By popular demand, this time more images* and fewer words….
If I had to describe what I’ve experienced in Bali so far, in just one word, “Contrasts” comes to mind. In many aspects. And this is only one of the more than 17,000 islands Indonesia is composed of (ok.. only 6000 of them populated).
First Stop, Canggu (read: Changoo)
Land of young backpackers amongst old traditions, small bikinis in front of big temples, wealthy visitors served by poor locals, long boards in high tides and short shorts in shallow waters, organic food in man-made shopping streets, deep meditation in tight yoga pants during the day, before shallow conversations and loose behavior arrive at night (I might be dramatizing a bit, I admit 😉 )…
(there’s more below this first batch, just in case)
You shall not pass / Arte callejero.
More of Tanah Lot Temple / Más del templo Tanah Lot
Canguu’s skyline.
Hidrating, very important / Muy importante mantenerse hidratado.
Grilled corncobs for the people / Maíz a la parrilla para la gentita.
Would you like some water? Bread? Gasoline? / Desea usted agua? Pan? Gasolina?
Back with the groceries / Volviendo de hacer las compras.
Locals just wanna have fun / Los locales también quieren divertirse.
…and on to the next one! / …a por el siguiente destino!
Food “truck” / Comida al paso.
Right by the ocean / Frente al mar.
One of MANY temples (each and every house has one) / Uno de MUCHOS templos (cada casa tiene uno!)
Commuting to work / Camino al trabajo.
We fix scooters and surfboards. Same skills needed / Arreglamos motos y tablas de surf. Casi lo mismo.
Tanah Lot Temple (sort of Mt. Saint-Michel, Balinese style) / Templo de Tanah Lot (algo así como la versión Balinesa del Monte St. Michel).
Family pet (can also digest coffee) / Mascota familiar (también puede digerir café)
The challenge of crossing a street / Una odisea, cruzar la pista.
Street -more like beach- dogs / Perros callejeros -o mas bien playeros-
Watching surfers do their thing / Mirando a los surfers, pues surfear.
Serenity Eco Guesthouse. Oom.
Rasta beach hut / Chiringuito Rasta.
Staying in shape / Manteniéndose en forma.
Hey buddy!…just drank coffee out of your poop! / Hola amiguito! Acabamos de tomar café de tu caca.
Yup, this is the one. At least it doesnt smell like its source. / Sip, este mismo es. Al menos no huele a su lugar de origen.
Couldn’t miss a sunset pic / No podía faltar una del sunset.
Looking for directions / Buscando direcciones.
Common scene… offerings to the gods … and scooters / Escena común… ofrendas a los dioses… y scooters.
Officially trespassing / Aquí estoy oficialmente en falta.
Second Stop, Ubud (where Julia Roberts loved)
Land of cheap street food and luxurious villas, traditional dances next to modern cafes, hectic markets and dormant volcanoes, friendly monkeys and not so friendly money changers, humble guesthouse hosts who own majestic rice terraces, relaxed atmosphere if you walk the side streets but stressful traffic if you rent a scooter, ever-present kites in the sky, ants on the ground, dogs on the streets and smiles on -local- people’s faces.
Tarzan?
Gas station (notice the manual pumps) / Grifo (notar las bombas manuales).
One more from the top / Una más de la cima.
Ubud Market, ready for the rain / Mercado de Ubud, listo para la lluvia.
Someone’s getting way too close… / Alguien se me está acercando más de la cuenta).
Humans in Monkey Forest, or the other way around? (spot the monkey) / Personas en la jungla de los monos, o lo contrario? (a ver si ubican al mono).
Starting the climb of Mount Batur at 3am / Empezando la trepada al Monte Batur a las 3am!.
At the top of the world (at least of this small part of it) (very small… volcano in front is higher) / En la cima del mundo (al menos de esta partecita…el volcán de al frente es más alto).
Rice farmer in action / En plena faena arrocera.
Rice terraces in Tegallalang, north of Ubud (rumour has it that this name inspired “La La Land”) / Terrazas de arroz en Tegallalang, al norte de Ubud (comentan que su nombre inspiró a los creadores de “La La Land”).
Grand opening. Great new concept / Inauguración de una nueva y original cadena de fast food.
Reached the summit… now let’s wait for the sun / Llegamos a la cima! Ahora toca esperar al sol.
“Where do we need to wait for the bus?” – “There, at the Nike Store Stop” / “Dónde es que tenemos que esperar por el bus?” – ” Ahí a la vuelta, en la parada de la tienda Nike”.
