Hotel at the End of the Universe

Maybe in reading the title of this blog post, you thought it was a pathetic attempt at a witty quip about our accommodations in the Himalayas…

Or maybe your mind immediately fastened onto Douglas Adams’ book Restaurant at the End of the Universe in which the main characters go to “meet the meat” before dining…

Or maybe (like me) you recalled the Family Guy episode when Peter tumbles into the great beyond…

Lois: …I just bought use some new sheets at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Peter: Oh boy, I hope you stayed away from that "beyond" section.
(Cuts to scene where Peter is pushing a shopping cart into a door labeled BEYOND.)
Peter: (Swirling through vortex) Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh-- Oh, here are the coffee mugs... 

But I request that you stop those thoughts before they continue much further, for Steve and I did in fact spend a night at the Hotel at the End of the Universe.  I kid you not.

And, to boot, the view looked something like this…

What a magical place we stumbled upon, thanks to our trusty Lonely Planet guide’s recommendation.  For one evening we opted to leave the hustle and bustle of the lower Kathmandu valley to drive 2 hours up into the hills for the view and some relaxation.  The further we ascended, the more Steve gawked at the similarity between these hills and the Sierra Nevadas – an area of the world Steve is intimately familiar with having grown up hiking around the Lake Tahoe and Yosemite areas of California.  We trekked 3 hours up a paved road, past large weekend gatherings (which we later found out are a regular thing on government holidays), to a look-out tower that provided us with a 360° view of the valley and the Himalayas in the distance. The photos below detail parts of our hike and token tourist shots atop the tower.  

Back at our celestial hotel (who can resist such descriptions?  Apparently the locals can’t, as en route to our hotel we passed “Galaxy Hotel” and “Hotel Space Mountain” – too much of a good thing is….oh, never mind), we removed our tourist caps and recouped after days in the fast pace of Kathmandu and its surrounding towns.  The lack of ongoing electricity encouraged us to read and play cards by candlelight, enjoy some Nepalese beer and veggie pakoras, and eavesdrop on the young 20-something crowd that had gathered at the hotel for a reunion.  For hours, we just rested – recalling the many activities and sights we’d seen over the past week – but even moreso, reflecting on our experiences of the past 2 months. 

For 1.5 months now, we’ve been traveling around developing counties (Australia excluded of course, hence it only being 1.5 months despite our 2+ months on the road).  It has been wonderful to have the time to reflect at the “end of the universe” and now, at the Buddhist monastery in the town of Boudha, Nepal, where we’re living for 4 nights before departing this amazing country.  Supplementing our ongoing dialogues about what we’ve seen, experienced, will leave with, and are still amazed by, having 5 days before the big switch back into the western world has proven quite interesting.  In Thailand, we struggled with the idea of pushing ourselves out the door into the unknown,  encountering the intricacies of a southeast Asian country for the first time, and were amazed by our ability to adjust to the pace of life; in Bali, we addressed the idea of being tourists, consumers, and brief members of a society in which we found no amount of time on a “world trip” could suffice getting to know the place unless we moved there permanently for a tme (we have kicked ourselves a few times for not taking advantage of being freelancers for years and moving to a place like Ubud for a year+ while working from home….don’t worry, AU folks – we’re coming home); in India, the most challenging country of all, we struggled with and ultimately came to terms with being constantly observed by others, and as our friend Gloria put it so eloquently, “you can’t get away from the fact that you are Westerners,” not to mention being intimately involved with the “slum” life of India at Vidyanikethan, by far, one of the highlights of our entire trip; now, here, in Nepal, we’ve encountered some of that same “otherness” we found in other places, but we’ve approached it with a different set of eyes, and, in a way, an acceptance that we didn’t have prior to our trip.  

We’ve had the time to reflect on how we’ve grown accustomed to seeing impoverished children in dirty street clothes ask any passer-by for a rupee, and how, each time feels like a kick to the stomach – yet, still, we’ve gotten used to seeing that scene play out before us quite often.  We’re unphased by the number of animals (cows, goats, chickens, monkeys, dogs, hogs, etc.) that block the crazy city traffic of each country we’ve visited (and have often joked about how boring driving in Vancouver will be compared to, say, Mumbai).  We’re quite used to the lack of sanitation in developing countries that results in rivers filled with garbage, lack of public toilets, and thus, the use of sidewalks for bathroom purposes, and constant need to purchase clean water for 1.5 months for fear of contamination.  We’ve even, strangely, reaped the benefits of losing some added pounds while traveling due to non-Western food that doesn’t settle well with our uber-Western stomachs (don’t worry, we’re healthy and take all the necessary precautions to remain so, but why not look on the positive side and enjoy looking so shvelt?).

