Bali Mountain Ride - UBUD

A quick visual tour through the mountain to UBUD and a stop  in a coffee plantation and family compound on the way down the mountain.

Balinese bus driver with offering on the dashboard.

Interesting what you see just outside the window. everything whizzs by within inches!

Beautiful volcanic landscapes near Ubud.-  3 craters

The sisters: Diana and Yolanda

Fruit stalls with pyramid formation

cocoa fruit ripening and the yellow one ready to be picked

snake fruit : tastes like a hard pear

Flowering shoot

coffee plantation

Love the patterned mosaic work on the tiles

coco being made

selection of coffee for the tasting- some teas too

Multitude of temples along the roads

 Decorations for weddings (Apparently whilst we were in Bali there were multiple marriages happening on two very lucky days too be married)

 Kids - the same the world over!

 Basketry

 temples in the family compound

 Colourful women - love the basketry

 Rice paddies

Carrying bags on the head

 Harvesting rice

 This is my favourite photo of the whole trip. It speaks volumes. resting up against the rice and sheltering from the hot sun

 Banyan tree, more than 500 years old

 Cycling through the different villages with small temples the whole way down the mountain

 Political elections, banners and flags even in the mountains

 Tourists everywhere! (including me- not on the motorbike but on a bike)

Cleaning the chicken cart in the river

And that is the end of the cycling day in UBUD

Bali Hi & 50th Winner

Just  a quick glimpse at the first days of my Bali adventure

(I'll take you to the mountains tomorrow)

First day in Bali and the longest stroll EVER. What started out as a walk on the beach turned into a 10 hour trek through stalls, shops and suburbs. From Legian to Double 66 loop around to Seminyak and then a taxi to Kuta....then walk and walk and walk some more. My calves were aching the next day - just as well we booked in for a 5 hour luxury packed massage/ pamper session because I dont think I could have done that again!
i love the colour of Bali!
Its everywhere you turn. Beach front and shops = colour

The tiniest crabs - millions of them!

What became a favourite breakfast spot in  Seminyak - Sea Circus cafe- good healthy food and bright cheery surrounds. Really lovely art works and pottery and unusually palatable coffee = coffee love

Unusual but clean toilets with artful wash basin...the hand towels are a nice touch

Anywhere in Bali involves traffic of all kinds. Check out the power  lines! Everywhere  a mass of cables and the electrical work is done on the ground with the multitudes walking straight past..live wires and tourists!
We saw young Balinese texting - passenger and driver on a bike whilst crossing the busiest intersection totally oblivious to the onslaught of traffic. We watched a pedestrian get hit by a bike on the edge of a road (we were in a car several lanes over) and a dog on a lead being pulled by a driver on a bike ( the dog distressingly got cleaned up by a parked motorbike). On the flip side the taxi drivers all were calm and slow and gave way willingly - nobody was in a hurry

Bikes below riding up on the curb to avoid traffic. One Way streets become two way - the old and the new clash. Bikes are laden with the most unbelievable things in the most precarious ways

Offerings on the dash board of the bus  and below a cart for carrying chickens to market being cleaned in the river.

To be continued....

And the winner is Karen for my 50th Birthday surprise!

PS had the best time ever with my two sisters! The Best!