Monkey Forest, Ubud

Imagine a temple in a dense forest with moss growing on statues and monkeys prowling the grounds. Sounds like an episode of Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones? Well not exactly, but welcome to the Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali. Of course, I'm pretty sure Tomb Raider wouldn't have a bunch of tourists who sometimes forget their etiquette and throw cigarettes at the monkeys. However, once you leave the main area to explore further it become quite easy to forget about them and simply enjoy the sights.

The temple feels quite magical with an oppressive feeling granted by the forest canopy. However, know this, the monkeys are far from shy and can sometimes act quite aggressive. People are often surprised by the monkeys' behavior, but let's not forget these are wild animals after all.

I was a victim myself of these little fellas. One adventurous individual tried to snatch my whole bag, but only managed to escape with my water bottle. The problem was that my bottle also contained my water filtration device. I waited under the tree in which it was perched for a good two hours, but it never dropped it. I still don't believe my bottle was interesting enough to justify such a close examination. I don't know if he managed to open the bottle or simply broke the cap, but he almost dumped the content on my head.... Talk about adding insult to injury!

Some of them were quite eager to climb on you. One baby climbed up my skirt, while another fully grown landed on my head (don't worry, they're not gorilla-sized). Looking back it was quite comical, but at the moment I was wondering if I was about to be swarmed by a crowd of monkeys. One of the thing that really took me aback was how human their hands looked. Tiny, soft and agile, they also have nails that can scratch. If you do get scratch or bit, a very unpleasant rabies treatment is waiting for you.

I had to rescue a girl that was being attacked by three full grown monkeys. We surmised they were angry at the attention she was giving a baby monkey. With them, it seemed it was all about intimidation. I stepped in, first pulling her quickly away from the attacking monkeys, then trying to make myself seem bigger and more imposing (like you would for a puma in Canada), and finally using a big voice to try to shoo them away. They hissed back at me and showed their teeth, but eventually they did crawl away. Fortunately for the girl, their teeth hadn't pierced her jeans and she didn't need medical attention (rabies, remember...)

Many people got things stolen that day or got their plastics bags torn apart by monkeys who were hoping to get something tasty or shiny. Crazy little fellows those monkeys....

Let's not forget the very dark statues, like this one of a demon gobbling up a screaming girl.

Or this one of creepy lizards, who seem to be keeping an eye on you as you walk the grounds.

Canggu

Canggu (pronounced Changou) was my first stop in Bali. I chose this particular location, because I had heard that one wanted to avoid Kuta. It seems Kuta is to the Australian, what Varadero is to Canadians. Supposedly, they go there to drink and party. Not exactly what I wanted from my visit to Bali.

(Rock on the beach near my guesthouse)

Canggu seemed like a nice alternative and it was. I stayed at Serenity Eco Guesthouse and it was very quiet. From there you could get surfing lessons, massages and yoga lessons. While the installations were not luxurious, their simplicity made the charm of the place. There was a pool on site where I spent a bit of time everyday. The decor relied a lot on bamboo and plants. There were also many lounging areas with cushions on tatamis and comfortable chairs. As a guest you had access to books and movies - sitting on cushions in the common lounge area with a good book was a perfect way to end the night. Rooms were equipped with a fan and a mosquito net, which is surprisingly not something to take for granted as not all accommodations come equipped with this.

Finally, considering the breakfast was provided (and you actually had a choice of breakfast, such as delicious pancakes or fried rice, plus coffee/tea), the prices of the rooms came to being quite low. I was supposed to stay for 4 days and I ended up extending my stay just because I liked the place so much! Oh and the food in their warung... Really good, healthy food for very cheap as well!

As I walked around Canggu, I realized the people were not only friendly, but genuinely interested in you as a person, not as a customer. That's not to say that they don't recognize you are a tourist.... As I walked along Eco Beach, I did have a few "Massage" and "Taxi" called to me, but nowhere near the constant background calling I would witness in Ubud. Here, it was almost a shy call, no pressure intended. Just hopeful. Let's just say that my experience of being a tourist in Canggu was not the same as being a tourist on the main road of Ubud, the locals here were curious and more than willing to strike a friendly conversation.

A good example of their kindness is when I was walking to the post office to have a little something sent back home to my brother. I hadn't realized just how far the post office was and on the way back I was really in distress. Not due to the walking itself, mind you. But, I had no more water, the sun was beating down on me and I hadn't brought my sunscreen because I thought it would be a quick walk. Needless to say, I wasn't faring too well.

A girl got me to climb on her scooter and got out of her way to bring me back to my guesthouse. And when I wanted to help her pay for gas, she would have none of it. This happened another time, when I got lost during a walk and ended up on a road seemingly leading nowhere in the middle of rice fields. The girl stopped, asked me where I was going and brought me back to my guesthouse. Again, refusing compensation.

