Back in the day, the hippy trail ran the three K’s from London – Kabul, Kathmandu, and Kuta. From there, north to Ubud, where long-haired, guitar-toting, ganja-smoking travellers, clinging to dog-eared Lonely Planet guides to Southeast Asia, stayed in local homestays, allowing them to participate in the life of the host family.
Lurch forward fifty years, and the Ubud hippy vibe is still prevalent, exemplified by the strong focus on spirituality, mind-body practices, and alternative healing. The prolific art scene also entices those looking for a bohemian lifestyle, and Eat, Pray, Love put Ubud firmly on the international stage.
Replete with yoga thingies with kooky names like “Soul Rebirth” and “A Journey to the Sacred Transformation” (KMN), the 700-year-old Sacred Monkey Forest with temples dating back to the 14th century, and stinky macaques who thieve anything that isn’t nailed down, Ubud seamlessly fuses the old with the new.
Don’t fall into the trap of making the well-worn block down Jalan Monkey Forest and up Jalan Hanuman the sum total of your Ubud experience. Central Ubud is busy, noisy, crowded, and has abominable traffic congestion, but it is surrounded by tropical rain forests and serene rice paddies, and you don’t need to wander too far into the back blocks of Ubud to find them.
The Kajeng Rice Field Walk (incorporating the Subak Juwuk Manis Rice Fields) is walking distance from central Ubud and takes around one to two hours to complete. Hang a right off Jalan Raya Ubud into Jalan Kajeng and look for a sign that welcomes you to Juwuk Manis Rice Field Walk. The trail is easy, well-surfaced with very little elevation, and sprawling rice fields as far as the eye can see.
The walk is punctuated with Balinese rice farmers in conical wicker udengs, their rustic shacks a humble abode at the back of the field, village warungs offering delicious local cuisine, and waddlings of ducks that provide a natural pesticide for rice paddy health. Local vendors sell their handicrafts beside the path, rice farmers smiling broadly encourage conversation and interaction, and the glorious backdrop of dense tropical foliage, resplendent with vibrant flowers and birdsong, frames this magnificent walk. The paddies on this trail aren’t the terraced kind Bali is famous for, but the amble offers an authentic, self-paced, cultural experience, far from the madding crowd.
Another off-the-beaten-path adventure you need to put on your bucket list is a mountain bike tour. We did a half day, which my butt was grateful for, and the beauty of it is, it’s pretty much all downhill. After a delish breakfast at a Kintamani café with to-die-for views of the volcano, we picked up our bikes and proceeded to ride 25 to 30k’s, behind our guide and alongside just one other tourist.
First stop at a local village compound. It was a super interesting snapshot of village life, our guide introducing us to a local family who gave a walk-through of their daily lives. It was respectfully done, no tip required, however we did contribute to the community box on the way out.
Next stop, a Luwak coffee plantation. Kopi Luwak, or cat poop coffee, is made from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of an Asian palm civet. These civets are omnivores, with a mainly vego diet, however they do eat insects and small mammals (my ick-ometer is going off!). It’s a process whereby the civets eat coffee cherries, which are broken down by enzymes and gastric juices, then pooped out in clumps. The beans are collected from the scat, cleaned, dried, and roasted.
Kopi Luwak is one of the world’s most exclusive and expensive, and after having a cup…I dunno…I wouldn’t call it the best coffee I have ever had. Maybe my brain couldn’t get past the idea of poking coffee cherries into caged civets, who may or may not be living their best lives, then devouring what comes out of their nether regions.
The ride culminated in two seriously uncalled-for hills, the first of which I walked my bike up, and the second, admitting defeat, crawled mercifully into the back of the support vehicle, whilst watching my then teenage son yeet up both hills like a flat track bully! The persistent need to lock hard on the brakes left my hands in a permanent claw-like position, which was perfect for holding cocktails at Ibu Rai! Cheers!
