Campuan caper >> Bali 05

We were up bright and early today, as we’d decided to attempt one of the walks suggested by Lonely Planet. It’s a 7km-walk to Campuan Ridge and back, which should take about two hours. Thought a bit of exercise would be good for us sedentary city dwellers…

As we climbed up (J: okay, it was a gentle walk up to the ridge, although I agree with Annie that it felt like a climb to two rather out-of-shape women), fields of elephant grass, traditionally used for thatched roofs, sloped away on either side. Rice terraces could also be seen from far.

We heard dogs barking ferociously as we approached the small village of Bangkiang Sidem and were worried that they might attack strangers. However, villagers whom we approached for directions assured us that it was ok to walk.

When we reached a junction, a sign pointed towards Ubud while another said that there were more paddy fields ahead. Unsure which way to go, a European couple walked by us towards the paddy fields. Thinking that the walk was way too short to end, we followed them - to our eternal regret! 8(

An hour or more later, we must have walked past another one or two villages and more barking dogs. The view was still pleasant, but we were beginning to feel the heat.

An Australian couple caught up with us (Hmm… we must really be crawling for so many people to pass us by. :p ) and we had a nice chat. They’d done this walk some years ago and the roads were unpaved then. Since they seemed to know the way, we walked on merrily.

Then we saw the European couple we met earlier turning back. They wondered whether they were on the right track and we told them that the Aussie couple had done this before so they turned around and continued walking. However, J and I began to feel that we’d missed the turning to Ubud as the walk was taking way too long – even for slow pokes like us! Finally, we checked with the locals and they confirmed that Ubud was back the direction we came – a couple of kilometers back!

Oh no! I didn’t want to walk back the same way again! Someone carry me please! Alas! Despite all my protests, back we went again!

If I’m feeling bad, I wonder how the Europeans feel, having walked to and fro so many times (to ‘check’ with us and the Aussie couple)?

We noticed that the easy-going chitchat and smiles had evaporated as the Westerners hurried back. We continued to stroll along since it was getting really hot and we were too ‘old’ to walk that fast. :p

By the time we hit the main road to Ubud, our two-hour walk had taken about four hours and 7km had stretched to 10km at least! Good thing our body’s not as weak as we thought since we obviously survived the walk.

As we walked wearily along Jalan Raya Sanggingan towards Ubud, I suddenly noticed movement on the road in front. Closer inspection revealed a snake, which had been run over by a vehicle (tyre marks). Ants were crawling all over it and carrying its insides away while it was still twitching! Urgh!

Wonder whether it’s dead and the twitching’s involuntary (muscular spasms?) or if the poor creature’s still alive and in pain…

Further down the road and we stumbled upon Tropical Bale, a blissful oasis from the noon sun. We had a table overlooking some rice fields. The staff was charming and the food, most beautifully presented.

It was so relaxing that we had to drag ourselves out into the hot afternoon. While we were walking out, one of the staff hurried after us to remind us that they still hadn’t given us our change.

You should have seen her smile when we told her to keep the change although it was just a small amount. Tropical Bale was the most expensive place we’ve eaten so far, so we’re really impressed by the staff’s attitude. ^_^

We had dinner at Kafe Batan Waru, reportedly one of Bali’s best restaurants serving Indonesian food. The spring rolls, mee goreng and ayam rica-rica were very tasty and the dessert menu was very tempting, but we simply could not find any more room in our tummies for sweets that night. 8)

Next >> Just desserts