Wandering North

Africa Europe France Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

8 hours in Lyon

It makes absolutely no sense. I wanted to fly from Montasir (the airport near Sousse, Tunisia to Djerba, Tunisia. The flight should have taken an hour. Maybe. The buses were too slow and the train doesn’t go to the island of Djerba, so I was set on flying and doing so today. Well, the only flight that came up in multiple searches was a flight from Montasit, to Lyon, France, and to Djerba. It seemed ludicrous…but the flight did offer an 8 hour layover in Lyon. That was appealing. I haven’t been to France in years and never to Lyon. So I booked it.

When I arrived at the airport for my 6:30am flight, the guys at check in thought it was crazy. One even offere

d to put me on a flight that connected in Tunis, but I declined. I was already looking forward to a coffee in the old city.

An 8 hour layover doesn’t mean 8 hours of walking around Lyon. It means 5 hours max. There are a few tricks to these just-long-enough-to-leave-the-airport layovers. I try to check in for both flights at the beginning and check my bag through to the end, so I’m not messing around with bag collection and checking in. That wasn’t possible for this flight, so I took my bag as a carry on and left it in the luggage storage at the train station. I also study ahead of time. If you’ve only got a half day, there isn’t time to figure out when you are there what you want to see or do. So I do my homework and determine what areas I want to visit and what I want to see and how I am going to get around. If I can (as I did in Lyon), I buy my transit tickets online ahead of time and I get foreign currency before landing so I don’t have to waste time in queues. And most importantly, I study maps intently. Like I am planning a bank job. I want to know, as much as possible, what exit to take from the metro and which bridge to walk across and what street to turn left on when I get to the other side. This satisfies both my desire to make good use of my short layover and my fondness for maps.

It all worked well today. I probably could have even spent another hour in the city but I didn’t want to risk missing my plane.

I took the express airport train and then the metro to Vieux Lyon; the old city…and also the most touristy, but it is popular with visitors for a reason. The streets are so charming, with old buildings hung with old signs, narrow lanes lined with cheese shops and quaint cafés, patisseries, and churches.

And overlooking it all is a cathedral on a hill.

I walked up and down the streets, stopping for a coffee and a pink praline tart – apparently Lyonnaise specialty. So good and disgustingly sweet.

I walked down the river for a bit, photographing churches and buildings.

Back on to the Rue Ste Jean, looking for number 53 or 54 and for a plain door, which would lead to one of the many traboules – hidden passages which lead between buildings to other streets and also to private residences. There are apparently 315 of them, but only a few are accessible or known to the public. According to the good book (Lonely Planet) some of them date to Roman times and the rest were in the 19th century. It was indeed a long passage, in some places providing access to apartments. Who doesn’t love secret passages? If only i had to pull a candlestick to gain access.

I then took the funicular up to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière, which is a beautiful 19th century cathedral overlooking the city. There were priests wandering around, as well as worshippers, but they were outnumbered by tourists, so I was able to take pictures.

I then walked to Place Bellecour and took the train to Hotel de Ville to see some of the fancy buildings in that area.

At that point i headed back to the airport. I probably could have spent another hour, but I didn’t want to be rushing to catch my flight. I saw what I wanted to see, had an afternoon in France, and was on my way back to Tunisia.

Africa Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

El Jem

On my second day in Sousse I decided to visit El Jem, a small city about an hour away, which is notable for its fairly well-preserved amphitheater dating to ~230. I know I just said i was over Roman ruins, but this isn’t ruins per se, it’s a structure, not rubble.

I had a bit of time before the train so I walked around some more and followed a small tour group of Germans into the courtyard of the great mosque.

I took the train, which was cheap and pleasant. The scenery wasn’t much to look at – dry land, cacti, boxy villages, and rows upon rows of olive trees. In El Jem, it was easy to figure out where to go: walk towards the giant amphitheater.

It really was quite impressive. It held about 30,000 spectators in its day, all there to see battle between men and beasts. It was fun to scramble around on the various levels and explore the tunnels underground where the combatants waited for their (presumably final) moments.

