Hey, everyone! I have spent the last 10 days or so in Ubud, a town in inland Bali. Ubud is a culturally significant area with lots of temples, rice fields/terraces, traditional arts performances, and more. It is definitely a yogi/meditation hotspot with lots of really great food. And, most exciting of all (for me) was the rich concentration of wildlife!

A few housekeeping things:

1) I have started a podcast on Spotify called Rose Thorn Bouquet. Please check it out!
2) If you’re interested in my art, have a look at my merchandise on RedBubble!
3) I have recently finished the first draft of my latest novel, The Death of Duncan Lee. I’ve sent it out to some friends to get feedback and I’m really excited to have it done(ish) finally. If you haven’t read it already, the link to my first book, Eclipse Me can be found here.

Campuhan Ridge Walk

One of my first adventures in Ubud was going for a walk at the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

It was an easy trail, paved in stone blocks with big gaps that had me nearly twisting my ankle on more than one occasion. Little did I know, the trail itself was actually pretty short. Maybe only 15 or 20 minutes. I hadn’t realized I had finished it and so I kept walking, walking, walking… for two hours in one direction.

Along the way, I got my first glimpse of rice fields. Not rice terraces, mind you, but rice fields. It got me amped up for the rice terraces I would be seeing a few days later. I’ve seen pictures of rice terraces around Southeast Asia – on screensavers, on travel shows, etc. They’re so aesthetically pleasing and perfect-looking.

While walking through the town, I noticed a lot of bamboo poles that were decorated in very intricate ways. After researching later, I discovered they’re called penjor. According to the internet, they’re a “religious symbol that is hoisted near every house, whose curve recalls Mount Agung.’ They put these penjor up during a particular holiday called Galungan, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. Mount Agung is the tallest peak in Bali, btw. Oh, and also, every house has their own temple, which I thought was kind of cool.

Anyway, imagine me walking for two hours through the local villages of Ubud, thinking that at some point I was going to reach a viewpoint at the end of the trail. Eventually, I realized there would be no viewpoint. This is what happens when you like to be surprised and don’t research where you’re going haha. I stopped for food and then began my two hour journey back to the hostel.

Just before exiting the trail, I was surprised to find a sneaky, slithery creature slipping further into the bush. I had seen some sunbeam lizards earlier in the day and was wondering if maybe, just maybe, I would see a snake. Sure enough! An Indo-Chinese rat snake, I later learned. Non-venomous. Can you spot it in the middle photo below?

This kicked into gear an old obsession that I hadn’t been able to entertain for well over a year. If you remember, Aotearoa New Zealand doesn’t have any snakes… Southeast Asia, however, has plenty. And so, the obsession returned. I started looking up where the best places to see wild snakes are, etc. And sure enough, Campuhan Ridge Walk was one of them – but particularly at night.

I ended up returning one evening a few days later. I had to work up the courage. It has been well over a year since I’ve last gone night herping. What is herping? I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but since it’s been a while… herping comes from herpetology, which is the study of amphibians and reptiles. Back in Australia, I used to go on night walks quite regularly, trying to find Death Adders and other nocturnal snakes of interest. But… it can be spooky.

While Campuhan was packed with walkers/runners during the daytime, at night I was the only person on the trail. Off in the distance, I heard traditional Indonesian music playing. Strange, ethereal percussion instruments provided the soundtrack of the night as I stepped slowly through the ridge walk. The occasional bat swooped down from above, almost smacking me in my face before swerving last minute. I would jump, startled, and the hairs on my arms would stand at attention. I think the bats were attracted to the various moths fluttering about my headtorch.

I made it to the end of the trail and began walking back, where I spotted some movement in the trees above. My headtorch shone on black and yellow scales. And did my heart skip a beat? I didn’t know it at the time, but I later learned what I was seeing was a Mangrove Cat Snake – mildly venomous – slithering through the tree branches.

It would stretched its head far off the tree branch, sniffing around with its tongue.

Eventually, it transferred over to a neighboring palm tree. This was the first time I’d ever seen a snake in a tree before. And to be able to see the way it maneuvered its climb was really something. Success!

