Bright and early


After our bellies are full of vegan breakfast we head off to our excursions of the day which starts with getting acquainted with Ubud. First stop is the ever famous Monkey Forest. It’s amazing because we can get up close and personal with the hundreds of monkeys that run around freely in the heart of Ubud. When I say hundreds I’m not exaggerating. In fact, there are more than 700 of them that call this forest home, in addition to nearly 200 species of trees for you nature lovers out there. The coolest thing about Monkey Forest is there are no cages. The monkeys come and go freely within the forest. The village’s residents view the Monkey Forest as an important spiritual, economic, educational, and conservation center for the village. Additionally, it’s home to three Hindu temples. The temples play an important role in the spiritual life of the local community, and the monkeys and their mythology are important in the Balinese art tradition. The Monkey Forest area is sanctified by the local community, and some parts of it are not open for viewing by the public. Sacred areas of the temples are closed to everyone except those who come to pray while wearing proper Balinese prayer attire.
After our bellies are full of vegan breakfast we head off to our excursions of the day which starts with getting acquainted with Ubud. First stop is the ever famous Monkey Forest. It’s amazing because we can get up close and personal with the hundreds of monkeys that run around freely in the heart of Ubud. When I say hundreds I’m not exaggerating. In fact, there are more than 700 of them that call this forest home, in addition to nearly 200 species of trees for you nature lovers out there. The coolest thing about Monkey Forest is there are no cages. The monkeys come and go freely within the forest. The village’s residents view the Monkey Forest as an important spiritual, economic, educational, and conservation center for the village. Additionally, it’s home to three Hindu temples. The temples play an important role in the spiritual life of the local community, and the monkeys and their mythology are important in the Balinese art tradition. The Monkey Forest area is sanctified by the local community, and some parts of it are not open for viewing by the public. Sacred areas of the temples are closed to everyone except those who come to pray while wearing proper Balinese prayer attire.
After lunch, we toured the rice terraces and went on the famous rice terrace walk. If you’ve ever seen stunning photos of rice terraces in Bali I guarantee they were taken at this place. Tegallalang Rice Terraces are amongst the most popular rice terraces primarily for their panoramic views. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that visitors have the ability to hike all the way down to the bottom terrace and around each terrace either… If you want to make this a workout you definitely can as the steps can be quite treacherous. Beware if you have bad knees as the hiking may not be the best activity for you – but there are plenty of lookout points and photo opportunities available from the highest terrace. Matt and I even ended up taking some of our wedding photos here because the lighting in the morning is so stunning over the green terraces.
High of the day: Playing with monkeys and walking all throughout the terraces
Low of the day: Humidity! Wow, the hair went into an instant lion’s mane