Day #115 - Uber Ubud!

We awoke in our lovely four-poster in our wooden house after a great night's sleep. Even though we were worried about there being no air-conditioning in this venue, we slept really well with just a fan creating a lovely cooling breeze. We did have to make sure however, that we closed all the windows at dusk to avoid the mosquitoes taking up residency for the night! 

Today's plan was not to have a plan. Breakfast at the on-site restaurant was delicious and plentiful. A lovely assortments of fruits, lovely thick bread for toast, a velvety omelette (not pictured) and tasty green pancakes!

A post breakfast swim was calling - well I say swim, the pool isn't really big enough for swimming but perfectly sized for chilling out in and providing some relief from the heat when it strikes. 

We eventually did wander out of our hotel and took the narrow path we travelled along on the scooters yesterday which guided us back into Ubud town itself. 

Ubud was a pleasant change to the narrow, crowded streets of Kuta which was the last big connerbation we had experienced here. Although it still had the characteristic hussle and bussle of an Indonesian city, the wider streets,  more organised nature of the place and overall more clean and tidy, led to a much more pleasant experience. So we enjoyed wandering the streets looking at the variety of goods on offer. Shopkeepers politely encouraged us to look at their wares but not in an uncomfortable or pushy way. Sadly, we don't have the luggage space for any souvenirs but there were some interesting pieces and some eye catching clothes that would have been contenders. 

Like the rest of Bali, everywhere you looked there was a temple. However, some we saw were among the prettiest we've seen with colourful decorations and really intricate carvings rather than concrete mouldings. 

We made a plan to return tomorrow to visit one of the temples - the Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati temple famous for its lotus pond. 

En route back to our hotel, we stopped off at a cafe for a late lunch and a cool refreshing drink. You cannot do anything else but take things slow and easy here. The atmosphere here - both physical and spiritual - won't allow you to go fast! 

In the evening we had another lovely meal at the hotel's restaurant and got talking to two sisters, Janice and Ann, from Glasgow - although one currently lives in Darwin, Australia. Over the course of a few hours and a few bottles of wine, we had covered topics as far ranging as relationships, lgbtq history, travel, Brexit and of course what to do in Bali. 

As we talked, James noticed several clusters of fire-flies out in the vegetation that he was fascinated by, having not seen that many before. They flashing lights dancing in the darkness was mesmerising and again made you think about the beauty and wonder of nature.