After maybe twenty minutes of observation, I decided to let the poor guy be. Just before exiting the trail, I spotted two… PORCUPINES?! What?!

Tegallalang Rice Terraces

On another day, in between the two visits to Campuhan Ridge Walk, I had a Gojek driver take me to the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Only twenty minutes from my accommodation, it was a short ride. The driver dropped me off at the entrance to what I, at the time, thought was the only rice terrace in the area. I paid the few dollars to enter and was a little bummed. It was SUCH an Instagram spot. Swings hanging from trees, where women put on long, flowing dresses to take pictures with the terraces in the background. Ziplining. Heart-shaped structures for framing photo opportunities. And a very, very small trail. I hiked the duration of the terraces and then left, discouraged.

Fortunately, I realized there were some other nearby terraces that were 1) cheaper and 2) better. Along the walk, I was occasionally asked by local vendors if I would like to pay for a photo, pay for some water, etc. No, thanks.

There was one woman, one of the actual farmers, who asked me if I’d like to buy some water. I declined but said maybe on the way back. I asked her if she sees snakes often. Her English wasn’t that great but she tried to explain that sometimes they are seen and that usually they kill them. She motioned towards a carrying pole and asked if I’d like a photo. No, thank you. And then she practically forced a traditional farming hat on me. Because she was insisting, I said maybe we’ll take a photo together. And then she charged me 20,000 rupiah! Which is like $1 – but WHAT? I kind of couldn’t believe it because there was no conversation, no “transaction,” it was just – here, put this hat on that you don’t even want to wear, and now you have to pay money for it. Crazy haha. Anything for a buck. I get it, but also… not a fan of that.

Afterwards, I ventured through the rice terraces which in my opinion were much prettier than the earlier ones. It was a proper walk and I was able to get my fill of the terraces’ beauty. Yay!

I considered stopping at a nearby heron colony to do some bird watching but, having seen a few heron already, I decided to skip it. The days in Ubud have been warm, much warmer than near the water in Kuta. I’ve been more inclined to do a morning adventure, rest during the warmest part of the day, and then adventure again in the late afternoon.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

One of the main attractions I wanted to see in Ubud was the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Because… wild monkeys!

I took a scooter there and spent the morning walking around.

The monkey sanctuary has a couple of small temple-y areas, but mostly I was in awe of the scenery. Massive trees with draping vines. And, of course… MONKEYS.

I was a little hesitant because I’d heard sometimes these guys will jump on you, bite you, etc. I did not want that happening to me. If you’ve been following along… then you know I am afraid of getting rabies, which is a very real possibility in Bali. THERE HAVE BEEN DEATHS, okay?

Anyway, none bit or jumped on me. I did see them jump on others a couple times. They would just jump down from tree branches above. “Keep walking, keep walking and they’ll jump off!” The guides would shout. Eek!

I walked around for a while, admiring the monkeys as they played, groomed one another, hissed and fought. It was a great experience.

There was a time where I thought… they’re feeding the monkeys – maybe this isn’t a good thing? But I talked with a local who told me the monkeys were always here and the reason they feed them is so that they don’t go into town and cause havoc looking for food haha. Okay, valid.

Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys.

Love it.

I love wildlife! Indonesia has really been providing me with so many wildlife sightings since I’ve been here. Yay!

Mount Batur Sunrise Hike

I had been debating whether or not to go on the Mount Batur sunrise hike. When traveling, there are always tour activities being thrown in my face. Do this, do that. WHAT SHOULD I DO? What do I actually WANT to do? Sometimes it’s hard to decide. Am I going on this tour because I actually want to, or because I’ve seen it advertised over and over again and I’m experiencing FOMO.

I am not an early riser. I like to sleep in. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

And yet, when coming back from dinner one night, I stopped to chat with a lady at one of the tourism kiosks. She was smiling, laughing, and while her English was fragmented, she helped me to decide that – yes, I did want to go on the sunrise tour. And so I decided to do it that very next morning.

I got maybe an hour of sleep at most and then I was outside my hostel, waiting to be picked up. These tours in Southeast Asia are so funny. It’s basically – talking to someone about doing a tour, getting the WhatsApp contact of the driver, and then waiting around to be picked up in a white van and hopefully not kidnapped.

