A real Canggu attitude

My final destination on this odyssey of self-infatuation was to be Bali. I flew from Cebu via Manila; the second time I have been through there without actually visiting the city. The check-in at Cebu was lengthy and problematic. I had to download an app on my phone, go through lots of questions with staff, evidence my Covid vaccinations, evidence my move on flight from Bali, complete an online application and a customs declaration. This is no real hardship but I was completely unaware any of it was required and so it took me off guard. Obviously because of my vastly overblown sense of entitlement, I found the whole experience stressful and anxiety inducing. Which of course meant that I had no option other than to mutter “for fuck sake” a lot, interspersed by frequent puffing of breath. Anyway, all’s well that ends well and I caught the flight with plenty of time to spare.

I arrived in Denpasar about 10am having had very little sleep. I had a casual agreement with a driver to take me to Canggu, about 10km, but I hadn’t followed it up until I arrived so he had taken another job. I ended up taking a cab that cost about £22. Just a quick note that you have to pay £28 for a visa on arrival in Indonesia. My hostel was Tipsy Gypsy, about £8 a night with great staff and good facilities. It was a party hostel, which came as a surprise to me but the clue was there in the name. I wasn’t disturbed during my stay though and all the young dudes were well behaved to be fair. Canggu is the “in” place and so is infested with backpackers, digital nomads and creative types. Many of whom seem to be young and beautiful. It is vibrant, laid back and easy on the eye. There is what seems an endless beach where surfers flock because of the waveage. However, I have never seen as many people on surfboards without seeing one single person actually surfing. Gnarly dudes. I spent my first day in the company of Wyatt, an American who had just split up with his girlfriend whilst travelling. I think we helped each other as I was feeling quite isolated in this hotbed of cool. We walked a few miles up and down the beach and nailed on putting the world to rights. I also discovered a Warung, a local cantina type establishment, very near to the hostel where you could get a buffet meal for less than a pound. In Canggu, as in the whole of Bali, there are Hindu temples literally everywhere; some very small and appear to be in someone’s garden, whilst some are quite huge, imposing structures. I found them all intriguing but was especially occupied with a couple of impressive ones on the seafront. I ate, I walked the beach, I found peace at temples and I moseyed around the many shops and galleries. Even though I was very much an observer, not really a participant, I still found Canggu to be seductive and immersive, although somewhat stage managed at times. Beauty definitely seemed to be in the eye of the beholder and it was a beautiful to behold. Cost about £80 for five days including the taxi from the airport. Very cheap.

After a few days in Canggu my last stop as an ageing faux backpacker was to be Ubud, a town in the uplands of Bali. I would be spending two weeks in Phnom Penh before returning to the UK but Ubud was the final voyage of discovery. I got a taxi from Canggu, which cost £10, as there was no other method of transport between the two. My hostel, Green View Backpackers Inn, was perched on a hillside at the edge of the jungle. Fantastic location and only £4 a night including breakfast. It was family run and there was also a family of chickens, a family chicken run if you like. Although still very much a tourist destination, Ubud is the cultural heartland of Bali. The town has many ornate temples and is surrounded by dense jungle and lush green rice paddies. There is also an abundance of Balinese dance, theatre and music. Refreshingly the only prompting was more of a “Psst, fancy a bit of Balinese culture?” as opposed to the in your face touting elsewhere in South East Asia. On my first full day I took a 20 minute walk to The Sacred Monkey Forest. Entry was £5, a bargain for a few hours of monkey themed comedy in a jungle setting. They are very bold and can even become somewhat aggressive at times. As well as amusing primates there are also temples and an open air theatre. We were treated to a performance involving lots of dancing in traditional costume, a huge sinister monkey and some kind of malevolent spirit. Absolutely no idea what was happening but it was entertaining. The location was fabulous and I spent a good couple of hours mooching about avoiding eye contact with the residents as apparently this is seen as a challenge by them. A bit like West Yorkshire. The next day I perambulated in earnest as I explored the rice fields and Campuhan Ridge. These are both free walks which are easily reached on foot from the town centre. This may sound strange but I found the rice fields compellingly beautiful, and peaceful. I took photos but they never seemed to capture the real essence of them. The Campuhan Ridge walk starts just out of town and takes you along a single track that disects the fields and leads out over hills with stunning panoramic views of the countryside. You pass through small villages and encounter several cafes and warungs. I did get a very enthusiastic pitch from a wandering hippy guy selling some herbal concoction, not of the narcotic type, but I politely declined. I also watched a captivating sunset from a small hollow on the route. The sunsets on Bali are quite unique, lots of violets and lilacs in them along with fiery reds, most sublime. After all that walking I treated myself to a Balinese massage, a perfect conclusion to a very relaxing and meditative day. I decided to spend my penultimate day ascending Mount Batur. I booked it through the hostel, £15, and got an early night as we were setting off at 3am to catch the sunrise from the peak. After a three hour drive we arrived at a car park and set off up a steep rocky path. Despite that description it wasn’t a very challenging climb, a little scrambling but not too much, and within a couple of hours we were at the summit. Perfect timing as the sun was just appearing and casting wonderful shades of nameless colours across the sky. It was cold at the top, colder than I had been in the best part of a year, but it did nothing to dampen spirits. The view looking over the town below, Lake Batur and across at Mt Agung was breathtaking, although it was busy up there and there was plenty of jockeying for a good position. Mt Batur is 1770m but it felt higher with the thin atmosphere and views as far as you could see. It is also an active volcano with a huge irregular shaped crater, an eruption occurred as recently as 2003. This tour was definitely one of the highlights of my eight months travelling. I spent about £80 including taxis and activities during my stay in Ubud.

So, that was the end of the road. For now. I got a taxi to the airport, £15, and said a very fond farewell to Bali and to my travels. The island is magical; wild and enchanting, whimsical and completely at ease with itself. I think it was the perfect denouement of this particular adventure. It gave me the chance to find peace and to align some of the self realisation I had acquired over the last eight months. Not all of it welcome. Above all I think Bali afforded me the luxury of acceptance; of what had been, what is and what was to come. Splendid.