Ubud & Nusa Dua, Bali

UBUD

We could have easily spent a few weeks here!

As the cultural center of Bali, it boasts nightly traditional dance shows, exquisite architecture, Hindu shrines and temples, terraced rice paddies and traditional crafts for sale everywhere you look. Add in to the mix a monkey forest, spas galore, yoga everything, excellent food at a fraction of the cost of what we found in Thailand (if you can believe it) and people who welcome you with open arms, it was hard to decide what to see and do every day

The family compound where we stayed took James in as their own and impressively enough, he reciprocated

RICE PADDIES – so very impressive, but even more so were the women working under the hot mid-day sun!

HINDU TEMPLES & SHRINES – I was struck by the extent to which traditional Hindu customs permeate daily life in this bustling city. Daily offerings are prepared and put out 2-3 times per day. The traditional family compound where we stayed welcomed women from the community every morning to help prepare for the annual cremation ceremony in July

MONKEY FOREST – a large protected forest filled with monkeys, monkeys and more monkeys. Roaming free and interested in any food or whatever you may be carrying, we were careful to keep our distance, but a couple simply couldn’t resist the chance to take a ride on Pablo’s backpack!