Also regular Balinese on the beach would strike up conversations, just because they really wanted to talk with you.

 

Canggu was a very relaxing and resourcing place. Among other things, I had a chance to try the fish spa. It was hard not to giggle as the little fishes did their thing. It's a bit disturbing to think they are feeding off your dead skin, but it works surprisingly well. The skin of my feet and legs was so soft once they were done! All the better since all the traveling had really taken its toll on  my poor feet, which were in rather poor condition.

(Graffiti on the side of the beach. Speaks for itself doesn't it?)

I am however wondering if Canggu will be the same the next time I come. It seems there is so much development happening, that I can't help but be afraid this will be the next Kuta. Tourism can be a blessing for a region, but mass tourism could really transform this beautiful place and not necessarily for the best.

(One of the many building that was going up when I was there.)

Trick of the Trade - Museums

Whether you are couchsurfing and can't meet your host hours after landing or, for some reasons, you just can't check-in your hotel right away, carrying your heavy luggage can prove to be quite a nightmare.

This happened to me quite a few times, most recently in Australia. The solution I found is to locate a museum close to my accommodation. Museums often have coat rooms or storage rooms where you can drop off your bag for the duration of your visit.

Even better if you can pick a location that is both convenient and interesting.In Sydney, the National Museum ended up being both. It had a very interesting exhibition on dinosaurs and was quite central as well. We went in the morning, dropped off our bags and visited the museum for a bit. Then, went out to sight see in the vicinity and returned to finish the visit and grab our bags.

There was a T-Rex skeleton on display with its shadow cast on the wall behind it. This said shadow animated every once in a while. I could have sat there all day to watch people scream in fright at this. Smart move from the museum.

Looking Back - Australia and New Zealand

Cases that made the news while I was here

• The parole of Schepelle Corby, who was convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia and for whom the first sentence would have lead her on death row.
• The bush fires around Melbourne.
• The public killing of Marius the giraffe by a Danish zoo. 

What I learned

• The difference between a poisonous snake and a non-poisonous one. 
• First aid for a snake bite or other venomous bites.
• The fact that despite the amount of planning, unexpected things will happen.
• You  have to take responsibility for your own mistakes and let others take responsibility for theirs.

Places I didn't get to see (but will come back for)

• Coral Reef, Australia
• Cradle Mountain, Australia
• Darwin, Australia
• South Island, New Zealand

Willow Creek Winery

When coming to Australia, I had really wanted to see some wineries. It seems the main wine region was around Adelaide and we were not heading this way. Thankfully there were some wineries around the Mornington Peninsula.

However, the day we prepared to go, we discovered most of the wineries opened their cellar doors only once a week and obviously, our day was not it. We did find one site called Willow Creek (http://www.willow-creek.com.au/new-cms/index.php) and, after looking up Google Map, we climbed on our bikes and got on our way.

We  would be biking a total of 32 km that day in hills, but we were dedicated to this adventure. At least we thought we were. As the kilometers went by, we started to reconsider. The question of turning back became about how much was still ahead of us vs. what was behind us. Thankfully we did make it to the said winery without turning back.

Quite hungry, we were looking forward to having a taste of the food served at their restaurant. Sadly, we had just missed lunch time. So we did the next best thing and we started walking the grounds, pulling out a meal replacement bar and munching on it.

The  grounds were beautiful and we were not surprised to learn that weddings sometime took place here.

Once we had walked around the grounds for a bit, we were ready to taste some wines. Willow Creek's wine consist of three whites, one red and one rosé. My favorite was the Chardonnay.

We also learned about the concept behind the Chardonnay Project : one fruit parcel to obtain four different wines - different simply due to slight changes in the making process. It was an initiative to include employees in the wine making process. It seems you can order the 4 bottles online, I'm really considering it...

(Vines  almost ready for harvesting, covered to prevent birds from eating all the grapes.)

The highlight of my visit was the man behind the counter. He was really interesting and he even let us have a sneak peak at the barrel room.

We talked about many things, from how a good port can transforms the taste of blue cheese to the very important roles of winemaker Geraldine McFaul and of viticulturist Robbie O'Leary. He also mentionned that each winemaker has its own signature, Geraldine McFaul seems to be about getting the most out of as little intervention as possible.

Among other things, I was amazed to find out that a barrel costs about $1200 and can contains 300 bottles of wine. It made me dream for a moment of studying wine making.

Mornington Peninsula

After the heat of Alice Springs, we were eager to head to the coast. Sadly, the day we arrived in Melbourne, the temperature was hotter there than in Alice Springs itself. Thankfully, the temperature did drop.

From Melbourne, we made our way to the Mornington Peninsula, which was easily accessible from the city. There we were close to beaches and wineries, but I will talk more about the winery we visited in my next post. So yes, after the deserts, the beach scenery was most welcome.

