The week following my adventure to the Komodo Islands has been quite relaxing and uneventful, comparatively. Michelle and I made our way back to Ubud last Monday. I don’t really know what I’ve done with my time and a week has already past! It’s amazing how quickly time goes, even when you have nothing in particular to do! Gundula happened to also be back in Ubud, so it has been great to be with her again! The three of us have basically spent the week hanging out and eating our way through Ubud…the food here is amazing…so fresh and healthy!
In addition to eating, Gundula and I took a West Coast Swing class where I volunteered to dance the male role because there weren’t enough men in the class. While dancing, being the male is a lot more challenging than I expected because you actually have to pay attention to what you’re doing and stay on count. I realized that I prefer the female role much better…you can just enjoy the music and get pulled around by the guy!
We took a jewelry making class where I struggled for four hours to make a sterling silver ring. My ring was actually quite difficult to design, cut, hammer, file, weld and polish. After starting over for the third time (thank goodness that silver can be melted and reused!), my teacher paid a lot more attention to me and didn’t let me weld on my own. While using the electric polishing wheel, my ring shot out of my hands and hit the wall no less than 4 times…the teacher promptly took over for me. I’ve got another design that I want to try and make this week, so we’ll see if I show any improvement! Hopefully the teacher will actually let me sign up for the class!
On Saturday, Gundula and I went for a beautiful walk through the rice fields on our way to Suri Organik, a fabulous restaurant that sits above the rice terraces outside of Ubud. The grilled vegetable salad with fresh feta and rambutan (a local fruit) pie was incredible. We spent several hours relaxing on the cushions on the floor, met some nice guys and swatted butterflies, dragonflies and mosquitoes away until dark…it was such a relaxing way to spend an afternoon!
In addition to eating, Gundula and I took a West Coast Swing class where I volunteered to dance the male role because there weren’t enough men in the class. While dancing, being the male is a lot more challenging than I expected because you actually have to pay attention to what you’re doing and stay on count. I realized that I prefer the female role much better…you can just enjoy the music and get pulled around by the guy!
We took a jewelry making class where I struggled for four hours to make a sterling silver ring. My ring was actually quite difficult to design, cut, hammer, file, weld and polish. After starting over for the third time (thank goodness that silver can be melted and reused!), my teacher paid a lot more attention to me and didn’t let me weld on my own. While using the electric polishing wheel, my ring shot out of my hands and hit the wall no less than 4 times…the teacher promptly took over for me. I’ve got another design that I want to try and make this week, so we’ll see if I show any improvement! Hopefully the teacher will actually let me sign up for the class!
On Saturday, Gundula and I went for a beautiful walk through the rice fields on our way to Suri Organik, a fabulous restaurant that sits above the rice terraces outside of Ubud. The grilled vegetable salad with fresh feta and rambutan (a local fruit) pie was incredible. We spent several hours relaxing on the cushions on the floor, met some nice guys and swatted butterflies, dragonflies and mosquitoes away until dark…it was such a relaxing way to spend an afternoon!
Speaking of mosquitoes, it seems that they have decided to eat no one else but me. Michelle and I shared a room until Friday when she left…each morning she would wake up with no bites and I would have at least 5 new bites. Luckily, my body overreacts to bites of any kind and so I am now covered in red welts. When I cover those welts with the equivalent of calamine lotion, it looks quite fashionable (read: sarcasm). I have been wearing bug spray constantly and it’s obviously attracting them instead of repelling them. I hope it's okay that I am not taking anti-malaria tablets…if I come down with a fever, I suppose I’m in trouble!
Aside from eating, dancing, making jewelry, getting bit by mosquitoes and laying around rice fields, I have done a little bit of sight seeing. I just missed seeing all of the lotus blossoms in bloom at Pura Taman Saraswati, a temple to the north of Ubud. I have taken walks on roads off the map to get a feel for the local’s daily life…the Balinese are such peaceful, happy people. Their smiles are contagious and it makes me happy to just walk around and say hello to them! We’ve listened to great live music every night: reggae, Latin, classic rock covers. I have decided to stay one more week here before I start traveling again. I’ll be volunteering from Thursday-Sunday at the Earth Day Festival they are hosting in Ubud. Ubud is a wonderful place to slow down, relax and enjoy life and I’m doing a really good job at it!
Aside from eating, dancing, making jewelry, getting bit by mosquitoes and laying around rice fields, I have done a little bit of sight seeing. I just missed seeing all of the lotus blossoms in bloom at Pura Taman Saraswati, a temple to the north of Ubud. I have taken walks on roads off the map to get a feel for the local’s daily life…the Balinese are such peaceful, happy people. Their smiles are contagious and it makes me happy to just walk around and say hello to them! We’ve listened to great live music every night: reggae, Latin, classic rock covers. I have decided to stay one more week here before I start traveling again. I’ll be volunteering from Thursday-Sunday at the Earth Day Festival they are hosting in Ubud. Ubud is a wonderful place to slow down, relax and enjoy life and I’m doing a really good job at it!
Your "Lazy Days in Ubud" sound absolutely heavenly! Sure wish I was with you. Don't you think you should take those anti-malaria pills?
ReplyDeleteIf you get sick, I'll be glad to come right over and take care of you. ;)
Good luck with your next ring!!