Day 12: Gili T to Ubud, Indonesia (Tuesday May 23rd, 2023)

I woke up early today at 7 to have time to get ready and eat breakfast before my ferry back to Bali. I quietly gathered all of my things (that I had packed the night before) and left my dorm room as to not wake up my bunkmates. I did a quick 5min yoga and then went to get the free pancake breakfast. I was tempted to do a full 30min yoga session, but it was already so hot and I didn't want to be sweaty all day or have to shower again.  

After breakfast, I headed down to the ferry terminal to check in for the ferry. Check in was at 8:30 so I left my hostel around 8:15. Once I was checked in, I waited for boarding and then got a seat in the back again. I was one of the first people on the boat, so I got my pick of seats. A few people were heading upstairs because there was seating up there. I was slightly concerned about the seasickness if it was rough out, so I decided to stay down below. Which I regret. A few people made it up before they cut off the access and made everyone else stay down below. 

I wish I had gone up. The boat was hot and stuffy. Even though all of the windows were open, there was almost no air flow. I figured I was stuck with my decision crammed into this hot and stuffy boat. I tried to just rest my eyes and sleep for the duration of the trip. The ferry left at 9:30 but stopped at Gili Air and Lombok, so it took longer than the predicted 2 hours. 

Once we arrived in Padang Bai around 12, I needed to find a ride to Ubud. I had found a bus online through Parama Tour that went to Ubud for 170,000IDR. As soon as the boat docked though, it was absolutely swarmed with people asking about taxi, water, snacks, bus, etc. They were along the entire side of the boat, sticking their hands inside of the windows, waiving pamphlets around, etc. It was chaos. 

A guy on the boat asked if I had a bus ticket and I said I'm going to get one. He said he could get me one and to follow him. Once I got my bag, I followed him through the crowd. At first, I thought he worked for the boat company, but as I was following him I realized he was wearing a plain t-shirt. I told him the bus company I wanted to go to, and he said that they're out of business. He said he could get me a ride to Ubud for 250k. I said no, the bus is only 170k. He said, okay, I can do 200k. So for 30k difference ($2) I figured I could get a ride right there and then to Ubud rather than chancing it on a bus that might not exist and having to wait until 1:30 to leave. 

I hopped in the car and everyone else was also going to Ubud, so that's always a good sign. The driver dropped us off at our respective hotels and I got checked in. It was about 2pm now. 

My first order of business was to do laundry. I was all out of clean clothes and would need it done by the end of the day if I wanted anything clean to wear after showering. I walked down the street until I found the first laundry place and dropped my laundry off there. Afterwards, I continued walking down the street to find some lunch. I found a little mom and pop warung shop and got some rice with chicken and vegetables (~$2). 

I was on the street over from the main one and continued down that after lunch. I had heard about the art museum and sacred monkey forest in Ubud, both of which were close to each other, so I headed there.

I went to the art museum first, which was nice. There was art from all over Indonesia and a few other countries, mostly all paintings. It was also free which was nice! 

After the art museum, I continued to the sacred monkey forest. I'm not a huge fan of monkeys as I find them more crazy and stressful than cute and cuddly. But I figured I would at least walk by and check it out. Tickets were 80k (~$5.50) so I opted out. It seemed like a tourist trap when monkeys were literally everywhere. Plus you pay to get in, pay for food, pay for photos, etc. I had seen a ton of monkeys already at the Uluwatu temple and had no interest in feeding them or getting photos of them either. You're not supposed to touch them, scream, look them in the eyes, etc. But if they touch you, it's okay (that's what they say). But trying to protect my belongings from being stolen was more stressful than not. I walked along the outside of the forest, and saw some there. That was enough for me. 

I walked back up the main street back to my hostel. I had also wanted to check out the Ubud palace, but it was 4:45 now and it closed at 5 so I went back to my hostel. On my way, I saw several signs for massage... And thought, this is going to be my treat. Another reason to not spend time or money at the monkey forest. I showered back at the hostel and went to one of the places nearby that offered Balinese massage. I figured, when in Bali, might as well try a Balinese massage. (Rather than getting deep tissue, like I normally do.) 

The massage was heavenly (and only 100k or ~$6.67 for one hour). It wasn't very different from a regular massage. She hit my back with her palms a few times and massaged my stomache - which was a first and sort of odd - but that was as different as it got. It was nice and relaxing with incense burning in the background. The setting was beautiful too, I think in someones home with the business attached. But covered in plants, incense burning, chimes outside, etc. 

After the massage, I headed back to my hostel. I met another girl there who had also just got a massage! Hers was more intense as it included a body scrub and bath too. I was hungry and ready for dinner and offered for her to join me. She wasn't hungry, but still came along which was nice company. We went to another little mom and pop shop warung (transitional restaurant/tiny shop) and I got nasi campur, which I had not tried yet. Most places serving it everything is sitting out, which I try to avoid. But this place had a good guy check and wasn't just a street cart. It was more of a sit down restaurant and looked cleaner so I decided to give it a try. I got rice with fried chicken, a corn patty, eggplant, and tempeh.

Afterwards, I needed to go pickup my laundry and she went with me for the walk. Turns out she had also gotten her laundry done there earlier in the day! We headed back to the hostel and the other two girls in our room were also back. We all talked about our plans for tomorrow - which wasn't much, but we all wanted to do something. So we decided to all rent motorbikes and tour around for the day. 

It was around 9 by now, so we discussed travel plans and started winding down for bed. I checked my email and LinkedIn as it had been a few days. Then went to bed around 10:30.