Anyway, there were six of us in the van and we were all sleepy. We sped through the poorly paved roads, which, surprisingly at 2am, still had a decent amount of traffic, and then we stopped at a depot where we were given a crepe for breakfast.

At the table, the group began talking. Two of them were from New Zealand, and the other was a couple – from Luxembourg (by way of Colombia and France). The last guy, I can’t remember where he was from, but he didn’t chat much with us. Our group ended up talking more than I thought we would have at that time of the morning.

And then, after breakfast, we were split up. More groups had arrived and we were all being shuffled into different vans. I ended up staying with the Luxem-“burgers”.

It took maybe another hour to arrive at the start of the trail. It was to be a two hour hike, with a guide. I can’t remember our guide’s name but I know that very early on, she shared with us that she had recently injured her ankle. She was stopping quite a bit and we hadn’t even began the real ascension of the hike. How was this going to work?

The view seemed promising but I wasn’t trying to get my hopes up. Clouds or no clouds, the hike was already on the menu. Off we went. It was a slow incline for a long while and then about halfway through it turned into basically stairs leading up to the summit. I had stretched out my legs beforehand to try and avoid another Alaska injury.

Every now and then, the three of us would slip on the trail. There was a lot of loose gravel and small rocks, making the hike unstable at times. Each time, our guide would say, “be careful.” “Yeah, we’re tryin’!” I called back to her at one point.

Maybe twenty minutes from the summit, the first colors of the morning began to shine through over distant ranges. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a sunrise. Maui, maybe?

Our guide tried to convince us to stop at a lower viewpoint but after discussing it, the Luxem-burgers and I agreed that we wanted to get to the top. Our poor guide and her ankle. But like, what are you doing leading a group if you are still recovering from an injury? Crazy.

So, off we went. And boy, was it a spectacular view. We got a few minutes of clear view. Mount Agung to our right, sunshine spilling out from the ranges to the left.

Sweating, but finally having reached the top, we enjoyed the view.

The clouds started to roll in. Slowly, at first, creating an otherworldly ambience. We were above the clouds. And then, we were enshrouded in them. The clouds completely took over the view, obscuring any detail of the sunrise or of Mount Agung.

I’m glad we were able to see the sunrise that we did. The colors were lovely and despite massive crowds of people hiking up and down the mountain, I think it was definitely worth it.

On the way down, our guide suddenly perked up and descended SO FAST. I was like – oh, NOW you’re moving fast, huh? Haha.

We stopped and saw the crater, which had some steam rising slowly from its walls. And then we continued down, down, down. I don’t like hiking down steep trails because it can be hard on my knees and also it was slippery terrain. The amount of times our guide said “be careful” after we slipped gave our group an inside joke. We would exchange glances each time she said it.

Once we’d reached the bottom (and were one of the first groups to do so!), we got in another van. And we had some roosters in the trunk. “Fighting chickens,” the driver explained. EEK! It reminded me of Jaisy telling me in the Philippines how people glue razors to the roosters beaks and that is how they kill each other. Oof.

We then drove to a coffee plantation. I don’t drink coffee and didn’t even know this was part of the tour itinerary, but whatever. They had three mongooses in cages. Apparently there’s a type of coffee made from mongoose shit. Imagine that? The mongoose eat the coffee beans, poop them out. People clean them and then it is turned into a very expensive coffee. Wild. We were given a sample tray of various types of coffee and tea. I tried the teas which were really tasty.

Eventually, I made it back to my hostel. I connected with David and Loris on Instagram and suggested that maybe we meet up for lunch in Uluwatu in a couple of weeks. We’ll see.

Herping with Bali Reptile Rescue

When my snake obsession kicked back into gear, I fervently researched where the best spots to see wild snakes in Bali were. After digging, I was suggested a night tour with Bali Reptile Rescue, a non profit organization that removes snakes from peoples’ properties. The organization also does paid night tours for herping enthusiasts, which helps to pay their employees. So… I was in. And I was really excited to join a tour.

