Rice fields & retail therapy

A very rainy night and more rain to come. After a simple breakfast we grabbed our umbrellas to meet our driver Leping and headed into the main shopping streets of Ubud. Got out at Ubud Palace and battled the plethora of cars & motorbikes to cross the road where we found the endless stalls of t-shirts, souvenirs, wooden statues, sarongs, handbags, sandals and paintings. We must be getting old as none of them interested us. Michelle and I were on a mission to visit our favourite jewellery stores Filthy Gorgeous and Kapal Laut. Our patient hubbies waited out in the rain for us under their umbrellas. Then it was lunchtime. Found Gedong Sisi and we all had traditional Indonesian food and some amazing fresh juices. More exploring where we stumbled upon a long laneway, again filled with market stalls and kept walking to find a Ricefields walk. It was still raining lightly but it was beautiful. Found a little coffee bar Brick Warung, overlooking some rice paddies, and had our first real coffees. Tony & I indulged in Pisang Goreng (banana fritters) w icecream-a bargain for $2.30 and Michelle had a fruit salad with all the wonderful tropical fruits. Google maps showed that we could do a loop and head back to Ubud along another track. A little further along the path lined with monogrammed stepping stones turned into a much narrower muddy trail. We had seen some lovely coffee cafes and vegetable gardens along the way. The track appeared to be getting worse but we persisted and after asking a local if we were heading in the right direction we made it back to the main road. It was hi-5s all round. The skies opened up again and we decided to head back to the villa.
It was a little too early for dinner so Toni and Haydn decided to get their nails done. Dinner at 2 Sisterz followed by an early night. Hoping the rain might ease off tomorrow...but who cares look where we are!Read more