Stairs, Sidewalks, Shops, and Simians

LuRue had thought (hoped) she had left stair-climbing behind in the Candidasa area, but no, she has found herself on a mountainside where everything is on a slope...often moss-covered in this humid, moist atmosphere. And often with no railing to hold onto. The process of getting from A to B is slow and not pretty to watch, but it gets the job done.

Our hotel is perched in a gorgeous area...on a mountainside.

From the parking lot to Reception

From Reception toward our room

Down to our room 

From our room to the swimming pool

After breakfast this morning, Montana and LuRue headed for the Monkey Forest. Since the hotel is adjacent, it wasn't far to go. It wasn't like bird-watching where you have to be peering up into the treetops to catch sight of elusive species. Monkeys everywhere...underfoot, on railings, on people. There are many stands where you can buy food to feed them. Montana, ever the moneysaver, found chunks of fruit lying on the ground, so enticed some in that way. After she was ignored several times, she decided that the monkeys didn't like bananas without peels. She eventually found the right combination.

Seems they like skirts, too!

Several families inhabit the forest and sometimes seem to be territorial. Montana captured a confrontation between two large monkeys.

After exploring all the trails in the Monkey Forest, Montana and LuRue headed to the market in central Ubud. With the sidewalk tiles cracked, sloped, and sometimes missing (as in a hole large enough to fall through), LuRue spent most of her time looking at her feet. Traffic was slightly better than in Candidasa as the street is one way for cars...motorbikes don't count, though.

We decided that Ubud is the city cousin compared to its country cousin of Candidasa. Quite a few upscale shops. LOTS of tourists...sometimes hard to spot any local people that aren't trying to get you to take their taxi, eat their food, or sell you a souvenir. We finally did find the local Ubud market in the city center. It is very colorful with everything imaginable to sell.  

We managed to work in scoops of gelato at the beginning and middle of the walk (we're guessing 1.5 to 2 miles). Just before getting back to the hotel, we were feeling dehydrated, so stopped at a boutique-type restaurant where LuRue ordered a bottle of coconut water and Montana had a "Kiss Me Ketut", a strawberry, watermelon, mint drink.

After a hot (sweat-drenching for LuRue) walk, we changed into bathing suits and headed for the pool.

Montana sharing the pool with some other guests.

While LuRue was writing the blog for today, Montana snuck through an open gate at the base of our reception stairs, plunging her into the Monkey Forest. She came back in time for dinner, but said that she had been attacked by a variety of insects. We decided that monkeys and insects probably go together. 

We decided on dinner at Laka Leke Restaurant, which is across the street and down a couple of doors. Turns out that there would be a Children's Dance Performance at 8:00. For dinner, the waitress suggested a set menu of which the entree was a sampling of about 8 main courses. At first, LuRue indicated 2 dinners, but fortunately Montana spoke up about sharing one dinner. Good thing, as one was more than enough!

The music & dancers began on time & we had front row seats. The girls were tiny...we were speculating their ages at about 10 (by averaging LuRue's and Montana's guesses). Their makeup made them look like adults. About midway through, a few raindrops turned into a real rain & the spectators scrambled for cover, leaving the dancers to finish their routine. As soon as the last note was played, the musicians jumped up with their instruments and also ran for cover. After 10 minutes or so, the rain stopped and the program resumed. The final dance was two older girls, who finished by bringing people to the stage. Montana breathed a sigh of relief when she wasn't chosen...that time. Turned out she was asked, but she declined. A couple of the women who went looked like they had had some training (unlike the two of us). We left as people were having their photos taken with the whole troupe. A very nice evening!!

Activities director Montana has some intriguing things planned for us for the next couple of days. We're looking forward to learning about some special Indonesian art forms.