Arius picked me up and after introductions, I hopped on his scooter where we drove 45min to a rice field in Denpasar. His friend joined us there. I had no idea what was going to be on the itinerary for the night. I just knew… snakes.

It was a private tour, with me as the only customer. I was picked up from my accommodation in Ubud, driven to three different herping spots, and then brought back to Ubud. From 8pm – 1am.

We began walking through the rice fields and I began to wonder – is this even going to be a successful tour? Should I have just stuck to what I had been doing, going on night walks at different spots in Ubud? I had already seen a snake two nights in a row…

Looking back, what a fool I would have been to not join the tour.

“Bronzeback,” they called out, and spotted a snake curled into a leaf high up in the tree. I had seen a bronzeback the night before while walking around a rice field in Ubud. This view was a lot more obscured, so I wasn’t particularly pleased.

But our second sighting… oh, boy. What a dream come true – an Asian vine snake (mildly venomous). They have such an unusual face shape for a snake. Their snout is pointed and their eyes look like little rectangles. My brother said “it looks sleepy.” True!

Arius pulled the snake out of the foliage so we could have a better look at it. Personally, I would just leave the wildlife alone and observe in-situ but this was a tour and because he’s a professional reptile rescuer… I just let him do his thing. It was so cool to be able to see the snakes’ details for the first time. Its tail was SO long. After some time admiring it, Arius put it back onto a tree branch, where it quickly snuck into the bush.

Not longer after, Arius’ friend spotted “a brown!” It was a keeled slug-eating snake, and has the most derpy looking face. A small head with very, very big eyes.

Arius asked me if I wanted to hold it. I was hesitant, not having held a snake in many years. I was pretty freaked out the last time I had held one. But… it was so small, and he was insisting. So I tried it. Immediately upon being placed on my wrist, the slug-eater tightened its grip on my wrist to hold its balance. It slithered around my palm and forearm for a minute or so. The muscles in my pinky were trembling. But it was such a small, cute little guy.

And then… another incredible treat was spotting a white-lipped pit viper (extremely venomous). It laid still, stretched across a tree branch. Motionless, until it noticed us. It slowly tilted its head in acknowledgment, watching me as I watched it and snapped some photos. It was much smaller than I imagined. From some photos I’d seen, I imagined they were pretty large snakes. Females are typically larger than males so this one was maybe a male.

In Indonesia, the two snakes I was really hoping to see where the Asian vine snake and the white-lipped pit viper. And within five minutes, I’d seen them both. Success!

Not a moment later, the guides had spotted another viper, lower on the ground. It was a baby. “Maybe we’ll find the mother,” they suggested, but no luck.

And then we saw ANOTHER baby. They are green and very well camouflaged. This is part of what makes them so dangerous. Arius explained people will sit down (in the grass, I guess?) not noticing them, and CHOMP. You’ve been envenomated. The babies were so tiny and discreet. It’s so important to remain vigilant while exploring Indonesia. I do not want to die from a snake bite lol.

Arius told me that, when bitten, “immobilization” is the first move, which is basically compressing the bitten limb with a bandage. I’d learned that from First Aid training back in Perth. And then, hospital, where your vitals are monitored, etc.

Another important part of Bali Reptile Rescue is that… they’re saving these snakes. A lot of farmers and locals in Indonesia are very scared of snakes. They are not necessarily educated on all the different species, which are venomous or not, and so when they see a snake – they kill it. In Ubud, I’ve even seen the flattened carcass of a large snake while walking down the footpath at one point. And so Bali Reptile Rescue offers a very necessary (free) service in saving these snakes when people find them in their homes.

Anyway.

After our three vipers in a row, we saw a few more Asian vine snakes.

We then returned to our scooter, where Arius’ friend left us. “I have a kid at home,” he explained. I can’t remember his name, but he is still training in regards to snake handling. He’s been studying about the different species of Indonesian snakes and has been joining Arius on a lot of his tours. Arius has worked with snakes for 8 years now. Wow!

I kind of thought the tour would have been over at that point. It was already 10.30pm and we still had a 40min drive back to Ubud. But… Arius ended up taking me to another spot.