We also went with our host to Frankston to see the old war installation and read up on the subject of conscription in Australia.

Our host, Tim :

How to treat a snake bite

After my harmless encounter with a venomous snake and my visit to the Reptile Center of Alice Springs, I've decided to share with you the first aid that comes with treating a snake bite.

First, let's start with the things that you shouldn't do :

• Do not use a tourniquet, there is no need to block off the blood circulation completly and this could do more harm than good by causing more death of tissues
• Do not attempt to suck the venom out, this could actually be more detrimental than anything, even more so if you do so with your mouth - two patients instead of one anyone?
• Do not make incision or try to cut out the injection site, but really why would you want to do that, this method like the above have been shown not to work.
• Do not raise the injection site above the heart
• Do not apply a cold compress

Now, what you should do :

• Ensure you are safe first, you won't be much help if you get bitten by a snake as well.
• Call the emergency services, if you can. If not and if you are with a group, the fastest person should get help.
• Immobilize the victim, who should avoid movements that would accelerate blood circulation and accelerate the propagation of a potential venom. It is crucial to keep the victim calm. The victim should avoid walking and be transported.
• Remove constricting object, like rings, since the area will likely swell.
• Wrap the area tightly with an ace bandage. Start below the bite and work your way up, you want to cover the whole limb. Do not wrap to tightly. If you had a bite on the forearm for example, you would bandage the whole arm, but not close off the fingers, because by monitoring the fingers you can establish if your bandage is too tight.
•  Splint the limb to immobilize and prevent movement, further preventing propagation of the venom. 

The bandage should look something like this. Once you're done you can splint it as taught in first aid classes.

It's commonly heard that you should bring the snake with you for identification and administration of correct anti venom. However, you should not waste time hunting for the said snake, which could just put the helper in danger. Bring it if it's already dead, but don't waste time hunting it. The doctor can identify the snake with a machine that analyze a sample taken at the bite site or, without said machine, based on the symptoms displayed.

And, finally, just for fun here is a picture taken with a very gentle reptile at the Center, where you can learn all about reptiles and snakes of Australia and beyond. This is where I learned about this piece of first aid.

Desert Hymn

Happy, the song from Pharrell Williams, was the hymn of our adventure in the Australian desert. We played it every chance we got and when it was time to part at the end of the adventure, me and the girls danced to it.

It would be hard not to be joyous hearing it and I believe good memories will surface anytime I hear it now.

Enjoy!

My Encounter with a brown snake

In my part of Canada, spiders and snakes are not something to be worried about. The worst we get is a rare black widow that could get transported with imported grapes. You can find some kind of rattlesnake in the Prairies. Otherwise, we sometimes worry about bears, wolves or pumas. That's all I can think of. Here, in Canada when we speak of Australia, we often joke that everything in Australia wants to kill you. It does seem like they have the highest ratio of deadly animals by square kilometer.

We were four foreigners and our guide sitting around the campfire on our second day in the outback, at night when almost everybody else were asleep. A tiny snake slithered past us, even making its way on one of the guys foot before slithering discreetly away.

The guys quickly mentioned it, which led to the guide flashing a light on the said snake. What happened next was quite surprising, the guide jumped up, grabbed a shovel and decapitated the snake, stating he couldn't afford to let it loose in the campground.

Turns out, the innocent looking snake was either a king brown snake or some other kind of Australian brown snake, which are highly venomous. Even the bite of a baby is really dangerous and would have required the administration of an antivenom without delay.

This snake encounter actually piqued my curiosity and, when I was back in Alice Springs, I headed to the Reptile Center to learn more. This is where I learned that venomous snakes, such as cobra, will have fangs and constricting snakes, such as pythons, will have rows of teeth pointing backward and acting as anchors.

Also, unlike venomous snakes found elsewhere, venomous snakes in Australia will not leave puncture marks since their fangs are too small. Rather, they leave scratch marks. Looking at fangs of snakes from South East Asia, you can really see a difference in size. Wearing pants and shoes will prevent entry of venom in Australia, not so elsewhere where the fangs are big enough to pierce the fabric.

Interested in Australia's deadly animal?  Read this article from the Australian Greographic : Australia's most dangerous predators

Alice Springs, Australia

My visit to Alice Springs could be described in three words : excruciating, enchanting and awestriking.

It was excruciating because of the heat. As soon as we step foot in Alice Springs, the weight of the heat dropped on our shoulders like a ton of bricks. I know it will sound silly of me for mentioning it, but I never drank that much water without needing to go to the bathroom. Our guide recommended to drink at least one liter per hour. And you know when I had said I would most likely miss hot showers? Forget that, in Alice Springs, I missed cold showers. It seemed the coldest the showers could get were lukewarm.