All of the above realities of travel in the developing world are important to acknowledge and to give oneself permission to learn from.  And I can’t stress enough how much we’ve enjoyed these exposures to life on the other side and how much we’ll take away from them.  Steve and I are both fortunate to be in fields that (big quote unquote) “help others.”  In fact, we couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, since we feel it is our duty as members of a healthy and safe society to do as much as one can, in whatever way you can, to contribute to that society.  When we return to Vancouver, I’m happily diving back into my job at an arts education non-profit that not only provides after-school and weekend programs in the arts, but works extensively in outreach programs to bring arts education to children who would otherwise not receive it.  Steve, I am so proud to say (and will take this moment to gush about), will be starting law school in the fall, with the hopes of focusing on systemic and policy changes within BC and, perhaps, Canada.  All of this, I must stress, is not to toot our horns, but to share with our readers how traveling of this kind can open your eyes, and reinforce everything you believe in – if not change your views for the better.  But, one doesn’t have to travel to the other side of the world to be challenged to make change, it can happen locally…

Okay…
 

Enough soliloquizing for now.  Funny how a night at the end of the universe and then a stay within the grounds of a monastery can make you break out the soap box.  I can conclude by saying, we’ve had an inspiring couple of months, and like every step of this trip, we’re so excited about the next one (that will be all the more enriched because we’ll be bringing every previous experience with us along the way).

This afternoon, Steve and I plan to visit the local Buddhist stupa to do laps for an hour under the prayer flags, while reflecting even more about our trip and anticipating the next move.  We’ve been doing a lot of walking these days – around cities, around stupas, and up in the clouds with a little guide (see photo below) – walking provides a great chance to see lots of things, but also to embark on a moving meditation perfect for reflection (or for planning where you’re going to have your next Nepalese meal).  I think walking to the end of the universe proved to be a great activity for us, even if it does warrant a few eye rolls at the mention of it.

 Next stop, the land of milk and hummus – Israel (unless you hear from Steve first)!

Heavy Metal Thunder

In Ubud, one can rent a motor bike for 50,000 rupia/day (~US$5.50).  After our plan to rent two bikes yesterday afternoon crashed and burned (due to a miscommunication between the price we’d agreed upon with one guy and another bike owner, the lack of a second bike’s availability, and the skies having opened up), we set out this morning to beat the 2:30 sharp rainstorms and to discover some of the hidden and not so hidden gems around Ubud.  The renting part was easy, even the physical manoeuvring of the motor vehicles wasn’t so bad we grew accustomed to sharing the road with other motor bikes, “push” bikes, cars, busses, market vendors, dogs, chickens, etc. all within 2 feet of your bike is easy – it’s calming the nerves that is the hard part.

Steve and I erroneously set out without the proper beginning steps to our journey: there were no deep breaths, barely one back and forth down the closest alley to practice, no set contingency plans, and (we found later) no maps in our bag.  After a mad dash around the dog shit nestled in our path, we pulled onto one of the two busiest roads in Ubud, Monkey Forest Road, joined the herds of other motor bikes (manned, no less, by hundreds of Balinese of questionable driving age) and cars who gently tooted to let you know they were passing your ass whether you were ready for it or not.  Stores selling batik dresses, soaps, tours, masks, and woven baskets passed by in a colourful blur.  No problem, we thought, Monkey Forest Road is a one way street, we’d just go with the flow.  But no…lines on the street and signs are merely “guides” not rules like they are in the areas of the world where were learned to drive.  And oh, “one way” means most of the traffic will be going that way, while the rest will do what it wants.  Tourists and locals wait not-so-patiently for the vehicles to drive by before dodging across the street to avoid the taxi drivers hounding them for a ride or the lovely women offering massages at 60,000 rupia a pop (~$6.60).  We managed to successfully turn right into oncoming traffic (Balinese drive on the left side of the street) and I promptly lost sight of Steve’s blue helmet and pink bike.  When I finally found a safe-ish place to pull over, I did what every good Brownie drop-out should do and instead of looking for him, I stayed in one spot until he found me.  He did, 10-15 minutes later (apparently, Boy Scout drop-outs learn the same thing), upon which we realized there were no maps in our bag and the Elephant Caves of our dreams were essentially unlocateable.  No problem, we’d return from whence we came, or something like that, grab the maps and head out again.  After several more turns into traffic, several near collisions with dogs, and more horn honks than I (as a normally confident driver) care to admit to, we made it back to our hotel room to grab the maps.  I then did what any sensible 31 year-old North American driver would do…

I bawled. 

I cried out of fear, I cried out of relief, I cried over the stupid lines in the street that mean jack shit in this country, I cried because I was pathetic enough to be crying, I cried because we were almost out of sunscreen, I cried because I never want Steve to think of getting a motorcycle during a mid-life crisis, I cried because laughing seemed like the more logical thing to do, yet I couldn’t bring myself to do it. 

