Life is really full of surprises with a very common plot like: “if things didn’t work like that then life wouldn’t be like this”. That’s how I met my new friend from Spain.
Anyways, I’ve been staying in Ubud for more than a week. It’s a very great place here! Bali is vast, I know, and the most popular region is in the south because of the beaches. However, I think Kuta and its surrounding are too mainstream and since I hadn’t visited Ubud, I wanted to try. The other reasons that made me want to stay longer here:
- Ubud is located near the center of the land of Bali, so it won’t take me so far to visit other places.
- Ubud is rich in culture and well-known by its calmness and peacefulness. So many yoga practitioners go here. I have been such a busy woman in all my life; everything was too hectic, so was my mind. Ubud would be a perfect place then.
- I’ve got a friend here. Yay! Monica was the one who inspired me in last December and I was so happy to see her here. She was so kind for hosting for a week.
And guess what?? I got a part-time job here! Lol! I have been helping Monica to paint menu board for gelato shops. It really helps me to survive since everything in the tourism spots in Ubud are pricey T^T Lucky to have you Monica!!
One day, I thought I would continue working with her, which I actually originally wanted to do. Suddenly she said we had to postpone and I lost my reason to live that day. Joking Lol. I’ve been having good times in Ubud and forgot I should explore new places here. I opened the map and decided to go to Lake Beratan then. In map it looked soooo far from Ubud that I thought I should sleep there or something but then I opened Google map and it was just 48km away wtf -.-
I slapped my face and got ready quickly. Let’s go to Lake Beratan!!
The view along the way was AWESOME! So green, so traditional, the weather was cloudy and somehow it was perfect! I passed Sangeh, a place which is known for the naughty monkeys and oh! I saw monkeys on the street as well. Not far from Sangeh, there was a wide and long bridge and the scenery below was great. I stopped my motorcycle to enjoy the scenery and take some selfies. Not far from where I parked my motorcycle, someone also stopped by and enjoyed the scenery. I took selfie when I was still having my helmet+hat+plasticbag+masker on.
HAHAHAH! He looked at me and smiled asking something about selfie. I was so embarrassed, I must have been seen so weird that way lol! He smiled a lot yet he didn’t take any pictures. I just knew later that he lost his phone in the sea. I didn’t know if I was so centil kegatelan or kind, I asked him if he was okay to be photographed by me and send the pics via email later. He agreed and we talked a lot ever since. His name was Jose.
Jose was a very nice and warm guy. We didn’t have awkward conversation; in fact, everything was fun when I talked to him. He was heading to Lovina and I told him I wanted to visit Lake Beratan. I asked if he wanted to tag along (seriously, I think I was kecentilan haha) and he said yes because it’s on the same way to Lovina. Then we drove another 20km to Lake Beratan like alayers lol. We chatted while we were riding, we rode side by side as if the road was ours hahaha. Good thing road in Bali isn’t crowded but sometimes cars from behind honked us.
The scenery from Sangeh to Lake Beratan was great! Yes I say this again. The road goes up and up and it was sooo cold. Too bad I didn’t bring my jacket :’( Not long after that I saw a very vast lake and it was beautiful! Just as expected, Lake Beratan was crowded; so many tourists come there. No wonder la. It’s such a beautiful place.
We had to pay Rp 20.000 for local and Rp 50.000 for foreigners. I hope Jose like it there (seemed he did). I was happy I didn’t have to enjoy the scenery alone but too bad I wasn’t focused in taking good pictures. Some are blurred! WTH! @!$^&*#%##
It was the first time for me to go somewhere with bule for quite a long duration of time so that’s why this experience is something new to me.
We talked for hours and I can tell that he was such an amazing guy. Jose has traveled more than 10 countries and I really enjoyed listening to his crazy experiences. What a guy with full of spirit. He is also passionate in making electronic music. Here is the detail.
Time to part! He had to continue his journey to Lovina before the day gets dark. This is the funny part! As Indonesian, shaking hand is an automatic gesture to part with someone you consider not close yet. But since he was Spanish and he had western style, he opened his arms and I bengong and thought for a sec and then we finally hugged lol! He was grateful to meet me and helped him to be his GPS lol. He kissed my cheek and I was like awww. Okay no baper because it’s normal to them. It was so new to me and somehow I was so proud. What a strange way of thinking lol. Bye Jose! Till we meet again!
This is what I like when I travel (mostly when I travel alone), there is always possibility to have extraordinary adventure or simply meet new friends. And of course, don’t forget to cherish and maintain your friendship; that way, you will always have home wherever you go.
Anyway, I continued my trip to Lake Buyan, it’s located nearby. When I was on my way, I met many monkeys as well. It’s funny the monkey helps this old lady to make a living. She sells FEED-THE-MONKEYS package for Rp 10.000. You will get 4 small bananas and some peanuts.
Here’s the view of Lake Buyan
I originally wanted to visit Lake Tamblingan as well and I directed my motorcycle there. Actually it was already dark and I still needed about 2.5 hours to go back to Ubud. I kept riding but when I found out I need to do the trekking to get to Lake Tamblingan, I chose going home. Seriously, it was cold, dark, and getting quiet. Hahaha. This time, I followed my fear.
No worries laa.. The predecessor events were good already. I felt enough!
Love ya!