Today went totally off the rails, so I need to go to bed and try again tomorrow. I got up early this morning so that I could go to Denpasar to renew my visa, and that was the best/most seamless part of my day - the driver picked me up at 7:45, drove me to the immigration office, and it became immediately clear that I had paid for some v. extra special expediting, since when I walked in someone handed me a number (like you pull at the DMV or a deli counter) and I was 7th in line with 20+ people waiting. I got my fingerprints and photo taken and was out of there within twenty minutes; they'll bring my passport and my extended visa back to me in a couple of days. I don't know how much my processing cost above the standard fee, but considering that I didn't have to fill out any forms or navigate any lines, it was well worth it.
I then asked the driver if he could drop me at Lazy Cats instead of my hotel on the way back, since I needed to work. This was no problem for him, but since I'd mentioned that I like coffee, he suggested that I try the famous luwak coffee on the way back. I knew this was a trap - it's the lowest of the low season for tourism right now and all the drivers/shops/restaurants are politely desperate, and I'm guessing he got some sort of kickback for taking me there. However, I'd had 'try luwak coffee' on my possible to-do list, so I decided to roll with it.
Luwak coffee, for those of you who are still blessedly unaware, is coffee made from beans that were eaten by a wild civet cat, which partially digests them before shitting them out. The beans are then collected, washed (hopefully), and turned into some of the most expensive coffee in the world. The place we stopped was obviously a tourist trap - they had two coffee bushes/trees of different varieties, a couple of ginger, lemongrass, aloe, pepper, and other plants, an elderly woman half-heartedly roasting a few beans, etc. My guide/waitress later confided that the coffee can't be grown there anyway because it's too hot. She was also an expert at getting me to feel guilty about how much money I have, but I tipped her anyway because she was funny and I enjoyed talking to her.
So I tried all the teas/coffees (free tasting! of course), and then paid for a cup of the luwak coffee. It was not very good. I like my coffee with milk anyway, and I really couldn't tell much difference between that and the usual Balinese coffee on the island (which I also find to be a little harsh/unenjoyable compared to Sumatran/Javan coffees).
After I parted ways with the coffee lady, my driver drove me the rest of the way back to Ubud. I should have gone home instead of Lazy Cats, because I was already way too overheated and vaguely carsick. But I went to Lazy Cats, tried to work, and utterly failed.
Then I went to a massage at Tamarind - I got a hot stone massage, which I wouldn't have booked if I'd known two weeks ago that this was going to be one of the hottest days of my trip. The massage was excellent, but the stones were a little too hot, and I have some suspicious red marks like tiny burns in a couple of sensitive locations. However, I would totally recommend the place despite that - but try to be cool before you arrive, since hot stone massage is not a good activity for warm weather.
Then I was going to come home, but as I walked out of the spa, it started raining, so I dashed back to Lazy Cats since it was the closest nearby cafe. Sarah was there, so I talked to her, and then I eventually grabbed a cab back to my hotel.
But I ventured out against to have dinner at Element and try to write in my journal - but I've once again befriended the wait staff, so I wasn't able to write much because we were talking too much. And eventually Sarah walked by; she'd gotten completely drenched in the downpour that had happened a few minutes earlier, so she joined me and we had a lot of wine and talked for two hours and it was all beautiful.
But now I need to sleep - the day ended on a positive note, but my stomach felt gross all day (either I was still carsick, or the teas/shit coffee didn't agree with me) and I was way too fucking hot, and then way too fucking wet on the walk back, and I need to get some real work done. Goodnight!
I then asked the driver if he could drop me at Lazy Cats instead of my hotel on the way back, since I needed to work. This was no problem for him, but since I'd mentioned that I like coffee, he suggested that I try the famous luwak coffee on the way back. I knew this was a trap - it's the lowest of the low season for tourism right now and all the drivers/shops/restaurants are politely desperate, and I'm guessing he got some sort of kickback for taking me there. However, I'd had 'try luwak coffee' on my possible to-do list, so I decided to roll with it.
Luwak coffee, for those of you who are still blessedly unaware, is coffee made from beans that were eaten by a wild civet cat, which partially digests them before shitting them out. The beans are then collected, washed (hopefully), and turned into some of the most expensive coffee in the world. The place we stopped was obviously a tourist trap - they had two coffee bushes/trees of different varieties, a couple of ginger, lemongrass, aloe, pepper, and other plants, an elderly woman half-heartedly roasting a few beans, etc. My guide/waitress later confided that the coffee can't be grown there anyway because it's too hot. She was also an expert at getting me to feel guilty about how much money I have, but I tipped her anyway because she was funny and I enjoyed talking to her.
So I tried all the teas/coffees (free tasting! of course), and then paid for a cup of the luwak coffee. It was not very good. I like my coffee with milk anyway, and I really couldn't tell much difference between that and the usual Balinese coffee on the island (which I also find to be a little harsh/unenjoyable compared to Sumatran/Javan coffees).
After I parted ways with the coffee lady, my driver drove me the rest of the way back to Ubud. I should have gone home instead of Lazy Cats, because I was already way too overheated and vaguely carsick. But I went to Lazy Cats, tried to work, and utterly failed.
Then I went to a massage at Tamarind - I got a hot stone massage, which I wouldn't have booked if I'd known two weeks ago that this was going to be one of the hottest days of my trip. The massage was excellent, but the stones were a little too hot, and I have some suspicious red marks like tiny burns in a couple of sensitive locations. However, I would totally recommend the place despite that - but try to be cool before you arrive, since hot stone massage is not a good activity for warm weather.
Then I was going to come home, but as I walked out of the spa, it started raining, so I dashed back to Lazy Cats since it was the closest nearby cafe. Sarah was there, so I talked to her, and then I eventually grabbed a cab back to my hotel.
But I ventured out against to have dinner at Element and try to write in my journal - but I've once again befriended the wait staff, so I wasn't able to write much because we were talking too much. And eventually Sarah walked by; she'd gotten completely drenched in the downpour that had happened a few minutes earlier, so she joined me and we had a lot of wine and talked for two hours and it was all beautiful.
But now I need to sleep - the day ended on a positive note, but my stomach felt gross all day (either I was still carsick, or the teas/shit coffee didn't agree with me) and I was way too fucking hot, and then way too fucking wet on the walk back, and I need to get some real work done. Goodnight!
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