The Happy Ranch (Siem Reap) 2nd Review - with pictures

I planned my trip to Siem Reap in part because of the good feedback about Happy Ranch I've been getting from my friends (see Rachel's review here) and from tripadvisor (see here).

Having ridden in several places around the region (and many beyond), the Happy Ranch was definitely one of my favourites. I did a 1 hour trail ride on the first day and a 2 hour sunrise ride followed by a private jumping lesson on the second. On the first day, I rode Brin, a 3-year-old who was born on the ranch. It was his first time out on the trails with a guest and he behaved impeccably- he was responsive and calm almost throughout the ride. I fell in love with Cambodian ponies there and then- they are really such intelligent, hardy animals with easy-going temperaments, comfortable gaits and smooth canters.

Brin

The sunrise ride is the one I'd really recommend. We went past paddy fields, waded through small streams and rode through the local villages and caught a glimpse into the lives of the farmers.

Riding past a lotus pond. Boy did I hone my horseback photography skills!


Wading through a stream


Paddy fields

We rode through a field of cows that were peacefully grazing and didn't flinch even though we were an arm's length away from them. It was a very surreal experience for a city girl like me and probably the closest I've ever gotten to farm animals (other than at the zoo!)

We got so close to the cows we could touch them. Thankfully they minded their own business

Water buffaloes

Watching the sunrise over the paddy fields was breathtakingly beautiful- it was quiet and absolutely serene- a stark contrast from the crowd and bustle of watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat the day before.

Sunrise over the paddy fields

Jay (Jai?) was an excellent guide as well- he spoke very good English and answered all our questions about the people living in the region, having grown up in the village himself. The only downside was that I didn't get a chance to canter as much as I would have liked to as a lot of the trail involved going past villagers' houses and through water-logged terrain.

Jay leading the way

We also made a quick stop at Wat Athvea, a 12th Century Hindu temple built by the same king who constructed Angkor Wat. It's quite a small temple but worth visiting simply because there were no other tourists around. Unlike Angkor Wat, there are relatively few carvings on the walls, other than a few very well preserved devata (sacred female images).

Wat Athvea. Riding Baloo, another young pony


Inside the temple- a devata

Unfinished carvings on the walls- they must have known there'd be horses passing through!

The lessons are perhaps more suited to beginner or intermediate riders, although more advanced riders can pick up a couple of good tips as well. The horses are not trained to a very high level so if you are looking for more advanced dressage or jumping lessons perhaps you may want to go somewhere else.

Information about the Happy Ranch:

Prices (payment in cash, US dollars only):
Trail Rides: 1h ($19), 2h ($36), 3h ($51), 4h ($64)
Lessons (1h): Private ($22), Group lesson up to 4 ridesr ($16)
Cart Rides (1h): $12.50

Bookings: Tel 012 920002 or 016920002, email: info@thehappyranch.com

Website: click here

Location: 1.5 km away from the centre of Siem Reap (see website).

Christchurch, New Zealand - Part 2

Day 2 at Kowhai Riding School
by Pauline Wong

We had a 2-hour lesson in the morning and a 3-hour trail ride in the afternoon. The team of 15 riders was led by the chief instructor who was an elderly lady (at least in her 60s) who rode in shorts, no chaps, and had a military-style training regime...

Riding with such a large group was already quite a challenge but on top of that we had to canter together in single file. It was fast, and at times we accelerated into a gallop. 90% of the trail was in fast canter, over open farmlands, along footpaths, up a treacherously steep cliff and down again and then charging across plains. For 3 whole hours, we cantered and galloped, with 15 energetic horses and some nervous riders, the thundering hoofbeats and howling wind behind us adding to the excitement and thrill. It was a nerve-wrecking ride and I had to admit I had my heart in my mouth the whole time, with every muscle tensed and wanting it to end.

