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Indonesia

Bali

Ubud - Around Town


Driving inland from our beautiful stay in Amed, we passed through beautiful rice paddies in the shadow of the island's volcanoes. Our next destination would be the city of Ubud, located pretty much in the middle of Bali. for the next week, we would be enjoying the culture and sights of this inland city - quite a change from the beach vacations that bookended our trip.

Our hotel was located right on the main shopping strip of town, but was refreshingly quiet. The noisiest thing around was the talking bird that kept Susan very entertained every time she walked by!


Of course, it helped that there were two pools for us to enjoy, one of which looked right out over the neighboring rice paddy. This was the 'salt water' pool, where the water actually spilled over the edge into a collection gutter, giving the impression of directly watering the rice.


The resort itself had winding paths, meditation centers, massage rooms, and was just a pleasant place to let all the cares and worries of the world ease away...
 


Every morning on our way to breakfast, we rounded a corner that looked out into another set of paddies which sometimes actually had the local farmer and his cows working in the thigh-high muck. On our last morning, the clouds burned away enough to see the volcanic cone that towers over the entire valley.


The Balinese form of Hinduism also demands (expects?) a daily offering to the statues and stupas that are everywhere, so we became very accustomed to seeing ladies doing these pujas  as we passed by on the streets. They usually involved rice, sweets, flowers, and incense (and later in Ubud we actually ran into a whole bunch of old ladies making them!).


When we started taking walks around town, there were certain sights that seemed to appear time and time again: Water lilies were everywhere. Even though they were technically not in season, we could usually count on seeing them at least once a day.


The shopping was fantastic, and the colorful displays were feasts for our eyes!

We could always count on Breck to provide us with entertainment, like when he is imitating an early human at the archeological museum. And what would a vacation be without plenty of stops for rehydration?! That's what its all about!
But yes, when we did need a break, back to the pool we went, thankful that we didn't have to slave out in the sun (and truthfully feeling a bit guilty that we were so obviously relaxing right in the sight of people working so hard).
 
But most of the time, we really did enjoy our visit. Here Susan chows on her New Year's Eve dinner of traditional satay: her favorite meal of the entire trip (and last supper of 2009!!). Come check out some of the town's temples with us...
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Ubud
Around Town
Temples
Rice Paddies
Shopping
Dances
Temple Ladies
Monkeys
Jewelry-Making
Goa Gajaj
Pemuteran
Sights
Surf and Rain
Turtles


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