We arrived in Singapore from Texas after about 24 hours and 12 hour time difference. Singapore was an easier introduction into Asia with its westernized shopping malls, clean streets, and good food. We only stayed for two days and mostly walked around exploring the culture close by. We slept close to Little India which felt like a world away from Singapore or anything familiar to us. The street was lined with Indian shops and restaurants blasting Indian music or shops with traditional Indian clothing. Surprisingly, we took few photos to captrue our exploration. But in a nut shell, Singapore is a huge metropolitian and uber-modern city whose jungle almost reaches as high as its skyscapers. It is a rich city, with every car either a Mercedes or Jaguar and Fendi, Cartier, and Bvlgari at every corner. Hence the reason for not staying long. Although our bathrooms and sheets were clean, the rooms were small and ant-filled and way over priced for what you got.
So we traded up (or down literally) and bought a ticket to Bali. Bali was a pleasant surprise, especially considering our first impression of Bali was on the shores of Kuta. Kuta is one of the main surf/beach towns in Bali and if you go to Bali, it is hard not to stay here at least a night on your way somewhere else. The streets are small, filled with motorists of every kind, and are just as littered as its beaches. The town will make any one feel closterphobic. Yet Kuta has a care-free vibe that is echoed throughout Bali as it is filled with surfers from just about everywhere. However, you don't want to dip more than a foot in Kuta's so-called 'famous' beaches as you will be overcome with trash (and even dead cats....no joke).
From Kuta, we escaped into the inland paradise of Ubud. Bali is not very big, so even with the never-ending traffic, you can get everywhere in a few hours. Ubud is in the middle of Bali and although it does not have a beach, it is the jumping off point to see Bali's impressive rice fields and Hindu culture. We were bombarded upon arrival in Ubud wtih offers of housing. Luckily, we found a homestay with a helpful owner and great view. One of the best things about Bali is its religious culture. Thier houses are like individual palaces with temples. You can't see anything from the street because each compound is guarded by a wall. But you step inside and you are amazed that this is simply somebody's house....somebody that charges 13 dollars a night to support themselves . This house had several rooms, each with their own balcony overlooking the garden and temple in the middle of the house grounds. Each morning, we awoke to little offerings outside our door. They were not for us, but it was a ritual performed by each local each morning as an offering to the gods. As you drive down the streets of Bali, you see a constant flow of temples. Each town has a temple, each business has a temple, and each family has a temple. No family uses another's temple, but a person gives offerings and pray to their family's temple, their work temple, and the local temple. So also expect,, while in Bali, that a bartender will not be there to serve you a drink because he is at the temple or that your guide is late because he is at the temple. But with all that Bali has to offer, you won't mind running off local time.
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| The dogs here are not interested in moving for vehicles. |
Not only did we enjoy the Balinese culture while in Ubud, we also did some serious sightseeing. We saw numerous temples, active volcanoes, rice fields, and visited the monkey sanctuary.
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| The most impressive and one of the largest rice fields in Bali. |
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| A temple outside of Ubud. Locals come to cleanse their minds with water rituals. |
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| Guardians of the Gods. |
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| Rice field on the walk to Rock Temple. |
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| Religious statues carved into stone cliffs. |
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| We went to Spicy, a local coffee and tea plantation. Best part: free samples. |
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| View overlooking active volcano. Last eruption left the ground covered with volcanic rock. It is continuously gathered and is the most used building material in Bali. |
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| A large temple in Northern Bali. Decorations were being made for a festival the following day. |
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| MONKEY Sanctuary in Ubud!!! Soooo awesome. This little guy was getting a cleaning. |
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| What's he lookin' at? |
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| While at the monkey sanctuary, we managed to outshine the monkeys! A tour group from West Papau found us white folk way more interesting. |
Next, following a friend's recommendation, we headed to Ulu Watu in the south of Bali. When we arrived, we quickly learned that the town has no center but is simply home to roadside accomodations that end as the road does: into the ocean. As expected, the area is littered with surfers who rent scooters. Following suit, we rented a scooter to explore the beaches and local culture. Southern Bali has mostly steep cliffs puncuated by breathtaking beaches. It is also home to the most famous of the Kecak dances, which we had to experience for ourselves-thanks Eric. The rest of the time down south we enjoyed numerous beaches and basically just riding around on the scooter.
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| Beach in Ulu watu |
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| This guy seriously got tired of Bobby taking pictures and almost jumped on him |
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| Kecak Dance in a temple on the cliffs of Ulu watu |
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| Surf board sign pointing towards the beach. |
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| Nat's first attempt at driving a scooter. |
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| Sunset off Ulu Watu Beach |
