After a 3-day weekend with a jaunt to Java last week, I had a 4-day weekend this week … gotta love the Malaysian public holidays!
I decided to make the most of my time off with a trip to Bali, as it’s just a hop and a skip from KL on Air Asia, and a return flight is only about £100.
I was given plenty of warnings before I left … what Magaluf is to young, boozy Brits, Bali is to young, boozy Australians, so you have to choose your destination carefully. I chose Ubud, which is known for being artsy-crafty, with beautiful architecture and its own Royal Family.
Everything in Bali is beautiful … they have no truck with plywood doors from the DIY shop –
and no plain, flat, utilitarian brick walls for them either –
And anything that really needs to be plain and flat, for health and safety reasons, can always be decorated with fresh flowers –
As far as I could see, every single statue is also decorated with fresh flowers every day – our hotel had a member of staff whose job was to collect flowers from the garden and put them on each stutue. His approach was rather unimaginative, I have to say –
I preferred those who went for the coquettish look –
or even raffish –
And if your head’s not actually attached to your body, it doesn’t mean you can’t embellish it florally –
There are beautiful gardens everywhere, and this was the view from my balcony –
I even had my own bat, which roosted on a nearby tree every day, and didn’t mind in the least if I walked up close to take a picture –
I’m assuming it’s a flying fox, and I’ve never seen a creature of such extremes before – one half cute, furry mammal, and the other half emissary of Satan.
On the Bali downside … the Balinese monkeys are much worse behaved than the Malaysian ones –
This poor chap was in danger of having his backpack ransacked.
And I will never complain about the pavements in KL again. In Ubud the narrow pavements have huge holes hacked into them every few metres, exposing what looks like a filthy sewer down below –
As the town is so full of traffic and pedestrians, at every step you risk toppling or being shoved down a hole, or if you step sideways into the road you run the risk of getting flattened by a speeding car or motorbike. But on the plus side, I’m sure they rush over and strew flowers on you as you lie stunned and bleeding in the road.