My favorite part of our time here in Ubud has been Joylani and my early morning walks each day. Although Ubud is a pretty touristy place since its renowned for being a cultural capital of sorts, walking for just a few minutes in almost any direction will bring a nice change of scenery. Our first morning, we walked north of town and quickly found ourselves in an endless landscape of rice paddies. We walked along a palm covered path which was nice, considering the blazing sun. Bali gets pretty hot even in the early hours. The scenery was unbelievable, but it was an interesting walk as well. We passed men and women at work in the fields and along the paths, we saw little families of ducks walking single file alongside the irrigation ditches only to duck into paddies as we approached, and passed a multitude of pretty little shrines and offering dishes.

Photo from our first morning’s walk, along with the Photo of the Day
Our second morning walk took us south through a couple villages and their small quiet streets. Like the touristy part of Ubud, the rural residents of Ubud also live in ornately decorated family compounds and the intersection of art and nature is evident.

Second morning walk, through villages
And our third morning walk was incredibly scenic, as we climbed and walked up a grassy ridge sandwiched in a river valley. The past mornings have been beautiful, beautiful walks and a good time of conversation with Joylani. I cannot think of a better justification to travel than our past three mornings.

Third morning walk, along a grassy ridge

A mother-child pair we met on one walk