Niki in Asia: Ubud, Bali

Happy March Madness everyone! Ugh, sorry, I wrote that on Friday. Anyway! Howdy everyone! TGIMonday. As I noted in my last post, my sister had excitedly traveled all the way to Singapore for a much anticipated visit - a little ‘adult spring break’ for her if you will :) After a fun-filled few days in Singapore, the gals jetted off for a mid-week, girls-only trip to Bali. Ubud to be specific (tough life, we know). Everyday we were up early, out the door and excited to explore this beautiful island. 

Ubud, is located in the center of the island, a great departure from the beaches of Bali. It is green x green, humid, full of rice paddies, temples, incense, hills and motorbikes. We had the most amazing time exploring the area on foot, via car, bike and elephant, oh my! A recap below:

We departed Singapore in the wee hours of the morning and landed in Indonesia a short time later. By the time we were settled in our hotel (we stayed here) we made ourselves comfy at the pool and had a very relaxing day. We were resting up for the upcoming days of back-to-back adventures. 

First on the agenda was a full day guided tour with the famed Wayan. I first met Wayan on our last trip to the area and I knew he was just the man to show Niki and I around. We started out the day with a long walk through these beautiful secluded rice fields and villages.

Cheese!

Local village. 

Inner roads of the rice fields. 

The pains taking manual labor that comes with cultivating rice is just amazing. We also saw so many types of fruit trees, plants, fist-sized spiders and animals along the way. The way the Balinese nearly entirely live off the land in such a small area invokes both envy and inspiration. 

Small offerings like the ones below can be found absolutely everywhere. 

My sister and I couldn't figure out why the cows looked like deer?

After our rice field trek, we headed to the elephant lodge. Elephants! Elephants! I want to pause here to state that I am not totally sure how I feel about the enclosure of all animals anywhere, in general, but the facility was very clean, in a large open forested area, the animals are well taken care of and seemed very happy and healthy. It was a very memorable, enjoyable experience that I was so happy to share with my sister. Minus my extreme paranoia around the large mammals (as seen below) it was a really cool place to visit and the highlight of our day.      

The face of pure joy :)

The face of, omg hurry up and the take the pic already! 

Duces. 

Elephant whisper. 

Wittle baby elephant taking a nap. 

Next Wayan was kind enough to show us around the compound of one of his close friends. In Bali, most all families live in these small compound-syle areas. The compound consists of many small buildings (homes) and temples for each family within the larger extended family that lives there.  

The women making offerings. 

Dinner's out back ;)

Our last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Elephant Temple and a sip of Luwak coffee. 

We went to bed that night exhausted and happy.

The following day we had arranged a cycling tour of Ubud. Most of the bike tours in Ubud advertise ‘downhill cycling’ - - - and they do not lie. We were picked up in a van at our hotel and driven to the top of a mountain (volcano?) and wound and coasted to the bottom through more rice fields and charming villages. 

Mount Batur. 

At one point we literally had school children laughing and chasing us and butterflies fluttering about. It was unreal. Well, truth be told, there were some points at which we were off roading though rocky cement in the midst of packs of wild rabid dogs, but for the most part it was beautiful. I would highly recommend the excursion. It was a wonderful way to see the more remote parts of the island AND you get a good workout all in one! 

The variety and flavor of the locally grown fruit is amazing (and crazy cheap on the road-side stands!).

Bike selfie. 

I heart my sister. 

After four days in Bali, a million rice fields, three cheap sundresses purchased, numerous nasi goreng meals, and one horribly traumatizing Balinese spa experience later, we were headed back to Singapore with happy hearts and a bank full of memories for my sister and I to share and laugh about for the ages. It was a wonderful side trip and I was so sad to see her depart, but sadly for us, she had to fly back to Nebraska and take care of the kittens (the twins). I love you Niki - thank you for all the fun out in SE Asia! Until next time…

XO,

CD

P.S. Michael and I are currently in Beijing. I have taken a bajillion photos and I cannot wait to share them with you in our recap post. I am currently enrolled in my second photog course so I am really enjoying the practice while traveling :)