It is very much like the Colosseum in Rome, but just a bit smaller, with FAR fewer tourists, and 100% more camels.

While there i ran into a girl I had met in Tunis, from Shanghai and traveling solo. We hung out together for a while, walking the site and having coffee.

Then it was time to return to Sousse. And that is when the misadventure began. The train was not running again until after 6pm, and even then was not going to Sousse, but to a nearby town. The main bus station was missing, as was any information about it. So we decided to take the louage – a shared minivan, lie a marshrutka – very common for locals. The girl I was with had taken it to El Jem and had not had any problems, so we walked to the station. One louage was just leaving for Sousse (full). There was no way to know when another would arrive, but there were at least 39 people waiting. The way they work is the van leaves when full, but each van only holds 8 people, so it looked like we might be there a while. I tried to convince a taxi to drive us (and was prepared to pay handsomely for it) but no one would agree. Back to the louage station and even more people were waiting to go to Sousse. We quickly realized that there was no order to the boarding of the louage. When one arrived for Sousse, people rushed at it, cramming and pushing on. It was mayhem. I realized that if i was going to get to Sousse, I was going to have to take extreme measures.

The next time a louage with the Sousse sign on it drove into the station, I and others, ran towards the vehicle, while it was driving. One guy opened the panel door and jumped in, while the vehicle drove. Then a girl and her friend. Then i grabbed on to the seat back, pulled myself in, and my temporary traveling companion followed. As we did so, other people tried to push us out of the way so they could do the same. By the time the van came to a stop, it was already full. It may not have been driving super fast, but I still felt like a low level action hero.

Once on board, a full on argument broke out between the two women sitting behind us and the driver. There was yelling in Arabic happening for like 5 minutes. The whole time, I was stressed that we were going to be kicked off for some minor infraction. One of the women was lightly slapped in the face by some man. Then things were quiet and we left, my heart beating.

Following that melee, the evening was relaxing. I had some super spicy, Tunisian vegetable dish, followed by shisha at a kind of fancy salon de thé. Then I went to bed, because the next morning I was being picked up at 3:30am for a flight to France..and then back to Tunisia.

Africa Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

Sousse

I caught a morning bus from Tunis to Sousse. An easy trip, a little more than two hours. About $4. The scenery wasn’t great, but it was relaxing…well, sort of. I surrounded by a school group of children going to some pro-Palestine event. Loud singing and horseplay. Them, not me.

In Sousse, south on the coast from Tunis, I walked from the train station to the medina and found my hotel, the Hotel Medina, just behind the great mosque. Nothing makes me feel as capable and independent than arriving in a new city where I cannot speak the language and finding my way with a map.

The weather was perfect and the city begged to be explored. Sousse dates back to about 9th century BCE and is centred around a walled medina just blocks away from the harbour. The medina is smaller than the one in Tunis but is no less interesting, the souq is bustling with mostly locals and the streets are filled with vendors selling nuts and sweet treats, kids playing ball, and people going about their daily lives.

It is a tourist destination due to the beaches and resort hotels, though they are quiet at the moment. It is warm, but not quite beach weather and tourism is still suffering after the 2015 terrorist attack where about 30 people were killed when gunmen started shooting at one of the beach resorts.

I walked the medina, browsed the souqs, and walked up the beach aways; plenty of locals were enjoying the sun and sand. I did get lost for a while, due to a bird which shit on my map, rending one part of it indiscernible. I went to the ribat (an 8th century fort) and climbed the watchtower, which provided excellent views of the city and into the courtyard of the great mosque.

Aside from the miles of walking, it was a pretty chill day, which I finished with vegetable couscous on a patio and a cigar sitting on a step outside of the mosque. While I could always spend more time, a day in Sousse is sufficient, which is good because the next day I would be going to El Jem.

Africa Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

Tunis : Plan B

Day three in Tunis started, as they all do, with breakfast. Breakfast at the hostel is bread heavy. Pan au chocolat, baguettes, fig jam, fig sweet rolls, cake, tiny bread doughnuts, and oranges fresh from the tree. The oranges here are excellent, as is the freshly squeezed juice which is available on every corner.

