Bali is hot right now, as I’ve been saying for a while. The sun is as relentless as ever and yesterday, after going to the gym and then to Kuta, wearing a short sleeve shirt, I realised my forearms were rather rosy. Being one of Britain’s paler citizens, that’s something that’s always going to happen. One recent visitor reckons its too hot to shop in Ubud.
FezMonkey is on a RTW trip (check out RTW air tickets for your trip!), starting on the west coast of the US, heading to Europe and making it as far as Bali. Fez checked out some Balinese dancing, the Monkey Forest and the downtown shopping. Expecting to find a quiet artist’s village, he found a place full of people trying to sell stuff, fancy that.
Actually downtown Ubud seems like an oasis to me, after coming from the zoo, which is Kuta / Seminyak. I find people to be way more laid back, and by simply getting one block off off the main street, I see people who are living a village lifestyle. The Ubud area, including the surrounding villages, is a great part of Bali, in my opinion. Riding around on a motorbike during the day, I’ll see people carving things at the side of the road, men painting pictures, all the scenes you imagine. Riding around at night, the air is cool and the streets are empty. One can get an incling of how Ubud might of been back in the 1940′s, by taking a moonlights crise through the villages of Penestenan, Campuhan, Peliatan etc.
For visitors who find the downtown shopping scene, tiring and constricting, hire your self some transport and go on an adventure. If you just don’t feel like moving, I suggest sitting under a bale at Cafe Lotus and sipping a cold arak madu, always works for me.
