Ubud

Hi All,

We stayed in Ubud a little longer than expected as Danielle was full of cold and not up to exploring for the first couple of days. Ross used this time to put together a CV as the prospect of returning home to the ‘real world’ is unfortunately seeming suddenly real. The worst of Danielle’s cold soon passed and she headed out watery eyed and red nosed, hence why it appears she is crying in half the photos!

Ubud which has been dubbed ‘Bali’s cultural capital’ was impressively beautiful and repulsively busy at the same time. Lining the loud, traffic jammed main road was a fantastic collection of museums, temples, art galleries and palace complexes; all with stone engravings depicting traditional Hindu mythology in well manicured grounds. Our favourite was the Puri Lukisan Museum which displayed the heritage of Balinese art with a fine collection from the Wayang era (1800s) until present. We also enjoyed an evening of traditional dance in Ubud Palace. Each scene told a story through music, dance and elaborate costumes. Thankfully we were given a description of the Barong and Legong Dance with our tickets otherwise we would have been clueless throughout the hour and a half performance. With wide eyed, head jerking dance moves and incredible makeup, it was very different from anything we have seen before and a really interesting show.

Due to the crazy number of tourists, there was a huge market from which we could have easily brought half the stock had we more room in our bags. Danielle decided enough was enough two dresses, two tops, two pairs of trousers and a bum bag later (she is definitely her mother’s daughter)! Ross was slightly more conservative and chose only a couple of smaller souvenirs.

We had been looking forward to leaving the manic centre behind and heading out on a walk through the apparently beautiful countryside. Our walk began up a steep paved path to a ridge between two rivers in adjacent valleys. The views of jungle either side were undoubtedly impressive. A little further up we came to a small village surrounded by spanning green rice terraces but unfortunately this is where the beauty of the walk ended. The route our guide book led us on was down busy single track roads which cars and motorbikes hurtled along - the exact thing we were hoping to avoid by a morning in the countryside. Fortunately, Danielle spotted a footpath on the map that avoided the main road and led us back to town through agricultural land and to a cute cafe for lunch that overlooked another sprouting green rice paddy.

We are leaving Bali behind now and heading to the Gili Islands - three small tropical islands off the coast of Lombok.

Love R and D xxx