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Published: April 5th 2017
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Ubud was the perfect way to end the holiday. It is the cultural centre and heart of Bali. We decided to hi a driver for the day to take us from Seminyak to Ubud so we could do some cultural things around the island on our travels. First stop was the Balanese traditional dancing.... This was well... Interesting, I didn't really enjoy it that much but there was a crib sheet telling you about the story behind the dance and I found the culture and "myth" like aspect of the dancing interesting. For example the Barong is a good spirit and the Rangda a bad spirit and they basically battle during the dance, in which there is no winner. There's a lot of screaming and weird parts to this dance. In sure there are multiple but I felt that I had done my part by seeing this one. Following this we went to some temples, Telanallang water fall, Tirta Empul Temple and the coffee plantations.
The waterfall was refreshing, but busy. You have to walk down a steep hill to get there and then you can go for a dip by the waterfall. This wasn't at all like the secluded
jungle waterfalls which I had become so used to in Central America. We had lunch there and then went to Tirta Empul, which is a Hindu Temple of water where you can purify yourself. It had a lovely setting and there were lots of people getting in the water to bathe themselves in the fountains. We then stopped at the coffee plantations (which are all quite controversial) as the coffee is made from the beans which have been eaten by civets, then dried, roasted and ground. It is a very bitter coffee with not such a strong taste. We then stopped in the next destination Ubud and stayed in a lovely villa called Sumunatra House which is right in the centre of town down Hanoman Steet. Ubud is a place you could get caught up in, it's the kind of place where people come to find themselves. Lots of health food places, yoga, meditation and temples. Big cafe culture where you can sit and chill in a cafe for several hours watching the day go by. We had 2 days in Ubud. I spent some time in a lovely vegan cafe called Atman Nourish where you sit on cushions and
listen to music and watch the rice fields. We also went to th temples- Saraswati and Dusa, the arts market (oerfect for souvenirs), and I went for a good walk down Campaugn ridge which I would thoroughly recommend as it is off-road and walks along a ridge with valleys either side and offers some peace and serenity. We went to Yoga and drank Kombucha tea. A basic detox before our long journey home. In summary, Ubud is a chilled, relaxing place with an amazing vibe about it. Bali you have been great. I am now in Singapore airport on hour number 7 waiting the third part of the journey back to snowy England. I can't wait to be back.
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