Ubud, Bali

 For our last Bali adventure with Ed and Jamie we headed inland for a little culture, beautiful rice terraces, monkeys, good eating, and shopping in the art town of Ubud. Heidi and I had been here back in 2014 and even though it is away from the surf and dive scene we still had a great time. The massages are cheap, think $5 for an hour massage, there is a great walk set up through the many rice terraces that surround the town, and the center of town is a vibrant spot filled with art, shops, shrines, and restaurants.

 The lack of rain could be seen in a lot of the dry rice fields although there were still a couple places where the fields were lush, green, and picturesque. We saw lots of ducks and skinks in the fields but no snakes like last time. By the time I morning walk was done the sun was beating down hard and hot. Heidi and I escaped it by heading to the pool while Ed and Jamie continued into the Monkey Forest where they had some very up close encounters with the local resident macaques. Ed tied his backpack zipper shut since the monkeys were trying to unzip it to 'inspect' the contents.

 Like most places in Bali every corner is dotted with temples and shrines. I've heard you can find over 20,000 just on this one island.

Monkey surprise attack

Scene just outside the Monkey Forest