Ubud, some zombie time, monkey business and a ride across Bali

This is us leaving Kuta toward Ubud.

Our driver started smacking himself in, what I believe, an attempted to stay awake.  This worried me.

Passing scenery. The further and further away from Kuta the more beautiful it got.  I still don't know if it actually got more beautiful or just seemed like it was getting more beautiful.

But look, pretty, huh?

In attempt to not die in a car crash I crawled to the front and started asking questions.  He was very sweet and told me about the bombing that happened in Kuta in 2002.  I learned that the bomb was a car bomb, and that Kuta looked very different before the bomb.  Kuta changed from what it was before the bomb to what Shai and I experienced, essentially a Mall of America.

We finally get to Ubud, and start walking.  At this time Shai and I are still figuring out the money conversion from US dollars to Baht to Rupiahs, basically making a scrabble of my head with math that isn't working yet.  And did I mention it's hot. Like hot, HOT, HOT. Dripping off every part of me hot. We get some half recognizable directions to a possible family house/home stay, with the help of asking directions along the way. You all remember the princess card Shai tried to pull in Phuket but got revoked because he's not "that" kind of princess? Well, if I was that hot, Shai was even more miserable and overheated. We sit for a moment to try to cool down and take off our packs.  Shai decides to trek ahead, me staying with the heavy heavy bags to go find our destination.  Ten minutes later he comes back with a room to a key and a place to land. (Sigh, have I told you all how glad I am to be traveling with him? For more reasons than this one, but this is def one of them) Well friends, Shai essentially scored the best guesthouse we could have had hoped for.  The family that lives there and runs the place is absolutely AMAZING, and it very well might be one of my favorite places in Bali.  Oh and the guest house is actually named Family Guesthouse.  I recommend anybody and everybody to visit them.  I've got their contact info.  Thank you Shai and thank you princess card.

We settle in, take a shower, relax for a second, and once we're cool enough, head out to find....that's right, fooooooood.

We found this absolutely charming place across the street from Family Guesthouse, Arie's Warung (which I think translates to Arie's restaurant). He has four books filled with recommendations from around the world, all travelers.  Most of the pages suggest the smoked duck. Guess what we decide to get? that's right, smoked duck.

Best meal in Bali.

I tried to get a picture of his wife, who was in the back doing all of the cooking, but she didn't want her picture taken, so it's just me and Arie, a very charming and talkative guy.

Back to the guesthouse we pass this local...

"WEEuww  WEEuww" (ask Shai to do this for you. It's amazing)

Right out side of our door.  Absolutely beautiful.

Our lounge area. Awesome huh?

The next day figuring out where to go next. I never knew how much he loves maps. <3

There is to be a huge cremation ceremony of three people from the royal family in a couple of days.  It's a really big celebration and is super important to Balinese people.

Rice fields everywhere. Beautiful.

Lunch before monkeys.

Monkey Forest.

All the monkeys really did live in a place called 'Monkey Forest'.  The local cemetery and a temple is also located in the Monkey Forest.

Shai took this picture because I say "delicious: all the time.  I think he actually tried to count how many times one day.

The night I got sick

As most of you know, I got sick.  Went to sleep after the movie and had a night of fever sleep, woke up knowing my whole body was off.  Which sucked because it was the day of the big cremation ceremony (foreigners were welcome, and were asked to wear sarongs, and shirts that covered their shoulders).  I asked Shai to go since I didn't feel like I could.  He left and returned two hours later to me feeling like I was going to die.  With the help from a contact that Edie gave us, we went to a clinic where I was given meds, hydrated, and told that if I wasn't better in two days to come back.  Ended up that I had a flu of some sort and three days later I was slowly feeling more like myself.

Cremation ceremony.

Santa's yoga studio.

Multi-colored chicks for sale.

Do you think they dipped them in a large vat of color?

Emerging out of zombie land.

Termites?

Three days after the clinic I was on the mend.  Both Shai and I were feeling a little cabin fever, itching to do something, so we decided to visit the monkeys again.

What you can't see is I bought some banana's from at the entrance, and the monkey that is following is seconds from climbing up the side of me for another banana.  It was a little over-whelming.

Shai

If I had had more bananas, this picture would look very different.

Major arcana: Strength.

After an afternoon nap and rest from the monkeys, we decided to get another movie.  On our way someone stopped us and asked if we wanted to see a local performance.  Would we?!? Hells to the yeah! It was so incredibly amazing, these pictures do no justice.  All of the dancing was done to a large group, probably around 100, men singing.  The dance was a famous story of two lovers separated and one god kidnapping the woman to seduce her, but she has none of it.  Then are a couple of battle scenes between gods, and in the end the god that kidnapped the woman loses.  Moral of the story: don't be the one to come in between a happy couple, you'll lose, even if you got what you want. 
Then after that performance another dancer came out and dances on top of burning coconut shells.  The dance was called the trance dance, it's a dance for peace and social justice.  When I read that I teared up a little bit.  We all need social justice, and some walk on fire for it.

The reminiscence of burning coconut shells and a flower from one of the singers.

Family Guesthouse main dog, Shai named him Littles. Look at that smile

Feeling normal again and ready for a day out!

We took a tour of Bali.  The tour took us to a famous Hindu Temple north of Ubud, then up through the mountains, a hike to a waterfall, then to the northern coast of Lovina, where we ate lunch, a stop of at a hot springs for a swim, then back to Ubud.  We skipped walking around the lakes for more time at the springs.

Drive by shrine.

Hindu Temple, or really me looking at the Hindu Temple.  I appreciated that we weren't allowed in, just allowed to look over the wall in.

Waterfall!

That is a huge snake around my neck, and fruit bat's behind me. I was both excited and really worried/sad that these animals weren't living in the wild were they should be.

On top of the mountain, over looking two lakes

At the end of our trip we were able to stop and try a bunch of local fruit. Shai fell in love with a fruit called durian.  Durian is extremely potent, grows off tall trees, is extremely spiky, and has to be cut open with a heavy knife like a meant cleaver.  I didn't like the texture of the fruit as much, but I enjoyed the process of picking and watching the process of opening the fruit. The fruit hanging off my tongue I don't remember the name of but it had a perfect size hole for my tongue.

Coming next, the Gili Islands.
xoxo