I left right after my carb infusion and caught a (very inexpensive) taxi to the bus station to go to Kaiouran, a very important holy site. About 3 hours by bus, i figured it would make a good day trip and a round trip ticket was about $4. The bus was to leave at 8:00, but it was late. The bus needed repairs. I chatted with a local young man, studying to be an electrician. He told me how he wants to move to Finland or Canada but that it is very difficult. Jobs here, he said, are in short supply. By 9:00 they said the bus would leave at 11:00 and i realized my day trip was sunk. Plan B: the Bardo Museum. I caught another taxi.

The museum, which I was not super keen to visit, was excellent. An extraordinary display of 2000 year old mosaics in an old palace, along with statues and some pottery and other bits and pieces .

The museum, which I was not super keen to visit, was excellent. An extraordinary display of 2000 year old mosaics in an old palace, along with statues and some pottery and other bits and pieces.

I got there right when it opened and it was fairly empty. That soon changed. Bus loads of tourists (Italian & Chinese tourists) arrived. I watched as person after person took pictures of themselves in front of the mosaics, jumping repeatedly to get just the right shot. Comical and confounding.

The museum was the site of a terrorist attack in 2015 and a number of tourists were gunned down. There is now a monument marking the event. Not that one ever expects to be shot, but it seems particularly unexpected in a museum, so quiet and organized.

I left the museum, planning to get a taxi. Tonnes drove by, but none stopped. I walked to the tram and got various, conflicting instructions about which tram to take. I finally figured it out but each tram that stopped was crammed full. Back to to taxi plan. About 20 minutes of watching countless taxis drive by, full. I approached a guy who had a lonely planet and who was also trying for a cab, suggesting that we share, as the odds were so poor and we were both going back to the medina. At it turned out, he was staying at my hostel. It took us close to an hour, but we got a cab.

Back at the medina, I spent the rest of the day walking around, visiting the market, stopping for shisha and coffees, finishing up with a small vegetarian pizza (the easiest to find vegetarian meal).
Nothing quite went as planned, but it was a good day.

Africa Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

Carthage & Sidi Bou Said

Day two in Tunis i took the train North to Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. Having mastered the medina (well, the middle bit) I walked from my hostel to the train station and bought a 2nd class ticket for Carthage.

A 2nd class ticket for the ~35 minute ride was less than a dollar. First class was 2 or 3 times more. The only difference between classes was the padding on the seats and how crowded 2nd class gets. It was an easy train ride; the stations were marked and the map made sense. I got off at Carthage Hannibal to see the ruins of Carthage.

A word of advice if you are reading this and trip planning, as the site is not at all well marked. To get to Bursa Hill and the museum and surrounding sights, walk up the hill from the train station (with your back to the water). At about the top of the hill is a road on the left heading further uphill. Take that road. If you start going downhill, you’ve gone too far. Do not, as I did, keep walking for another 30+ minutes only to have to turn around and go back.

So, Carthage is an important city – in history, literature, and culture. Founded in around 815 BCE, it is ancient and many ruins remain. There was no way I was not going to go, and I’m glad I did…but I think i enjoyed the train ride and the walk more than the sights. If I had never seen Roman or Greek ruins before I might have found it fascinating, but I have and I’ve seen more impressive ones. I felt like kind of guilty walking around, looking at a few erect columns, the foundations of what were once great structures, and piles of stones, and being underwhelmed. I stood, at times, looking at a partial wall or bit of stone and trying to feel something akin to awe or genuine interest, but I found my mind wandering to the juice stand I had passed earlier or whether I had applied adequate sunscreen.

It just required a bit too much imagination. Certainly it gives the history some context, which I like, but i just can’t get excited about ruins anymore unless they resemble what they were, like the colosseum or Ephesus. After about two hours I was done.

Back on the train, I went to Sidi Bou Said, an impossibly picturesque town atop a hill overlooking the sea. The whole town is whitewashed with blue shutters, doors, and accents. Purple flowering vines creep over walls and orange trees fill the air with the strong scent of their blossoms.

