Arrived At Homestay 'Rumah Roda" In Ubud, Bali

It Was A Long Flight, But Was Worth It!

After a sleepless 12 hour red eye flight from San Francisco to Taiwan, a 3 hour layover, and a final 7 hour flight to Bali, I arrived at 2:20pm, feeling weary but also felt much anticipation.   To my relief, the arranged driver was patiently standing outside the airport, looking a bit bored and waving a paper sign. I chuckled when I saw my last name badly misspelled as usual.  After climbing into his van, the next 1 hour drive from the airport to Ubud was more nerve wrecking than I ever remembered, while my driver tried his best to avoid the many weaving motorbikes that were pouring out clouds of toxic fumes.

When we finally approached the village of Ubud, I was thrilled to recognize the street "Monkey Forest" road and could feel a surge of energy.  There was a colorful flow of memories from past years and an indescribable welcoming feeling.  I had reservations via email for Rumah Roda homestay, which I researched on the internet as being a very good choice.  It has a traditional Balinese family compound with a three story building at the rear of the property offering 8 guest rooms.



 #24 Jn Kajeng, Rumah Roda entryway, Ubud, Bali

When I entered the homestay Rumah Roda, the family was welcoming and showed me my room
on the 2nd floor, which had a nice view of the family temple and also a peek a boo view of the neighbors properties.  Grandpa was sitting in the center of the compound in a  yogi position,
peeling a mound of garlic cloves and scraping out coconuts. I tried to ask him for a clove but he didn't seem to understand and it didn't seem right to snatch one from the pile.  Grandma was making temple offering with flowers, girls were sweeping with handmade brooms and roosters were still crowing in the mid day.

I slowly unpacked and it suddenly became dark at 6pm, when I took an awesome walk, circling the busy streets of Ubud.  Sadly, some of my favorite cafes and hangouts were replaced with new upscale shops.  But on the up side, I happily found Wayan , my favorite bungalow boy from a previously torn down bungalow,  sitting in his outdoor clothing stall. He was shocked when he saw me and remembered my name.  "Of course I remember you",  he said, "I still have a photo of you posted on my wall at home, and I walk by it everyday". "How can I forget you".    After a short sweet visit with Wayan, I started to feel jet lag and walked back to my homestay, Romah Ruda. I  slept well with ear plugs and woke up feeling amazingly refreshed.

When staying in a traditional Balinese  home stay you will have an experience in observing what happens on a daily basis within the Balinese culture.  The rooms are basic with scant furniture, a few lingering insects who appear to be in meditation while sitting on the bathroom counter top and an old fashioned Balinese version of cleanliness, good but not impeccable.

In the evenings the family may be seen flopped down on pillows, spread out on an outdoor platform

while all together watching TV, a fairly new addition to Balinese life.  They are reserved with basic friendliness but I had some disappointed that it wasn't quite as friendly  as I had read in the reviews. 
I quickly became aware of other guests being shuffled out of their rooms and being moved down the road to another family guesthouse, as to temporarily accommodate new guests.  Hopefully that won't happen to me!

The rooms all overlook a small pool down as well as an outdoor temple cluttered with building supplies and surrounding neighborhood family compounds.  The front entry area displayed a collection of family photos / paintings including one bizarre painting of young frightened girls running in the rice fields away from a man who appeared to boast a large erection. I'm still trying to figure out the feng shui that this particular photo portrays while it hangs proudly in the front entry area.  Someone please enlighten me!

Then there are a few loud, might I say "active" roosters in the immediate neighborhood with one pathetic wailing rooster immediately next door that just doesn't quit.  One of the staff members admitted that it is supposedly an expensive specialty bird that their neighbor displays in a cage.  They all hate the constant rooster wailing and in fact puts out so much bad energy that it gives them bad dreams at night.  But unfortunately, there is nothing she or anyone else can do since the Balinese seem to love their roosters and the variety of songs that they sing.

Rumah Roda pool, Ubud, Bali

The semi outdoor restaurant at the front and up on the second floor is where the included

breakfast is served. It is a good place to meet people from this homestay as well as other tourists
from the neighborhood.

The prices were reasonably priced but unfortunately I found that the Sunday buffet was overly spicy for me which required me to leave the table after the first two bites.  Also it wasn't quite as peaceful as it looked.  There were many motorbikes racing back and forth along the road driven by what look like 10 or 12 year olds.  I suspect that if there is an age limit, it is not enforced.  Needless to say, I learned quickly to say a little prayer and to hug the far side of the road.
I guess every area within Ubud and each homestay comes with their unique pros and cons but I will always come back to Rumah Roda.  The homestay is authentically Balinese and the owners are generous with giving out information about local events, especially when you let them know in advance that you are interested in Balinese ceremonies..

