Ubud love it here!
Onto the second part of the trip, Ubud! The town of Ubud, in the uplands of Bali, Indonesia, is known as a center for traditional crafts and dance. The surrounding Ubud District’s rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, are among Bali’s most famous landscapes. During my three days in Ubud I got to cool off with a dip in the stunning natural Tegenungan waterfall, checked into the Ubud View, went to the local markets, learned about traditional ingredients found in Balinese dishes, helped prepare food with a local family and feast together, learned to pick up a few bargains at the local markets, meet up with the locals in the sacred monkey forest sanctuary, walk around the Tegalalang rice terrace, and eat lunch next to an active volcano!
Day 4: Goodbye Canggu & Hello Ubud
The day started off with checking out of Koa D'Surfer Hotel in Canggu and heading to off to Ubud! I didn't take TLC's advice and spent the day chasing waterfalls. My tour and I went to the Tegenungan waterfalls. The waterfall is isolated but has become a popular tourist attraction to explore and relax. The waterfall site contains green surroundings with fresh water that can be swam in. The waterfall includes varying highs that can be climbed after the decent down stairs to reach it. This waterfall site also features a viewing point to the jungle and waterfall at the main entrance. After trekking down to the waterfall site I got to enjoy the refreshing dip in the pool of water at the foot of the waterfall while getting some really awesome shots. I wouldn't recommend bringing an expensive camera down there unless you have a water cover. If you want to get really cool pictures I would suggest bringing a gopro. After seeing the waterfall we checked into the Ubud View Hotel. Out of all the hotels that I stayed at during my time in Bali I have to say that the Ubud View was the most aesthetically pleasing. Shortly after we had checked in it started to down pour and when I walked outside the water had gotten up to my shins but this only lasted for a short period of time. After that shower I didn't experience anymore rain on the trip. After relaxing we wrapped up the day at a local restaurant, The Laughing Buddha.
Day 5: Penne for your thoughts!
Halfway through the trip already! At the halfway point of the trip our tour group was taken in by a local from Ubud, Wayan to his home to learn about about traditional Balinese cooking. We started off at the local markets learning about the traditional ingredients found in common Balinese cuisine. After the markets, Wayan brought us to a rice field and taught us about all the steps that go into rice harvesting. Paddy harvesting activities include reaping, stacking, handling, threshing, cleaning, and hauling. Finally Wayan took us into his home and taught us the art of making a basic offering to the bad spirits, basic sauce (basa gede), mushroom soup (sup jamur), sweet tempe (tempe manis), Balinese satay ( sate lilit), steamed fish (pepes tuna), yellow rice (nasi kuning), fried corn dumplings (pergedel jagung), raw spice (samal matah), and rolled cake (dadar gulung). My personal favorites were the fried corn dumplings and the mushroom soup. After cooking class we went down to the markets and got to barter. Its very easy to get someone to lower the price to what you want it to be. I got a price down from 150,000 to 40,000 rupiah. Just hold your ground and you will get your asking price!
Day 6: Monkey Business!
Time to meet the locals of Ubud, the monkeys! The type of monkeys that live in the area of The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary (Monkey Forest Ubud), known as the Balinese long-tailed monkey, in English called macaque. There are about 600 monkeys living in this area. A visit here should not be done lightly or without caution, but I do feel that it is a great place to visit. You can have a pleasant visit if you are mindful of the rules and always remember that these monkeys are not pets, they are wild animals. Some tips about visiting the monkey forest is that you shouldn't bring anything you're not prepared to loose, try not to bring a backpack, if you bring a backpack lock it, do not bring any outside food or drinks, no flashy jewelry, don't wear your sunglasses, don't smile at the monkeys, don't look directly into their eyes, don't bring in any banana's, don't go up to a monkey and try to touch it yourself, and just remember to enjoy yourself. When I went to the monkey forest I made sure to not have any food on me when I went, I did bring my backpack but I had locked it before entering, and I did not open my bad once I was inside the forest. The only things I had on me were my camera that was attached to my neck and my phone and I was fine the whole time I was inside the temple. A monkey did come up to me and tried to open my bad but left once he knew he couldn't get into it. One of the monkeys even lifted up my shirt trying to see if I had hidden anything under there. The monkeys are very smart and mischievous. If you don't want to get a picture with a monkey there are people who work there that will assist you, give you a banana, show you how to hold your arms out, and make sure nothing happens to you. I did have one bad encounter when a monkey when I was backing up and accidentally stepped on its tail. To no surprise the monkey was not happy and let out a horrible screech and smiled at me (a sign of aggression). After that it tried to chase me and I just ran away from it and it left me alone. Overall, my trip to the money forest was a successful one and I had a lot of fun seeing them up close and personal. After the monkey forest I got to freshen up and I got to trek the iconic Tegalalang rice terrace. If you've ever cyber stalked someone who's been to Bali, there's a good chance that you've seen them at a rice terrace. Rice terraces are synonymous with Bali and the dominant part of the scenery. The views were super lush and green. I would definitely recommend bringing water if you're going there, it gets very hot. After the trek we got to have a well deserved lunch right next to active volcano, Mt. Batur. This was a great end to my time here in Ubud.