It is definitely a tourist draw, but rightly so. It was a delight to walk the streets, at each turn another perfect sight. Around the edges shops sold pottery, dresses, paintings, and souvenirs. Cafés, ice cream stands, and sidewalk sweets vendors lured in the visitors. I had lunch at a curb side eatery: vegetarian couscous.

I trained back to Tunis, with more than enough time to nap, walk without purpose, and smoke a hookah as the sun set. I love how one day in Tunis one can walk down a street in the medina and it is just an empty passage, and the next day the same street is lined with chairs and tables, filled with people (men mostly) drinking coffee and tea and smoking shisha and cigarettes. Like pop up cafés. Very enjoyable. I had the classic combo of apple tobacco and Turkish coffee and watched people wander by.

The fact that I was able to find my way back to my hostel in the medina in the dark without a map, was a minor victory.

Africa Tunisia Tunisia Trip 2018

Arrival in Tunisia

I didn’t have any particular reason for choosing Tunisia, other than that I love Islamic countries and Tunisia is small enough to be manageable in two weeks, but also has a mix of desert, sea, history, and culture.

My flight from Zurich to Tunis was cancelled and the the new flight was delayed, so instead of arriving in the morning, I was arriving late at night. I don’t like getting into a strange city at night. I’m tired, the city seems weird, info booths and money changers are closed, and public transit is not running regularly or at all. So I wasn’t happy about that, but at least I had arrived. I went outside to the taxi stand and haggled them down from 40 to 20 dinars (still too much, but reasonable) and was glad to be en route to my hostel in the medina.

The car drove into the medina until the road became too narrow. The driver called the hostel and someone was going to walk down and fetch me as it is a bit of a maze. I handed the driver two 10 dinar notes and 3 dinar coins. The driver paused, did something with his hands and told me I had only given him one 10 dinar note. I was annoyed. I knew I had given him two because I looked at each of them as I took them out of my wallet as I am not familiar with the currency. I got out of the car. He got out of the car. We argue. He insisted i am trying to stiff him. I insisted he is mistaken (but I am certain he is lying). Finally, as the guy from the hostel arrived, I gave in and gave the driver another 10 – still insisting that the ‘error’ was not mine. I was just tired and wanted to go. I walked off with the guy from the hostel. About 3 minutes later, the driver came running up to us and gave me 10 dinars. He said he found it in the front seat. Faith in taxi drivers restored. Seriously. He didn’t have to come back and give me the money. This bodes well for Tunisia.

After that, it was midnight and I basically went to bed.

The next day, I was able to appreciate my accommodations. The Dar-El Hostel. Tucked away in the maze of the medina on a narrow street, behind one of Tunis’ ubiquitous blue studded doors, the interior is covered in tiles and is about 200 or 300 years old. My room is enormous and cozy at the same time.

I had planned to spend the first day exploring the medina and the colonial section beyond. As i was leaving the hostel, the fellow from the hotel was walking two young chaps to the train station, so i tagged along for the walk and accompanied my guide back to the medina entrance, chatting along the way about life in Tunisia, about how I should be open to having a relationship, and the Fast and Furious movies. A wide ranging conversation.

Then I was on my own. I walked the length of Habib Bouguiba street, which is lined with grand, French architecture in a variety of styles and rows of sidewalk cafes. The street meant to look like Champs Elysees, and it is, except that it is charming.

I had an espresso at a café. The great thing here is that you can order a coffee, for like $1, and sit there for ages. I saw so many people, locals, sitting for an hour or more after they finished their coffee. It was great for people watching.

I then visited the big cathedral, stopped for an obligatory touristy selfie, and headed into the medina. Medinas are basically really old walled cities and are tangled webs of streets, paths, lanes, and alleys in no discernible order. This medina dates back to the 7th century and it shows. It feels ancient. In places the stones are worn down to smooth, rounded slivers, like well-used bars of soap. The walls are high and imposing, to keep enemies out. Today the walled streets hide homes, courtyards, mosques, and restaurants. Some of the passages are quiet and with nothing to see other than doorways (exquisite though they are here); others are lined with market stalls selling touristy items, spices, hookahs, clothing, soap, herbs…et cetera.

