Ubud

I have a *pretty exciting* personal project in the works and Nick works part time while we travel. Finding good internet has been both our top priority and our biggest struggle. After loads of research we decided on cozy, digital nomad friendly Ubud. 

Ubud is a lush jungle, tucked in steep ravines and expansive rice paddies, in central Bali. It is the little Hindu oasis of Indonesia. Bali’s spirituality and vegetarian lifestyle has attracted loads of yogis, health-nuts, spiritualists, surfing Aussies, vegans, and us. Except we came for the internet.

Days, and even hours before our arrival we were awaiting news of the impending doom of Mt. Agung. This active volcano had been giving off pretty substantial seismic activity, causing evacuations 11km wide, and was predicted to blow any minute. As was my anxiety.

It never erupted.

We booked an open air villa at the end of a muddy footpath, hidden in the small village of Penestanan. Accessible only by foot, our little home was the perfect place to unwind and catch up on hours and hours (and hours) of work. It was far enough from the center of Ubud that we wouldn’t be too distracted but still close enough to find human contact when we needed it.

Finding a luxurious, intricately detailed, absolutely gorgeous, long term villa (with a private pool) is incredibly easy. Nearly every street corner is covered in signs advertising them. Simply walk into a nearby warung, a simple bar/restaurant of sorts, and they’ll gladly escort you to see the villa. Or plan in advance and book on Airbnb ;)

Also very easy to find are blissfully inexpensive massages. I won’t say how many spa treatments and massages we got. 

This is potentially an inaccurate representation, but as described to us families in Bali all live together in one walled complex with small houses. Many generations of siblings all occupying the same spaces, pooling their resources for child care, cooking, cleaning, and everything else. At the center of the family is the mother. And at the center of their home is a sacred temple. In Balinese-Hindu culture, everything you do is either to make your mother happy or to receive good karma from their gods. Communities are made up of groups of family homes. Each community has a central temple, a wooden bell for communication, and a very frequently used community meeting space. 

Our Balinese host and neighbor made it his personal mission to teach us about Balinese-Hindu culture, practices, and rituals. We were invited us to witness his temple’s anniversary ceremony, which is one of the most important of the many ceremonies that take place. 

We’re constantly on the go. Boarding trains or planes once, sometimes even twice, a week. The emotional strain is what gets to you before the jet lag.

His family’s warm acceptance of us helped shape Ubud as our home.

In just one short month, Ubud became the only home we’ve had in three months. Home is knowing where the light switch is in the dark. It’s knowing how long the hot water takes to kick in. It’s knowing your way through tiny, winding paths in the dark. It’s having favorite meals at your local warungs. It’s waving ‘hi’ to your neighbors, and knowing they welcome you here. They’re happy to share their food, their culture, and their sidewalk with you. 

We don’t know if we’ll ever be back. But I hope very very very much hope that a friend goes so I can gush over the millions of things they must do…and eat.