Ubud

Day 4
I woke up early to finish packing before grabbing breakfast and going to another yoga class. Once the class was done, I went back to my room to change into my bikini and went to the front desk to check out and store my luggage for the day. I decided instead of rushing to my next location, I would spend the day by the pool getting some color and taking it easy. I met someone else from New York by the pool and we started chatting about what was going on back at home. At the beginning of January the coronavirus was discovered in China and since then, as we all know, it has spread around the world. Since mid February the virus has been a topic of conversation among travelers, discussing what is going on in their home countries and determining what to do about current and future travel plans. Even though the virus is spreading so quickly throughout Europe and the US, myself and the people I spoke to all feel safe in Southeast Asia and really didn’t see anything being affected as a result of the virus the way we were hearing it was at home. We spent some time chatting and getting to know each other before I got a cab to head to Ubud. This hostel was advertised as a party hostel with activities and a lot of people and I don’t know if it was the time of week I was there or because of the virus but there weren’t a lot of people. I was a little disappointed since this was the one hostel I was really looking forward to and I wonder if I would have enjoyed Canggu more if I made some friends. I arrived in Ubud around 3pm, it was about an hour drive there and there wasn’t really any traffic (Bali traffic is a real thing, an hour drive could take 2 plus hours if there is bad traffic). After checking into my hostel (Puri Gardens) and getting shown around, I brought my bags to my room and got showered. I spent late afternoon walking around Ubud and getting to know the area as well as getting a SIM card for my phone. I came across a lot of cafes and little temples and there seemed to be a lot going on. The one thing about Bali that I definitely don’t like is that you can’t walk 5 minutes without hearing “taxi taxi.” Coming from New York, where it is impossible to get a taxi, this once nice the first 5 times but after 10 minutes on the streets of Bali, you never want to hear the word taxi again. I headed back to the hostel and started talking with a girl in my room named Emma from England. We went down to the pool area together for the Balinese BBQ that the hostel was doing. We went to the bar and got drinks and started talking with a couple other girls while we waited for the food to be done. Once the food was ready we lined up and grabbed plates (which were woven) and filled them with traditional Balinese food. I got satays (meat on a skewer, I got chicken), nasi goreng (which translates to fried rice, which is exactly what it is), mie goreng (fried noodles), corn on a stick and salad. The food was amazing and it was really nice to be able to try some of the traditional balinese cuisine. They had traditional Balinese dancers perform for everyone which was interesting to watch and we all took pictures with them afterwards. The atmosphere at Puri Gardens was very chill and everyone was very friendly, a group of us played some beer pong before heading off to bed.

Day 5
The hostel provides day trips that you can pay for, so today I signed up for one of the tours that hits all the popular tourist attractions. It was only two of us and a driver so it was nice to have essentially a private tour for the day. I got up early to have breakfast at the hostel cafe and then waited outside at 9am to get the day started. The other guy that was on the tour was from South Africa and he was staying at another hostel in town. Our first stop of the day was the Tegalalang Rice Terrace which is a scenic terraced hillside offering rice paddies and beautiful greenery with 2 large swings that you can swing over the rice field on. When we arrived I was taken aback by just how green everything was, it was amazing. Bali is known for its swings and woven baskets that you can take pictures in, so naturally I had to do both when in Bali. Right when you walk in there is a heart shaped little bench that you can take a picture with that gives a beautiful background. After taking a picture here we continued walking and came across the big swing, which I was excited to try out. Since it was a big tourist attraction it was overpriced but it actually was more worth the money than I had originally thought. They put a harness on you and attach you to the swing and then they grab the rope that is on the swing and run backwards so that you launch into the air. I got to do multiple swings facing the fields and multiple with my back to the fields. Bali is like heaven for instagram people because everywhere you go is picture perfect between the greenery, the temples, and beautiful views that the place has to offer. It was really amazing being on this giant swing going over this amazing scenery. Once I was done swinging, we continued walking through the fields taking the views in and taking pictures (our tour guide would stop us and say “this is a great place to take a picture” so we got plenty throughout the day which was nice). We got back into the car and made our way to our next stop which was the Salria Luwak Coffee Plantation. We