Ahhh Ubud. This magical little town is what draws countless people from all corners of the globe is what most people think of when the word “Bali” is uttered. Ubud is the cultural, spiritual and musical heart of Bali where you can hear the sounds of Gamelan wafting through the air, competing with the buzz of scooters darting through its narrow streets. Here you can find picturesque rice fields, temples, curious monkeys, waterfalls and yes- even attempt to find your own version of “eat pray love”. Ubud can also be one big contradiction with one foot squarely in Balinese culture and the other in an expat spiritual dreamland
That air of mystical spirituality is clearly a big draw for tourists from all over. Ubud has what appears to be the largest expat community we’ve seen in Southeast Asia – all drawn here to explore some new aspect of themselves from consciousness to yoga to reiki healing. One way to think about it is Ubud is it’s the spiritual equivalent of the Bellagio Buffet- it seems like all the worlds spiritual practices can be found in classes and retreats that highlight and integrate belief systems from all over the world. Hinduism, Buddhism, shamanism, tantra- even Navajo dream catchers- they’re all here in every combination you can imagine. For our trip, we focused more on exploring the countryside with its many temples along with taking a few yoga classes and of course- the much recommended ecstatic dance at the Yoga Barn.
We were super lucky to have several friends in town. Our friend Kate gave us a lay of the land and introduced us to her Ubud. Kate introduced us to smiling drivers, laughing yoga masters and the ins and outs of making sure we can try to jam as much fun and chill time in as possible.
I was able to check out the Sacred Monkey Forest which was a total trip. The forest is in the middle of Ubud and houses countless Macaque monkeys which are pretty cute little guys and gals, but you gotta watch out because they’re pretty fast and super smart. When I was there they were non stop cute- eating fruits, grooming each other and having mommas take care of their little baby monkeys. This being said, i’ve also heard they love stealing people water bottles and other shiny things. There’s a number of temples in the forest along with a cool waterfall that you can explore- allowing you to indulge your errant Indiana Jones Impulses. I think it’s totally worth checking out.
If you’re in Ubud, you also HAVE to check out the rice paddies. In particular, check out the Tegallang Rice Terraces. They look to be something straight out of a fantasy movie with stone terraces clinging to the steep hillsides. While you’ll definitely do your share of climbing muddy stairs, it’s totally worth it to take in the views and even to get a chance to thresh and beat some rice yourself. You can easily book a driver to take you here as well as the many, many temples that dot the hills around Ubud.
The rice paddies that surround Ubud 
Our temple exploration crew at the Elephant Water Temple 
Hard at work 😛
One of the things we love doing wherever we travel is taking a cooking class. By experiencing how people cook their favorite local foods, it gives you a unique perspective into their lives. Tiff and I took this great class where they whisked us away to this little house surrounded by rice paddies. As the rain poured down outside and the Egrets stalked their way through the flooded rice paddies searching for their next meal, we learned how to make several Balinese classic Dishes. Fish cooked in banana leaves, marinated pork satay, sauteed chicken soup, fish meatballs and a sweet crepe for desert. The chef walked us through every step ranging from making the hilariously named “basic sauce” (which made up the base of three of the dishes) to the tamale-like banana wrapped fish. It was truly a fun experience and we got to meet a few new friends along the way!
The finished meal 
Tiffany showing off her basic sauce 
Tim working on grinding spices
Shifting gears, we also took in a number of Yoga classes and events around town. Of the many studios and and retreat spaces, we liked the Yoga Barn most for the quality of the teachers and the facilities. The place is very much a community center with a cafe, inn and many cool class areas. One of the coolest events they had was their Friday Night Ecstatic Dance. A bunch of our friends told us to get there early because it sold out (!) Having a “sold out” weekly dance party in a place as chill as Ubud seemed kinda crazy but we quickly found out why that was the case- it seemed like the _entire_ expat community comes every week! In order to get a place into the party you have to first line up to get a number at 4:30 pm. The line hit capacity i’m guessing around 4:50. If you’re lucky enough to get a number, you can come back at 7:30 to go to the party. The actual dance party takes place in this big upstairs veranda that lit up only by lamps inside this big, leaf chandelier (super Burning Man style). The dance begins with a meditative chill instrumentalists playing anything from a sitar to a Tibetan crystal bowl. This transitions into a DJ who drops some serious beats. The end result is something that looks a lot like the scene from the Matrix 2 where everyone is dancing their faces off. What super interesting is that its totally sober so when people are letting loose, they’re doing it completely from within and DAMN CAN THEY DANCE! After the dance ends, the DJ and instrumentalists bring everything down to a chill meditative level and everyone lies down for a quiet, guided meditation. The whole thing is totally rad and if you’re going to Ubud, you should check it out.
And with that, our week and a half in Ubud was over! Off we went to Saigon Vietnam! Expect that blog post soon!