Also, the heat meant that we had to be up at around 4 to 5 am every morning, because some sights got too warm during the day to be able to do them safely at any other time. Past 11 am, the conditions in King Canyon get dangerously close to those of an oven. On one occasion, the soles of a walker's running shoes have melted while he was climbing Uluru (not when I was there) and some walkers have died abruptly of the heat in some of these spots. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, like any desert, the extreme temperature and conditions are a definitive issue.

It was enchanting because we were told so many aboriginals stories on the different rock formations. We learned a bit about the mythology of the residing tribes and their stories about gods traveling and creating the various rock formations as they went. Every boulder and crevice seemed to have a meaning. It was interesting to try to spot the rocks in the shape of a sleeping snake, a resting koala or an elephant trunk. Colors also had meanings, like grey streaks believed to be the ashes of a creature that caught on fire aeons ago.

It was awestricking, just, well... because. I would have difficulty describing the feeling you get when you stand in the middle of the Australian desert on top of a enormous rock formation which burned ocher color turns the color of amber as the sunrise strikes it. It's just magical. Or the vastness of the empty plains surrounding you, which are the color of rust due to the high iron content of the soil.

 (Looking up)

We were there for a total of three days, touring the outback. Our guide had tons of information about survival in this arid region like how to hunt for wichetty grubs, which are eaten by aboriginals in Australia.

A tree partly dried up could be a good indicator of the presence of wichetty grubs in its roots.

Our guide found tons of things in the desert, including this thorny devil :

Our last stop was the camel farm before on our way back to Alice Springs to catch our flight to Melbourne :

Only one road leads in and out of the Outback, it's long and hot and appears interminable. The good thing is you can't  take a wrong turn on it. I strongly encourage you to travel it! This was an incredible adventure.

Finally, this trip somehow ended with me having this python on my shoulder thanks to our awesome desert guide from Emu Run Tours (check them out here). As strange as it sounds, this snake was actually quite gentle and its skin was quite smooth, not rough at all!

Good address : Annie's Place - the friendly backpacker.

Animistix

Sydney Harbor was filled with very talented street performers and we stopped to watch acts from a few of them. One group that especially caught our attention was Animistix - they did trance music coupled with traditional instruments.

We ended up buying their two discs.

You can listen to their music and read up on the members of the group here : http://www.animistix.com.au/

Surfing in Manly Beach

One of the things I wanted to do in Australia was to learn how to surf. How could I not?

I wasn't sure which beach to go to, but I was advised by my Australian host to go to Manly Beach if I wanted a less crowded spot. Turns out this was the right decision, as the Manly Surf School was one of the only ones still open after the summer holiday.

We reached this location through a ferry, which is a common mean of transportation here. The area surrounding Manly beach is quite lively and would be a nice area to stay in as well. Other than the beach, it is a nice zone to explore on foot.

The waves were quite big and I was sent tumbling a few times all the way to shore. I was bruised and sore by the end of the day, but most importantly I managed to stand up a few times. Once, I even made it to the sand still standing. The instructor really knew how to get his point across and transfer the necessary skills.

All in all I had a fantastic day and I was quite happy with myself, as my goal for the day was to stand up once.

La Soirée, Sydney, Australia

 (Sydney Opera House)

 
I like going to see shows in other countries, so how could I not stop by the Sydney Opera House for a performance? We chose something different this time, which would take me away from the ballet, orchestra and opera I generally opt for. Among many shows that sounded amazing, we went for a show called La Soirée (see their website here).

 (Photo credit : La Soirée Website)

The Opera House description was the following :

Expect the unexpected as the world's greatest exponents of cabaret, new burlesque, circus sideshow and vaudeville take centre stage! Featuring original La Soirée cast member Miss Behave with her infamous sword swallowing act and British cabaret star Ursula Martinez armed with her mischievous disappearing hanky! For the first time in Sydney two of the world's finest aerial artists Hugo & Katharine will send shivers down audience member's spines with their gravity defying acrobatics and one of Sweden's finest circus acts 

David & Fofo will amaze audiences with ping pong balls, juggling, and acrobatics. Coming out of retirement for one final swan song are circus royalty The Skating Willers and rounding off the incredible line up are La Soirée favourites Le Gateau Chocolate and Jess Love!

Personnaly, I loved it. I thought it was highly entertaining. There was a good balance of the funny and the enchanting. I loved the acrobatics acts and the cabaret singing (with outrageous lyrics such as "a cat has nine lives, but a pussy only has one"). I also found quite clever the dramatic reading of harlequin's passages by a man in tuxedo 

 (Sydney as night)

This show might come to Montreal. If it does, don't miss out. It's definitely worth seeing!

(Sydney at night)

On an almost completely unrelated note, if like me you love dramatic reading of silly things, have a look at this video! Makes me crack up every time.