Indonesia ep.2: Ubud and around

I must say that my favorite part of the journey in Bali was Ubud, the village situated in the center of the island, about one hour and a half drive from the international airport. It was also our first stop in Bali and we arrived there around midnight, very tired but so happy that in December we could walk around in shorts and even those felt too much sometimes. Because of the humidity (it was rainy season) the clothes would stick to our skin in about 5 minutes from when we walked outside. There wasn't much we could do about that :)

So back to Ubud. The village is all about nature, art galleries, temples, luwak coffee farms, rice fields and monkeys. It really gives you that sensation of peace that everybody talks about (especially after it appeared in "Eat, Pray, Love"). Although, sometimes it can get a little too touristy and you have the sensation that you have to keep an eye for locals that try to profit from you in every way possible. But if I have to pick a place in Bali where I felt less harassed by locals trying to sell you something or scam you it would be Ubud. We met a lot of very nice people that talked to us about the traditions, past and present, the problems that they face or their perspective on life in general. It was very interesting to see those people be very happy with so little and making a comparison with our society back home where consumerism and ownership are so important.

I'll leave you here with a few glimpses of our journey there. And I want to share a lesson that I learned during my stay, a lesson that I repeatedly stumbled upon in the last years especially during my travels: a simple life is a happier life, don't worry about possessions or appearances, they only bring short lived happiness. Keep it simple ;)

Ubud rice terrace