Remember Opal the obnoxious bossy horse? I had her the day before and had such a good relaxing ride on her that the hack was a breeze. That day it was the same horse, in the same place, doing the same thing, but I didn't enjoy the ride because the instructor was yelling at us and scaring us out of our wits. In fact I was so happy to have my feet on the ground again after the 3-hour hell-ride. I thought long and hard about the vast difference between the 2 days and came to a realization: That your confidence can be taken away from you within a short encounter and we must be careful not to let that happen. I am a good rider (in my own rights) and I will always love riding.

Day 3 - Rubicon Valley
I returned to Christchurch and called up another horse ranch at Rubicon Valley to book a 3-hour trail ride for NZ$120. They provided free return transport to Christchurch City Centre. The owners were a nice friendly couple who owned only 18 horses.
 
I had a standard-bred named Monty. I’ve heard a lot from my friends about how awkward riding such horses can be because they “paced”. I soon got a feel of what they had been talking about! Instead of trotting in diagonals, he sort of went parallel, so it felt like he was wobbling and it was impossible to sit to the “pace”. But I soon got the hang of it and stood up when he paced and then kicked harder to make him go into canter. They used a stock-saddle (similar to a western saddle) and the horses go on a loose rein, so once Monty knew I was game for a fast ride, it became a breeze getting him to canter. Oh how we cantered! Besides myself there was a Canadian rider who last rode many years ago and was both rusty and nervous. But she was soon smitten by the cantering bug when she saw me having a whale of a time charging across acres of farmland, amid scattering and bleating sheep, until we reached the gate and Monty would automatically slow down. Yes, there were many gates, and the guide had to keep hopping on and off her horse.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse that day and it began to pour minutes into our ride. But it became a rare treat because we got to wear the famous "dry-as-a-bone" raincoat. It was a long trench coat and there was a buckle at the calf. Besides the thrill of looking like real cowboys, it also kept us dry and out of the wind. I don’t think I could have continued the ride without the coat because despite wearing a jersey and a windbreaker, I was shivering and my hands were numb in my soaking-wet gloves. My nose was also runny by then. But we kept going and decided that nothing was gonna stop us! The trail was much more rugged than the one at Kowhai; there were broken branches strewn everywhere, prickly wild plants sprouting up here and there, and most interestingly, we occasionally ran into sheep and goats. They were really a playful lot, dashing around us as we approached.

We stopped midway to take pictures and to marvel at the long winding Kamawari River(I think it means freezing cold). The guides had packed scones and hot cocoa in their saddle-bags and we were supposed to stop by the river for tea. But because it was raining quite heavily, we just stopped for a short while and only had tea back at the barn at the end of the ride.

Because it was the rugged outback, it was inevitable that we had to be careful not to have our eyes poked by prickly branches and to have to duck low-hanging ones. So alertness was of paramount importance. At times we had to trust our mounts and let them gallop up the cliff and other times, we had to sit far back with long reins to let them manoeuver their way down the cliff. We had to maintain our distance between horses and at the same time, ensure that they did not run down the slope because they would tumble head down and we would all be a mangled mess if that happened. (Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration.)

All too soon, we were back at the barn - cold, tired and hungry. They had prepared tea for us and what a lovely treat it was to warm our hands and body with some piping hot cocoa and home-made scones! We lingered a while longer, took more pictures with Monty and the guides and then we hit the road again, with cold feet in wet boots, and warm hearts...

Christchurch, New Zealand- Part 1

Equestrian Adventure- Part One
By Pauline

I took off for NZ Christchurch at a whim on New Year's Eve last year with boots, crop and helmet. I stayed with a host family in Oxford which was only an hour's drive from Christchurch City Centre and a 10 min drive to Kowhai Riding School which I chanced upon on the internet. Being accessible was one big draw, being inexpensive was another. A day’s ride ( 1 lesson+1 trail ride) including lunch cost NZ$215.


Day 1: Kowhai Riding School

I arrived at Kowhai (which is the name of a small yellow flower) at 9 am and it was back-breaking hard work from then on !

