Monkey Whisperer

Here we are, with our epic trip on the homestretch. It’s been an amazing adventure-filled journey, and we are taking it all in with one more full week in our rooted town of Uluwatu before heading to Lembongan to close it out. We truly do feel like locals around here as we are recognized and waved to with a big smile by many of the locals along the main road. We have left our mark on this town and have been privileged to call it home for the past 2 months. Chantal and I spent a few days in Ubud when we were here in February, and we both agreed that we should revisit the food and yogi capital of Bali with a side of a monkey forest. For the movie lovers, Ubud is shown in “Eat, Pray, Love” and really does a great job showing the culture and arts of this hipster area.

Lazy Cat Cafe Entrance, Central Ubud

Ubud Temple Architecture

On a whim, we booked a one-night stay in a villa walking distance from central Ubud, packed a small backpack, and zipped ourselves up there on the motor scooter. This was, by far, the longest journey we made on the scooter that composed of 34 miles of local roads, highways, tolls, and bridges over the beautiful Bali Sea. Mind you, this was a 2 hour trek through towns, cow-filled country lands, traffic areas that we weaved through, and uneven terrain, but we flew through like the locals we were.

We arrived in Ubud before check-in to get a head start to the day. We dropped our bag at the villa and hit the town running. Ubud gives off a strong energy that you can feel, with lifted cafés overlooking the streets, detailed and vibrant architecture, busy roads, and people walking in every direction. There was one “touristy” place that we had been before and had to go back to, and that was the Sacred Monkey Forest… dun dun dunnnn. I absolutely fell in love with the monkeys last time (as much as they fell in love with me) and I had to catch up with the homies to see how they’ve been.

Warm welcome

Hello monkey

Entering the forest, the monkeys were everywhere, and the tourists were holding bananas above their heads begging for a monkey to jump on them. If anything, the furry friends of mine would run up their backs, rip the banana out of their hands and scurry off before the tourist's friend could take a picture of the act. Little did they know, the “Monkey Whisperer” was in the building. I went up to the first group of monkeys I saw, calmly put my arm up to them, looked them dead in the eye, and gave a little wink. With no exaggeration, these guys ran up on me, sat on my shoulders and arms, and chilled while random tourists jealously took pictures. “This guy doesn’t need bananas? Who does he think he is?” “None of your business, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

Monkey Whisperer

Secret Handshake

I gently let my friends hop off, and walked away. It was one of those "drop the mic, and walk off stage" moments. Chantal and I enjoyed walking around the monkey forest, taking a bunch of action shots of each other with our furry friends.

We built up an appetite from walking around the streets of Ubud and running with the monkeys, and I almost forgot about the fried duck that I have craved since our last trip to Ubud. I had to have the Bebek Fried Duck. Chantal researched the best spots for it, and we enjoyed an amazing duck dinner with huge geckos crawling above our heads. “Excuse me sir, is that huge reptile-looking thing real up there?” “Oh, it's just gecko.” Good ol’ Indonesia for ya.

We did Ubud right for the 24 hours we had there, and had an awesome villa to sleep in with my favorite bug nets that surrounded the bed. The villa was called Kampoeng Joglo Abangan, and I definitely recommend it for only $40/night. We embarked on our journey back to Uluwatu the next morning and traveled safe and sound, with a pit stop at a local McDonalds. For some reason, the McDoubles and Fish Fillet just tasted so much better in Indonesia. What a great trip, yet again!

Crispy Bebek (DUCK) at Cafe Wayan, Ubud

McDonalds Jimbaran

KL Nightlife

After our Times Square experience (see previous blog) we needed a drink. Looking up a few spots, we landed on the most popular street, Jalan Ceylon, with restaurants, bars, and clubs all lined up next to each other. We sat down, had a few drinks, talked to a few of the employees, and people-watched. It was a really cool street, and the workers were telling us that at night, they block off the street as people are flooded everywhere until 3-4 a.m. As we relaxed from the mall madness, I did some research on where to view the Petronas Twin Towers at night. It seemed like a must do in KL. I found Sky Bar on top of the Traders Hotel that had the best view in town.

So there we went. We put on our best outfits and headed to the 33rd floor of Traders Hotel. We had to pay a little cover charge, but it included a free drink upon entry. Sky Bar had a long pool in the middle with lounges and bars surrounding, and did not disappoint with the view of the towers. All lit up, we took some amazing pictures, listened to great music, and enjoyed the view. After an hour or so, we decided to head back to Jalan Ceylon Street to see the madness at night.

