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A Hidden Paradise in Bali

A Hidden Paradise in Ubud

INDONESIA | Wednesday, 27 May 2015 | Views [211] | Scholarship Entry

If I was going hungry in Ubud, on Indonesia’s famously spiritual Bali Island, I would have to fill my soul instead! My tight daily food budget of 20,000 Rupiah (£1) had been reallocated to rent a bicycle for the day - today’s menu: Awe, Respect, and Wonder…

The spiritual intrigue of Ubud is not subtle, from the innumerable detailed Hindu carvings sitting upon the coarse black volcanic rock of the temple houses, to the countless fields of vibrant green rice terraces, everything here hints at the potential for great beauty and spiritual magic, patiently waiting, dormant somewhere, behind the façade of modern civilisation and tourism. A sweaty lap of the city had delivered me to the Elephant Cave Temple, but the disappointment of entering another tourist trap was short lived. I had learned to follow the instinct most seasoned travellers feel: Get off the beaten track! And so began a most humbling discovery.

Following my intrigue, I hopped over a wall at the far west of the complex, then over another to get out into the jungle. There was a barely visible trail, perhaps only followed by monkeys, that wove a hidden pathway over large tree roots, meandering under hanging vines and soon enough led to me tip-toeing over dangerous precipices! The trail then descend to the right, entering the verdant gorge and down a partially destroyed, apparently forgotten, and very much disused staircase cut into the rock…

Camera in one hand, wet rock under the other (and stomach somewhere near my mouth), the path lowered me to the river; the sleepy golden-green foliage absorbing me into the sanctuary beneath. Majestic trees encase this spiritual Eden with a lush canopy high above, while the paradise below is intersected only by jovial turquoise water, as dappled golden light dances through the leaves into this small piece of heaven.

I carefully step over rocks and tree roots - every hair standing on end. My heart and my stomach have swapped places many times and my soul has become charged with the electricity and wonder filling the sacred air.

Mysterious ancient doorways are cut deep into the rock, leading to long-forgotten passages and treasures hidden within the mountain, each protected by the powerful river currents that guard their entrances.

The spirits of the rocks and the river danced with mine, through the sunlight and the trees of this beautiful playground. There are some things that no sponge in the world can absorb, but here is certainly a great place to try!

Tags: 2015 Writing Scholarship

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