It is all fascinating to explore. A map may be of some use, but it is better to just walk and explore without purpose. Eventually you will hit a wall or landmark from which to orientate yourself.

I walked for hours. Eventually i stopped at this super charming cafe (photos do not do it justice) and smoked shisha, watching people walking past.

There are tourists here, but not a lot, which is nice. My basic French is passable, but many people also speak English, as well as Arabic. All of my clothing (both outfits) are appropriate here. Some women dress very conservatively (long, loose dress or coat and veil), but most just wear a headscarf, and some none at all. There is just no exposed arms and legs that I have seen, which suits me just fine. In fact, as long as i have my tattoos covered and my sunglasses on, I don’t even stand out as a tourist, which keeps the market merchants at bay.

I am happy to report that, after Zurich, Tunis seems like a budget paradise. Last night I had a freshly baked mini pizza for $1.50, coffee for 50c, and bought bread, cheese, an orange, and a yogurt drink from the super market for $3.00. (Those who know me know i love wandering foreign supermarkets due to a weird box of cereal I once saw in Tel Aviv. Here, I note that almost all of the boxed breakfast cereals are chocolate and there was an ENTIRE aisle at the market I visited devoted to halva.)

After a bit of a rest, I went for a late night walk in the medina (careful not to get lost this time) and smoked a cigar on the steps of a mosque, watching cats walk the alleys looking for food. Other than that it was quiet.

I think this cheesy photo says it all.

Europe Switzerland Tunisia Trip 2018

Lucerne

I awoke on day two in Switzerland to grey skies. I had a coffee and picked up some breakfast from my favorite eatery in Zurich – the local supermarket. (It’s preferable to spending a small fortune on coffee and breakfast.) Made a bee-line to the train station and caught a morning train to Lucerne. It was scheduled to leave at 4mins past the hour and at exactly that time, it started to roll. About 45 minutes later we arrived in Lucerne with Swiss precision.

I think I did the right thing by not going to Lucerne on a weekend, when it is teeming with tourists I am told. Things weren’t too busy on a Monday morning and i managed to get ahead of the one bus group I spied. To be fair to the tourists, it wasn’t like i was there to do research; we were all walking around photographing the same buildings. I’m just happier doing it away from other people.

The draw for Lucerne is that it is a charming town, easily walkable, with a number of old, decorative buildings, and a notable covered bridge. It is a perfect day trip from Zurich.

The day started out cold and grey, but finished up cold and sunny. Regardless, I Loved wandering the town. Every turn revealed some beautifully painted building, ornate fountain, or church square. There was one church in particular that had these huge, carved, wooden doors, one of which opened slowly when i approached it…but there was no one on the other side. “(The holy) ghosts!” I thought, but i watched as a couple walked in about 5 minutes after me and the door opened for them too, so I figured it was an automatic thing, which made more sense. Still though, it’s a creepy feature; like a petty miracle to convince non-believers to sign up. God saw you coming and he says, Come in.

There were no hi-jinx or misadventures; it was just lovely. I walked a million steps and then climbed up a bunch of stairs to get a better look at some ramparts (they don’t merit close inspection, as it turns out, but the walk was nice).

I had lunch from the supermarket. (Was going to splurge on daal and rice but couldn’t justify the expense). More walking until i felt like i had visited every historical sight in the city, at which point i trained back to Zurich.

I chilled at my abode for a couple hours and had coffee with my host. We discussed, amongst other things how expensive Zurich is (including its health care apparently, which surprised me) and how much we hate the current administration of the U.S.

In the evening i went to another cigar lounge – Manuel’s. it was very busy with business type men. I loved the room and the cigar selection but did’t find it as friendly as the lounge from the previous night. Still, sitting in a cigar-smoking room without judgment (and, in this case, also enjoying a coffee martini) is a rare treat.

The next day i was supposed to fly to Tunis in the morning but my flight was delayed until the evening, so i had a bonus day. I really wanted to go to to this medical museum where they have wax figures showing various diseases (it looks awesome) but it is only open Wednesdays and Fridays, so i walked all the banks of the centre of town (which lies along two rivers and with a lake at the end), enjoying the sun.