We stopped at a restaurant called The Rabbit Hole where Chantal and I enjoyed our dinner until 2 girl employees ran up to Chantal, super giddy, thinking she was Celine Dion. They gave me their phone and said, "Can you take a picture of us and Celine?” “Sure, I guess.” It was absolutely hysterical seeing them pose with Chantal. Wearing heals, she could have been 2 feet taller than these girls. We had a good laugh with them and chatted for awhile.  Everyone we've met in Malaysia has been personable and excited to hear that we're from the U.S.  There are a lot of Brits, but we seemed to stand out.

After dinner, we walked down the street with music bumping from every bar. When we called it quits at 2 a.m., the street was in full swing.  

Time Square: Malaysian Mall Madness

Most of life in KL revolves around malls.  Some are high-end, some are outlets, some are wholesale: regardless of type, they are always bustling.  It comes as no surprise, since KL was modeled in many ways after NYC, that there’s a mall called Times Square, which even includes a Central Park inside.  We took off that morning in search of food and to see Times Square, not at all prepared for what we walked into.  (Note: Jay’s commentary is bolded.)

Chantal and I took a cheap Uber to Times Square (less than a $1 U.S., which was true of most rides on our trip) and as we entered, it opened up into a world of its own; roller coasters zoomed above our heads, infinite layered floors rose up as high as we could see with east and west wings, and people moved in every direction. It had a strong energy that we could feel. I looked at Chantal and said, “Where do we even start?” She replied, “We’re going to the top and working down.”

 Jay’s not kidding when he says we walked into a new world.  This indoor monster mall could be sealed from the outside and probably sustain life for all the people inside for over a year.  There’s a college on the top floor, floors that have pharmacies and other practical shops, and restaurants galore.  Looking down from the top floor made my head spin. 

View from above

View over "Central Park"

We quickly realized that this world, like any other society, had a hierarchy.  The popular, name brand shops were nestled closer to the entrance and ground level, and my plan to start at the top put us next to the places with more negotiable prices and questionable merchandise.   We were laughing at this when we passed a watch shop.  I was still mid conversation when I realized Jay had committed the cardinal sin and stopped to admire a watch.  The eager shop owner had a “Rolex” out before I could even get my wits about me.   “I’m just going to look,” said Jay.  He’s in sales.  He knew better.

It was one Indian man in this shop full of “name brand” watches. He seemed desperate for a sale since the top floor was nearly empty (locals probably knew better). I was looking innocently through the glass casing and watches were suddenly forced into my hand. With every watch he let me hold, he kept saying they are good for diving and swimming; I guess that was his selling point for a guy who looked like he surfed. I had no intention of buying a watch, but this guy was relentless: “For you, I have a great deal,” he said and pulled out a calculator. Fake Rolex in hand, he typed 320 Ringgit in the calculator first, and then said, “For you, 280,” changing the number on the calculator. (Ringgit is the Malaysian currency and US Dollar is about 4x more, so the “Rolex” was about $70).  We still aren’t sure why he kept typing amounts on the calculator instead of saying them. It must be a special sales technique. I said no.  He insisted. Chantal rolled her eyes. Then I stumbled on a cool watch with a brown leather band and metallic face that I was kind of interested in. He gave me the good price on the calculator of 280 Ringgit (and of course reminded me that it was good under water- just what I wanted.  A leather watch under water). I denied again as he passed me the calculator. He said, “You type a price in and I won’t look.” Now that really confused me, as he had already boxed the watch, bagged it and put it in my hand. I took the watch back out of the box and Chantal moved in for the valuation.

I noticed two things right away.  First, the watch hands weren’t moving.   There was a hand to count the seconds, and it was frozen in place.  When I mentioned this to him, he insisted, “That hand is just for decoration,” and motioned that the hand didn’t move on any of the watches in his shop.  I looked.  He was correct.  Not a single watch in the shop worked.  Not a great selling point for my valuation.  Second, I noticed that the matte silver casing around the face had a small blemish on it.  It looked like the layer was peeling off.  I mentioned this to him and he started to rub it away.  Sadly, a huge chunk chipped off at that point.  Like the sales champ he was, he played it off like this was normal and continued to chip away.  We seized the moment to say we’d be back, and this time he didn’t chase after us.  He accepted defeat.

As we scurried off, I scolded Jay for stopping and we laughed as we quickly evacuated the floor.  What do you know?  The next floor opened to men’s shoes.  Jay was already inside before I could remind him of the last half hour.

Everyone close to me knows that I am into stylish, stand-out shoes. I already had on my fresh black and white Adidas NMD’s and saw other similar pairs in this store. I picked one up and quickly realized they were fake…again. The salesman ran up to me pushing the sale mid-stride (Do you see a trend here?) I put the shoe down and motioned to what real shoes look like on my feet. That didn’t go over well because when I walked away they were yelling something at me that I couldn’t understand. “Hurry up Chantal, we need to retreat to the next floor down!”

