WaltInAsia 08 - Guided tour around Ubud - Waterfall, temple and cof...

Ubud is a very spiritual town and since the city centre is very compact you can really get a feel for the local Hindu culture, you see people doing offering in the streets and do the ceremony at the temples, the local community seems to have some strong bonds.

One of the best vibes I got in Bali was in Ubud, I think it is the perfect place to connect with yourself.

Goa Gajah and Goa Garba

I started my day with walking to the first temple Goa Gajah from my homestay with was about 1 hour walk, I think most people do drive there but it was nice seeing some other side of town, more local streets, I did find a large café on the way suitable for working from a laptop which was a refreshing break from the heat.

Both temples were nice but the second one is less visited, less accessible and probably not in use, it is part of a older stone made area which feels like visiting an abandon place but still in good condition, there is still someone selling ticket at one of the entrance but it is further up the road, you have to walk through a forest to go there.

Today and a new month - guided tour with my host

For those following me you can see that I am a bit late on writing about my trip but I do write the content before posting so I can remember what I did during each day of my adventure.
I am about one month ahead on the trip and the new month here means November 2024 and not December.

1st of November I am still in Ubud and will be for a few more days, I decided to go for a guided tour organized for a fee but my host. He drove me around for the day going to the major spots around.

First stop was the locally famous Tenenungan Waterfall, we got there very early probably half an hour after opening time which was amazing because not so many tourists got here yet. It is a very relaxing place to be and you can even go swim in the cold water near the waterfall, instead I want for a cleansing swim in the water close to the adjacent temple which is apparently holy/purifiy water. Some locals were here so it felt like a more traditional experience.

Pura Tirta Empul - Holy water temple

I did go for a swim at the waterfall but it was also possible to do the a proper purifying ceremony at this other bigger temple, lots of people (and tourist) were lining up to do it, you had to get special clothes to wear and you have to follow the instructions. The temple by itself is also nice, I believe they said it was one of the most sacred water in Bali, the source is within the temple and you can see it.

It was the first time for me where I had to wear a sarong to cover my legs in the temple, you have to be careful what you wear because a lot of restrictions does apply in Bali for sacred sites.

I had a quick lunch inside the temple, they serve some traditional Indonesian dishes at a very good pric, nice to see they don't take advantage of their prime location to charge more.

Anyway everything was going well until rain started pouring down on us and we were a bit stuck because we are riding on a motorbike so had to wait a bit before heading to the next location.

Famous Luwak coffee

I will let you do your own research about how it is made, here is a link to a wikipedia article, I did get to meet the animal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak

The coffee does have a different taste, I did like it but would crave to have more, I did buy a few of the things I tried from the shop at the plantation.

As you can see in the picture they are not kidding with the tasting here, I got to try 13 coffee and teas + the luwak coffee. The area is nice as well, they do a quick demo of how the coffee is roasted and the different stages. From hat I remember I believe it was my first time at a coffee plantation. I had a very good experience thanks to my guide for choosing the place.

Ricefields and the famous Bali swings you see on insta.

Something I have noticed in Bali is that you have any people looking for the perfect instagram picture and this spot overlooking the rice field is one of them. Lot of Woman who rent long dress to go on the swings and take a picture or couple together on the bigger ones.

At least now I know some of the pictures are real :)

I didn't do the swings myself but walked around the fields a bit and got some pictures of the environment, it is very relaxing and does have some temple vibes if you just go along by yourself, kind of meditative.

Conclusion

Getting a guide for a very good decision to avoid the hassle of going to different places yourself, he knew what order we should be doing the visit in and what was happening on the day. Also he did show me a very good coffee plantation and ricefield (a few to choose from), everything went smoothly and we got back around the end of the afternoon.

Bonus tip: My guide got me to the Satria Luwak Coffee plantation and you can get the tasting of different coffee and tea for free at the moment except the Lusaka coffee which costs extra.

WaltInAsia 08 - Guided tour around Ubud - Waterfall, temple and coffee plantation