Coming back to Ubud

I've been here six years ago on my first trip to Asia, and i really liked it. Nightlife is even more non-existant than six years ago (=the only bar in town closed), but i knew that before i came. I met Jenny from Scotland on the Perama Bus and we found a really nice cheap Losmen called "Arjuna House" just across the alley from where i stayed last time.

Full ceremonial gear for the Galungan festival: Headgear, Sarong, Sash (waistband) and long sleeves...

Like planned i had a good dose of Balinese scenery, festivals and performances. Jenny and me saw Monkey Forest, Galungan at the local temple, the Kercak Firedance, Wayan Kulit (Shadow puppets) and the Legong Dance, which is still the best and a must-see event for anyone visiting Bali.

Kercak dance - No Gamelan, just alot of chanting men. At the end some guy on a hobbyhorse kicks around burning coconut shells


The Jauk demon-solo-performance in the Legong Dance


Special Ubud dance (Legong)


Behind the scenes of Wayan Kulit (basically a glorified Punch-and-Judy-show (Kasperletheater))

We also went on a one-day trip around the Batur Area, saw lots of temples (big celebration on the Holy Fountain temple, really nice!) and Mount Batur in the mist. It had been raining all day long before, so we were lucky that we barely escaped the rain this day. Strangely enough my favourite stop on the trip (besides the Holy Fountain) was Sai Land, where we were shown all the stuff they grow and process there (Coffee, Cocoa, various Balinese/Asian fruit).