So this week we left the beautiful villa of Canggu and came to Ubud. Ubud is the real Bali I’ve been told. In reality it doesn’t feel much different from Canggu. Just feels like more locals live here than in Canggu.
The first time I felt I saw the real Bali was when I went 30 minutes away to Tegallang rice fields. There were still vendors trying to sell everything they possibly could to the tourists but the area looked more Balinese – there were open rice terraces and even places where you couldn’t see a single shop. The rice fields are nice if you trek down into the fields and a little further away from the houses. Everyone will try and ask you for the money to enter their area though. I still thought they were worth it. I found some baby chicks at one point that were really cute.
My favorite part about Ubud was the monkey forest. I watched little monkeys swinging off the ropes, playing in the water, just chilling. It was my most memorable experience here. Other than the forest, there is a temple in Ubud to see but I have seen my fair share of temples in Bali so I’m good for now.
Maybe it’s just me but I’m not a big fan of Ubud. If you are coming here for a sightseeing tour then yes you can check off the stuff on your list but other than that there isn’t much to do. I like surfing and a nice place to workout and a good sense of routine. I didn’t find that in Ubud so I probably won’t be back.
The interesting thing about this week was not Ubud, it was my three day fast. After reading Tim Ferris’s book I have been trying to do fasts to see if they work. I did my first one in June but then circumstances prevented me – or maybe I was looking for excuses – but I finally decided to do my second fast this week. I started the fast Wednesday night since we were leaving for Ubud on Thursday and I was going to end it on Saturday night. The first two days were pretty ok, I drank a lot of water and coconut water. I wasn’t even feeling the crazy pangs of hunger than I was feeling the last time. On Saturday morning, I still woke up with a lot of energy. I took a hot shower which dropped my blood pressure low enough that I started feeling very dizzy and sick so I ended my fast after 63 hours at 1 pm on Saturday. For my first meal I ate a huge greek meal consisting of cake, falafel, bread with olive oil, a virgin mojito, chicken platter with pita and tahini and the 4 scoops of ice cream. I was really hungry.
All in all, I have been a little disappointed in Ubud. I expected it to be all beautiful but it has mostly been covered with trash. Bali is over touristed at this point and unless the government does something soon, it’s not going to get better. Tomorrow we leave for Amed, the east of the island. Maybe that will be different?