walked past many different herbs and trees (cocoa, coffee, guava and so on) before getting to an area where locals were sitting roasting coffee beans over an open fire. They explained to us the process of roasting the beans and how there is male coffee (from the male bean) and female coffee (from the female bean). The male coffee is stronger. Bali is the home of the world famous and most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak. This is the specialty coffee that is digested by, fermented within, and then excreted by the Asian Palm Civet (an animal). Sounds disgusting I know, but people come from all over the world to try a cup of this coffee. I got the opportunity to sit and help roast some beans before we went to the patio where we were given a tray of teas and coffees that the plantation has made to try (Kopi Luwak was not included in the tasting and I decided not to buy a cup to try it). I am not a huge coffee person but this was hands down the best tea and coffee I have ever tried. We had coconut coffee, vanilla coffee, avocado coffee, and the male and female coffee. This is something I probably would not have done on my own but I am very glad that it was on the tour. Not only was the tea and coffee out of this world, but the view from the patio was incredible, surrounded by green everywhere. After we finished the tasting we went into the gift shop, where I picked up some coffee as gifts and then we got back into our car. Our next stop was Tirta Empul Temple, which is famous for its holy spring water, where Balinese Hindus go for ritual purification. As most people know, when visiting temples around the world you must have your shoulders and knees covered. When we walked in we were given sarongs to wear, they are people who try to sell them in the parking lot but they are free when going in. The temple was huge and I was blown away at all the structures and beautiful detail. It was Hari Kunungan a Bali holiday which marks the end of the Galungan holiday. The Balinese believe that Kunungan is the day when their ancestors return to heaven after visiting the earth during Galungan celebration. As a result of the holiday the temple was packed with locals praying and people purifying themselves in the holy springs so we decided not to go into the springs. It was nice to see the temple on a holiday where people were praying and it wasn’t completely filled with tourists. After a morning filled with temples and views, we stopped at a local restaurant with beautiful views of a rice farm to grab a traditional Balinese lunch (I ordered chicken nasi goreng). Our afternoon stop was to the natural blangsinga waterfall where people can go swimming and take pictures with the waterfall. It was probably a 7 minute walk down to the waterfall, water past pool clubs and restaurants. Once at the waterfall there are a couple swings you can pay to go on and a bunch of people swimming enjoying the beautiful weather (I decided against swimming but the other guy did). We took some pictures and went across a short, shaking bamboo bridge to get to a giant rock that gets you close to the waterfall for a great picture (once we were done taking pictures I was soaking wet). The guy I was with was annoying with the pictures, he had me take probably close to 100 pictures during the 45 minutes that we were here. Since there were only 2 of us we were able to see everything in less time than usual, so after leaving the waterfall we headed back to the hostel. After showering I took a walk to Pasar Seni Ubud, a traditional market in the heart of Ubud with art, clothing, bags, dreamcatchers and much more. All of the stands had pretty much the same things and it was hectic walking through with people saying “cheap for you” and trying to get your attention. Once I got back to the hostel I met up with Emma and Michelle (a girl from Germany) and we decided to go to a meditation class at Yoga Barn, which was down the street from the hostel. As I mentioned before, Bali is known for its yoga and this is the famous place to go. There weren’t any yoga classes that night but we still wanted to go to check it off the list. You can’t reserve a class so you have to get there at least an hour early to make sure you get your name on the list. While we were waiting for the class to get called we went to one of the cafes onsite to grab some food. This place is hidden right off the main road, you walk down an alley and it is like you are at a yoga retreat in the middle of the jungle. We finished eating and went back to the desk where they started calling names for the class. When they called your name you walked up a staircase that brought you to a huge wooden room with no walls (it was very dark so unfortunately I wasn’t able to take in the whole room and I banged my leg into a bench at the top of the steps). Everyone sat at a yoga mat and in the middle of the room there were giant bowls that they used during the meditation for sound. It was a very interesting experience that focused on breathing and clearing your mind while just laying still on the mat. I definitely would have preferred doing a yoga class (exceptionally since the class was pricey) but I was glad I was still able to experience it. We went back to the hostel and all headed to bed because we were getting early for the 7am free yoga at the hostel.Read more