On the way to Ubud
Before arriving, I didn’t know I was going to spend 2 days in Ubud. I guess that’s one of the good things about travelling with the flow. You arrive to a place and depending on how much you like it you decide for how long you will stay. As I had mentioned before, I didn’t have many things planned for the whole 3-month trip. I knew I was starting in Bali. I knew there were a few places I wanted to go and that was about all. Ubud was one of them. It was a famous town in Bali and I wanted to see why.
As you can see in the picture above the ride should take around 1 hour. That was far from the truth for me. It took me a while to get used to the moto. It took me another while to get used to the traffic and the way they drove in Bali. And it took my eyes several stops to get used to the magnificence of every landscape they were seeing. That (being able to stop wherever and whenever you want) is one of the best things you get from riding your own moto.
After a couple of hours driving under the hot sun, I arrived in Ubud safe, sound and burnt. I remember driving my moto around without knowing where I was going until, eventually, I decided to park it and start walking. I checked a couple of hostels but they were full. Eventually, I managed to get a room at Ojek’s homestay. The place was really cool and the price was super cheap (55 K with breakfast). It was my first time staying at a “home stay” and this one was pretty peculiar. How can I describe it? Well, have you ever been to a Hindu temple? So this place is basically a beautiful Balinese Hindu temple. It was quiet, calm and you could enjoy a great feeling of peace and nature.
Day 1: walking around Ubud
I left my stuff, took a shower and started to walk around, looking for a place to eat. Before leaving Australia a friend of mine who had already been to Indonesia advised me to look for something called “Warung” when I wanted to eat. It is basically a family-owned business with local food and cheap prices. I found one around the corner and I enjoyed my first Indonesian meal: the delicious and ubiquitous Nasi Goreng with its refreshing Bintang beer. The name of the Warung was Warung Igelanca. The owner was a very kind lady who was as nice as the food she prepared. The price was also incredibly good (55 K with the beer). By the way, just a note on Indonesian food culture: most of the times, when you order your dish, you get a plate, a fork and a spoon, but no knife 🙂
After getting full and happy again I started to check how to get to the places I wanted to visit. The first thing I noticed was the chill vibe throughout the town. I met several travellers and most of them were either taking yoga or meditation courses. As I was wandering around I saw nice restaurants, shops, temples and plenty of people walking. I even saw some monkeys!
Pasar Seni Ubud
I arrived to the art market by chance. It was crowded with people, stalls and a nice vibe. It is located in the center of the town so it is also a convenient reference point. You can find anything from handcrafted objects, to woven bags, to local souvenirs. Like pretty much throughout the country, you will have a chance to show how much of a bargainer you are. Don’t feel bad to do it, it’s within their culture and they expect you to do it. Just do it with respect. The market is opened daily from 08:00-18:00, although some stalls might stay open until late.
Puri Saren Royal Palace
Just steps away from the Pasar Seni Ubud market, this palace is one of the main touristic buildings in Ubud. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go inside because they were hosting some ceremonies. Apart from being able to take a look at the Balinese architecture, you can also go in the evening to enjoy typical Balinese dance performances, such as Barongs.
Taman Saraswati Temple
Beautiful water temple where you can enjoy the Balinese architecture as well as beautiful ponds with pink lotus as their main guests. There is no entrance fee but (forgot to mention it before) like in most of the temples, you need to be wearing a sarong around your waist. The sarong is a piece of clothing used by both women and men and it is basically like if you were wearing a long skirt, covering all the way from your waist to your ankles. If you are not wearing a sarong but long pants that’s alright too.
Padang Tegal Kaja
I was wandering around when I found this place and I saw some guys outside selling tickets for the Kecak Fire & Trance Dance performance. After asking some questions I decided to buy my ticket (75 K) and go see one of the traditional Balinese dances. The piece was performed by a circle of 150 or more performers who were wearing some sort of sarong. There were just men in this circle.