There were about 30 riders that day as it was a public holiday and we were put into groups of 4 to 6 according to age and/or riding experience. First, we each had to catch our own horse from the paddock. Under the guidance of our instructor, we each grabbed a handful of barley and a halter and went looking for our assigned horses. It was indeed overwhelming for riders like me who were so used to stabled horses and were always waited on hand and foot by stable helpers. There were some 80 horses in the paddock and they were amazingly peaceful and harmonious! We did not have to worry about being kicked or bitten so it was so exciting to be in such close proximity with so many horses. We soon located our ride and the instructor gave us a demonstration on how to put the halter on the horse’s head while they were happily munching on the barley. This was but the first of many more demonstrations to come.

We led our horses back to the yard and I had a big tall dark bay mare named Opal. I soon learnt that she was like the Alpha female and both of us have something in common- greedy and obnoxious! More on that later... We had to learn to tie a special knot with the halter rope around a pole at the yard and attach it to our horse. We had to be careful to attach it to the raffia string (which tears easily) and not to drop any metal part on the horse or they might injure themselves if they spooked and tried to pull away.

After spending a long time figuring out how to tie the wretched knot ( they call it the butterfly knot i think), we had to go to the barn to collect a brush, a curry-comb and a hoof-pick to groom the horse. It was literally back-breaking trying to do Opal’s hind legs. She would rest her weight on me and swish her long thick tail across my face! I swear she was giving me two tight slaps across my face, left then right, and it hurt! I proceeded to put the saddle pad on, then the saddle (you had to be quick yet gentle because the saddle was both heavy and expensive) and lastly the bit which soon became a tangled mess in my hands. The instructor helped me with it and finally we were ready to mount. We had taken a total of 1.5 hours doing all that!



The lesson lasted about 2 hours, in an arena which was just hard ground and not sand-filled, so I had a good mind to stay on the saddle no matter what... It was a pity that the lesson soon became boring and laborious for me because they actually put 2 beginner-riders with me and another experienced rider. The experienced ones were asked to canter in the later part of the lesson and boy, that alone made all the hard work in the morning plus the boring bit all worth it! Opal was very forward-going and she had such a lovely gait that it was almost effortless cantering her and we just went on and on, for some 10 rounds, on both the left and right rein. Unlike those horses we get so often in the regular riding schools where you have to kick and push so much, especially round the corners, horses at Kowhai are a joy to ride! They are so lively and so well-schooled that it’s no wonder many of their relatively new riders are able to go on a cantering spree in the open farmland as compared to our local riders who probably had to take many many lessons before they could even get to transit into canter. That’s why people often say a good horse actually teaches you a lot more than you teach the horse.

After the ride, we had to untack the horse, give it a sponge bath, clean the tack with soap and water, and feed our horse. After a quick lunch, we went out to prepare for the afternoon hack and we had to do the morning chores all over again! Yes, everything and this time Opal decided to give me some variety: she pooped! Oh my! it was such a huge mound that I had to empty the shovel (which was darn heavy) 4 to 5 times before the ground was clean again.


My group went up the Canterbury hills and it was simply delightful! While the morning was blazing hot, the afternoon was cool and breezy. In fact, it got rather chilly up on the hills and the wind was making a ghoulish howl. Opal was her usual greedy self. She simply had to eat all the way, all the time! If I so much as paused for one second, she would pull the reins out of my hands and stretch her neck for whatever she could stuff into her mouth. Then she would chew on the grass as we moved along. There was no point trying to resist her, she did not take “no” for an answer; she would bend her ears and show you how mean she could be when she got upset!


I had brought along my new Canon Powershot waterproof camera and was merrily snapping pictures with one hand while holding the reins in the other. This was a big no-no but I didn’t want to go home without any evidence of my wonderful time with Opal and my new-found friends. It was extremely relaxing as we trotted up the winding path to the top of the hills. The view was breathtaking; all we saw below was large squares of farmland and as we were lucky to have a clear sky that day, we could see miles ahead to Christchurch! Canterbury Plains has the the flattest land in NZ, so we had an unobstructed view all the way to Christchurch.



