We didn’t stay in town – it is a wonderful one but also a seriously busy one, the roads are narrow the traffic is noisy. Trying to cross the road is nigh on impossible. You can spend a lovely few hours wandering the sites before the day trippers flood in from the beach towns, the place is heaving by lunchtime. But of course people come here for good reason. Ubud is widely considered to be the cultural centre of Bali. Ubud has royal palaces, (we met the prince and now are “besties” omg name dropper!!) and ancient temples seen here is Pura Taman Sarawati. Many of the world’s famous artists have visited and worked here. Along the main street are dozens of art studios and galleries, along with an excellent local crafts market selling antiques, woodcarvings, crafts, textiles, paintings, and jewellery.
A few days later we were lucky to witness a ceremony at the temple. And here below some of the lovely things to buy – if only I had a house!!
Every morning the new flower offerings are put outside the doorways of stores and restaurants. Lazy dogs litter the narrow sidewalks, they don’t move you have to step over them !!
We opted to stay way out of town in the rice fields technically in the district of Ubud but not the town. We were so lucky we ended up staying with the most lovely family ever. We were taken great care of and in their homestay we enjoyed a glimpse into family life Balinese style. We loved it so much we stayed and extra week. I have written a whole other post about them and the local people we met while we were here. We were treated like family by the whole village, truly heart warming. From our homestay we chose to day trip to some of the most remarkable places in the area. I should call this post Ubud and around !
Pura Tirta Empul (Holy Water Temple) This was a highlight for us we knew it was a special place as it is a cleansing point for the electrical energy that moves in ley lines around the earth. Here the ley lines converge at the spring. For over a thousand years, Balinese Hindu worshipers have been drawn to this temple, whose sacred springs are said to have been created by The God Indra and possess curative properties. Aside from worshipers, people from all over the world also come to this place to bathe in its blessed water. And we did the same.
More lazy dogs this time at the temple and thankfully no monkeys. 🙂
The energy here is super charged, prana from the trees and the water. Tingling in your body, incredible sense of life force and wonderment – Lance described it as like warm sunshine coming up from the earth. yes exactly. the kind you have been desperate for, the kind that makes you close your eyes and turn up the corners of your mouth. We sat for a long while and basked in the joy and breathed it in.
Tree so huge and old and loved and beautiful.
The purification pool ritual – (we didnt think selfies were cool here 🙂 🙂
The most scared place is the walled spring, I was emotional when I saw the mesmerizing spring coming up from deep with in the earth. Spilling out into the light, a thousand years of prayer soaked into everything around.
The Tegalalang Rice Terrace. Lush green terraces that defy engineering when you see the basic hand held tools that the farmers use to dig out the terraces and maintain them – gurgling water rushing down through the channels green everywhere and luckily we had the place almost to ourselves.
The Sacred Monkey Forest. Monkeys everywhere 700 of them at the last count. Living like kings in the sacred forest. Right on the outskirts of busy Ubud town. Hold onto your hats, (and everything that is not attached to your body) and don’t look them in the eye the sign read! Yikes – We gave them a wide berth, they seemed very mild mannered compared to some we have encountered. We enjoyed watching them among the moss covered sculptures and ancient architecture.
There are three important temples here our favorite was in the northwest area. Pura Beji or Temple of the Holy Spring with it’s gushing holy water is dedicated to Goddess Gangga is often used for ”melukat” as spiritual and physical cleansing. and is one of the most sacred places in Bali. We felt a very strong energy here. Seemed for me to be held in the trees.
I was very interested to learn after we left, that the trees in the forest are very significant in Balinese spiritual customs, many of which regarded sacred and often used during religious rituals. Sentinel beings we both had such a connection with them.
The Gunung Kawi Temple complex comprises a collection of ancient shrine reliefs carved into the face of a rock cliff The main site overlooks the sacred Pakerisan River. We had to climb 300 steps to get down here and of course what goes down must come up !! Again offerings everywhere burning incense perfumed the air.
Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) The history of the site is uncertain, it was probably built as place for spiritual meditation. The temple is famous for the scary faces that are carved into the stone – The main face was thought to be an elephant, hence the nickname Elephant Cave. Other sources state that it is named after the stone statue of the Hindu God Ganesh The water bathing site was not excavated until the 1950s. And the tree heart heart.
Finally a pic of us not quite dressed for instagram like so many others we see 🙂 Also haven’t practised the pose!! we look rather awkward! well at least we are coordinated with our borrowed sarongs !! hehe