Both men and women (there are also women in the piece) sing, sway, stand and dance throughout the whole piece. The piece depicts the battle of Ramayana, where prince Rama fights the devil Rahwana with the help of the powerful white monkey Hanoman. The show lasted two hours and I enjoyed the performance as well as getting to understand the Balinese culture and its traditions a little better. If you come to Ubud you should give it a try!
After having enjoyed the performance I walked through some streets looking for a place to eat. I saw one kind of crowded, checked the menu and decided to give it a try. The name of the venue was Dewa Warung. Ubud has plenty of food choices but I really enjoyed this one. Food quality and quantity were very good and so the price (38 K for meal and drink). The vibe was super chill. You could find yourself sitting on the floor surrounded by people you don’t know, what else can you ask for? 😉
Day 2: checking Ubud’s surroundings
Monkey Forest
I walked to the monkey forest my first evening in Ubud, before going to see the Balinese show. By the time I arrived to the main entrance though, I found out they were closing for the day. I wanted to go the next morning but, after talking to some people, I changed my mind. They told me the monkeys in the forest live in a very precarious situation and they are not treated as they should. I also heard some of the monkeys in the forest will try to steal from you. Not sure if its because of so many tourists or because they’ve been trained to do so.
I wanted to make a point here before continuing with my story. Unfortunately, in many countries in Southeast Asia you will find these kind of challenges sometimes. You will have to make up your mind on whether you go see some animals that might be there as a tourist attraction but that might not receive the behaviour they should. Other than the Monkey Forest, I run into similar situations in other countries like Thailand or the Philippines.
In Thailand there are plenty of places where you can go see elephants and ride them. I was against that so instead of going to those places I went to an elephant shelter were we got to feed them and bathed them. In the Philippines there is a place called Oslob where you can go see whale sharks. You can also try in other places in the Philippines but you are not sure to see them, it depends on the time of the year and how lucky you are. In Oslob though you are guaranteed to see them because they feed them, changing their migration patterns. There are plenty of tourists jumping off the boat trying to get the best possible picture with these amazing animals.
I didn’t want to be part of that and so I decided not to go to Oslob. I’m sure I’ll see them diving in one other place one other time 🙂 So, to sum up, I feel like sometimes we should do some research before going to see some animals. They might be part of a “circus” and if we keep on attending we keep the show going.
Goa Gajah Temple
You will find this iconic temple 5 km away from the market of Ubud. I went there with my moto and after parking it and passing through the several souvenir and refreshment booths, I paid 15 K for the ticket and went inside. It is opened daily from 08:00-17:00. I saw a lot of people and I thought the temple should be a big deal. I wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the reason why there were so many people. They were hosting a ceremony and even though we were still allowed in, I didn’t make it to see the part that gives name to the temple: the Elephant Cave.
Like in any other temple in Bali, you would need a sarong before entering. That being said, in many temples they provide you with one, which is basically included in the ticket’s fee. Not sure whether this goes for all the temples as well but in this particular one women were not allowed in if they had their period. I didn’t see anyone waiting to verify whether women had their period or not so I guess this is more a religious/spiritual thing.
Regardless of not being able to see the Elephant Cave, I still enjoyed my time at the temple. The whole area was huge. There were plenty of people singing, praying and doing offering to their Gods. There were different areas within the temple and even some rocky stairs that would take you down to a beautiful natural space filled with water and vegetation. The day was pretty hot and the crowd was a big one so I had to take some breaks in between my sightseeing. Once I felt like I had seen everything there was to see I left the temple, got my moto and drove to my next destination.
Tegalalang Rice Terrace
We can find the rice terrace 10 km away from the Ubud market. You can either walk there (although it would take a while and depending on the hot weather it might not be very advisable), take a taxi, use the Grab or Go-Jek apps (something like Uber) or ride your vehicle there. In my case, I was driving my moto and I saw a guy approaching. We kind of started a race until a traffic light and then, with the red light on, we spoke for a bit. I told him I was driving to the Tegalalang Rice Terrace and he told me he was working there and I could just follow him. Crazy right?
