10-NOV - Sun - Discovering the surroundings of Ubud

Magnificent Barong dance first thing in the morning, by a local dance group with international stardom, at a village stage, flanked by a most magnificent village temple. The Barong being the mystical lion/tiger in Balinese culture, looking and moving like the Chinese dragons one sees at Chinese New Year, but less dragon-like, with a more friendly face, looking magnificent as he moves gracefully on stage, dancing to music. The dance being good versus evil, performed with little narration, to the sounds of musicians playing the traditional musical instruments. Great start to the morning! Next, stop at a spectacular lookout over lush green rice terraces, undulating along the valley flanks and cascading down its steep slopes. One marvels at the hard work of tending these small rice paddies, the only way to reach them is hiking up and down the steep hills! What looks most astonishingly beautiful to us must be back-breaking hard labour to the local rice farmers! Following this marvellous sight, a unique opportunity to be part of a Hindu ritual of cleansing your soul, at the natural springs of the Tampak Siring temple. Wearing our sarong, in sign of respect, we followed the locals by entering the chilly pool of spring water and joined the queue in front of the various spring outlets. It is belief that a God stroke his rod into the earth and that release this fresh water. It is custom to wash your face three times, and let the water splash your head, finishing off the cleansing ritual by drinking the fresh water. We respectfully washed our face and got splashed, but avoided drinking the “fresh water” as our Western stomachs might not welcome it with open arms, holy as it may be. A very special experience, to see the huge crowds in the water, with flowers and other offerings at the ready, children, young and old alike. We dried up and it was time for a coffee break! Our guide/driver Ketut took us to a small organic coffee grower, where we got shown the various types of coffee plants, its roasting process and finally the tasting! What amazing coffee they make: mocha, cappuccino, coconut infused coffee, ginger coffee and many more! Delicious! The day ended with a visit to the Rocky Temple, carved into the hard rock in the 11th century and finally the Elephant Cave, a great disappointment, not even worth mentioning in these lines. We retired in our bungalow satisfied with our day of discovery of the surroundings of Ubud.