Ubud, Bali

Bali has been waiting patiently for us since we left in February. It seemed like an exotic, far-away place when we headed out of Malibu and the closer we got, the more excited we all were to experience it. We decided to stay in Ubud, the “soul” of Bali, and we were really happy we did because we had the opportunity to participate in local traditions, enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the rice paddie fields and have a chance to interact with the Balinese people. We stayed at the Honeymoon Guesthouse, which had been a suggestion of an Australian woman, named Fiona, whom we had met in Tanzania. It was a lovely suggestion because the Guesthouse has huge Balinese style rooms with verandahs for breakfast and napping, lush, tropical landscaping with moss covered stone walkways and planters, Hindu sculptures, and warm hospitality that made our eight day stay here blissful.

When we first arrived we learned there were preparations in the center of Ubud for the largest cremation ceremony Bali has ever experienced. On July 15th (we missed it) Bali is cremating two of its royals in a ceremony to end all ceremonies. The funeral bier is unbelievably complex and grand, and every temple in town is filled with people working on costumes or decorations for the cremation. The “Bade”, which is the cremation tower that carries the bodies to the cremation fire, is made of bamboo, papier mache and cotton, is over 27 meters high. Since we first arrived we have watched the progress of the preparations and it’s quite remarkable how much effort and manpower is going in to this celebration of death. Too bad we’ll miss the festivities.

We knew we had to experience some Balinese dance so we headed to The Palace and watched a Bayrung traditional dance with elaborate costuming and make-up and beautiful live instrumentation. The storytelling, through eye and hand movements, is really exquisite and beautiful to watch. We also drove to Uluwatu, on the beach, to experience the Kecak performers and the Fire Dance at sunset at Uluwatu Temple. Kecak comes from the chattering cak-cak sounds the men make who serve as the chorus for the dancers. It’s a very unique experience and we’re happy we made the effort to go.

There’s great food in Ubud – everywhere. Matt and Madeline took a cooking class held at the Guesthouse and they loved it. They learned how to make chicken satay, corn fritter, bean salad with warm coconut dressing, peanut sauce, and yellow rice. In addition, the chef gave the class a detailed demonstration of local healing herbs and spices and how to prepare them. Matt and Madeline were soooo happy to be back in the kitchen where they belong! (Alex and I went shopping). The woman who owns the Guesthouse also owns an incredible restaurant, Casa Luna, where we enjoyed five great meals in eight days!

Matt and I took off one day and took a two hour walk around the outskirts of Ubud through some extraordinary rice paddie fields. We’ve all been very intrigued with the process of growing and harvesting rice and it’s been a constant theme in our travels since Nepal. The rice paddie landscape provides a Zen aesthetic that is so soothing. The paddies in Bali are extremely well organized and efficient. We’re hoping to experience a harvest in China or Japan.

I had the best birthday ever this year. We met a wonderful family from Australia, Anne and her daughter Annie and son Imre, and we celebrated my birthday by rafting down the Ayung River with them. What a fun day we had. We drove to the river, hiked down into the gorge, rafted, swam, jumped off rocks and stood in waterfalls, then hiked back up the gorge where a yummy lunch was waiting for us. Back at the hotel, I was treated to the best (and cheapest) massage I’ve ever had and we ended the night with dinner at Indus, another incredible restaurant in Ubud. I’ll never forget my 47th birthday!

The Monkey Forest in Ubud was mystical and hysterical. The forest is beautiful, with lush vegetation, walkways, huge trees and stone sculptures. Hundreds of monkeys swing from the vines, laze on the paths and chase each other around right under your feet. The environment is a bit unnatural because the monkeys are so accustomed to people so they’re a little nuts! They grab water bottles out of people’s hands, climb on their shoulders and bite people! (we later met a woman in our hotel pool that had been bitten in the hip by an angry monkey!) Bad monkey.

One of my absolute favorite things we did in Bali was visit the Bali Bird Park. The park is a combination of aviary environments and birds that naturally live in the park. The park is home to exotic birds from South America, Indonesia, Africa and Southeast Asia. They have a fantastic collection and we loved interacting with the cockatoos, hornbills and parrots. We walked into one aviary and were admiring the colorful birds when we all looked up and spotted two of the largest bats we’ve ever seen in our lives. They we’re hanging from the top net of the aviary and had their wings wrapped around their bodies with their little brown fuzzy head popping out of the top. The bats we’re at least 16 inches long and they had these very sinister looking long, pointy noses with very visible white sharp teeth! They were so creepy and now I completely understand how the imagination of Brams Stoker ran wild with the creation of Dracula!

Bali was everything we had hoped it would be and as we move into the last few days of our travels we are well-rested, strong of spirit and excited about exploring China and Japan. See you in Hong Kong.