Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia

The Lempuyang Temple. (East Bali on Mt. Lempuyang) This place really is a marvel. It is one of six main temples in Bali and massive. Tourists are only allowed to be in the gathering areas, and the wait to have your picture in the infamous gateway was about 4 hours, and this was a slow day. I appreciated the beauty of this gateway, but not the tourism and social media atmosphere. We turned our attention to the stairs up to the inner prayer part of the temple, which we were not allowed to enter. It has 3 doors. 1 is for entering, the other for exit. The doors in the middle are only open during main/big ceremonies to let the spirits or Gods come in and out, but public do not use this access point. From ... read more

Bali’s New Year’s Eve day, as determined by the Balinese Saka calendar, is a Hindu holiday mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. This year the celebration takes place on March 25th. It is also known as Nyepe Day, or the Day of Silence. On this day, the entire island of Bali turns off all power, stops all traffic, abandons all global activities, including the internet, and remains in silence. Streets are literally empty of all traffic, as only emergency vehicles are allowed, and people are expected to remain in their homes or their yards, but cannot venture on any public streets. All businesses are closed, including the international airport in Denpasar. The intention is multifaceted: to spend quiet time connecting alone or with family; to rest and meditate upon the year, resolving to practice forgiveness for any ... read more

Today is Friday and we have been at the Swallow Guest House since Monday. I wasn’t sure how we would do with the slow pace, spotty wifi and rural setting, but it has been a nice change from our normally crazy life. The quiet countryside, where the only sounds are the roosters crowing, the odd sounding frogs croaking (there are several types and they all sound weird!) and the occasional motor scooter on the little path create a very serene setting. Our days of coffee on the patio, reading, writing, sleeping and swimming are a sure cure to any blood pressure issues and Ken has slept better than he has in years. Our only activity for the day is to head back into Ubud, get some more cash (this time 2.5 million rupiah=$180) which should last ... read more

I have rolled two days into one, as Tuesday the day after Paige left for home, Ken and I pretty much did nothing. Ok, we did walk through the rice fields to the laundry shop and then continued to check out the little village. There were a couple of little grocery shops (and I mean little) and a small fruit/veg market, as well as some of the normal vendors needed to keep the village running (housewares, fuel, etc). Even though it was about 9am, by the time we got back to the house we were both sweating and ready for the pool. Before our walk we had enjoyed a nice breakfast from the stuff we got at the grocery store, of toast, avocado, local jam, mango and banana. And of course the local Balinese coffee, which ... read more

I wasn’t planning on returning to Ubud so soon after my 2017 visit, but my friends Ryan and Anthony were getting married there, and my friend Trixie was also attending the wedding, so we decided to make a trip out of it. As this was my fifth time in Ubud, I didn’t really try to see or do many new things... I just let Ubud suck me in as always. So, here are some photos - with commentary - about what I did and saw in and around Ubud.... read more