Kitty Cat's Mischief: monkey

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Exploring Ubud

My vacation to Bali would not have been complete without a trip inland to the town of Ubud. Kilian and I had spent many days at the beach and the thought of cooler temperatures, yoga, and site seeing sounded perfect. We spent a total of four days and three nights in Ubud and absorbed as many cultural experiences as we could including a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest, breathtaking views of the famous rice terraces, spiritual experinces at Isanta Tampak Siring spring temple, coffee tasting at Satria coffee plantation, an evening of Balinese dance performances, eating at popular health conscious restaurants that put our taste buds on sensory overload, an elephant ride at Taro Park, and more. It was a part of my travels that I will never forget. I can't express the gratitude I have right now for being able to enjoy these experiences.

Our view upon arrival to Ubud while eating a late lunch.

Isanta Tampak Siring's koi pond was absolutely gorgeous.

Local Balinese children enjoying their summer vacation at Isanta Tampak Siring.

Kilian blessing himself at Isanta Tampak Siring spring.

Local Life

Beautiful Hindu statues are everywhere in Bali.

A local boy enjoying the holy water at Isanta Tampak Siring.

The long vines inside the monkey forest.

A baby monkey atop a tree branch.

Kilian cruzing inside the Sacred Monkey Forest.

With as many monkey babies as I saw, I am sure this type of behavior happens all the time!

Statues inside the Monkey Forest

Kilian and I having a tourist moment inside the Sacred Monkey Forest

A family of monkeys posed perfectly for my photo.

A large dragon statue that lined the stairs inside the Monkey Forest.

A Momma and her Baby.

A monkey borderline assaulting Kilian for a banana.

Enjoying a moment at Tegalalang rice terraces.

Coffee beans with their different processes from freshly picked beans to roasted.

The famous Luwak whom notoriously poops out the best coffee in Bali.

Coffee and tea tasting at the Satria Coffee Plantation.

Cheers!

The Luwak Coffee was pretty good!

On top of an elephant at the Taro Elephant Park.

Jungle rides on the elephant.

The grand finale of our elephant ride.

Posing in front of a wall at the Ubud Palace.

Rice Terrace Fields of Tegalalang

Sanggar Seni Nritta Dewi dancers

One of the many performers at Sanggar Seni Nritta Dewi.

The art of Balinese dance is in the hands and eyes.

The Ubud Palace.

Simply gorgeous in Ubud.

Thank you again for checking out my travel blog on Bali.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Eat Pray Surf

Traveling to Indonesia is quite the trek from California. It is the farthest my physical body has ever been from home and I couldn't imagine staying less than two weeks considering it takes two whole days to get there and another four for your body to adjust. A week into my vacation, Kilian and I were onto another adventure into the Bukit Peninsula. Canggu was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it there, but once my skin hit the 75 degree aquamarine water at Padang Padang, I was on a whole new level of my vacation. My relaxation went from a 6.5 to a 10 in a matter of 30 minutes considering how wound up I was. I carry a lot of stress inside my body and have a lot of energy bouncing around most days so for me this was incredibly therapeutic. We booked four days at this European Mexican lookin' villa hotel called the Pink Coco just above Padang Padang cove and loved it so much we decided to stay another three nights. They have a great Italian Trattoria restaurant there which was comforting and it was just minutes away from my favorite spot to eat on the whole journey- Buddha Soul. Kilian and I spent most days going to the beach early for his wave quota, eating an organic infused lunch, followed by a cultural experience to site see, back to the beach for the afternoon for a sunset dip and lounging at the pool. We did this for about seven days straight and it was at Padang Padang that I realized that I could potentially move to Bali and live this lifestyle for an extended period of time. I wish I could have taken more bohemian outfit inspired photos but I found myself in a bikini and sarong the entire time, it was incredibly hot and humid and anything more would have been uncomfortable. I was having my Eat Pray Love moment and gratitude was exploding out of me in all directions.