Once there I realised there was no entrance ticket, but an entrance donation. The money they ask for is ridiculous (like 10 K) so I just gave it to them. Normally this money goes for the locals and it helps with their livelihood. My friend explained to me some stuff about the rice fields, which, as you can see, have a very peculiar form. He invited me to walk around on my own to get to know the different areas as well as to enjoy the different views.
I found some tourists but not that many so I could walk just fine. One thing I would like to mention though is that, unlike me, if possible, bring a proper shoes rather than a pair of flip-flops lol. The terraces and the landscapes were truly amazing. It was the first time I saw a rice field and that, combined with the exoticism of the palm trees gave the view an speechless touch.
After walking for some time I started to feel like I was having enough of the Bali heat and I started to walk back up. Just for your info, there are some refreshing stalls around but just in case bring some water with you. It can be extremely hot! There are also bars and restaurants as you approach the fields, in case you want to have some food. On the way back, after having taken some pictures and enjoyed the views, I met my friend again.
He walked me to a place where I saw an animal in a cage. He explained to me that the animal was an Asian Palm Civet. I’m not a big fan of coffee so I don’t know much about it. Thus, when he told me that animal “produce” the most expensive coffee in the world I was like what? Yes, that animal, after eating and digesting coffee cherries, produces the famous Kopi Luwak coffee, which, according to Wikipedia can be sold for as much as 550 Euros/Kg.
As I mentioned earlier in the post, in some areas in Southeast Asia you will be challenged when it comes to seeing animals. In this case it was not about seeing the animal (I’m just showing it to you to raise awareness) but about the profit they make out of it just through his digestion. As I said before I’m not a big fan of coffee, so, when I learnt how it was processed, my feeling towards trying it decreased even more. I can’t judge if that coffee really is the best in the world. But, for sure, I think there are other ways to get a good coffee, without involving animals in cages.
During just 2 days in Ubud I met locals like the one who drove me to the rice terrace and I found most of them being kind and genuine. I wanted to give him some money to show my appreciation for the way he had treated me but he said he didn’t want any money. He told me he had helped me out because he believed in Karma. He tried to behave in a right way and help people without showing money interest. I guess after all there is an interest (the more karma you accumulate in this life the better) but the way I see it, I prefer people chasing karma than money 🙂
Gunung Kawi Sebatu Temple
15 km away from Ubud you can find this amazing water temple. I had previously seen the one in Ubud (Pura Taman Saraswati) but this one was way bigger and more beautiful. The entrance fee was 15 K and, like always, you needed to be dressed in a proper way (with your sarong covering your legs or with long pants).
The temple was divided in different sections, most of them with water as the main topic. By the way, “Pura” means “Temple” in Indonesian ;). There were different ponds full of fishes (the typical orange ones you see in some countries of Southeast Asia), pools where you could actually take a bath (I brought my swimsuit with me and I did it), ancient shrines and lotus flowers all around.
One of the shrines was in construction and there were some kids playing volley. I approached them, spoke with them and got a picture with the best football player in the world: Messi!
In some of the temples you will see locals waiting to be your guides and show you around. Of course, you will have to pay them some money. I didn’t see any here and I didn’t feel like a guide was needed. I think this temple is all about enjoying the beauty and peace that just water can give you. After feeling relaxed enough I left the temple, got my moto and drove to my last destination in Ubud.
Tirta Empul Temple
One of the most famous and special temples in Bali. It can be found 15 km away from Ubud. Like some of the previous ones, this one is also a “water” temple. Unlike some of the previous ones though, this one is known (by tourist and locals) for its holy spring water. In this temple you will also find a parking lot and stalls with food and refreshments, as well as the same dress code rule (legs covered). The entrance fee was 15 K but I paid 23 K more for the sarong and a locker. Why did I need a locker? Because I wanted to try the holy spring water myself, so I had to leave my stuff unattended.
