Day 22:Leaving Cangu for Ubud by Simi

Another super comfy night's sleep meant we didn't really stir until about 8 and then enjoyed our delicious breakfast. Granola for Matt and I and pancakes for Eashan and eggs and bacon for Millen.

We needed to do a few jobs before we left for Ubud involving money changing. In Bali it is easy to use your card which is great as in Borneo we needed cash but as we had some Malaysian cash left over we figured we should get it changed to the Indonesian Rupiah. Matty went to change the money whilst the boys and I did some shopping / browsing.

However a panicked Matt called us to say something amiss had happened during the money exchange... basically his gut instinct told him something wasn't right (always trust your gut when it comes to money changing) so after changing the money he went to a coffee shop to check it again... it seemed to be about 2 million short. Ahh yes, that's the other challenge — the numbers are huge in Indonesia with a whopping 25,000 rupiah being the equivalent of a quid. Oh and also trying to count money in public places isn't easy either, especially when they give you small denominations so you have a huge wad! So he went back to the dodgy exchange place and the guy counted it out for him and appeared to show him it was all correct — still not quite comfortable, he came and found us and got me to check too. I agreed! So this time we all went back… 4 pairs of eyes on one shifty money exchange guy. These guys are total dodge malodge and sleight of hand wizards. If you go by yourself ensure you count the money at the end again and don't let anyone else touch it. He looked uncomfortable that we were all back. It's not easy to see what exactly he did as his desk was high and he's sat down behind it with his hands low! But basically we think Matty was the victim of two cons and this is what we think happened:

The Drop-and-Swipe: Dodge Malodge (hereby known as DM) counted the cash, split it into piles, and surreptitiously dropped a portion of the notes off the edge of the desk onto his lap, while Matt was distracted putting his passport into his bag.

The Recounting Switch: After Matt watched DM count the stack and confirm it was correct, DM grabbed it back to "recheck" or wrap it, palming bills away in the process- eat your heart out Paul Daniels !

With us all there, he still had to work hard to give back the extra money he had skimmed. Satisfied we had the right amount, we left and still checked again and hooray, we had the entire amount this time.

Why the guy hadn't shut up shop for a bit, we will never know, but we were lucky to get our money back and all in very calm circumstances with no accusations flying around — just us saying all the money wasn't there, counting it out, and Eashan seeing he had a shelf close to his hand where he was counting the money, so adding more money to our pile rather than it disappearing… and then two of us counting it again without DM touching it! Anyway, lesson learnt... again!

After a quick dip back at the hotel to relax the nerves, we hailed our Grab taxi to Ubud. Sad to leave Cangu — it's a whole new place we never went to when we were here 29 years ago. Heavily westernised with a trendy, youthful energy reminiscent of Tulum, it is packed with surfing outfits, wellness centres, beach clubs and endless shops — it doesn't feel like traditional Bali. Don’t get me wrong, we happily devoured the fancy coffees, beers and gorgeous food; but we were ready for some more natural Bali beauty! Slight oxymoron as Ubud has developed so much too... anyway, let's see!

Grab is unbelievably cheap! The taxi took about an hour and a quarter and cost us £12! We checked in to our next hotel, dumped our bags and went for a wander.

Millen found a place round the corner for some late lunch which was delicious. Fuelled, we were ready to tackle the very busy streets and see what we could spot.

Central Ubud was less frenetic than Cangu but still crazy. Just strolling through is a thrilling sensory overload. The air smelt of so much — frangipani, the tropical flowering trees which are everywhere in Ubud, clove cigarettes, roasting coffee, incense curling up from little palm-leaf trays (the canang saris) left on doorsteps. The main road, Jalan Raya Ubud, is a tangle of scooters weaving around delivery trucks and wandering tourists, the constant buzz of engines mixing with gamelan music drifting out of shopfronts and the occasional temple ceremony.

Down the smaller lanes, or gangs as they're called, we found ourselves walking past family compounds with their carved stone gates, roosters in bamboo cages, dogs sleeping in doorways... always such gentle dogs.

The Ubud Palace sits right in the thick of things, its dark volcanic stone carvings and tiered roofs looking almost otherworldly against the modern cafés across the street. Nearby, the art market is a crush of stalls. We left this for another day! Everywhere you go, vendors calling out prices, bargaining as its own kind of theatre.

The other thing about Ubud that is special is the number of temples and shrines. Bali is over 80% Hindu, and Ubud especially wears that faith on its sleeve. It's not one big temple you visit and move on from (even though there is that too) — it's woven into the fabric of daily life everywhere you look.

Every family compound has its own small temple in the corner. We wanted to go into one — the Shiva one. We were welcomed warmly by the family and it was stunning. I especially love that religion is such an important part of Bali — maybe I feel this way as it's my religion, even though it's different to what I know from India. It brings me a warmth, a reconnection to not only my roots but just more love for my parents who had such strong faith.

Browsing through the shops and stalls we hatched a plan for tomorrow — instead of a guided tour to see some of the wonderful sights around Bali, we preferred to do things at our own pace, so we looked into hiring a car. Goodness knows what we would get, but for £15 for the whole day, we need to create a new word as bargain doesn't even cut it. Matt checked the car and was happy to report back it had 4 wheels and a steering wheel. We were set! 🤣

We thought it was time to stop for a refreshment, and luckily it was happy hour. I had a ginger sensation, Matt had a rosemary sunrise and Millen was treated to a margarita. Eashan had an avocado and chocolate shake. Soooooo good!

Matt and Eashan were keen to head back to "unstick" and have a quick swim so they took some Grab scooters back to the hotel. Millen and I carried on with our wander!

As we walked toward Monkey Forest Road, the energy shifted again: boutique shops, juice bars, and yoga studios with open-air decks, the scent of coconut and turmeric from the cafés. Millen and I were rather proud of ourselves identifying the long-tailed macaques rather than just shouting out "monkey monkey" like some of the other tourists.

We fulfilled our browsing cups and spotted coconut ice creams, Bali monopoly, wooden incense holders, kopi luwak (civet coffee — the famous coffee made from beans that have been eaten and partially digested by the Asian palm civet then collected from its droppings — however Millen informed me we can't buy any of this as it is extremely controversial due to animal welfare concerns with caged civets, so we refrained), the ubiquitous elephant print harem traveller pants, silver jewellery, made-to-measure yoga gear, essential oils and spa products… just a small sample of what we saw!!

Tired, we met up with the others for dinner and drinks at a rooftop tapas place. The food was okay — ha, nothing to write home about (for once!). Ready for bed, we scootered home to get ready for tomorrow's exciting adventures.Read more