Ubud on Foot

My first full day in Ubud was spent exploring the city on foot. I visited about six super cool cafés and had an espresso at each. I visited various temples, including the main two.  Before i came here i looked at maps and read my guide book strategizing so i would be sure to see the Balinese Hindu temple architecture and carvings. I needn't have worried because every building here has a small temple and it seems like every second building is a religious site with statues, intricately carved doors, and altars or spirit houses. I took way too many photos.

I Knew there were rice fields one could walk into from Ubud so i found the path and set off. It was completely pastoral aside from a temple complex at the beginning of the journey and the odd sign promising cold coconuts at the end.

It was a stunning path through the most verdant of landscapes...palm tress, vines, grasses, and fields of rice.

There was even a picturesque bamboo swing that swung out over the valley.

I didn't see much in the way of wildlife; lizards, dragonflies, centipedes, and butterflies - the latter of which i could have done without. (I hate their unpredictable flight patterns.)

It was beautiful but hot, shadeless, and humid, by the time i reached the top i was red faced and sweating so much i was nearly blind. Even my Kat Von D waterproof eyeliner didn't survive. I did find a perfect oasis though. Outdoors with fresh pineapple juice and a view of a lily-covered pond and the fields. Restored, i made my way back, watching people toiling in the rice fields. Seriously. I don't think about it often enough but rice is planted and harvested (and here anyway) processed BY HAND. That is just incredible for a food product so cheap and abundant.  And to think we throw it around at weddings like jerks.

I don't know what i did the rest of that day but i think i went like this: walk, coffee, walk, juice, walk, dinner, cigar, walk, bed. A thoroughly delightful day. Ubud is very touristy, and in a way i wish it wasn't, but i must admit to enjoying the ease of it all.