Donuts do BALI [-Ubud Series-] Pt. 2

Previous (2/5): Donuts do BALI [-Ubud Series-] Pt. 1
1st post (1/5): Donuts do BALI [-Kuta Series-]

Photography reflective of August 2, 2010 (Day 4).

These pictures are from the second day we spent in Ubud. Wayan, our driver, took us around a few different locations around Ubud, from the Elephant Temple, and the Stone Carving Temple, to Mt. Kintamani, to the Kopi Luwak coffee plantation, and finally the rice fields.

After going back through these pictures numerous times, I'm still at awe that we were fortunate enough to visit such a beautiful island, filled with stunning scenery, and it's incredibly-friendly inhabitants.

enjoy :)


breakfast

We all needed to wear sarongs, so we all bought one from Wayan's sister's shop in front of the Elephant Temple. Though I was busy snapping away pictures, whenever I stopped to recollect my breathe, the air was absurdly fresh; my olfactory nerves firing synapses of the jungle's aromatic fragrances back to my brain.










Then we headed to the Stone Carving Temple, which had even more beautiful carvings and aromas (albeit the intense climb down to the bottom, and back up). Here I bought some wooden rings for my students, but I definitely misjudged the size of their fingers, because when they tried the rings on they were a little too big.





yawnnn





After that, we headed towards Mt. Kintamani, where we ate at the buffet which had an incredible view of the volcano. I don't think I've ever had such a bomb buffet for $10. Hometown Buffet doesn't qualify either... I mean we were all stuffing our hungry stomachs while perched next to an active volcano. The view doesn't really get any better than that.

*There's a link to a panoramic shot of the mountain at the end of the post, don't miss it!*





Then we made our way toward the Kopi Luwak Coffee Plantation. At first, I was a bit skeptical about heading to the coffee plantation, but after trying the coffee... I was sold. It was one of the best tasting coffees and teas I have EVER had in my life. Though they were on the pricier side... I figured nothing I get at the states or elsewhere, would be AS authentic as the ground beans packaged in front of me. All I can say about that is: now run and tell that, home, home, home, homeboy!

Oh, and then we all saw a fruit bat for the first time in our lives. On top of that, the bat decided to pleasure itself, which I believe was a first for all of us as well. Anyways...








A few cups of Balinese coffee in, and I was wired! We had about an hour left on our tour, so we headed out to the Rice Field Terraces. Growing rice is definitely an under-appreciated and laborious art of edible creation. You can't just simply throw some seeds, wait a few months, and expect a field to grow. Every plant has to be hand-planted, and the water levels just right, or else your plant wont yield anything. Everything was organic. It was refreshing to be around a 95% natural Earth ecosystem (with very minimal human construction).








This was the last stop on our private day tour, so we headed back to our villa. We rested for a few hours, then headed back into Ubud to grab some dinner. There Keny and Jungle got a Djembe! My Korean bank card wasn't working here so I panicked a little, but luckily I found emergency funds in my wallet, and my US visa card had some funds in it as well!

Traveling Rule #16 - Always have extra funds available.







Sugi for the Win!


clickable thumbnail for panoramic view of Mt. Kintamani
for best effect, hit the zoom button!


up next ---> the adventures in Nusa Lembongan!
Stay tuned!

Donuts do BALI [-Ubud Series-] Pt. 1

Previous: Donuts do BALI [-Kuta Series-]

Photography reflective of August 1, 2010 - August 2, 2010 (Days 3 and 4).
***Edit: August 1, 2010 - Day 3***

HEADS UP - OVER 100 50 PICTURES.
WARNING: OPTICAL OVERLOAD POSSIBLE

Oh, and you might want to zoom out (to get a better view of the vertical pictures).

enjoi :)



After the Bintang Donuts were finally completed with the arrival of a Mr. Ken Radomski, we all departed the uber-touristy, not-quite-Bali-scene of Kuta. We had arranged for a shuttle to take us to Ubud (higher in elevation, away from the beaches, and north of Kuta). Immediately after leaving the vicinity, the scenery had changed almost instantaneously. All the western shopping stores, and the McDonalds were being replaced with genuine Balinese architecture, and locally owned stores. I was finally feeling like I was in Bali.



After an hour or so on the shuttle, we finally made it to Ubud. Good thing we all had traveling backpacks. Would have been a pain to carry around a suitcase, while trying to take pictures with the other hand. Since we couldn't check into our beautiful villa until 8 pm that afternoon we decided to check out what Ubud had to offer.



Of course, that meant checking out the famous Monkey Temple first (after all, all the internet reviews pointed toward the Monkey Temple as a must). It was apparent right when we go there that we wouldn't be looking at caged animals. Those funny primates that inhabited the lush jungle were roaming freely, peeling bananas, and attempting to inhale out of aerosol cans. Interesting fellas, that's for sure...



SEE!!!









Have you ever handed a banana to a monkey before?





OWww




Keny grooming Jungle






After touring the Monkey Temple, we were all hungry so we roamed the streets until we came across a small mom-n-pop-n-kids Balinese restaurant. Even though I had the Mie Goreng in Kuta, I couldn't help but to try it here because I wanted to know if it would taste different than the one we had at the food courts. This one definitely tasted a lot more fresh and authentic. The fish/oyster sauce wasn't as overwhelming, and the added chili's were a bonus! Oh, and all the fruit juices were mega-hits. I mean none of that processed, fructose-laced shenanigans found here. All organic, all 100% deliciousness straight to the donia.




After we ate, we walked up the street and encountered a local ceremony ensuing. I'm not sure what exactly it was for, but I was certainly curious. I wanted to ask what the processional was about, but I was too busy snapping pictures.






Bokeh Effect





Time to head to the Villa!

As we were heading out, we met Wayan, a local taxi driver who would later become our private tour guide and driver for the rest of our stay in Ubud. He was probably in his late 30's, armed with a Bob Marley Greatest Hits Mixtape, and a minivan that accommodated the five of us well. We definitely learned a lot about the Indonesian culture through him, and the struggles one goes through to survive out in Bali. He was a kind man, knowledgeable, yet not completely overwhelming in his narratives. I couldn't believe my eyes when we were entering the rice fields. Surreality. The rice fields juxtaposed the villa in a bizarre, yet calming way.

We were truly at the mercy of paradise,
& the best reception a Villa can have.










It was unreal. We couldn't even see the inside of the villa, because it wasn't time for us to check in yet. So we headed back down Ubud to grab some dinner, and check out the night life. We ended up grabbing tickets to the traditional Balinese dance, as it was also suggested by many past Bali travelers.










After the performance we headed back to Villa Agung Khalia to finally check into our rooms. I couldn't believe where we were staying. It was legitimately one of the most incredulous places I have ever stayed at. Though it only had 3 rooms, there were enough beds and couches to accommodate more than 10 people, easily. A dream getaway indeed. I hadn't felt that type of genuine excitement in a long time. & I'm still perplexed.






There are better day-time shots of the Villa, but for now these will have to do.

Because...

I was overly-ambitious when I started this post, wanting to fit everything from Ubud in one day, but now I realized that I couldn't. I grossly miscalculated the amount of photos I wanted to post, so I am going to conclude this post as Part 1 of the Ubud series, and now am going to get some sleep. Please forgive me, I havn't looked away from the screen, nor gotten up in a few hours. Oh, I taught a class about diabetes today. Did you know that having a sedentary lifestyle can cause diabetes? Sedentary = not exercising, and sitting around all day.

In other words, stay active my friends.
ciao