The whole temple occupies a huge space and it is divided into different areas according to the Balinese architecture. There are ponds with fishes (it is a water temple remember?), pools where you can take a bath (and get purified), trees, statues and shrines that, as a whole, give the temple a truly mystic aura.
The first thing I saw after making it into the pools area was this:
I then walked back and… started running away. Just kidding lol. I wandered around for a bit and, for the first time in my trip, hired the services of a guide. There are quite a few so in case you want to hire one it should be pretty easy. He told me it would be on me to decide how much I should pay him. I don’t like to go like that, mostly because I don’t know what’s a fare rate for them. But, like it or not, this is something you will face many times when you have to pay someone on donation.
Before entering in any of the pools I had to set my intention and pray for a while, thus I sat down and meditated. That (according to my guide) was the first part of the whole ritual. He then explained me the setup of the pools, the meaning of each fountain, the way and the order in which I should approach the fountains and how I had to use the water. Would you like to get to know how to do it as well? There you go 🙂
Starting from left to right we can see a total of 3 pools. Each pool has a different amount of fountains and they have different meanings. We start with the pool on the left, where there are a total of 13 fountains. From 1 to 10, the fountains correspond to the 10 bad traits human beings have: greediness, laziness, envy, etc. 11-12 correspond to the dead people. Finally, number 13 goes for anything bad related to sleeping: nightmares, not being able to sleep, etc. The second pool has just two fountains. The first one goes for bad Karma and/or bad words. The second gone is identified with bad curses. The last and final pool, the third one, is the one that has the holy water.
For each fountain we have to pray and set our objective. The way we deal with the water is as follows: wash our face 3 times, wash our mouth 3 times, wash your whole body (grabbing the fountain and letting the water drop on your head and back). After finishing with the first fountain of the first pool we move to the right and proceed the exact same way with the other 12 fountains. After that we go outside and move to pool number 2. We repeat the process and, finally, we make it to the third and last pool, where, following yet the same process we will get purified with the holy water.
I consider myself atheist but if I had to choose a religion, as we speak, it would be Buddhism. That being said, I enjoyed the whole experience. I don’t think I got “purified” but I felt quite calm and relax after the whole ritual. I would say the whole experience was one of the most interesting stuff I did during my 2 days in Ubud. Going back on the ritual, while I was in the first pool, at some point I struggled to find all the 10 bad traits. I guess after all I wasn’t that bad and I didn’t need too much of a purification, just kidding lol.
After thanking my guide and giving him 50 K I made it back to the changing room. On the way there I met two girls from the Philippines, who were kind enough to take me this picture.
I spoke with them for a while and we exchanged our Facebook details. In the end, I didn’t get to meet any of them that night in Ubud. But, I did met one of them (Owen) at the airport of Cebu. You never know when fate is going to show up 🙂
So long Ubud!
After getting my dry clothes back on I walked around the temple for a little while. I saw some other shrines, statues and people walking around. In the end, as I was feeling kind of tired after the whole journey, I decided to go back to my Ojek’s homestay hostel in Ubud.
Back at the hostel I took a shower and rested for a bit. I decided it was going to be my last night in Ubud and next day I would get going, continuing with my adventure in Indonesia. For the last night I went to have dinner to a place someone recommended me. It was called Bali Buda and the food, the setup and the ambience were just superb. The price (43 K for my meal and drink) was not bad at all either.
I spent 2 days in Ubud and I felt like it was alright. I was able to see all the places I wanted to see. Seeing a Balinese dance performance and “getting purified” at Tirta Empul were within the highlights of my 2 days in Ubud. I enjoyed food at different Warungs, wandered around the town and drove my moto in the surroundings to see some amazing temples as well as the rice terrace. Like always, you can take it easier and spend more days but, for me, 2 days in Ubud was just perfect 🙂