I was several stores down.  I’d learned my lesson and refused to get involved. With yelling following us, we retreated to safer levels.  Always an adventure. 

The Scenic Route to Central Market KL

There was not enough fuel in the world for our next adventure.  It seemed simple enough.  A mile from our lunch is a famous Central Market with hundreds of vendors; the city is one of the most diverse I've seen, with a huge Indian and Chinese influence, Islamic architecture splashed against a New York-esque skyline, and Hindu colors lighting up the streets.  We excitedly followed the path that maps.me set out for us.

Maps.me has been our navigational savior, as it doesn't require Internet connection but runs off of downloaded maps and GPS.  That being said, it seems to work a bit better for driving routes than walking paths.  When walking, the arrow will sometimes get confused and start turning in every direction.  Jay and I call this maps.me being upset. We don't want to make her upset. We want to stay on the path.  

Our path initially wound us up by the magnificent KL Tower.  We learned our lesson and didn't do the touristy ride to the top, but we stopped to enjoy the air conditioning for a minute.  Our first .3 miles of maps.me took us up a winding hill in the 90+ degree heat.  And then maps.me got upset.  

We couldn't figure out which way she wanted us to go; up by the iconic tower there were only a few paths, and she seemed to keep sending us down the backside of the mountain, through a sort of forest/park/jungle path.  Signs warned us about dangerous bugs and reptiles.  I told Jay I didn't feel like this path would lead us back to the streets and markets, but maps.me was insistent so that's the path we took.

We wound through trees and downhill through a beautiful natural park.  I heard the large KL freeway getting louder, and told Jay we may have to climb some trees or hop some fences, but we'd eventually get back on track.  Miraculously, an opening appeared at the bottom of the hill and we wound our way back to a main street.  We were still .5 miles away.  (I'm not sure maps.me is accurate in her distances when she is upset.)

Drenched in sweat, blistered feet, we made it to the Central Market.  It was everything I hoped it would be: outdoors vendors slinging knock off designer purses and watches, inside vendors boasting treasures from around the world, jewelry, art, music, food, colors, eager shop keepers.  There was so much life.

Chinese wonders

Turkish trinkets

outside market views

We took a cab back to our hotel (and it felt quite like New York city as the meter ran in stand-still traffic). Still, with the conversion, our taxi was only $5.  (Note: Make sure you always get a taxi with a meter when in Malaysia or they will concoct much higher prices for your fare.  You will pay them, because you will have blisters, dehydration from the heat and sweating, and exhaustion from the wonders that you just took in.)  The Central Market is a must. 

We capped off our first day in KL with a long nap and stop at our hotel rooftop before heading to dinner.  The KL Tower lit up at night is magical.  The colors change and the whole city seems to sparkle.  Lights are strung across the streets and inside closed shops.  Jay's peanut butter milkshake at funky eatery Gravy Baby (Bukit Bintang neighborhood) did not disappoint. 

KL SKYLINE

THE COLORS OF KL TOWER

Naughty Nuri's

After settling into our hotel, we wanted to get out and explore KL as quickly as possible.  Of course, we needed to eat first.  Our Uber driver told us 4 days in KL is plenty because the food is so good that if you stay any longer you'll get fat.  So far, I have to agree.

If you've never used Zomato, it's an international app that finds your location and countless food options around you.  You can sort the list by proximity, rating, popularity, type of cuisine, etc. There are photos and reviews and it hasn't led us astray yet.  

Since we were starving, we found a place in short walking distance and we were off to Naughty Nuri's, a restaurant that boasts the best ribs in the world.  Our lunch quickly confirmed that claim.  I've never had ribs before, but I can testify that the sauce was one of the best combinations of sweet, spicy, and smokey that I've ever tasted.  Jay stopped talking to me because he was so enthralled in them.  Everyone working at Naughty Nuri's greets you with huge smiles and welcomes and we were personally thanked by the Assistant General Manager, Mr. Arjan, on our way out.  This was the perfect place to break into the foodie heaven of KL, and to fuel our next adventure. 

Good Morning, Malaysia

Our day started at 4:30 am and we were off to the airport in time to catch our early flight to Malaysia.  We're doing a long weekend in Kuala Lumpur- getting a change of pace from island life (and also avoiding outstaying our 30 day tourist visa by a day or so).  You can pay a small amount to extend the tourist visa an extra 30 days, but with $80 roundtrip flights, we opted for the adventure.