I did some good cantering, though not as much as I would have liked. The trail lasted about 2.5 hours and after that, we had to repeat the chores yet again! After the horses were sponged and clean again, we released them in the field by the river. There was a trough of water in there and that obnoxious, bossy horse of mine actually chased away 2 others who were drinking there. She simply bent her ears and “elbowed” her way between them and the 2 horses briskly moved away; they didn’t even try to “argue” with her. Opal got her way, all the time, but I was so proud of her and also felt such an affinity with her. She could have been my twin!





For more information and rates:
Kowhai Riding School

The Happy Ranch, Siem Reap, Cambodia

(Adapted from Rachel's 2008 Cambodia travelogue. Unfortunately there are no photos!)

There's something vaguely, charmingly dodgy about Cambodia. The roads are dusty, the traffic is of that genially lethal quality that you get when large numbers of insouciantly ridden motorcycles are combined with rattle-deathtrap cars running on the village's bootleg fuel. The fields were undulating, a verdant emerald green that made you think of Vietnam war movies, dotted here and there by a pensive water buffalo. The people were almost uncommonly friendly: I don't think I've ever had a child wave a giant spider at me by way of greeting before or been treated to a lengthy discourse on corruption in schools by a driver named Phat.

Most people go to Siem Reap to take in Angkor Wat, but after three days of sculpture and stone we were quite templed out and other diversions were accordingly sought out.

Accordingly, we went riding on two of the days, our nice guides and instructors hailing from Siem Reap's Happy Ranch. Everything in Cambodia is called "happy something" for some reason; I theorised that this is because being "happy" is something of great novelty and importance after the Khmer Rouge.

The Happy Ranch, founded by Mr Sary, touts itself as "the only Western-style horse ranch in Cambodia" and is 20 minutes away from the main streets of Sieam Reap by tuk tuk. The tack was of good quality, though a bit makeshift: some of the horses had rope for bridles and stirrups that looked like they were made out of what used to be rubber tyres. The horses were of a small, intelligent Cambodian breed, and there were well fed and groomed.

The first occasion was a rather ambitious one for the Boyfriend, him being the equestrian virgin than he was. We went on a two-hour trail ride together with two Cambodian guides to Wat Athvey, a cluster of small temple ruins way off the beaten tourist track. The ride took us through landscape that looked like it came out of The Killing Fields, with paddyfields as far as the eye could see; random loud ethnic music, complete with drum and cymbals, issuing from a house under construction in the middle of nowhere; some guy riding a motorcycle to which a horse was conveniently tethered. There was the odd water buffalo wading through the paddy. It was utterly beautiful in that rustic simplicity sort of way.

The countryside was dotted with all sorts of interesting sights, from plots still being de-mined to roadside vendors hawking all sorts of weird and wonderful things. We passed Nissen huts donated by Japanese charities, boys leading cows to the fields and then back home again, children leaping into muddy pools and pulling out small fish, women carrying their babies and shouting out the usual litanies of "Hello! Bye Bye! Bonjour!"

Unfortunately the Boyfriend got into several sticky situations, especially one involving the horse tethered to the motorcycle. His mount, a horse named - yes, you guessed it - Happy, decided it didn't like the tethered chap and they both got into a bit of an altercation. Nevertheless, Boyfriend managed to stay on and look appropriately terrified.

The second time we went, it was for a lesson with one of the European instructors. Unfortunately I cannot remember her name, but she was relaxed, competent and - a rare quality in riding instructors - not at all shouty. It was mostly flat-work, and the Boyfriend picked up a lot while I aptly demonstrated my rustiness with the canter.

The Happy Ranch provides several trail and lessons options for its riders, including day trips to Phnom Krom. More experienced groups can canter and gallop, but less confident riders are also catered for and have the option of enjoying the scenery at a comfortable trot. My only regret is that I didn't get to ride for longer!

