This morning we are taking one of the Rice Field walks here in Ubud. This one runs from behind the Puri Lukisan Museum and is supposed to be relaxing and less busy than other walks. We’ll see!

Out onto the streets, after only a couple of days we are already used to the scooters and the car traffic, and how to successfully avoid both. The scooters are the worst as they just zoom around any obstacle. Cars stuck in traffic? No problem, drive right around. Obstacles in the road? No problem. Bule (us foreigners) walking? Same, same, just zoom by! Makes for exciting walking, especially while trying to dodge the various holes, open water drainage and missing cobblestones that are emblematic of streets and sidewalks here in Ubud! Adventure on!

Successfully arriving at Raya, the main street, and successfully crossing said main street, we strike out toward the museum to find what has been described as a “hidden walkway.” Um. Yeah. That it is! There is actually a sign pointing to the path – but the actual path? Looks like a scary little muddy alleyway between two huge building walls. Hey, when in Bali…. The “hidden” path starts off with a view across, well, we’re not sure exactly what really. Looks like maybe an abandoned construction site in between two semi finished buildings? Hmmm…. Further along, the path becomes a narrow rut that skirts the back of the museum. It is barely big enough for anyone to pass, although a couple of locals do just that. Oh, and did I mention the wood boards that are placed across a couple of ravines you have to traverse to get to the path? Didn’t think so….. LOL.

Finally, around a corner and past a surprisingly open art gallery sort of semi-constructed building, we reach the path which is indeed gorgeous and stunning as it bisects the rice fields on either side.

This definitely does live up to the hype – peaceful, beautiful, not as crowded as the Campuhan Ridge. And we think far more beautiful. There are a couple of references out there about Campuhan being the most Instagram-able walk – but we’ll take this one over that any time.

We arrive at the Sweet Orange Warung all too soon – the one negative of this walk is it is so short! – and take our break on the lovely patio – underneath the wildly carved coconut shells that are absolutely everywhere in this little restaurant – with our iced coffee and palm sugar. A fabulous respite out here in the middle of the fields.

Then it is back to hiking, following the path which is filled with concrete slabs inscribed with different people’s names and sayings – even the Swiss are here! What a great way to make the path. We’re ever so interested in how you can get a slab….hmmm….that will take some research.

As we follow the “slabs,” enjoying all the inscriptions, the path continues to winds through a few more fields connecting with Kajeng Road on a huge steep hill where we find the biggest snail we have ever seen! Then entering into what looks like a small village with a temple that is under construction. It is still rural and lovely here – but that will soon change.

Within a few hundred meters, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of souvenir lane; Kajeng Road. Lined on either side with every imaginable souvenir shop you could ever want or need, or not! We have absolutely nothing we want, so we just make our way through the sellers, dodging scooters and lost looking Bule alike. Exiting the shopping lane, we hit the main road and head toward the Ubud Palace, once the home to the Royal family of Ubud. It is constructed in the traditional Balinese building style – separate houses, temples, throne room and communal areas. It is rather small and we easily explore all around in a few minutes (also brief because it is really busy here and crowded with tourists). But crowds notwithstanding, it is a lovely example of old architecture and culture.

Now it is time for lunch, and fortunately (yeah, ok, it was planned!) we are right across the street from Ibu Oka, a recommendation from Kadek as one of the best places for suckling pig. Suckling pig you say? Yep, we’re in! And Kadek is absolutely right. This place is amazing and so popular, they have 3 locations – the third of which they have opened 50 meters down the road form this one! We are early enough that it isn’t crowded by a long shot, so we happily hunker down and begin our feast. There is no wine – of course, I’m getting used to this – so we order a Bintang for Ed and a banana juice (really?) for me then split the Special Pisah – which combines every way to cook a pig with a big serving of rice. Oh, so delicious! The pulled pork is perfectly done, and the sambal (sauce) that it is topped with the perfect blend of spices. The skin is really super crispy, but not so much I can’t eat some. Blood sausage, which Ed assures me is excellent. And for me? The best thing was the Gorengan, which is batter fried pork. Oh lord, so delicious. All finished off with Sayur, the delicious vegetable mix and rice. Everything is amazing. We can see why they need 3 places!

Fully sated, we wander off in the direction of our street, stopping at the Saraswati water temple, the entrance of which is hidden between a Starbucks (sigh) and the Cafe Lotus. You really need to know where to go to find it. The temple is lovely – more photo opp than anything (except for of course the absolutely oblivious tourons who stand in the middle of the walkway forever, doing who knows what on their phone, destroying photos for everyone else) as the temple itself is closed for renovations. Once the oblivious people move on, it is a pretty stop. But a quick touch and go only…..

….and we are soon off to our last stop today, the Puri Lukisan museum we have already walked behind to get to the rice fields. Symmetry thy name is us.