Intriguing immersions in Bali (June 2002)-- Part 3

Almost trekking 

About a 45 min. drive from Ubud we found chalets on a ridge. We decided to park and then explore. The morning dew was still on the ground while we negotiated sets of wooden stairs and zigzagging paths rewarding us with breathtaking scenery - gorges,mist-covered hills,terraced paddy fields, and vegetable patches. We found a restaurant that we thought would be Ok with our digestive system.

Conned in Monkey forest

It was time to move on. We drove though the monkey forest, paused by the Gua Gajah and drove on through the hills and forests with not a soul in sight. We didn't have either a GPS or a map. Is it possible to get lost on such a small island? After about an hour of this bravado we encountered a road block.The policemen manning it insinuated that we had broken a rule and demanded $20 which we readily handed over and drove away as quickly as possible. A little later we encountered another roadblock and got suspicious. I don't know how we got away but we did. These roadblocks were fake. We had been conned. Enough of monkeys!

Ghandi in Bali

Anyway we were just driving about haphazardly taking in the little neat villages that began to come up now and then. We stumbled upon a place called Ghandi Ashram in Candidasa. Intrigued we stopped to enquire. They had cottages to rent.We decided to stay there for a few days. Some bungalows were closer to the lagoon, others closer to the main building, all with fantastic sea views. The brick and thatch bungalow, our cottage, stood on the edge of the a lagoon that was bordered by huge pandanus plants. It was a haven for birds. The cottage was rudimentary. No hot water.

Put in a modicum of work to deserve a shellful of repast

Everywhere you turned, either in the cottage or in the large tree covered lawns were quotes from Ghandi. Everybody staying in the Ashram contributed to its daily chores in some way or other. Drink raked the gardens. We had meals in a pavilion. after a short prayer - a verse from the Gita sung in the original Sanscrit. We each had a coconut shell to eat from. Austerity was the key. 

We decided to cook a day's lunch for everybody at the ashram. So with the help of one of the ashramites we visited the local market to get all my spices and vegetable. (I found a cobbler who mended by slippers in a jiffy.) Getting back to the Ashram's kitchen we cut, chopped, ground etc and produced a meal with 3 different vegetable dishes. An Australian, a frequent guest of the Ashram, and who often stayed for months, made not only his own yogurt but also baked bread (using toddy instead of yeast as a rising agent)in a wood burning brick oven. There were stories to share as we ate the meal sitting cross legged in a pavilion. At sun set, a prayer chant was held over a fire. The experience was refreshing, rejuvenating.

Skeletal reset

At that time a group of chiropractors from all over the world had converged in Bali for a conference. Some of them volunteered at the ashram and we allowed ourselves to be treated for our minor discomforts.

A lesson in Indian cuisine for a chef

After this retreat we drove north along the Eastern Coast and found a room with its huge windows facing the sea. The bathroom had only swing doors like in the taverns of old Westerns. The sunset washed through the whole room as we sat watching the huge waves crashing on to the shore creating huge sprays against the protective esplanade. We set off again the next day to yet another villa set along the east coast. This time the villa was of typical Balinese structure with modem amenities. Most attractive about it was the bathroom --it was open to the skies, had a cobblestone floor and water poured out from a tilted earthenware pot. We spent the evening on the hammocks and deck chairs by the sandy beach under the coconut trees. The hotel's chef enjoyed talking to us. He invited us into his kitchen and I walked him through the basics of an Indian curry.

The next day we continued along the route, and we were beginning to see more towns. This time we opted to stay at a duplex along Lovina beach,in Singarajah. The hotel's kitchen was a small little booth along the shore, a stone's throw from our room. A low sea wall protected the residences from the sea which washed against it at high tide.The girls there allowed us to cook a meaI for ourselves. The beach was hard to walk on as were the rest of the beaches in that stretch of our drive. They were a bit rocky. Walking on the bristly washed up coral from the reefs beyond was painful. The reef cut our feet. Early in the morning we took a catamaran ride to catch the elusive dolphins as the sun rose. And as we drive out  a Buddhist temple  Brahma Arama Vihara, with balinese Hindu features loomed before us completely dumbfounding us.