Bali has to be one of our favourite places. The vibrant culture, the friendly people, the deep green of the rain forest and the verdant volcanic hillsides, the cornucopia of fresh food grown there all make it a very special place. Our final trip with Melita and Tamsin took in a return visit to the hot springs, the hill top market and temples. However, this time we went further going on to Ubud where we stayed for two nights.



As you descend to the North the road twists and turns through a vast growing area, terraces of every type of vegetable and fruit imaginable are grown. The rich volcanic soil combines with the high hills to provide most growing climates. The products of all these holdings lead to the rich markets in Ubud and the hill villages.

We stopped at a small coffee plantation where we were shown the civet who eats the coffee beans and watched one of the women roasting coffee in the traditional manner. Balinese coffee made in this way seems to be smoother and have less of an aftertaste.



Our trusty driver Tutu also showed us his traditional music skills


Before going to Ubud we went further South to Puri Tanah Lot, a Hindu temple in a spectacular setting by the sea. The approach is through vast arrays of shops and stalls mostly selling souvenirs. However, the final view is well worth it.



Ubud seems a large town but really it is two intersecting roads which crest a series of spectacular ravines and valleys. You can walk up and down the main streets full of restaurants and hotels and not be aware of the beauty which lies just off the main road.



The town has numerous art galleries. Some of the most interesting are exhibitions of Balinese modern art drawn from private and public collections. As might be expected numerous private galleries sell everything from factory produced paintings to beautiful furniture.






Every evening there are performances of Balinese music and dance at a variety of venues. The professionalism of the performance we saw at the Royal Palace was unbelievable. Male and female dancers spellbound the audience with traditional dances reflecting Hindu mythology and local history. Tamsin and Melita saw a monkey dance which is done without gamelan accompaniment instead it is acapella style ie voice music only.




Although Ubud is a tourist destination it seems to retain its heart in Balinese culture. At one of the galleries we watched young girls learning traditional dance.



Leaving Ubud by a different route, for about ten miles the road is lined with small wood-turning workshops. Anything, and everything turned into wooden sculptures. Our journey back to Lovina was a tour of a different part of the island. We went out past steep slopes covered in rice terraces, rushing water everywhere, then up to the the massive crater of the largest volcano with its immense central cone and circular crater lake surrounded by the steep cliffs of the crater rim. Up here a different people, originally from Malaysia, farm flowers, fruit and vegetables.



Working our way slowly back down we travelled rural potholed roads, with traditional little villages and immaculate terraces growing citrus, green vegetables, herbs and spices. We arrived back at a very different Lovina Beach, an almost empty bay as most boats had left, we were glad to see Lady Kay was still there! We had stopped at the vegetable market in the mountains on the way back and loaded all sorts of wonderful fruit and veg into the boat to keep us going through Borneo and beyond.