I went to the museum, which is small enough to be manageable and has some good exhibits, but is terribly organized. I had to ask for directions multiple times after the second floor completely disappeared.

Finally i had a cigar on the Bahnofstrasse in the sun and people watched until it was time for my train to the airport. (Again, i didn’t want to spend $30 on a sandwich and coffee.) I was particularly baffled how the people in Zurich really don’t dress any differently from the people in Vancouver, but they look so much better. Better jeans? Nicer sneakers? Or maybe it is because they are all thin – probably because they can’t afford to eat much.

On to Tunis.

Europe Switzerland Tunisia Trip 2018

Zurich

Zürich is one of those places that I never had any interest in. Or it’s not that I was disinterested; I just didn’t give it much thought. I figured Switzerland would be lovely but not life-changing. It seemed like a perfect place to spend a couple of days en route to Tunisia. A couple days of charming Cobble-stoned streets, pan au chocolat, and ornate churches before the real vacation begins. Plus, it’s a chance to go somewhere new.

As I write this I am in a smokey cigar room in Zürich (Manuel’s) smoking an H.Upmann magnum 50 and surrounded by men smoking, drinking, and conversing in German. I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I find German to be a very…appealing sounding language. I am happy.

I arrived yesterday morning. Early. Having flown from Vancouver I slept only a couple hours on the plane and only a couple the night before. I was somewhat delirious, but delighted. Zürich was -is- lovely. Pretty, decorative buildings, cute storefronts, calm squares, and rows of enticing cafés. The sun was out. I had taken the train from the airport and emerged in the light at the end of the Bahnhofstrasse – the main thoroughfare through the old town. My first sight was a Davidoff cigar store and lounge. I had chosen my destination wisely.

The hotels and even the hostels were all too expensive, so I opted for an Airbnb, at an apartment shared with its owner in the middle of the old town. I met my host by accident on the street near his building. A nice fellow, he showed me my accommodations, which were more that adequate. Certain friends of mine were certain he would murder me, as his Airbnb listing had no reviews and after i booked it he deleted the listing. Nearly 48 hours later and i am still alive.

After getting settled, i set off to explore the old city. It is exactly what one would expect. Very pretty and great for walking. The wide streets give way to winding pedestrian alleys, lined with antique shops, clothiers, watch shops. Eventually one inevitably finds their way to the river (the Limmet ) which winds through the city, various narrow bridges linking the sides, swans gliding underneath. The sun was shining and , although the city was extremely quiet, there were people out strolling and riding bikes, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes along the banks.

I walked for hours, stopping for the odd coffee, stopping to visit churches and squares. Finally, i stopped for lunch at Haus Hitl, apparently the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. (Very good, but too many choices for me.)

I then walked back across the river to visit the Kunsthaus, an art museum. It was good. I recommend it. The problem was, at that point I was severely exhausted. I refuse to nap when arriving half way around the world. It is important to commit to the local schedule to combat lingering jet lag. But i was suffering. I had, about an hour, earlier nodded off over a coffee at the Café Voltaire. At the Kunsthaus I literally started to fall asleep on my feet several times and then dozed on a bench while gazing at a Kandinsky. It was rough.

I revived myself at the Hotel Storchen, where they have a perfect cigar lounge. Cozy, well stocked and staffed, with medieval stained glass windows and jazz music. I smoked a Bolivar and chatted with a man formerly of Canada, now a citizen of the world. I walked back to my abode in the dark and collapsed with exhaustion.

A couple of observations. Zurich is small and quiet. A day or two would be sufficient to take in its sights. Stores (ALL stores) close on Sunday by law. No supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores…nothing. Just bars, cafes, restaurants, and churches are open. Prostitution is legal. I haven’t seen a single beggar or homeless person (i assume they exist, but i haven’t seen any). Much more German is spoken than French. And it is super expensive. A coffee in a not fancy café averages $7, more for a cappuccino. A lentil curry at a shabby Indian restaurant is about $30. My round trip train ticket to Lucerne (45 minutes each way, in the cheap class) was $75. Other than my lunch at Haus Hitl, all my meals have been from supermarkets. An apple, piece of cheese and pretzel was $13. I’m thankful i brought some coffee and cliff bars with me. Cigars, thankfully, are the only reasonably priced item i have found.

