Our first trip to Bali led us to Ubud. It seems that we are currently rather attracted by the jungle than by the beach. Therefore, we decided to stay in Ubud for 6 days to discover Bali life in this mystic area and especially to relax.
in the first moment, arriving in Ubud, you may have the feeling that Ubud is a little bit unorganized. You may also realize that you are in Indonesia, a developing country. The main district of Ubud is packed with restaurants and cafes, which is pretty cool. You also find many small boutiques for clothing etc - and you will get offered many many taxi rides, strolling along the main streets.
Once you have understand how it works and where to go, Ubud is a pretty hip and cool place. Most of the restaurants are very good and also provide good quality food. And you may realize that there are some hidden places behind the scenes. Such as "Folk Pool & Garden" where we enjoyed a couple of drinks with friends even before checking in to our resort.
The atmosphere in Ubud may also seem very mystic. There are hundreds of temples in the city and the surrounding areas, which give Ubud this special atmosphere. You can see and smell the offerings, which are provided to different goodnesses by Bali inhabitants at each and every corner. Their believe in goodnesses is very present in Ubud - the do the offerings to have favor with their gods. We have been learning that nearly every family compound has a temple as central part of their houses. A Balinese painting teacher explained to us that housing compounds are being built in the structure of a body: with the head being a small temple in each and every house - the kitchen, housing of family boss, and a place for ceremony being the body of the housing construction - legs and arms are defined by several housing elements of the different family members living in the compound.
The atmosphere in Ubud gets even more mystic if you go for a walk through the monkey forrest where many macaques are climbing the temples in the forest. It felt like Lara Croft may come around the corner. It pretty much reminded us of the Tomb Rider scenery. The forest is nothing spectacular - especially for those who have already been to rainforests and jungles. If you can connect it with a walk through Ubud, you should invest the 100k to have a look at the scenery.
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