As soon as we arrived, he said, “this is a spot for seeing Mangrove Cat Snakes,” and not five seconds later, he spotted one in a tree. Arius really was able to invoke some of these species as if his words were incantations. “If you’re lucky, you’ll see a viper” and we saw three, then the Mangrove Cat Snake… and then he said, “and some of them have black and white coloring instead, maybe we’ll see one of those.” AND THEN WE DID. Arius the Herping Wizard.

We saw three Mangrove Cat Snakes at that spot – two were black and yellow, like how I’d seen a few nights prior. One of them was black and white.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that I was feeling a little jealous that these guys were spotting all the snakes! While surely I’m not the best, I do pride myself on being able to spot wildlife. A lot of people (granted, they aren’t LOOKING) might miss that sunbeam lizard on the side of the trail or the monitor lizard practically in downtown Ubud, etc. But I DO tend to notice, and I guess that’s because I’m looking. But I hadn’t really spotted anything on my own during this tour, because the guides kept finding everything! To be fair, they were walking in front of me, but some of the stuff they found, I likely never would have seen on my own.

WELL, I did have my very own snake finding. “Finally,” I said, and pointed it out to Arius. It was a Striped Keelback (non-venomous).

He lifted it out of the shrubbery and placed it on the ground. “They’re fast,” he explained. And it was true – the keelback was trying to wiggle away. He gently placed his hands over it, where it coiled itself. Again, not the biggest fan of the hands-on approach, but Arius handles snakes professionally all the time so I led him do his thing.

I was really happy to be able to spot this guy! He was very cute. As Arius put him back, he said, “Thank you!” to the snake, which is so funny, because that’s what I do, too after successfully sighting wildlife.

I shared with Arius how nice it was to go herping with somebody else. I’ve always kind of been on my own, definitely in Australia and now Indonesia. It was neat to have buddies who were interested in the same weird stuff as me for once. It’s also a totally different vibe when with other people. When herping solo, I am on high-alert, very aware of all the sounds and sights around me. It is kind of a scary feeling but it’s thrilling too. But with our group, I felt… safe. Almost invincible (which isn’t good). It almost felt like a cheat code, because we kept seeing so many snakes. It seemed like a video game or something.

When we got back to the scooter, Arius said, “you want to go home now or another spot?” I thought for sure that would be the end of the tour, but I said to him, “whatever you want to do.” He ended up looking up the tide timings and we decided to hit up one last spot in search of a sea krait. That’s where I realized Arius really loves this stuff as much as me. While he was getting paid for the tour… he also just loves seeing these snakes. Otherwise, he could have ended the tour probably after that first spot.

We drove another 30min and got to Sanur Beach. We scoured the crevices between large boulders lining the water. And then, because Arius willed it, we saw the tail of a sea krait before it snuck deeper beneath the boulders.

Thus concluded the night tour. Arius drove me back to Ubud. We hit some traffic along the way… at like 12.30am. There were scooters and trucks filled with people in ceremonial garb like sarongs, etc., coming back from maybe some kind of festival.

I thanked him for such an amazing night. Yay! If I’ve been good with my money, I may do another tour when I return to Bali in a few weeks. Otherwise, I’ll just do a tour in Lombok with Arius’ friend (whose contact info he gave me). Success!

15 snakes, 7 species
Painted bronzeback (non-venomous)
Asian vine snake (mildly venomous)
Keeled slug-eating snake (non-venomous)
White-lipped pit viper (extremely venomous)
Mangrove cat snake (mildly venomous)
Striped keelback (non-venomous)
Sea krait (extremely venomous)

Indonesia, you really trying to give Australia a run for its money. More snake sightings in one night than in a year in Australia?!

Around Ubud

On one of my first nights in Ubud, my brother recommended I go check out a Kecak performance. So that’s what I went to do. Kecak is a traditional performance that tells a story. There are dozens of men seated in a circle, chanting and making strange vocal noises. Then there are characters, adorned in magnificent costume, doing dance. I was given a pamphlet and read it ahead of the performance, so I was able to make sense of what was going on. I’m not sure if every performance tells a different story or what.

It was a cool cultural experience!

At the end, there was a man doing the “fire-horse” dance, kicking around the burning shells of coconuts in an explosion of embers. What the hell?!

