Monday, July 17, 2023 – After a busy couple of days we decided to take it easy today. We had a late breakfast at our hotel and walked into town to see the Ubud Palace. We unfortunately could not see more than the fountains and front gate and courtyard, but like so many other places we’ve visited the architecture was ornate and beautiful.
Interesting addition of modern art.
We then walked just down the street to the Saraswati Temple. This temple was built in the 1950s and dedicated to the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Again we could not enter the inner temple, but enjoyed the beautifully carved doorways, gorgeous architecture, and huge lotus ponds.
After a lunch stop in the middle of town, we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at street markets and small shops throughout the city. It really is different to be in a place where the cost of goods is so very low (by American standards).
We went back to our resort for a break to put our feet up by the pool. Then we headed back out (by Grab – Southeast Asia’s Uber) to a spa to try Mandi Lulur. This traditional Balinese treatment included a 65 minute oil massage, a 20 minute body scrub, and then 25 minutes to soak in a flower bath. The final cost was about $15 (US Dollars) per person. Quite delightful and a great way to end our last day in Bali.
Sunday, July 16, 2023 – Today we scheduled a driver to take us to a number of sights outside of Ubud. Our primary goal was to see a few of Bali’s amazing waterfalls. Our first stop was the Kanto Lampo Waterfall. Still early in the morning, we opted not to get into the water and the waterfall itself, but enjoyed watching a young woman being coached by a local guide on how to pose to get the best waterfall photos.
A short drive brought us to the Tiburmana Waterfall. After walking down several flights of stairs through lush tropical plants we arrived at this powerful waterfall. At this stop we did get into the water for a few pictures. Due to the amount of water coming over the waterfall you cannot get too close to it.
We then went to the Goa Raja Waterfall, a less visited location. Again, after going down some very steep steps and walking across a couple of bamboo bridges we reached a human made infinity pool at the base of a small waterfall and saw the large Goa Raja Waterfall tucked back in a cave (Goa Raja in Indonesian means “king cave”). Because this waterfall was in a cave we could feel the force of the water coming down from the mist blowing against us as we inched closer to get a few pictures. We learned that just a week earlier there had been sturdier bridges and nicer walkways to this waterfall, but heavy rains had caused mudslides that destroyed them.
Our next stop was at Santi, a small coffee plantation. We took a short tour and sampled their coffee, tea and chocolate. We also learned about the Balinese specialty coffee, Kapi Luwak, made by collecting and roasting coffee cherries that have been eaten, partially digested and pooped out by luwaks (weasel-like animals). No thank you! Our brief visit was followed by lunch at a restaurant just down the street with an amazing view.
Our final stop on this excursion was the Abian Desa Pakudui Rice Terraces. A beautiful area of tiered rice terraces with the traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation throughout. This was definitely a tourist destination… lots of photo opp spots, a couple of ziplines, and a few famous Bali Swings that will provide a few swings over gorgeous, lush scenery for a fee.
After a quick stop back to our resort we headed out again. Ubud is a city known for being a hub for yogis. We were told the Yoga Barn was the most famous studio. Karen enjoyed a yoga class at this huge facility while Greg took a long walk. A casual dinner on our way back to our resort was the end of this busy day in Bali.
Saturday, July 15, 2023 – Today we started with an early breakfast at our resort and headed out to explore Ubud. We had been advised to get out as early as possible to hit some of the popular local areas before they got crowded. One thing that was very evident walking around last night was that Ubud was filled with tourists from around the world. So we set out to visit a few places that were within walking distance of our resort.
Our first stop was the Campuhan Ridge Walk, a 1.2 mile (2 km) paved walkway along a ridge between two river gulleys. Our hike started with a mishap. On the stairs down to the start of the ridge walk Karen slipped and landed on her bum. Fortunately the slip was not serious, but Karen ended up bringing home a large bruise as an additional souvenir. The Ridge Walk was a nice hike with a climb at the start and then a relatively flat path along the top of the ridge until another small climb at the top end of the walk. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we took in views of some incredible houses and resorts built into the opposite hillsides.
After our walk we stopped by the @LazyCatsCafe to refuel with a snack and beverages. The cafe offers a nice street view from the second floor to watch the city morning activity. We liked the saying displayed on the wall: “BEING LAZY DOES NOT MEAN DOING NOTHING, IT MEANS DEDICATING TIME TO YOURSELF WITHOUT THE NEED TO BE PRODUCTIVE.” It was great for Karen to find decaf coffee (Thailand and Indonesia are both famous for their coffee, but decaf is not a thing!) while Greg enjoyed a delicious Masala chai tea.
Next up was a visit to Mandala Suci Wenara Wana (the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary). This is a protected park on the edge of Ubud city that houses 3 Hindu temples and is home to about 600 macaque monkeys. As you walk through the park you can experience the monkeys up close and personal. You need to keep food, drinks and all personal items tucked away, otherwise the monkeys will be happy to take them off your hands. Literally – we saw monkeys jump up and reach right into people’s bags. There are no fences or cages and the monkeys are allowed to roam and freely interact with whoever is inside the park. A few of these clever monkeys even go outside the park in search of tourists and their treasures. The village that manages the park feeds the monkeys sweet potatoes and bananas throughout the day so the monkeys are well fed and typically stay within the forest. We were not able to go into any of the temples as there were Hindu ceremonies happening (and we saw many people come into the park for those ceremonies) but we certainly did have fun watching the monkeys.
After getting many steps in for the day we returned to the resort for a shower and a massage. Our resort arranged for two women to come to Kano Sari and give us massages. We felt it was our responsibility to compare a Balinese massage to the ones we experienced in Thailand – thumbs up for Balinese massage!
Relaxed and refreshed we headed back out to attend one of the local traditional dance performances. There are many to choose from each evening that are held in various locations around the city. We attended the Kecak Fire and Trance Dance presented by the Taman Kaja Community. The Kecak Fire dance is the telling of Ramayana, an old Hindu story, that is shared through costumed dancers and is accompanied by vocal percussion music from a choir of about a hundred men that sit, stand, and lay in concentric circles around the fire. The dance involves almost all the adults from the Taman Kaja community. The Trance Dance (Sanghyang Djaran) depicts a horse rider who is “lulled into a trance” to walk over hot coconut husk coals. We found the costumes magnificent, the dances and stories fascinating and the supporting music provided by the men’s choir fantastic.
Kecak Fire DanceTrance Dance
We ended our night with a very nice dinner. I took a picture of the bill because it came to over 1.1 Million Indonesian Rupiahs. It sounds like a lot until you realize it is equal to approximately $76 US. This was at a very nice restaurant that clearly caters to tourists – the pricing was extravagant by Balinese standards (and a nice treat for us).
Hammond Adventures 