We breezed through customs, were taken on our word that we'd been in Indonesia 29 days (not the visa limit of 30), and headed to a restaurant so we could get breakfast and Jay could get his milkshake fix. (Note: This has become a standing order with almost all meals and the Jay's Favorite Milkshakes In Bali list is pending- he's doing the leg work to figure out the best.)

We boarded our AirAsia flight without incident (unless you count the terminal losing full power and plunging into darkness as an incident- in that case, we had consistent incidents leading up to boarding- but why would an airpot need power?) AirAsia is best likened to the Spirit Airlines of southeast Asia, though it makes Spirit look like the Ritz.  Jay's legs were not too pleased, and as the drink and snack carts passed we were swiftly informed that not even water or ice were free.  Thank goodness it was a short flight- my lips were peeling off.  

We had a glimmer of hope before takeoff, as two entire rows ahead of us were vacant.  Even better, they were the emergency rows with a precious extra centimeter of leg room.  We were swiftly informed that those seats cost extra, as they had red chair toppers.  Jay quickly realized those could be removed, but we felt we'd been scolded enough for one day.  Jay dozed off as I asked him if they'd charge me to save the plane in case of an emergency landing.  I channeled my defeat into finishing my book, and the three hours flew by.  All in all, an easy flight.  And when I say "all in all" I mean the free air. 

Robe Life

Joking aside, our flight was on time and smooth- you get what you pay for and we were quickly on the ground, through Malaysia customs, and in an Uber.  Uber is allowed to come to the airport in Malaysia and is the most affordable way to get around (along with another app called Grab).  We struck gold with our Uber driver, Azizudin.  He was part driver, part tour guide and his English was near perfect.  We learned that his father is a high school teacher in Malaysia, his brother attended university and currently lives in New York, and we got unlimited access to information on the hour drive from the airpot to Kuala Lumpur.  We were laughing and I couldn't help but marvel at the continued hospitality and joy of all the people we've met in our travels.  

My favorite part was when we passed Ikea and he proudly proclaimed that KL (what the locals call Kuala Lumpur) has an eek-E-a. He cracked up when I told him my frustration and PTSD from trying to build Ikea furniture, and said many people just go for the food.  We bonded over the Swedish meatballs.  I don't care where you go in the world- there are always commonalities and my favorite part of travel is finding them.  He was the perfect way to kick off our long weekend in KL.

As we approached at The Pacific Regency Hotel Suites the traffic picked up- Azizudin told us that KL was modeled after NYC in many ways, and the traffic definitely reflects that.  There are also big television screens and a Time Square shopping center.  There so much energy and were awed to see our hotel in the heart of the city, directly next to famous KL Tower.  We can see it from our room that sits on the 28th floor and looks out at the blinking city lights.  And my favorite part?  Of course the robes.  Give me a robe and give Jay a milkshake; we won't even mind if you withhold water or legroom. 

Kites and Sea Shells

One of my favorite things to do as a little girl was to go to the bay in San Diego.  I always loved the colorful kites, so free in the breeze.  Sometimes we would attempt to fly one, but most often my mama and I would lay on a blanket and watch the kites dance above us.  

Kites are always flying in Bali, and yesterday at Jimbaran Beach took me back to my childhood wonder.  We braved the motorbike and made the 30 ish minute trek to Jimbaran (north of Uluwatu). We stayed all afternoon and into the amazing sunset.  

One thing I know for sure is that the sun does not set the same way in any two places- it's different sizes, and shapes, and paints different colors on different landscapes.  The sun is huge in Bali and sets directly in front of Jimbaran Bay, a ball of fire dropping into a cool blue ocean.

HINDU CEREMONY AND KITE ELATION 

LAST RAYS OF JIMBARAN

As it set, we watched the kites, children jumping and chasing them, men with carts barbecuing corn, and Hindu ceremonies passing by.  The Jimbaran airport landing strip to our right, we watched planes take off and we watched with fascination as the beach restaurants dragged dozens of tables to the edge of the water and transformed the shore into a collage of chatty patrons.

The energy on the beach was electric and it was beautiful to see so many people taking time to appreciate the colors spreading across the sky. 

It was no different tonight, as we adventured to a different beach after exploring Cafe La Pasion and slipping down to Balangan Beach.  This beach goes from white sand, to black sand, to corroded rock structures that create tiny pools of water; the sun glistened off of them in every direction and there were so many sea shells.  Just like the kites, the shells transported me back to one of my favorite childhood past times where my mama and I would collect dozens of shells and glue them on popsicle stick frames.

As the sun slipped down over Balangan, Jay helped me find the best shells and I realized how lucky I am to be with someone who marvels at sunsets and will take the time to look for tiny shells in this vast world: someone who understands that it's all the little things that take us from sunset to sunset.

CAFE LA PASION, ULUWATU