For Information and Rates:
The Happy Ranch, Siem Reap

Trail rates start from US$19 for an hour to US$64 for four hours
Classes start from US$19 for a one-hour group lesson to US$25 for a private lesson

Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre (STCRC)

After months of anxious anticipation, numerous phone calls and admin hiccups, we finally got a chance to ride at STCRC last Sunday. I must admit, the facilities are indeed world-class. The sheer size of the indoor arena was utterly luxurious, if not a little overwhelming.

In any case, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about glove tan-lines or wet weather riding anymore. And talk about being spoiled- even the sand on the ground was made out of some synthetic material which was virtually dirt-free but hell to get out of our clothes and boots (it came out in weird clumps). What more- the syces walked our horses right down to the arena, helped us mount, and then took the horses back to the stables for us after we finished our ride. Personally, I'd prefer helping to tack up / bringing my horse back to the stables... but unfortunately the riding school's policies don't allow for that...

The horses were all a little fresh and excitable. Mine was ultra sensitive and kept bolting at a certain corner of the arena and wanting to break into a canter, probably a reflection of my inexperience in riding highly-trained, non-school-master type horses rather than a problem with the horse’s schooling. The other advanced riders seemed to have pretty good rides, and the instructor seemed competent as well. It was just a little unnerving watching two riders (both kids) fall within the span of two lessons- one of whom was a novice rider who had a syce holding onto her pony when it bolted.

That being said, the horses and ponies are very new and will need time to settle down before they get used to the new place. Hopefully things will improve when all the teething problems get worked out (including the extremely vexing lesson booking policies).

Unfortunately, riders are not allowed to visit the horses at the stables unless they book stable management classes. That means no post-ride carrot-feeding, showering the horses or hanging around the barn after lessons- a huge pity imo!

Information:

Check out their website for more information

Type of riding: Mainly dressage. Jumping for Advanced riders only.

Riding fees: $60 per 45 min for public riders ($15-35 for students, see website for more details).

Location: 10 Woodlands Avenue 3. Map

STCRC is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Kranji MRT. If you’d like to take the bus instead of walking the whole way, cross the road (from Kranji MRT), take almost any bus and alight after 1 bus-stop and walk.

The Umalas Equestrian Resort Bali

Repost of Original Article: Used with Permission (MANY THANKS! :) )
Photos courtesy of Noreen

How to Look Good Riding

by Rachel Lin

Task: Four days on horseback in Bali. Watch sunburnt tourists flee in your path as you gallop down Seminyak beach and get yelled at in what seems like a friendly fashion by villagers.


Equipment: New riding stuff for the Boyfriend, old riding stuff for me. Sunscreen, the fabled striped Stussy dress and an emergency supply of lip balm.

The Team:

Rachel "I've been bitten" Lin, who seemed to attract all manner of blood-hungry insects.

The Intelligent Boyfriend, who decided to splash out on an all-polo outfit but was unable, in the end, to escape with his lower body entirely unscathed.

Four days is definitely not enough time for a fully featured Bali trip. There were many things we missed out on: the traditional dances, the beautiful temples, the cultural and artistic excesses of Ubud or the verdant slopes of Gunung Agung. Despite waking up obscenely early in the morning and going to bed obscenely late at night, we hardly made a dent in the island's sights. We didn't manage to thoroughly explore even Kuta or browse through the shops in Seminyak. We rushed in and out of Denpasar with no time at all to visit the museum or take in the hectic, dusty town. There was no time to trawl the bars properly, though we did drop into this delightfully squalid dive called the Espresso bar, which featured a fantastic local band performing odd renditions of popular rock hits in a strong Indonesian accent and sarong-clad waitresses doing their cheesy utmost to cozy up to overweight and slightly drunk white patrons. There was no time to investigate the infamous Double Six club, with its very own bungee jump, though we did loiter outside and soak in the night-time beach.

