Town of Ubud, Bali

Our last 3 days in Indonesia were spent in the town of Ubud, right in the centre of Bali. It is a very touristy town with gift shops galore, glorious coffee shops and tasty restaurants, so we didn't mind it, especially after being on rustic, isolated islands. Ubud it is touristy for a reason. The charm of the town is present on every street with its intricately decorated temples, beautiful tropical gardens among them and lush, green rice paddies surrounding the town. Every morning the Balinese Hindu women carefully place small offerings of flowers, rice and candy in strategic spots to ward off the bad spirits from their homes or businesses. Women wear a traditional, patterned long skirt and a flower in their hair while performing elegant, dance-like moves of precision and thinking a short prayer. It was truly a lovely aspect of the culture to observe.

We hired a shooter one day and explored one of Bali's two volcanos. We drove our little scooter right to the edge of the volcanic crater and to our surprise, there were roads, farms and villages located inside the crater!!! Not exactly our idea of the ideal place to live!! Oh and yes the volcano is active, but hasn't exploded since the 1960's. So of course, we had to go and venture down into these towns just to see what life is like. The roads were totally funny to drive on, because they were laid on old lava flow which made the roads feel like a mini roller coaster ride, dipping up and down like a wave! totally bizarre. Land has got to be cheap here!!

Overall, our time in Ubud, was a picturesque, relaxing, tasty experience.

Please check out a few photos in the Indonesian gallery.