Rumah Roda upstairs restaurant, Ubud, Bali

(Update:  The rooms now all  have AC,  a small refrigerator and a TV. )

First Morning Walk Through the Rice Paddies, Ubud, Bali

As soon as the morning light filtered into my room, I forced myself to get up and out of the door, which is usually difficult because  I am not a morning person.   I headed out to the rice paddies when it seemed that most people were still asleep.  One of my favorite things to do is to take long quiet walks, usually alone, to explore the off beat  paths, when the light is soft and only the sounds  of nature are heard.  There are the cackling sounds of bugs, the chirping of birds and the rushing of water throughout the old Bali  irrigations canals circulating the rice paddies. 

There is so much peace and serenity out in the back roads and fortunately the Balinese are agreeable to photos, like the man above.



Along the path, a man  offered me a coconut.  Silly me, I thought he would climb the tree just like  remember in the past.  But  instead he had several coconuts piled up in his secret hideout. With proficiency, he cut off a slice from the  top and then a slice off the bottom finally inserting a straw, handing it to me with a wide stained tooth grin.  I was told later I  paid him twice too much - 20000 rupiahs ($1.5 dollars) and apparently I forgot to bargain the price, feeling blissed out in the rice paddies.



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This girl is making offering, wafting incense and repeating mantras for the Gods in her family temple.  The dog apparently wants to be part of the ritual.  He is one of the lucky ones, a well fed, sweet little pet,

and one that will not be cooked for dinner.  Yes, in Bali, dog meat may be on the menu but it is usually in the country at local food diners and not in the tourist areas.

These are typical offerings that are created by the women of the house and placed up onto the family alters, at the front entry of the house, on the ground and other locations.  Sometimes, like the one above they add a cigarette, a piece of candy or a can of soda with the intention that  they will make the Gods happy. At the very least an offering is made before each meal.



Saraswati Day of Knowledge and Wisdom, Ubud, Bali

On Oct 4, it was the day of Saraswati, celebration of the Hindu goddess of education and wisdom.  The Balinese people bring offerings to their holy books in their house, while students celebrate in school, and office workers in their office, as well as celebrating at their outdoor temples. The philosophy behind the day of  Saraswati is that the most important thing for human life is knowledge. www.balispirit.com/events Twenty five years ago, I first visited Bali during the same week of the Saraswati celebration and it seems now, that I have come full circle. The ambience 25 years ago was very quiet and simple, the rice paddies stretched out forever,  with mostly basic cold water bungalows,  hand carved wood and silver treasures,  minus the added high end clothing shops and rich tourists lingering around. It is hard for me to accept the changes, but it seems to me that there are many more pure souls here than there are at home in the San Francisco Bay area.  Bali is definitely a one of a kind place in the world. After breakfast, I decided to get dressed and walk to the temple for the Saraswati ceremony. When I tried on my golden colored,  lace cabaya traditional Bali blouse from 25 years ago, I was annoyed that it was too tight!   I was trying to figure out if I had become more busty or if the brownies and black rice pudding were catching up with me?   Regardless, I gave up wearing it and quickly improvised with a white blouse,  wrapped myself tight with a sarong and added a waist scarf.  After walking 15 minutes in the intense heat shaded by my broken umbrella, I walked the path down hill to a beautiful temple with stacked high hand made offerings everywhere.  I didn't mind that there were several students that wanted to hang out and practice their English. They used their cell phones to snap photos of us together. The Balinese were slowly arriving with baskets of offering on their heads and began to kneel down in prayer.  The priest dressed in white rang his bell loudly in an old familiar twang and his assistants poured holy water into cupped hands for sipping and then there was the flicking of holy water onto their heads.   There was still an orchestra of roosters crowing and combined with  the smell of incense.   For me, it was surreal to be experiencing this again, almost like it was my first day in Bali so many years ago. Afterwards, I wished I had worn shorts underneath, so that I could peel off the hot and sticky, restricting sarong and be free of it.   So far, everyday that I've been here, it has felt like being in a sauna with  the sweat rolling off my face and down the front of my chest. When I finally arrived at my homestay, the tiny swimming pool was waiting for me, and I happily eased myself into the cool, refreshing water.