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Published: November 20th 2014
Ubud, Bali
One of the many temples right in downtown Ubud. Hello from Bali! We've enjoyed every second of our last 2 weeks on the large island which is home to approximately 4 million Balinese people who "never move from Bali".
First we spent a fulfilling week in the city of Ubud. Ubud is a relatively big city in the center of Bali. In my mind what makes Ubud unique is that there is so much Balinese culture everywhere you look, including temples on every corner, even though the town is buzzing with tourists and shopping. We explored the Holy Water Temple, The Rocky Temple, and The Elephant Cave temple - just to name a few. Temples are very important to the Balinese people, so much so that every home has its own temple in it, no matter the size or condition of the home. Most Balinese people practice the Hindu religion. In addition to exploring temples, we trekked through the rice fields and learned all about the rice crop process. These rice fields are a part of what makes Bali's land so beautiful, and many are still harvested by hand or with a water buffalo. The Tegalanlang Rice Terrace was one of our favorite spots to enjoy the rolling hills
Ubud, Bali
Rice field planting and green colors of the rice patties. We also really enjoyed going to the Monkey Forest located in the center of town. Monkey Forest is home to about 400 monkeys. They are still in their natural habitat, outside in the rainforest, but people are able to walk through their home and feed them! We loved watching them interact with each other and, as you can see from our pictures, letting them climb on us to reach for bananas. A few other cultural parts of Ubud that we took part in were watching a Balinese Fire Dance, and visiting a coffee plantation. Also, one early morning we trekked up to the top of Mt. Batur (volcano) to watch the sunrise. It was different to hike through volcanic rock and ash. The Trek took about 2 hrs up and then the same down. The summit overlooks the largest lake in Bali. Surprisingly, there are 4 decently sized lakes scattered around the island.
We had a few delicious restaurant experiences in Ubud. Nuri's is a yummy local rib joint with ribs grilled by Balinese women. Uma Cucina was great Italian (go figure in Bali), and we loved the ceviche at Pica. The
Ubud, Bali
Just had to capture these cuties walking home from school. They go to school half a day 6 days a week in Ubud. Alaya was a decently priced, really nice, and perfectly located hotel in the center of town. Just a few tips if you ever find yourself in Ubud...of course we have many more! It was a great way to spend our first week getting to know the culture and people of Bali.
From Ubud we made our way 2.5 hours north to an area just outside the beach towns of Lovina and Singaraja. This area of Bali is mostly locals and somewhat quiet. We spent three days there. It was great to be near the ocean again. The northern coast has very calm waters, and the beaches are black sand from volcanic ash. We took a boat over to a small island called Menjangan where Brennan dove and I snorkeled. The coral was so alive and colorful for both snorkeling and diving. The fish and various sea life were plentiful and so intriguing to watch. Please make sure you look at some of our underwater pictures - I think you need to click "view more photos" below! Some of the best, if not the very best, coral and sea life we've both experienced. While in the north of Bali we
Ubud, Bali
Main Street in downtown Ubud. also went into the rainforest to play in some waterfalls. We both slid down a 16 meter (about 48 ft) waterfall like it was a waterslide. I'm very proud of my bravery. Brennan, of course, then went on to jump off of a 10 meter and then an 18 meter (that's about 56 ft) waterfall. We then hiked to the spectacular 35 meter high Aling Aling waterfall...don't worry, Brennan wasn't allowed to jump off this one. On our final morning in the north we went out on a small boat to watch the dolphins! This was special because our boat was so low to the water that it seemed as if we we're swimming right next to a school of dolphins. They jumped and spiraled for about 2 hours! Great way to end our time in these small beach towns.
From there we went 3 hrs southwest to another beachtown - Seminyak (where I'm writing from). Seminyak is busy and populated with tourists/expats, mostly from Australia. The beaches here have lighter sand than the north and a much larger break in waves. Surfers love it here. Brennan got some surf time in and I attempted. Potato Head is a
Ubud, Bali
Downtown Ubud cool day club on the ocean as well as Ku De Ta. Sisterfield is a yummy breakfast restaurant, and there's all types of cuisine accessible here. It's a very clean and well developed city. Seems to be the main vacation spot of Bali.
Our time exploring 3 different parts of the island was a great way to see the variety that Bali has to offer. We are so glad we hopped around and got to experience some of the culture, land, beaches, and locals. It's apparent to us that you really become aware of everything a place has to offer only if you explore and embrace.
On that note.... Onto a new place of exploration we go - Borneo! Until later.
Much love,
The Hughes Fam
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