had changed much over the last ten years. He confirmed what I had
thought, that it used to have rice fields, where there are now rows of
endless tourist shops, selling colourful backpacker paraphenalia. And
that with all the tourists, brings large coaches, which clog up the
narrow streets and cause traffic jams.
It felt like we were missing something. Ubud portrays an image of
being a relaxed town, surrounded by rice fields, offering plenty of
cultural experiences - until you get there that is. And while it is a
perfectly pleasant place, there isn't that much to see. The main
streets soon become boring, unless you're here to buy your own hippy
lifestyle. I kept wondering what it was that people were looking for
in Ubud? The nearest rice terrace was a car ride away. The hastle
factor has been higher than anywhere else on the trip.
Yesterday we took a trip out to Ceking, to see the nearest rice
terraces. The view during the entire thirty minute journey was filled
with shops, each specialising in a particular item, ready to export
around the world in bulk. Many of the shops sell prints and paintings,
but there is no meaning in the art, its purely commercial. Once we
arrived in Ceking, we were immediatly ponced upon by hawkers,
continually following us, asking over and over if we wanted to buy a
scalf or chopsticks, barely taking no for an answer. The view of the
rice terraces was nice, but the pictures don't show the view from the
other side of the camera. We managed to escape the hastle, once we had
walked away from the main view point, and had a late lunch in a
deserted restaurant, overlooking the terraces.
We also took a trip out to the Botanical gardens, which were located
on the edge of a rainforest, with some well maintained areas, showing
brightly coloured tropical plants and huge bamboo canes. It was a
great escape from the endless hastle of Ubud, although I was slightly
on edge, after coming face to face with more wild life than I had
intended to see, earlier that morning, having caught my first
sightings of plate sized spiders, hiding amongst some shady plants,
that I photographed. It was a fairly terrifying experience! Maybe the
spiders at home won't bother me as much, after being in Bali!
We also visited some temples, took a day trip out to the beach at
Seminyak, and walked through the monkey forest, during our time in
Bali. I'm glad that we came here, as it has been an interesting
experience, but it's not what I was expecting. Bali has changed -
especially in Ubud. There are plenty of better places to go in Asia.
For trekking in beautiful rice terrace surroundings, go to Sapa in
Vietnam. Perhaps that paradise island feel still exists somewhere on
Bali, but I'm not sure where it can be found.
Tomorrow, we are flying back to Bangkok, so for now I shall go to
sleep to the sound of frogs, crickets and geckos singing the night
chorus.
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