This is Wayan… owns a laundry, rents scooters, sells tourist tours and breeds fighting roosters for fun. / Este es Wayan, tiene una lavandería, agencia de turismo, alquila scooters y cría gallos de pelea como hobby.
Mesmerized / Anodadada.
Goah Gaja Temple / Templo de Goah Gaja.
Breakfast time / Desayuno.
Fire dancer (aka charcoal feet) / Uno de los de la danza del fuego (alias el pies de carbón).
Market visit (not sponsored though) / Chequeando el mercado.
Almost, almost… / Ya casi…
Preparing for the Cremation Ceremony (2 months ahead!) / Preparación de ceremonia de cremación (que es recién es en 2 meses!)
Visiting Wayan, the healer from Eat Pray Love / Visitando a Wayan, la curandera de Come Reza Ama.
…but we went a bit further than the rest / … pero nosotros llegamos un poco más lejos que el resto.
Gianyar Market, near Ubud / Mercado de Gianyar, cerca a Ubud.
Guess what?… a temple! / Adivinen qué es esto? … pues un templo!
He was tickling me / Me estaba haciendo cosquillas el muy macaco.
Ubud Palace / Palacio de Ubud.
Here comes the sun, turururu…
Deities in major crossings. One of many / Estatuas de dioses en los cruces principales.
Rice-field run / Corriendo por los arrozales.
Way of transport by default / El medio de transporte por excelencia.
After the check-up, Wayan gave Sandra an extra face treatment. / Después del chequeo, Wayan le regaló a Sandra un tratamiento. Para comprobar la calidad de su medicina.
Daily ritual in front of our room / Ritual diario frente a nuestro cuarto.
Mighty group of folks with whom we made it to the top (amongst other 350 tourists) / El grupo de valerosos con los que llegamos a la cima (junto a unos otros 350 turistas).
I’m too sexy for my car.
Happy after finding real (???) coffee (let’s pretend it was a joke) (wasn’t though). / Saltando de alegría por haber encontrado café de verdad (???) (asumamos que era broma… aunque no lo era).
Keep running.
From the top of Mount Batur / Desde la cima del Monte Batur.
Market street food… to eat or not to eat? / Puesto de comida del mercado… comemos o qué?
Went for it! (followed by a Peptobismol, just in case) / A comer! (y luego un Bismutol, por si acaso).
Yeah.
Whom are you filming? / A quién filmas? ug ug.
Rai taking some young coconuts down for us. These ones he normally uses for ceremonies. / Rai bajando un par de cocos jóvenes para nosotros. Normalmente estos los destina a ceremonias.
Temples and more Temples / Templos y más templos.
“Oh you so funny mister”.
Getting those kites ready to fly / Alistando las cometas.
With Rai, our host in Ubud… he also owns a rice field and is the leader of an association of 140+ farmers. Does’t do it for business though. / Este es Rai, nuestro anfitrión en Ubud. También cultiva arroz, pero no para negocio.
Muka House, our home in Ubud. / Nuestro hogar en Ubud.
Rice farmer for a day (more like for a minute) (more like for the picture) / Trabajando los campos (para la foto).
Working on it / En eso andamos.
Around the crater (pic is not blurry.. it’s steam) / Bordeando el cráter (la foto no está borrosa.. es el humo).
Nice little tree / Es el arbolitoo.
* Modest wi-fi availability allows only for low to mid resolution pics… sorry about that! 🙂 (you can always ask for the original, if you wish).
Cheers!
Ubud-Bali, 18.Jun.2017
PEQUE-PEQUE 
Felicitaciones a los dos…lindas fotos e inolvidables experiencias. Disfrutenlo al máximo.
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Gracias, mi estimado!… gracias tambien por chequear estas paginas y por estar pendiente!… abrazo para la Lore y para el clan TripleM! Cuentales que aca hay fidget spinners de a 20 centavos. ja. 🙂
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Nice pictures Fran. Also good reflections! Coco o Papaya? Los dos! It is a great combination. Enjoy your time there to the max!
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haha.. thanks Wags!…. now getting into more exotic fruits as well 😉 cheers!
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Love the pics, stories and seeing you guys – although you are on the other side of the world, thanks to ur posts, i already feel like you are telling me the story while having a cold beer in hand (or more beers 😉 ). And i cant believe Sandra is shopping Nike’s stuff 😀
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Thank you! 🙂 for the comments and for reading ! …. and no, she didn’t buy anything… just checking the market 😉 (she already has that dress, anyway.. haha)
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Nice photos!!
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tks!! too bad you are escaping the region, before we get there!! 😦 Cheers!
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