Ubud (pronounced ooh-bud) wasnt exactly what we'd imagined (thanks a lot Lonely Planet guide), but we're working with it. The first afternoon when we got here we were appalled by the amount of traffic which consists of 90% motorbikes which seem to all have 2-stroke engines (think lawn mower) and are therefore extra loud and polluting. The sidewalks are very narrow and close to the street, so it was really an assault on the senses and the lungs to walk anywhere. However, by the next day I think we were both used to it and now its not such a big deal. Since one of our main reasons for hanging out here in Ubud is to do a bunch of yoga at the world famous Yoga Barn, we decided to find a hotel as close as possible to it so that we wouldnt have to rent a motorbike ourselves and add to the cacophony. So we're about a 7 min walk away.
Speaking of cacophony, or maybe "cock"ophony, from about 4am to 6am each morning, you can hear about 500 roosters all over the city crowing. Thankfully none are very close to our hotel room, so its kind of fun to listen to from a distance. Every family compound here that Ive seen has a rooster which they keep in a big basket.
The good news is, the art and culture here in Ubud is just phenomenal. The whole place is covered with the most ornate stone and wood carvings. You'd think you were entering a temple when you enter a family compound because there are ornate stone archways with statues of ganesh and koi ponds in front of each one. Everything here is handmade from the tables and chairs to the clothing and baskets and art on the walls. And its of amazingly high quality. People who live here seem to lead very down to earth lives if theyre not working for the tourist industry: either farming in the surrounding rice paddies and farms or making stuff. Theres no sign of big industry (aside from tourism) or big agriculture or office buildings here and I haven’t seen a single Balinese person on a cell phone. Theres a temple on every block. The Balinese people are all very friendly and non-judgemental, and with the town being comprised half of tourists, you’d think they’d have plenty to be judgmental about.
Penny and I've decided to stay here in Ubud til Monday (so we'll be here almost a week total) and then we'll head up in to the jungly mountains in search of nature and swimming holes.