The other saving grace is that the water here is drinkable and the city is filled with these stunning fountains from which you can fill your water bottle. So i’m hydrated, but a bit hungry. Tunisia will be a serious bargain by comparison.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

Denpasar on Purpose & Kuta by Accident

Ubud is lovely. Nearly a paradise. When I arrived I thought I never wanted to leave, but by day four, i was ready to move on. The centre is sort of phony in a perfect sort of way. Inviting restaurants and bars and shops for tourists, English speaking staff, abundant taxis, juice and gelato stands, walkable, clean, easy … and after a day, a bit dull.

I flew to Denpasar for one day and night and realized only then how happy I was to be in a new city. A real city. Dirty, crowded, busy. With a momentum of its own that did not centre around me, the visitor.

The airport is in Denpasar, so if you are going anywhere in Bali you will likely pass through, but most people don’t stay. I would have skipped it myself but I didn’t want to be in a rush to get through traffic from Bali to make a flight. So i took an uber from Ubud (a complete rip off compared to a regular taxi, as it turned out) to Denpasar and checked in at my accommodations: the Nakula Familiar Inn. The rooms felt like your Grandma’s neglected basement spare room, but there was AC, private balconies, and a nice courtyard with places to hang out. And it was about $20 a night and walking distance to most sites. Plus, the manager was great and gave me a map and meticulously marked the best walking routes and stops along the way, after she applied magical healing oil to my finger that i had just slammed in the car door. So A+ for service.

I walked through the flower market, which was busy all day (i walked past it again in the evening) with women selling flowers and petals for use in the little palm frond offerings that are placed at least once a day at every temple and altar, on the sidewalks in front of shops, and on the dashboards of cars. Women set these out, add some food item to the flowers (a candy or cracker) and sprinkle it with some holy water or oil. When they are stepped on or ravaged by monkeys, they are replaced.

From there it was a short walk to the main market, Pasar Badung. It did have a floor of gifty items, but was otherwise a proper market with fruit and vegetables, seafood, textiles, and housewares. It smelled very bad in places, as good markets often do. I browsed around but didn’t buy anything.

I walked to the bird market. Hundreds. Thousands? Of birds in cages for sale. Some common, like chickens and pigeons, most exotic and colorful. I mentioned in a previous post that people hang bird cages everywhere, along the streets even, usually with one bird to a cage. Apparently there are bird song competitions, and also pigeon training, and cockfights. I don’t like seeing all the birds in cages but it was interesting to walk through.

On the plus side, i saw this urban turkey, hanging out in an alleyway.

From there i visited the Pura Jagatnatha (temple) and the museum, which were both nice, but at this point in the trip everything is starting to look the same.

It was then my plan to walk about 2 km to the Bajra Sandi monument. I waved off the offers of taxis. I was content to walk. And, at first, i was. I walked through residential streets. I found a nice vegan restaurant.

But then i realized i was lost. I had gone too far to backtrack, but i couldn’t find my way and no one spoke English or understood my attempts at Indonesian. I would have paid anything for a taxi. It was hot and i was exhausted. I ended up walking 20 km that day. But there were no taxis. Finally, nearly in tears, i went into a bank and found a teller who spoke a little English and who drew me the most detailed and accurate map that got me to the monument. I would send him a thank you card if i knew his name, or that of the bank, or what street i was on.

I arrived at the Bajra Sandi monument completely wasted, but it was beautiful in an imposing and evil sort of way.

