Rain Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day

Most travelers have uttered this rhyme at one time or another when an unanticipated rainfall alters their plans! 

Our time in Bali coincides with the start of the rainy season. We’ve been very fortunate with the weather and have enjoyed incredible sunshine but the rain started to catch up with us in Ubud. The upside is that since it is shoulder season there is not nearly as many other travelers. I will always take less crowds and less than ideal weather over high season.  

Breakfast on our patio

In Ubud (pronounced “ew-bood”), we did not see as much as we wanted due to the aforementioned downpour but tried to see it as a reminder to just enjoy the time together and not be rushed to “see something.” Ubud is located in the highlands of Bali and has a completely different atmosphere from the beachy boho vibe of Canggu/Kuta region. This part of the island has long been known as it’s cultural heart.

There is so much to see and experience there, we were disappointed that we had such a short time there. Admittedly, Ubud doesn’t make the best first impression. We stayed in the centre of town and found it congested with traffic, souvenir shops and street hagglers. In hindsight, we should have spent more time here and stayed outside the centre with a beautiful rice terrace view. 

 I’ve always felt that rainy days are best for curling up with a good book. So a highlight was the Pondok Pekak Library & Learning Center. It’s a sweet little place that offers a lending library of English and Balinese books and cultural classes. The boys have kindles but have been starved for paper books so they were thrilled for some “new” books to borrow for a few days. Caeden and I took a silver jewelry making class and it was special to have one on one time with him. 

I was eagerly anticipating experiencing the Legong dance, which is based on a legend from East Java that dates from the 12th century. It’s the story of a maiden who was kidnapped and then imprisoned of course freed. The dance moves are incredibly precise and the music is so different and hypnotic.

We saw a performance at the beautiful Royal Palace, which is where the Ubud Royal family still resides. Due to their patronage, the most talented dancers and dance teachers perform there. I’d like to say that we were memorized by the beautiful performance at the Ubud Palace but we had to leave half way through as Caeden wasn’t feeling great. We knew it would be a push since the show started at 7:30pm and lasted until 9pm but we thought we’ll just see what we can and enjoy that. 

Some of the highlights ended up being the areas surrounding Ubud. The road out of Ubud passes through a series of small towns and villages which specialize in the production of particular arts and crafts. We stopped in the towns of Celuk for silver jewelry (found some beautiful earrings) and Mas for wood carvings. There are other towns that specialize in paintings and stone carving.

It was in one of these craft villages that we found this beautiful old carved door made from teak.  I can’t wait to find the perfect spot for it a home!

 We also stopped at Tegallalang for the instafamous rice terraces. The dramatic vista was stunning with rice terraces sloping down the valley. Even the rain added to the sense of timelessness.

Our driver, Ketut, explained that each terrace is farmed by an individual family. The terraced design is an irrigation technique called ‘subak’ which is more of a way of life. Subak not only regulates the issue and delivery of water but also the social and religious aspects of community life. It is a manifestation of the philosophy that there are three things that cause happiness and well-being- harmony with God, harmony with neighbor and harmony with nature and the environment.

Subak has survived for centuries because people are obedient to the ancestral traditions. Water distribution is done fairly and equitably and even the timing of planting and determination of the type of rice planted is done together. I think this harmonization of life is the clearly evident in Bali, even to outsiders. The Balinese have been warm and genuinely kind and we are grateful for our time on their incredible island. 

Tegenungan Waterfall