Leisure cycling through Ubud villages

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This was one of those unplanned day trips that I decided to take while I was in Bali for a conference. When my friend Faizal asked me if I wanted to join him for a cycling trip to Ubud, I immediately said yes. I had always wanted to wander around Ubud, going through the small streets and explore the villages. We were lucky enough to find a great tour operator, ran by Nyoman (www.jegegbalicycling.com) who was ready to pick us up in the morning near Maya Hotel Ubud. We didn't require transport and drove ourselves to Ubud, and even though the tour included breakfast at Kintamani, we skipped breakfast and went straight ahead to see "a coffee plantation", which was far from being called a plantation!. It is an area planted with lots of local plants (i.e. ginger, dragon fruits, cocoa, durian, etc) and a rest area, where you could sip and taste various strong and delicious local coffee while gazing at the lush greenery in the valley. The place also served the famous "coffee luwak" (the chivet coffee), which you need to purchase, and you could even see the chivet that 'processed' the coffee luwak. After the tour and taste of balinese coffee, we were driven further up to the villages to the start point.

In fact, we were lucky enough during the drive we spot local kids trying to earn extra money by assembling a Barong parade! throughout the drive, we saw along the side of the road ladies carrying heavy load on their head, man climbing coconut trees or even herd a pig! After approximately, half an hour drive through villages, rice field and wet markets, we were dropped off in a small street where the pick up car was waiting with our bikes and gears, and our guide was ready to take us to the journey into the heart of Ubud.

The air was clear and it was a perfect morning with beautiful sunlight, we started biking at around 11 am, and the the experience was exhilarating as the wind started to blow in our face and we feel so close to nature surrounded by the rice field! The children along the way were very friendly that they kept greeting us 'hello' every time we passed by and waved to us. It struck me how friendly the Balinese people were! I had always wanted to see how was the true life of Balinese, and through this cycling trip, I was able to explore it as we stopped whenever we wanted to, not only to appreciate the nice view around us but also to take pictures with the locals.

Along the way, we could also see people heading to the temple with their beautiful kebaya and sarong with offerings on their heads. One of the highlights during the trip was the bonus for being able to see a cockfight at a temple, and surprisingly, the men -- despite their tattoes -- were friendly enough to let us go inside the fighting ring and to be where the action was. It was explained the tradition started when the people had to give offerings, which was why the cockfight always took place near a temple. Villagers came with with their roosters held tight to their arms inside a basket, and the Chief of the ring will make sure they had the right match.

The 20 km ride didn't feel long at all with the breathtaking sight and eventful experience along the way; the path was well chosen and was ideal for non-hardcore bikers like us as it was mainly a downhill path (our guide explained for the serious bikers, he had another tougher route which was approx 30 km with a lot more uphill path). Finishing our tour in 2.5 hours with a lot of breaks in the middle, we were ready to have our lunch, served at the house of our guide. It was a Balinese compound, and inside the wall, it consisted of a few houses belong to the parents and his siblings, one bale -- common area for ceremony and a temple for prayers. Even though it was a short trip, it was certainly a memorable one for I and my friend - as we had a chance to taste the true life of Balinese!

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Photos

Barong Kid
@Ubud villages