But what we lacked in breadth of experience we made up in sheer equestrian overload; it was a riding holiday after all, and ride we did. Oh, how we rode. We rode till the Boyfriend's knees went funny and he managed to get abrasions on his arse, pained patches on his bum that I tried to bandage before he revisited his mounts for yet another go at a trail or a lesson. We rode till I winded myself doing jump after jump after jump on this pretty palomino horse named Romantis during a much-anticipated lesson, trying hard not to look too tired because my efforts had attracted an audience of Japanese tourists. We rode for hours every day, crossing rain-swollen rivers, scattering chickens in charmingly rural villages, passing roadside stalls selling "100% halal" petrol, galloping down the beaches to the accompaniment of crashing surf - and my word, the surf was truly gorgeous - and frolicking feral dogs. Wales was intense, yes, but this was somehow crazier.

The horses at Umalas:

Zorro- Big, black and beautiful.

Xena

It was crazier because Bali has that frenetic riotous edge to it that you get when development steams ahead like an express train gone haywire. Villas, shops, stalls, random buildings were springing up everywhere, for rent to whoever would believe the promises of "beach view" or "close to rice fields". Signs along the road beckoned you to all sorts of businesses: massages both dubious and delightful, food both delicious and diarrhea-ific, car repair and motorcycle repair and sofa cleaning and laundry and god knows what else, all advertised on bits of board with painted letters scrawled on them. Random vehicles stood by the roadside with a makeshift "for rent" sign on them; there was even a well in a courtyard with a "for rent" sign balanced over its mouth. It was calmer, more organised than Siem Reap, for sure, but you could almost feel the thirst for development, the burgeoning possibilities of cash and business and enterprise. The waitress at the restaurant at which we breakfasted every morning asked us if we wanted to hire a motorcycle from her. The taxi driver who took us to Denpasar one afternoon gave us his name card in case we needed another ride.

And then you had the contrast between tourist comforts and local life. Next to trim, landscaped resorts that stank of sleek money there were ramshackle huts housing sun-bleached fishing boats. Walking down the beach from Canggu we passed tanned Australians surfing in the wild waters on one end and a browned Indonesian father and his two sons splashing in a small river on the other, passing a lovely Vesak Day celebration along the way. It seemed so otherworldly, the Balinese dressed in their religious best having a feast on a rock perched right next to the roaring waves, sharing the same beach with surfers and bikini-clad strollers. Riding through the villages around Kerobokan - one of them was called Batu Belig, I think - we saw small family-run provision shops, usually with one or two barely-dressed children tumbling around the place shrieking with laughter, right next to swish villas with imposing stone walls and full security features. From the window of our room we could see the farmers at work in their plots, digging new trenches in the field or, more puzzlingly, shooting hay at a screen.

To cut a long story short, it was magnificent. It was great. I've wracked my brains and sincerely cannot think of something that went seriously wrong, apart from the Boyfriend's sore bum, and even then it was a source of more mirth than misery. Most of it was thanks to the lovely people at the Umalas Stables and I have no hesitation in plugging them here. We had the opportunity of staying at the stables during our whole trip, just above a row of horse boxes: there's something to be said about hearing equine snufflings at night! The room was really pretty and had windows that opened out onto a road. Even better, the arena was nestled in the midst of some rice fields, which gave us a lovely view every time we went for lessons; random villagers also tended to walk past in the evenings, some carrying firewood, others pushing fluffy dogs around on baby strollers, of all things. They gave us breakfasts too and we had fantastic bacon and eggs at the attached restaurant, the Lestari. And it was also at that restaurant where we had an amazing all-you-can-eat grill. We stuffed ourselves absolutely silly on the food, which was mind-blowingly tasty; I also had my first taste of arak there, a most potent dram which put everything in a kind of pleasant haze from the start.

