← PreviousExploring Ubud: rice terraces, food and performances – a travel journalWe got up at 8 and started the day with the same breakfast as the day before. At nine on the dot, we got on our rental bikes and pedalled towards the Tegalalang rice terraces. We met an American in his sixties on his bicycle, and he offered to ride part of the way with us off the beaten track. We realised the road did nothing but climb, and we arrived exhausted after eleven kilometres uphill. The view over the rice terraces was worth it, and we rested a little before going down.
Entry was free and we slipped along the paths to see the place up close. Just after a makeshift little bridge, a lady stood asking tourists for a donation for "the bridge and the road". We gave a note and carried on. We spotted a path that seemed little used and quickly understood why. A man was blocking it and also asking for a donation. So we turned round and went up the traditional way. Halfway up, to keep climbing, you had to make yet another donation.
That made three in a hundred metres. We retraced our steps to get our bikes, a little disgusted by the Disneyland side of the place. From the top of the terraces, we counted at least six donation points. They might as well make it a paid attraction... On our bikes, we continued towards a coffee plantation higher up. After a little walk through the rows, we sat down for a tasting. We hadn't planned on it and felt a bit silly, as neither Cassandre nor I drink coffee. We tasted anyway and were surprised to like some of them.
We got back on our bikes and pedalled towards a temple. By this point it was past noon and the road was still only going up. We'd already covered seventeen kilometres, and our bikes had nothing in common with those of the Tour de France. We were starting to get tired and hunger was becoming worrying, especially mine, as I hadn't eaten the day before. In a dip in the road we spotted a restaurant, and we'd stopped in front of the big sign that served as a menu when a French couple came to warn us the food wasn't great. We moved on and reached Tirta Empul temple really tired.
We parked our steeds and started the visit. There was a purification pool where worshippers performed a ritual, pouring over themselves water flowing from large spouts. We ran into our French couple again and learned they were in the middle of a round-the-world trip. They were very friendly, and since their route included Australia, we exchanged contacts to try to meet again in the future. Near a big pool you could get something to eat, and we both had mie goreng.
We headed for our last stop of the day. Gunung Kawi was a temple carved into the mountainside, and you had to go down two hundred steps to get there. And avoid all the Balinese women in front of their shops trying to sell you a sarong by making you believe you had to buy one, when the monks handed them out for free at the entrance. After this last visit, it was time to head back. Google said 16 kilometres, and we knew it was all downhill. We decided to follow a footpath off the main road.
It was very pleasant and all went well until we found ourselves in the forest. A bit lost, we hesitated to turn back, but that meant climbing a big slope. Finally, feeling our way, we found the road again and made it to the hotel. We'd well and truly earned the massage that followed. We went to reception and were quickly settled in a room for a couples' massage. The ritual was new to us and we didn't really know what to expect. We put on underwear provided by the salon and found ourselves in the hands of the masseuses. Mine looked about seventy, and it got very awkward when she started kneading my backside. After an hour of treatment, we came out laughing about this new experience. We were relaxed and enjoyed our meal at Nessa Warung before going to bed early.