Incense and Offerings, Two Weeks in Bali: Ubud

July 5

Our first full day in Ubud! After an exceptionally good night's sleep, we got up early to walk around and get the lay of the land. What a plethora of sights, sounds, and smells. Ubud is an amazing place, filled with shops, restaurants, and tourists looking for Yoga, spiritual enlightenment and affordable massages. There are lots of hippies in this place from all over the world!

The mad rush toward to one of the few traffic lights.

The most amazing thing to me are the scooters zipping around here. We have seen people carrying massive amounts of groceries, boxes, and bags on the scooter. We also saw a family of four zipping through traffic, the toddler and baby squished between a young couple poking their heads out to grab some air every few seconds.

A family of four, with flip flops on a single scooter...not the most amazing thing we have seen on a scooter.

We have also seen all manner of things balancing on the heads of elderly Balinese women. We actually saw four women walking to a big dirt pile, over filling their tin pans with dirt and helping each other place the pans on their heads. The women then carried the dirt into a home no doubt for a construction project. The pile was massive and I'm sure this was going to take most of the day.

women in Ubud carrying dirt from a big pile to some construction through a narrow doorway.

When traveling abroad I am always struck by the difference in attitudes towards safety. Speeding through Ubud traffic in a cab, people on scooters are weaving quickly and the cab driver is getting very close. Sidewalks are situated next to rain gutters with a three foot drop. Walking by the Sacred Monkey Forest, the Macaques are boldly sitting in the road. I just imagine an American family approaching, getting bit, and then threatening to sue the park for allowing monkeys to roam free. Stairs here are treacherous to say the least with little to none in the way of railings to keep one from toppling over the edge.

I like a place that takes a bit of a Darwinian approach. America can stand a few of her herd culled due to dumb-assery, and a few other countries as well I'm sure.

Ubud seems to be forcing a healthy lifestyle on us. The hills are gently but provide a healthy workout when walking around, the food is inexpensive and in a healthy sized portion, unlike the mega meals served in our beloved SF Bay Area. There are plenty of fruits and veggies, and all manner of juices. The humidity and constant consumption of filtered water I'm sure is helping me to sweat out years of toxins. My skin is already attaining a healthy glow from being kissed by the sun and the constantly perspiring. The pace and lifestyle are forcing us to be stress free. No television or constant music blaring, restaurants expect diners to enjoy leisurely meals, and although service is excellent it is by no means hurried! Often times in the Bay Area, our restaurant owners need high turnover to stay afloat. One always senses that upon getting our large portions of food, we as customers feel we must hurriedly eat and depart so the next customer can take our barely cooled seats. Many servers often lay down the bill and say, "Take your time, no rush," when nothing in the server’s manner suggests there is no rush.

I have yet to hear a server in Ubud say, "Take your time, no rush" and yet everything in their manner suggests you will be taking your time as I won't let you rush. Food does not come out quickly, and getting a bill is not always an easy task. Leisurely eating and talking seems to be the order of the day during dinner times.

Enough of my tirades...we did stop by the Ubud Market and what a feast of sights and sounds, but most importantly smells...salt cured herrings, exotic spices, coconut everything, street food, etc. One sees brochures and can imagine the sounds and sights but the smells are so foreign, it hits the senses like a freight train.

A crowded market of T-shirts and souvenirs.

More market madness.

The day ended with us getting caught in a rainstorm on our way back from dinner. The scooter drivers wisely ducked under shelters but we chose to run in the rain to our humble abode. What a refreshing way to end our day!

All this on day 1, what adventures await for the rest of our stay?