5-15-11 Legian to Ubud.

We departed from Legian before noon, bidding goodbye to the fabricated wonderland which was the Resort in Legian to the natural beauty of Ubud. Woke up not feeling that great, thinking to myself that what happened in Bali 10 years ago was happening again, luckily it wasn't as bad and I had no problems going from Legian to Ubud, but I kick myself for falling asleep as I would miss out on the beautiful scenery going from Legian to Ubud, as Bali is famed for its rice paddies. I vowed to stay awake for the return trip to Legian, but in the mean time I was awake for the way into Ubud. 

Now if you don't know Ubud, Ubud is famous for a number of things. Most recently it was put on the map by the movie and book, “Eat, Pray, Love” , Ubud is also famous for it's monkey forest, and finally for being the “artist colony” of Bali as a lot of artisans have set up shop in Ubud, either due to tourism or for the inspiration that the natural beauty around Ubud provides. The vibe in Ubud is completely different than Legian/Denpasar , where Legian/Denpasar is a type of spring break stop for Australians and various other tourists, filled with clubs and vibrant night life, Ubud is a very relaxed setting which is oftentimes visited by those who want to clear their mind and be at peace with their surroundings.  

The hotel we stayed in was also vastly different than the Resort we stayed in Legian. Though both Hotels had traditional decorations, the hotel in Ubud, was simple in comparison, just a bed, bathroom, and AC/fan. Mainly just a place to sleep which suited us just fine. As soon as we dropped off our bags we went about trying to explore Ubud, as we took a look at the markets, and I noticed that there were offerings everywhere, I can only assume to the Hindu gods, as Bali is a hindu-centric island, luckily I was able to pick up more knick-knacks and gifts for people in the markets, though not as many as I would wish. We would drive back to Denpasar the next day to fly back to Jakarta, which would suit me just fine as I had had my fill of Bali, as strange as it sounds I missed the Island of Java. 

We rounded out the night, by having dinner with a friend of Rima's named Simon, who was a French Canadian who had been living in Bali for the bast 20 or so years, and he also was a tour guide for a French Canadian travel agency who usually led nature tours around Asia, his most recent trips took him to Burma/Laos and previous trips took him to Tibet. At the time he was leading a private tour to some French Canadians around Indonesia, so it would be another awkward dinner, luckily it was relatively short and we packed up for the trip back to Java.