While I’ve had a few amazing adventures in Ubud, there has also been a lot of chill time. There are many days where I just wake up, have a free pancake breakfast the hostel… maybe go on a little adventure before it gets too hot out. Have lunch, maybe get a massage, etc. It’s nice but sometimes it feels boring. I think that’s because I am not CONSTANTLY on the go-go-go. But I also need that. I have to just watch a show for a couple hours at night or lay around playing video games. If I’m on the move always, it becomes exhausting and unsustainable.

There are some things I wanted to mention that I don’t necessarily have pictures of, but that were memorable:

-Seeing farmers with the traditional hats on, tending to the rice fields
-Women balancing baskets of goods on their toweled heads
-Locals all across Ubud and Bali in general, setting out offerings at shrines, then placing their palms together in prayer
-People on scooters, carrying construction materials like massive bamboo poles or giant piles of grass
-The smell of incense wafting throughout the streets
-Locals in traditional temple-visit/ceremonial garb
-All the beautiful shrines and temples, EVERYWHERE, in which pictures just don’t do them justice
-Getting caught in the rain and needing to stop at a local warung to get an iced tea and seek shelter

I also took a yoga class one day, which was definitely needed. Because I don’t have a mat with me, I tend to do standing exercises. Jumping jacks, running in place, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. But my body really is at its best when I’m regularly doing a yoga practice as well.

Miscellaneous

On one of my first nights in town, I was invited to a queer dinner called TuesGAY Dinners. There must have been 20 gay guys all chatting about travel, etc. The regulars have been hosting the dinner weekly for two years. It was a cute little event and so random. Wasn’t expecting something like that in Bali.

I finally tried yellow watermelon, which I’d wanted to try since I saw it existed in the Philippines. But I hadn’t had the chance because I didn’t want to buy an entire watermelon. I happened upon it by accident at the grocery store – I thought it was pineapple lol. Imagine my surprise.

There were a couple restaurants that I frequented quite a bit in Ubud. One was Warung Biah Biah, which had some really delicious food. Another was Murni’s Warung, which was the first restaurant in Ubud that opened back in the 70s. I must have gone there three times. Yum! I also tried “Obama’s favorite Indonesian meal” there, which is sort of a tofu dumpling soup.

Some of the storefronts I’ve been to in Bali are so dead, it seems like the employees have literally been waiting all day for me to come in. There was one massage parlor that I frequented maybe four times in Ubud and every time, it was just the one masseuse… waiting for someone, anyone.

When chatting with someone at TuesGAY Dinner, I found out that Indonesia has a death penalty for doing drugs. There was a recent case of someone in politics who got caught… smoking weed, maybe? And they were executed. OOF! Good thing I’m sober LOL.

Art of the Week

I didn’t work on any art this week. I probably should have, because I had a lot of free time to kill while I was hiding my tattoos from the sun… but the hostel I was at didn’t really have a proper desk. It was mostly bean bags on the floor. Not conducive for making art.

I have ideas, though.

In the meantime – check out my latest podcast episode! The link is at the beginning of this post. My most recent podcast showcases Kory and only ONE PERSON has listened to it… and it’s probably Kory. Help me out. The more listeners, the more my reach grows. I’d love to keep it going but if no one is supporting it, I’ll probably lose the motivation to keep doing it.

Reflections

Well, I can’t be mad about this week. Monkeys, great food, snakes, snakes, snakes, rice terraces, sunrise mountain hikes, massages, and more. I am really loving Indonesia. I have more I want to do here than any other country in Southeast Asia, so I’ll likely be here for another six or eight weeks once I return from Australia.

As of today, I’ve left Ubud and have arrived in Sanur. Was it the right move? We’ll see. It’s supposed to be a pretty chill area. And I’m okay with chill. I probably won’t do that much this week – whatever money I don’t spend each day goes into the “tour fund,” and I have quite a few tours I want to do once I’m back from Australia. So for now… do some small exploring, eat food, the occasional massage, and otherwise just chill. This hostel does have a proper table for me to make some art, though! So that’s good.

Until next time, sending you all my love x.