UBUD

Ubud is the soul of Bali.

Bursting with heritage and nestled in terraced and forested mountains, it is a world apart from the hedonistic environs of the beach and bar hot spots.

She-who-could-not-come have two wishes for our Bali trip: a photo at the Gate of Heaven and a go at Ubud's giant swing, both of which we did without her unfortunately.

The Aloha Ubud Swing was in lieu of Pura Besakih that almost did not happen because of the afternoon rain.

But the rain did stop, I paid IDR 800,000 for the entrance fee of the boys, and they have their giant swing moment in behalf of their Mom.  

The narrow winding roads can be terrifying though and our vehicle's front wheel actually fell into a huge pothole along a deep ravine as our driver tried to navigate a tight two-way traffic on our way to the Ceking Rice Terraces, part of Bali's UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we did a mini trek up and down the hills not realizing that there was actually a zip line across the glen that can bring us to the other side and back for a fee of IDR 350,000 each.

At the Tegenungan Waterfall, we trekked down steep concrete steps and went back up with the memory of inadvertently watching a tourist change from wet bikini to dry panty while we lick our gelato ice creams. 

At the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, apes observe a human discreetly pull up her skirt to pee under a footbridge while a Balinese funeral ceremony is being performed nearby.

Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka in Ubud was made famous by Anthony Bourdain and we had a late lunch there, the most probable culprit of a diarrhea attack that later came for Bulan and me, and perhaps the lone Chinese lady too who was nursing a big Bintang in a nearby table. 

Across is the Ubud Palace, the official residence of the royal family and the only attraction where we don't have to pay an entrance fee maybe because there's not much to see which is why we ended killing time and avoiding the heat in an airconditioned Starbucks.  

With 2.5 hours to go before the Legong Trance and Paradise Dance, we donned sweaty sarongs, kimonos and udengs at the nearby Ubud Water Palace for a fee of IDR 50,0000 each.

With 1.5 hours to go, an aggressive stall owner tried to sell us Balinese shirts at the new Ubud Art Market but Bulan bought souvenir magnets from a nice lady instead while Balong entertained himself inspecting penis replicas in various forms.

With 0.5 hours to go, we had a happy hour mojito at the Arang Sate Bar so I can use their toilet for the first surge of a possible diarrhea.   

The Legong Trance and Paradise Dance show have two parts that took 2 hours to perform: four acts of solo and group dances followed by the Ballet of Bimaniu. 

By the second hour, interest began to wane and spectators start walking to the exit but we stayed because Balong was enthusiastic and insisted on finishing the whole package until a soft rain threathened the last 10 minutes of it.

That night at Bobocabin, Bulan had a tidal wave of diarrhea and I had mine the next day at the Pelingpuran Traditional Village which we tried to treat with snake fruit and durian as we head back to Denpasar for the last stage of our Bali Christmas story.