Day 23: Exploring Ubud by Millen

Our long and packed day exploring Ubud started with an early wake-up and a light breakfast consisting of a fruit plate and eggs on toast. We hopped into our car, which was far more modest than the rented car in Kundasang, with questionable indicators and no AC — a luxury we quickly realised we had not been grateful for enough. Despite the early start, we were slowed down heavily by traffic, delaying our arrival to the first waterfall by over an hour compared to what we had expected.

Finally, we arrived at our first destination: Tukad Cepung Waterfall. The internet’s descriptions of its cave-like setting, mist and sunlight streaming through the opening above created expectations of a magical, almost unreal atmosphere, and it did not disappoint. While it was recommended to arrive early in the morning to avoid crowds and properly capture the rays of sunlight, we were all more than satisfied with our later arrival. The smooth flow of people and plenty to marvel at minimised waiting times, and everyone was in no rush, more than happy to take photos for each other. We all submerged ourselves under the falls and were pretty shocked at how sore it was on my back . After a somewhat short but equally sweet visit, we made our way back up the steep path, climbed into the car and got back on the road.

Next, we arrived at Pura Tirta Empul, translating roughly to “holy water”, a Hindu water temple that is popular with both locals and tourists due to its historical and spiritual significance. Upon arriving, we paid for our entry ticket, which included a dry sarong. Having absolutely no clue what we were doing, we simply followed the crowd, which led us into the main courtyard.

The courtyard, and much of the temple itself, is built around a natural spring considered holy by the Balinese. People come here to cleanse themselves in the water, purifying the mind, body and soul. Still puzzled about what to do, we noticed a mixture of tourists and locals heading out of the locker area towards the spring in special green robes, while others were returning in the opposite direction wearing the same robes, but completely soaked.

Wanting to participate in the ritual ourselves, we approached the lockers, where a man was sitting behind a counter asking for a small fee to rent the wet sarong. We paid and got changed in the locker room, still completely unsure of what we were supposed to do. Thankfully, as we headed towards the spring, we spotted a guide who allowed us to properly understand and take part in the purification ritual, known as Melukat.

The guide began explaining the flow of energy, which, although some parts were hard to make out due to his thick accent, was described as the dynamic dance of the universe’s cosmic parents, Shiva (the Father) and Shakti (the Mother), moving through the body. When these opposing forces are balanced through practices such as yoga or meditation, they are believed to merge along the central spine, awakening spiritual potential within.

Following his explanation, we made an offering and prayed to the gods, ancestors and lower spirits to maintain cosmic harmony. We were then briefed on the cleansing pool before entering the water.

Along the pools were multiple spouts. Except for the 11th and 12th, which are reserved for funeral rituals, we would put our hands together and repeat “Om” ten times, rinse our faces three times, then place our heads under the stream of water and make a prayer relating to a particular part of the body, such as for better eyesight or the health of our stomach or heart.

After making a prayer at each spout, we moved on to the adjacent pool and repeated the process, this time asking for a good future and forgiveness for negativity. We finished by giving thanks to the gods before returning our sarongs, drying off and changing back into our dry ones. We then did a quick loop around the temple before making our way back to the car through the maze of the surrounding market.

Following our spiritual reconnection, we needed to reconnect with some food, so we headed to a restaurant. Wanting to see as much as possible, we chose a lovely little restaurant with gorgeous views overlooking a valley of paddy fields. The Tegalalang Rice Terraces are famous cascading green rice paddies carved into the valley which m and d visited on their visit 29 years ago. Unfortunately, because we were trying to fit so much into the day, we only had time for a quick walk and were hugely amused by all the selfie sticks and IG opportunities including swings , huge red rentable dresses for the swing, hammocks, zip wires , even weird bike things too going over the fields. We enjoyed some “photo opps” just from our restaurant as my pictures show. The actual paddy fields are totally mesmerising - there is a stillness and a calmness which brought us all joy. The actual rice looked pretty poor quality compared to what we have seen in the past so maybe this is a pretty big tourist trap. .. whatever it is, it is stunning !

After finishing our delicious meal, we continued on to Tibumana Waterfall.
We marched down the steps leading to the waterfall, following a small stream of water accompanied by a charming network of intricate pipes. At the bottom, we were greeted by the classic Bali waterfall scene: a curtain of water falling elegantly into a small pool below.

Beneath the falls, the water was relatively shallow, and the pool had a pale green hue. The shallow water meant that swimming was more like paddling, but it was still a refreshing stop for Dad who was the only one to have a dip . The rest of us had a paddle and then we headed back up the steps and returned to the car.

We then drove back to Ubud for the evening as Mum has booked us a show. Each night there are different shows at different venues. We had opted for the Ramayana ballet at the Ubud Water Palace, or Pura Taman Saraswati. It does not have a structural history tied to the Ramayana, as it is actually dedicated to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom. However, it served as a spectacular stage for the Ramayana Ballet. The Balinese version of the ancient Hindu epic focuses heavily on duty, love and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.

The story is told through a mixture of Legong, a classical and highly stylised form of Balinese dance, and the dramatic Ramayana Ballet. The dancers use dramatic eye movements, intricate hand gestures and vibrant costumes to express emotions without words.

The entire performance is accompanied by the energetic, metallic sounds of a live Gamelan orchestra. The open-air courtyard at night, with its illuminated ancient stone temple gates and lotus ponds, provided a spectacular backdrop for the performance. I did shut my eyes a couple of times , and I don’t think we would rush back to watch another one but glad we experience one !

After the show, we finished the night at a restaurant opposite the temple. I was more than delighted when my pizza arrived with proper dough and was actually delicious, rather than being made with the thin wrap-like bases we had encountered elsewhere.

Before heading back to the guesthouse on motorbikes, Mum and I stopped at a crepe stand opposite the restaurant called French Crepes. They were delicious, and Eashan and Dad truly missed out!Læs mere