Not U-Bud, Ubud!

Ubud. What to say? The city has two personalities. On the one hand, it is a charming village surrounded by rice fields, family compounds and the occasional temples. On the other, Ubud is a tourist money machine, churning out dollars based on its position as the “cultural center” and yoga mecca of Bali.

Dale pondering his choice of backpack vs head basket

Barong Masks, just a little scary

No Kristen did not solo to india, this is downtown Ubud

We spent a few days in Ubud at a nicer hotel down a side street. We did all the things that Ubud is most famous for: toured the market looking at the t-shirts, sunglasses and handicrafts; we went to the monkey forest to see the illtempered and kleptomanic long tailed macaques; ate our faces off at some really great asian fusion restaurants; watched some cultural performances of very weird Balinese dances; and sent Dale and Tracy off to
do a yoga class while we lounged by the pool.

These are women, not that you would know from the costumes

Kristen kept waiting for this giant dog-beast to bite it's own butt

The highlight of Ubud was a day long bicycle tour. We started by being driven up into the mountains to the “Volcano View restaurant” for breakfast. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a view as the morning mist shrouded any glimpse of the mountain. Next we visited an organic farm (set up for tourists, but great none the less) where we looked at all the different types of fruits and vegetables that typically make it on to a Balinese plate, drank coffee and visited with the local civet cats (see our previous post for more info on civets).

Rice Terraces

"No Tracy, I want that one"

A good selection

The Rieu's are ready to roll!

Another of the millions of temples on Bali

Looking for snakes in the rice field

These kids were pulling the kittens off the mother until they cried and then putting them back, Dale was supervising.

Traditional Balinese wood carving

The next few hours were spent riding bikes (almost entirely downhill)  as we weaved along country roads. We stopped to poke our heads into a family compound, to chase frogs and eels around a rice paddy, to gaze up at a colossal banyan tree and to visit some local woodcarvers. At the end of our ride, there was an option to ride uphill for a few km’s. We all decided to go for it (along with an older Dutch fellow) and Dale immediately began to push our guide to the edge of his fitness limit. Paul did his best to hang in with the leaders, but was grateful whenever the guide called for a halt (ostensibly to see how far behind us the others
were, but in reality to rest after Dale had pushed hard through another set of hills). It was a blast, and waiting for us at the end was a traditional Balinese feast with smoked duck, spicy vegetable salads and other delicious treats. A perfect way to end the day.

Huge Bayan Tree