Then, after several trips to the bathroom to wipe my face off with toilet paper, several reapplications of sunscreen to my tear-stained face, several repetitions of (Steve) Hon, we don’t have to go. (Sarah) No! (snarf) We’re going, I pulled myself together.  (Pardon me, readers) I fuckin’ pulled myself together, channelled Peter Fonda and Steppenwolf, and set out again with not only a map, but a soundtrack.  Yes, my motor bike (who I lovingly named “Heavy-Metal Thunder”) and I perked up all of our senses, audibly sang “Born To Be Wild” while driving through the busy Ubud streets where, at any moment, a gamalon-toting stray dog carrying a refrigerator on its head while driving a motor bike with all of its puppies and chicken friends strapped on can cut you off without beeping – and drove.  

We drove past rice paddies…Get your motor runnin’

We drove past traditional Balinese performances…Head out on the highway

We drove past daily offerings covering the streets…Looking for adventure

We drove past that great local and super cheap restaurant we found the night before…In whatever comes our way

And then we drove up to the Elephant Caves where we celebrated by pretending to be Indiana Jones discovering the temple of doom for the first time, high-fived the fishies over our amazing driving abilities, toasted to our elegant motor dance with coconuts, rewarded ourselves with gallery visits to a village known for its woodwork…and did a lot of other great things that we wouldn’t have been able to do had we not ventured forth into the great traffic lane-less unknown.

Yeah, darlin, gonna make it happen.  Take the world in a love embrace, fire all of your guns at once and explode into space.

We then made it home in one piece, having slowed all of the Ubud traffic down to a crawl by sticking waaaay over to the side of the road while everyone (and their motor bike-driving grandmother) passed us.  In other words, we were hardly nature’s children, born to be wild, but we were overly cautious, pushed a little beyond our comfort boundary, and had an amazing day. When we finally returned, we promptly fell asleep from post-adrenaline-induced  exhaustion before going out again (this time, walking very slowly) to find a cup of tea and a comfy chair in which to write this blog. 

On another note, we have decided to skip Egypt in our travels and will instead tack on some more time in both Turkey and Morocco.  We’ve had a few questions about our Egypt plans and had originally decided to put off the decision until a later date, but due to the sad circumstance that the country is in right now, we will just have to visit the pyramids later in life.

At Long (Long Long) Last

This is the face of joyous relief. To give you the very short version - it turns out the volcano was on Java, not on Bali, and didn't cause any major problems for neighboring villages except for of course, the airlines, who were not able to fly through the ash cloud. And unfortunately, the volcano kept erupting and erupting and...you get the idea. In the end, we entered the nimbus loop of flight delays and cancellations which lasted precisely 2 days, 3 hours, and 43 minutes. Gross. But Cathay was lovely enough to put us up in the airport hotel and feed us, so it was not the end of the world, just a little taste of purgatory.

 But enough of that. Ubud, the area of Bali we've chosen to spend our days, is stunning. We explored the market and village temples this morning and rounded out the day with a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary (Mandala Wisata Wenara Wana). There are over 450 Balinese Macaques in the sanctuary, as well as 4 temples, a stream, and a lush jungle. The first thing to know about the sanctuary is that the monkeys run the show. They are stalking down every path, playing, fighting, bathing, drinking, and most importantly eating. And occasionally, they go up to a person and not exactly beg, but instead demand food.

And they don't mean in a few mintues after you've had a chance to exchange some rupia for a stack of bananas, they mean right this freakin instant. They will reach up and stick little hands in your pockets, stamp their feet in frustration, and generally make a little monkey mayhem until you give up the banana. Fortunately most of the time they are content to sit around, pick fleas out of each other's fur, lick the walls (for moisture the park ranger told us?), and generally tend to their monkey business.

And that worked out quite well for us, leaving us to explore the other sites within the sanctuary.  The site was built in the mid-14th century during the Pejeng Dynasty and contains three holy temples and two graveyards.

The Pura Dalem Agung Temple (Temple of the Dead) was the most ostentatious. We donned the sarang to be admitted (see above picture) and entered the temple gates. We were the only people in the complex so it was quiet and calm. We roamed around for a while, taking pictures of the moss-covered stonework, massive gates, and exquistely carved statues.

After Pura Dalem Agung, we headed down a long flight of stairs to the Holy Bathing Temple, which hugs the river and uses some diverted water to fill a stone bathing area, which is the sacred bathing place for the gods' disciples. This temple has three Mandalas (components). The holy bathing site is the Madya Mandala, the Utama Mandala is where the gods's rest, and the Nista Mandala, at the opening of the bridge over the river, is where the normal human beings bath. 

 The final temple is Pura Prajapati (the funeral or cremation temple). Cremation is a very big thing in Balienese culture, involving an elaborate ceremony, family, friends, and for wealthy families, even a flamethrower. Wow.

The photo on the right is of a park worker "cleaning" the moss off the rock carving with a blowtorch. Some guys have all the luck.