Day 5: North Ubud Tour

Today was not a good start for Sam. Our plan to get up and out at 6:30am was interrupted by some unfortunate explosive 💩/sicky tummy. After around 30 minutes on the loo we came to the conclusion that heading to the gym was the answer to solve this one way or the other. I managed to get a full upper body session in and Sam managed 3 exercises with 3x15 minute 💩 intervals and a small nap on the loo.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast - 2 sips of coffee for Sam who then retreated for a nap. Around 10am he was alive again and decided we should still head out on our day as planned. We had hired a moped the night before.

First we headed to the Tegallalang Rice Terrace with a spare loo roll in the bag for emergency road side explosions. These rice fields are beautiful but largely a tourist trap! They are based in a valley which meant lots of steps…AKA Sams worst nightmare! After multiple hunched over stops, we made it back to the top where Sam reluctantly agreed to take a picture of me in the nest and let me take one of him in the boat…don’t be fooled by his smile. After some refreshments in the cafe looking over the terrace, we were into our next stop.

10 minutes later we arrived at Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu. This temple was pretty and also a lot quieter than the other main temples. We regret not getting a guide, as after 10 minutes of looking at things and not knowing what was going on, we decided it was best to retreat to the Koi Carpe who were easier to understand. 10,000 rph later and the Carpe were fully fed.

Next up we headed to Pura Tirta Empul…the water temple. It was extremely busy here as it was a Sunday and also a religious holiday, so many of the local families had arrived to get blessed in the water. We debated waiting in line, but didn’t know how to get a “water dress” which was compulsory, so we abandoned that plan! On our way out, we spotted some funky colored stairs and thought they would make a cool picture. However, in the process of this we were bombarded by around 20 holiday makers from a questionable origin, who all wanted individual selfies with us! Our taste of fame.

Homeward bound, we stopped by Subak Palagan Rice Terrace to see what a proper Balinese working field was like. This was definitely worth it and a blissful escape from the tourism. After some spring rolls and fresh juice at the cafe opposite we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and change.

We decided to head to Folk Pool and Gardens for some dinner and a movie this evening - Enola Holmes was playing. Margarita pizza for Sams stomach (his first food of the day) and 2 for 1 cocktails for myself. A very relaxing night after quite the eventful day!Read more