Bali: Ubud

After a short trip to Gili we headed back to Bali to stay in the island's cultural epicenter of Ubud. This jungle village is the Mecca for those looking to experience the full range of Balinese arts and culture. It's popularity was heightened by the book Eat, Pray, Love and the movie of the same title. The village is very touristy but in a far different way that Kuta. Whereas Kuta is filled with Billabong clad Aussies looking to surf and party, Ubud is all sarong wearing women looking for yoga and vegan food. Even if throngs of tourists is off putting, all can be forgotten from within the walls of Ubud's incredibly ornate guesthouses.

Walkway in our guesthouse's courtyard

Our room's front porch where we woke for banana pancake breakfast

Traditional Balinese Dance

Our first evening in Ubud we saw a performance of the Barong and Legong dance. Normally this show is held in the courtyard of the old Bali palace, but due to rain it was held indoors.

Rice Terraces

The hills on the outskirts of Ubud are terraced to cultivate rice. In earlier times terracing hills for rice cultivation was advantageous because it could yield two crops per year. Modern agriculture technology now allows flat fields to yield a superior three crops per year. However, flat fields of rice lack the beauty of the terraces.

The lush rice terraces

Rice scarecrow?

Enjoying a plate of rice on a terrace overlooking the rice terraces.

Coffee Plantation

Indonesia is a major producer of coffee, so much so that it's islands of Java and Sumatra have become synonymous with the drink. The island of Bali produces a fair share of Indonesia's coffee, including the ultra expensive luwak coffee. This coffee is produced by the luwak, a cat-like tree dwelling animal that loves coffee cherries. However it is a very picky animal and will only dine of the finest coffee cherries at the peak of ripeness. The luwak then "processes" the coffee and "deposits" the beans on the forest floor where they are collected by farmers for roasting and brewing.

Coffee cherries contain the coffee bean. The redder the riper.

The Luwak is a coffee coniseuer 

The roasting process

These twelve fine Balinese coffees and teas were free to sample

A cup of the luwak coffee was RP 50,000 ($4), a steal 

Tirtha Empul (holy water) Temple

Of all the temples I have visited in Asia, this is by far my favorite. Is isn't the most impressive in terms of size, architecture, or history, but it is one of the most unique and engaging temples around.

The temple is the holy site of a Balinese Hindu legend. In the legend a powerful king declares himself a god and has the people worship him. The god Indra is offended by the king's claim and raises an army to kill him. The king poisons the spring that Indra's army drinks from, killing every soldier. Indra turns the spring into holy water which revives his army from dead. Indra eventually defeats the king. The spring is still believed to have restorative powers from Indra.

To enter the temple, as with all Hindu temples in Bali, you must wear a sarong.

The holy spring

The water was a little chilly

The Sacred Monkey Forest

On the edge of Ubud is the sacred monkey forest, which is home to a Hindu temple and a large population of macaque monkeys. 

Entrance to the monkey forest

Monkey statue

The temple complex was filled with monkeys

Although you're not allowed to touch the monkeys, nothing is stopping them from touching you.