everything is just too pretty

so we're in ubud now.
catching up - sanur was lovely but boring. we didnt have the best time, we felt starved of culture and friends:( everything was rich european prices and i got sick from the food. on our second day, we went to Tanah Lot. it was pretty crowded even in the morning, its a huge rock sea temple and its very beautiful. the surroundings were just as scenic - it reminded me of the great ocean road as it has rocks like the 12 apostels. ive got some photos but theres really little i can say!
the next day we went to kuta and were equally horrified at the sight - just feral australians drinking in the streets, wearing no clothes, swearing at the locals and jeering at us. they have no resepct for the people or religion and think they're awesome because the exchange rate allows them to afford a few stubby holders. soo we didnt stay there long. we left sanur not a moment too soon, our driver, Made drove us 1 hr north to ubud and we felt a lot better. ubud is so pretty and i will NEVER get tired of seeing rice fields. we made friends with a family who had also stayed at the same hotel with us in sanur, we called them the perfect family because they were all multilingual, nice and soo cute. our room in ubud is much more modest but the hotel grounds are still perfectly manicured and lush - we wake up to young men cutting and trimming the garden eveery monring, picking flowers for offererings and sweeping sweeping sweeping all the time! we eat a lot at this tiny little resturant that overlooks a river, after school small kids swim in it, playing tarzan off the stringy limbs. god im poetic. yesterday there were monkeys climbing all over the rooves so i feel like im in the jungle. anyways the other day we stumbled across the huge preparation of a mass cremation ceremony, which will be held later this month. the king of ubud has died, and 68 others will be cremated with him. abuot 200 local men are preparing the huge bamboo towers were his body will be burnt from. the heigh of the temple represents the wealth and power of the deceased, so its biig as. the body is placed into an elaborate box the shape of an ox, so he enters heaven in full strength. oh i wish we were here for it! im clearly not over ceremonies either, even though ive seen so many! we also visited another temple surrounded by lotus plants but i lack the vocabulary and patience to describe it in full, sorry. you'll see the photos.
yesterday we went on an eco cycling tour through bali's heartland. the car broke down on the way so we sat and waiting for a while, before visiting lake and mountain batur. the volcano is still active so smoke bellowed out of it. we ate chocolate pancakes and met up with others doing the tour - a group from switzerland, a couple from beglium, and older couple from cambridge. the view was amazing, i dont think my silly camera captured how great it was. we leant all about local herbs and flaura including the versitility of a banana skin ;)
the bike ride itself was cool, although pol was sick and had to go by car. it was all downhill until the end, so we just rolled through villages, sprawling temples and community compounds for hours, reaching deeper into the mountain and more and more remote. the further we went, the more bolder the children were. at first they would just yell out HELLO and I LOVE YOU, but the naughty ones began to scream WHITES in balinese slang and try to hold onto our bikes as we rode through, all in good nature (i think). we stopped at a village and saw ypung girls making bamboo roofing to sell at markets and mothers breastfeeding their bubs over flaming hot woks which spat hot oil everywhere. we discussed traditions and customs a lot, such as the placement and cleaning of the placenta after a baby is born in the family temple. the last 30 mins was pretty steep uphil, and i was shattered to see the two 60yr olds powering past me on their bikes :(
pol was really sick this morning so i called the doctor, who charged us rp 700,000 to say she had an infected throat, even though i reiterated that her throat isnt inflamed at all. so yeah that was annoying, but shes got antibiotics. im sitting in this awesome litltle coffee house so i feel trendiiiii as.
going back to yogya on tuesday! haha we missed it too much...
xxx

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