Feeling at One with Nature – Bali Diary

Nothing soothes the soul like getting out and about and feeling at one with nature.

I wake on Monday morning (day 4) feeling much less grumpy and ungrateful than the day before. Happy hour drinks on the roof last night have led to the planning of a mystery tour around the Ubud area today. The hostel owner has kindly offered to give up his day to drive myself and a couple of other guests around to see some of the highlights, since we are all too cowardly to ride the scooters that are so readily available and affordable to rent.

I brave the communal bathrooms and head down to our agreed meeting point at the pool. He fetches his car, collects us, and off we go. Our first stop is a waterfall, or Tibumana waterfall to be more precise. After a short trot down some steps, interrupted by a torrential downpour from which we find shelter for a bit, we find ourselves at the food of a pretty damn majestic waterfall.

Chasing Waterfalls

There really is nothing like a waterfall to remind me how truly tiny I am in the grand scheme of things. Our tour guide has chosen well too. This is not one of the main touristy spots that I’ve heard of, so we are treated to a less crowded experience with fewer tourists. We are joined by maybe 30 other people. Some are swimming, some are armed with professional camera gear and stunning outfits and are determined to get some Instagram worthy shots. Others, like me, are just standing back and drinking in the view.

When the girls are done with swimming, we head back to the car where our guide is waiting to take us to the next spot, the Tirta Empul Temple. The water from the springs of this Hindu site of worship are believed to have curative properties and it is popular not only with Hindus, but also tourists who come to bathe and be cleansed from sin.

To bathe or not to bathe

I personally am not a lover of anything religious or ceremonial so I decide to spend an hour browsing the stalls at the market outside while the others go for some purification. I’m reminded of why I don’t often buy anything in places where the haggling system is commonly used. Walking through the stalls, I have sarongs and coconuts thrust at me from all directions. The salespeople here have a much more aggressive manner than in Ubud, and I feel exhausted after just 20 minutes of saying, “No, thank you,” while trying to smile and be pleasant at the same time (not one of my strongest skills, if I’m honest).

I don’t like to haggle for things. I’m always torn between thoughts of my pocket and my conscience. On the one hand, I don’t like to feel like I am being ripped off or paying more than something is worth. On the other, I don’t like to think that the seller is walking away having lost out in any way, particularly somewhere like Bali, where the livelihood might truly be at stake.

Anyway, I’m rambling. After another torrential downpour, I’m rejoined by my newly purified companions and Jack tells us he’s taking us to the rice terraces. Yippee! This is my top thing that I wanted to see while I’m here in Ubud, but without a scooter or a driver I would have had no way of getting there.

The drive to the rice terraces takes us through some truly rural territory, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it since I’ve been here. I feel like this is the real Bali, not the one that tourists and expats and digital nomads flock to, but the one where people live, where people are born and go to school, where they grow up and get married and make lives for themselves.

We pass people working in the rice fields, we meet women expertly carrying baskets on their heads, and we stop to let geese and chickens cross the road. It doesn’t last long. We’re soon back in a crowded car park, but I feel like I’ve seen the real Bali even if it was just for a few minutes.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces

Tegallalang rice terraces are just as beautiful as they look in all the pictures I’ve seen. The steeply stepped landscape makes for some stunning views, as well as a strenuous half hours exploring, travelling down one side and up to the top at the other, then doing the same in reverse to get back to our starting point and return to the car. This is also where some of the famous Bali swings can be found. For a small price, you can get that Instagram shot swinging way above the rice terraces. The well prepared businessmen in charge of the swings even have pretty dresses for anyone who feels their attire isn’t Instagram worthy.

Back at the hostel I feel tired but content. I feel like I’ve finally pulled myself out of the slump of the past few days. I have dinner and spend the rest of the evening just chilling out, I skip happy hour drinks in favour of a good sleep, and I head to bed happy feeling very smug and pleased with myself.

Eaten Alive

The following day (Tuesday), is pretty lazy and uneventful (sometimes those are truly the best kind). I brave the Ubud heat and hills to walk to the Bintang supermarket some 20 minutes away. I’m nicely fed up of having sketchy Wifi, so I’ve decided to buy a local SIM card sooner rather than later. At 9:30am, I have my SIM card in my possession and I’m happily stuffing my face with delicious fresh fruit and fried eggs on toast at a warung (a local restaurant).

I spend the rest of the day overindulging in the internet and possibly getting savaged by mosquitos (I’m unsure whether the vicious attack happened on Tuesday or Wednesday, although judging by the state of me it may have been both). Nobody said Bali life was perfect, but it sure ain’t bad.

Click here to read my Bali diary from the beginning.

Daily Spend

Monday was a nicely well behaved day. Bali attractions have very low entrance fees and the skipping of happy hour drinks brought the spend down a bit too. Hostel 120k, food and drink 164.5k, entrance to waterfall 15k, entrance to Tegallalang 10k, total 309.5k.

Tuesday’s spend was considerably higher, purely because of the purchase of the SIM card. SIM card 200k (a great deal with 11G of data), hostel 120k, food and drink 213k, total 533k.

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