The riding was excellent: it was such an experience cantering or galloping in the froth and spray of a beautiful beach that stretched for miles, navigating the streets of Batu Beling and exchanging smiles with the innumerable construction teams at semi-work or stealing glances at the emerald green rice shoots as we ambled past the paddy fields. Even the lessons in the stable arena, which more than anything else worked to tire me out, were fantastic; the Boyfriend learnt a massive amount and even got to cantering by the last lesson, while I tried my hand at jumping after a hiatus of way, way too long. The horses were wonderfully well-tempered, though each had their own endearing personality quirk. Apart from Romantis I rode Asgan, who was technically the Boyfriend's horse for the four days, and Manny, who rather irritatingly disliked being on the beach and charged straight into the beachfront lawn of some hotel, a move that earned me a rebuke from the elderly gardener and much embarrassment. The Boyfriend had Asgan, who put him through his beginner's paces with a surprising amount of drool; Kiko, an even-tempered chap who had no problems being put on a lead rope; a skewbald horse whose name I forget, but means "two-toned" in Balinese; and Jawa, who traumatised the Boyfriend on the last day by being a bit too forward-going and bouncy. But they were all lovely mounts and the Boyfriend is now as assuredly a riding addict as I am. On the Seminyak beach I met an Australian couple who had lived next to the Olympic dressage coach; they paid me an immense comment in saying that I looked lovely on horseback, which was very unexpected and gave me a happy glow for the rest of the day.

Everything else seemed to wonderfully charmed as well. The food was mouth-watering and one of the only reasons why my brain registers that I'm back in Singapore is that my meals suddenly aren't as tasty as they were in Bali. The gargantuan rijstaffel in the Poppies Restaurant, the insanely delicious lemon meringue pie in the Kopi Pot, my first sampling of Balinese style burbur ayam in Made's Warung - my word, I get hungry whenever I think of them. The highlight, though, was our search for babi guling, something that the Boyfriend had insisted upon from the beginning. The nice people at the stables recommended us a warung in Denpasar, one of those roadside dives that was sort of like a kopitiam around here, but more claustrophobic. As for the food: well, what can I say? I have no idea what spices they used or exactly how they cooked it, but my word, it was one of the most delicious roast pork dishes I'd ever eaten in my life. Even the Boyfriend gave it his "Wong stamp of approval", which coming from a Cantonese man is high praise indeed.

The people there were really nice, so nice I almost felt bad for being a decadent tourist. I mean, I really didn't feel like I deserved to be pampered so thoroughly in a spa, given flower petal baths and rub-downs with herbs. I didn't feel like I was entitled to have a nice woman lather my hair in cream and massage my head, only to encounter a nice man who then blow-dried it all and complimented me on my piercings. The spa experience was all so blissful that I felt distinctly guilty even amongst all that relaxation. At the stables, the staff were nothing short of encouraging and helpful. They called taxis for us, helped the Boyfriend with his laundry, were always ready with a smile and a greeting. Some of the stable lads looked positively dashing and had an easy informality about them that made everything somehow breezier: Kadek in particular was quite the roguish character who rode a horse named Ben Hur and somehow ended up calling the Boyfriend "Eliot"; while Churliyanto (if that's his name) definitely broke the mould of scary, demanding riding instructors that I was used to. He was so calm and friendly during the lessons that it was a positive joy being taught by him.

What more can I say after all that? It was a thoroughly enchanting four days and I had lots of trouble tearing myself away from the place. I mean, it had loads of lovely horses, fantastic people, delicious food, wonderful scenery, that crazy mix of city and country life, that clash of cultures that keeps things interesting. Nothing more that I could ask for, really. There was so much left unexplored, so many nooks and crannies we hadn't poked into, that I feel as if I've left unfinished business behind. And there was just something about that place, the chilled atmosphere and the unforced cheerfulness of the people there, that made the whole thing feel so dreamlike, so wonderful, that I couldn't find it in me to go back to Singapore.

I seriously have to visit Bali again. This time, we'll probably strike out further north and see the bits we missed: that is, if we can find the time or the resources next to all the other destinations we have planned!



For Information and Rates:

The Umalas Equestrian Resort Bali

Rates and packages (from the website):
US$369 (S$517) for 2 nights (riding plus accommodation) to US$952 (S$1,334) for 7 nights.

Lessons offered:
Dressage, jumping and beginners’ lunge lessons.

Trail rides offered:
30 min rice field tour (for beginners and children)
2 and 3 hour beach tours.