Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 12

We reached the homestay just as the sun was beginning to set which made all the beautiful Balinese buildings look even more magical. I quickly put my stuff down in the room, freshened up and was out the door so I could catch a glimpse of the town before the sun set. I walked up Hanoman street, where our homestay Tu Eka is located, and then down Monkey Forest Street where I found a nice little place to eat a light dinner. My cold was really starting to kick in by now so I enjoyed a large cup of jasmine tea after dinner and went home early to get a good night rest. Victoria was on the same flight as me, just a day later, so Nyomen and his wife picked her up from the airport ... read more

If we had been a little bit ­­on a waiting mood during our last days in Melbourne, not having real motivation to get out of the apartment until afternoon and just taking things at a leisurely pace, our trip definitely gained some fresh excitement as soon as we landed on Denpasar airport on Bali in the evening of May 24th. Suddenly being in totally different kind of environment, where hundreds of motorbikes occupy the streets (sometimes carrying entire families), and landscapes are dotted with Hindu temples, was exciting. Not to mention how nice it was to be in tropical heath again. Our first stop on Bali was the town of Ubud. We were met by the driver of our hostel at the airport, and he drove us the 1,5 hour trip there. Ubud was quite busy ... read more

The Continuing Adventures of The Dreamchasers 2014 followed the Dreamchasers Great Adventure of 2013, which we had agreed was amazing on a number of levels. It wasn't a major worry keeping us up at night, but it did give us a moment of pause when we began this adventure last January, as we wondered how we might follow up "amazing". Our 2014 Adventure has now come to an end. We soon fly west into the never ending sunset, so it is time to once again reflect upon the fifteen highlights of this year's adventure. Then we can better access how we have followed up "amazing". The events are not listed in any order of preference, as that would be just too difficult. They are listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent experiences, as ... read more

As I pointed out in my first Ubud entry, the theme for our 2014 adventure was "Slow Down, You Move Too Fast", and although we covered a lot of new territory throughout Asia and Indonesia on this trip - Myanmar, Kuala Lumpur, Borneo, Lombok, and the Komodo Islands - we have indeed slowed down this past month. Soon after arriving in Ubud, Bali, we rented the studio apartment, as well as two motor scooters, so that we could get to our daily yoga classes. The Yoga Shala ( "Shala" is Sanskrit for "School") is located in a village 30 minutes outside of Ubud, and our two hour classes begin at 8:00 a.m., six days a week. About the same time, I committed to fifteen hours of individual instruction in Indonesian Language study, and have now completed ... read more

It's been awhile since I wrote a post, and by this point, I've been in and out of Ubud 3 times, so I'll break with chronology and just talk about my time there. Ubud is Bali's cultural nexus, with lots of arts, crafts, and a great cafe scene. Ubud captures many travelers and retains them for longer than they had anticipated, by offering chill vibes, and an alluring mix of weirdness and comfort. I came to Ubud (for the first time) after leaving the beach in Seminyak. What really stands out about the place is how well the traditional Balinese culture fuses with the Western culture brought by the emigrants who have settled here. And some of them have been here awhile – I met a middle-aged British lady who had been here for 17 years, ... read more