Stepping Out: Correcting My Mistake

My sweet, very traditional Balinese hotel room in Ubud

So yesterday I made a decision and the moment I made it, I felt instantly better and more relaxed. I knew that if I stayed where I was, I would spend my brief time in Bali being absolutely miserable here. Fortunately, my well-traveled cousin has been here himself and wisely counseled me to check out a place called Ubud, widely considered the "cultural capital" of Bali. At first I thought maybe I could just do a day trip from where I was but once I started reading about it, I understood that it was a place worth committing to and spending some time in. They were oh-so-right.

I hightailed it out of my hotel down south (at a great expense of checking out early, but I didn’t even care. At some point, money becomes irrelevant) and hired a car to take me the 90 minutes inland to Ubud. Almost as soon as we pulled out of the chaos that was the tourist trap I’d been in, I felt myself begin to relax. By the time we got near Ubud, I was back to my old, normal self and could just TELL that I was going to love it here. It was green and lush and jungle-esque and calm and peaceful and…. real. Instead of being catered to tourists, this place was true Indonesia, people living their lives and going about their business and living in charming, traditional Indonesian houses. Aaaaaaah.

Ubud Palace

And it only got better from there: the second I pulled up to my hotel, I was in love. Completely, totally in love. It was small and built into a grove of trees and everything is open-air (although, to be fair, almost everything in Indonesia is) and there is a stream that runs right through the middle of it. The workers could not have been more genuinely nice and welcoming and, as if that wasn’t enough, the room was incredible. Huge and traditional Balinese style with a veranda that overlooked rice paddies being worked by local farmers. There’s a bamboo cathedral ceiling that is, I swear, at least 40 feet high (I know I may exaggerate sometimes, but this time I really, really, literally mean it!) and a gorgeous stone bathtub that could fit four people and where I can lay the whole way out flat and neither my head nor my feet hit the ends. Oh my.

I was tempted to just stay in and soak it all in but my time here is limited (less than 3 full days) so I wanted to get out and see some things. I headed into town and walked around, checking out the palace (not palace like you’re thinking, but a really small, traditional Balinese palace where descendants of the royal family still live) and making my way over to the big market (lest I forget Christmas is coming, even if I am currently in a tank top and still sweating my buns off). Made it back to the hotel for tea time, enjoyed a fabulous bath to clean/cool off, and then headed back out to see a traditional Legong dance. This was another recommendation from my cuz and I’m so glad I went. While I'm sure much of the symbolism was lost on me, it was such a beautiful thing to watch while sitting in an open-air temple and listening to the sound of the rain outside. I love being in places with such a long history and so much culture (it’s times like these when you realize we have nothing even remotely comparable in the US).