck. After pages of options we selected almost at random. We were the only people in the restaurant so if we even turned our head someone would run in from where all the staff were hanging out outside to check on us. They also drew smiley faces in the condensation on the beers. The food was delicious and good value. A meat heavy day.

We finished the evening with drinks. First at a bar which was opposite a bar with a Balinese Beatles tribute group. Not bad, but again not quite sure they got all the words quite right. I sampled some Balinese wine, it was good. Matt stuck to sampling the Balinese beer, also good. On the way home we happened past another place with late night happy hour so stopped for cocktails. Again we were the only people there and the toilets were in a big shopping mall which is an odd place to be alone at night. All good fun.Read more