Sunday, November 21, 2010

Eat, Pray and Loving it in UBUD!


     Ubud is a surprisingly quaint, artsy little town.  Lots of great shopping, amazing cuisine and it's almost impossible to walk a block without hearing some beautiful Bali girl ask, "Massage, you like massage?" Well yes, I do as a matter of fact and there are many, many spas to choose from, but I'll get back to that in a moment.
    Our hotel, the Ubud Terrace was otherworldly, like something straight out of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider.  It had an old world feel, moss covered statues beneath coconut palms, swaying lazily in the constant breeze.  Steep cobbled stairs wound maze-like through the frangipani covered grounds.  A fantastic view of the rice field terraces off in the distance.
      Each morning, from the large picture window in our room next to the Monkey Forest, we watched the farmers chasing mischievious monkeys away from their precious fruit trees.  The raiding party's antics entertained us as they quickly climbed the towering palms, we were greatful to not be sitting under and sent the heavy young coconuts plummeting to the ground.
     There are some amazing spas here and for around $100 usd, you can be buffed, puffed, polished, waxed and massaged into complete zendome.  The Art Market was amazing.  The best deals on everything from pure silver jewelry, carvings, statues and sarongs can be had here, if you know how to play the game.  Bargaining with those intimidating, poker faced ladies, takes some practice and is somewhat like dancing the tango.  They're not ashamed to physically hold you by the arm to keep you at the bargaining table.  But, if you hold your ground, you've gained their respect as they pat you on the back and say, "You tough, good job!"  Then the smile they flash you as you walk away that makes you wonder in the back of your mind, who really won on that one?
      I plan to return to Ubud someday and revel in its quirky, peaceful solitude.  Ubud is a place to sit back, put your feet up and relax in, you'll want to stay a while here and enjoy the never ending smiles of its beautiful people.

1 comment:

  1. Hello there! very nice blog. we are in love with ubud too. my fiance and i are going to be back in ubud for xmas. will u be around? hope all's well. jason (TheVicariousAdventure.com)

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