I explored its nooks and crannies, then managed to get a taxi. I gave the taxi driver a business card for my hotel which had the address, phone number, and a map. He said he knew where it was. I had no idea how long the drive should take, i had gotten so twisted in my walk, but it seemed to be taking a long time. He said it was the traffic. I then noticed that the area looked more rural that i had seen. He said it was a better road. I then noticed a lot of fancy shops and restaurants and wondered why i hadn’t see them earlier. Finally, he pulled up on the correctly named street at the correct number…but it was not my hotel. Only then did i discover…he had driven to the right address in the wrong city. We were in Kuta, not Denpasar. I don’t know why it happened, why he didn’t see that the business card clearly said “Denpasar”, but there we were. It took another hour in heavy traffic to get back to Denpasar. At least i saw another city, i guess.

But that basically took up my evening. I just had a cigar and went to bed. I am currently at the airport in Jakarta, awaiting a flight to Taipei. And so ends my trip to Indonesia. It has been a good one. I could see myself returning some day to the country, but to visit other islands. Right now though, i am happy to move on.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

No Elephants or Menstruation at the Elephant Temple

On my third day in Ubud i hired a driver to take me to some of the far flung sites. It was nice to drive through the countryside, seeing villages and suburbs, with people going on with daily life, all with the picturesque scenery. We stopped to gawk at more rice terraces, which i really cannot get enough of.

I went to the Goa Gajah temple/cave, also known as the elephant cave or temple, which is odd, as there is nothing elephant-like about it. It is just an 11th C temple with a cool cave you enter through the mouth of a carved demon head. There are also pools with sacred water, but the nicest part was the walk up and down stairs in the lush forest to visit a Buddhist temple and lily covered pond.

I also visited Gunung Kawi which is one of the oldest temples/monuments in the country (so sayeth Lonely Planet). This one forces you up and down hundreds of stairs to descend into a valley to see ruins and temples, then forces you to hike up and down to visit other temples that are less impressive than their jungle settings. I was exhausted and sweaty, but the walking was beautiful. Plus, how could i complain when i wasn’t walking those same stairs with a giant sack of wood or plants on my head like some i saw.

When visiting these and a number of other temples here, if you’re scantily dressed (i.e. shorts) you will be made to wear a sarong to cover your naked legs – a measure i appreciated as there are a lot of people wearing shorts who shouldn’t be (plus, men look good in sarongs). I was covered shoulder to toe in black, so i was good to enter, but the temples here have one additional warning: women may not enter if they are menstruating. Each temple had multiple signs to this effect though there was no one checking as far as i could tell. I can’t imagine any tourist abiding by this prohibition, but consider yourself warned.

That night, after dinner, i went to a traditional dance show in Ubud. (They are happing nightly as far as i could tell.) i’m not a big fan of dance, but thought this would be worth taking in. It was. It isn’t dance in a traditional, western way; it’s more like theatre/mask work and movement. There was a large live percussion (+ one flute) band and each vignette featured one or more dancers with elaborate costumes and masks. It was beautiful. What was not beautiful was the crowd who were the rudest bunch of douchbags. They took photos through the whole show – with flashes – standing up, walking around, taking videos…and did i mention the photos with flash? They also reviewed and edited their pictures during the show. I wanted to slay them all, but i didn’t. I just say there silently hating them and trying not to let that hatred ruin the show. When the cast came out for the curtain call, one of them said that NOW we could take photos. Here’s mine:

But the show was great and very good value.

The next day in Ubud, my final full day there, i started out in great spirits and went to the market after breakfast to do my shopping. I always save my shopping for the final day, once i know how much money i still have and how much things cost.

There wasn’t much i wanted for myself – a pair of earrings, some coffee beans, and maybe some tiny trinket – but i had things for others to get. The market is great fun for browsing and haggling. (Prices seem to be about s third of the first price asked.)

Lots of clothing, carved wooden things, paintings, tea and spices, art, baskets, and the usual tacky stuff.

I finished by shopping just as the daily downpour started. I got caught outside for two minutes max, and i was soaked through. I spent the rest of the day hiding out in cafes and smoking cigars on my covered hotel balcony.

When the rain did let up i returned to the monkey forest for a bit more monkey action.

I felt kind of melancholy that day. I think it was one day too long in Ubud. It is lovely, but i like to be a bit busier or maybe it was just that my trip is wrapping up, but i felt down. All that went away the next morning when i left Ubud for Denpasar. When in doubt, move on.