Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. The gang gets bigger!

We headed out to Ubud in our matching dresses. We left the scenic shore lined coast of Seminyak for the center of Bali, Ubud. Ubud is where the author of Eat, Pray, Love stayed while in Bali. It is said to be the heart and soul of the island.
We made a few stops on our way out. Our driver suggested a few spots along the way worth taking in. We were given a tour of a traditional Balinese home and visited a Batik factory (Batik is a traditional Indonesian fabric). But the most memorable stop was at the back of the Balinese house. There was a ferret type of animal, called a lowak, in a cage. The owner described to us the job the lowak had to do. Its job was to eat and poop. 

Enjoying rodent poop coffee

This is what it looks like before made into coffee

The lowak lives off of coffee berries. It was discovered a few years ago that after the lowak eats the coffee berries, the remaining coffee bean ferments in its stomach. When the lowak defecates, the bean comes out whole. It has been recently discovered that the bean is known to have very high levels of anti-oxidents and therefore helpful in fighting off cancer and other diseases.  It is now considered a delicacy and very expensive. We were offered a taste of the coffee. I bought some to take home with me, although, I don’t know who I will be able to convince to drink it. Since I love bringing home coffees from all over the world, next time you are invited over to my place for a cup of joe, you might want to ask what kind I’m serving!

Headed out from our cottages

We arrived in Ubud to our sweet cottages set in the middle of a rice field and decided to rest our feet at the local hooka lounge (this would be the first time I have ever tried a hooka). We were later joined by a local artist named Joe and two more girls joining us for the remainder of the trip, Jerrie and Nikki, a mother daughter duo from Georgia. 

Having a hooka for the first time

The whole gang + Joe

Joe serenaded us on his guitar and on a whim whipped out a magic marker and started to draw tattoos on our arms. Now we had matching dresses and matching tattoos. It was very spontaneous and so much fun!

Me, Joe and my tat

Kelly's tat

The next few days were spent dodging the rain, shopping, touring the temples of Bali and going on daily spa crawls. We trekked to a volcano, enjoyed a traditional Balinese dance and savored several different views of rice fields all while being picked at and haggled with from the locals trying to sell us everything under the sun.

At one of the many temples we visited

Carolyn and Claire at the rice fields

Balinese dancer

In front of the Goa Gajah temple

The ride home after our last night out in Ubud.

Jodie in the rain

Another temple visited 

Tanah Lot temple at sunset

Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot

Of all of the experiences we enjoyed, the most awe inspiring was our visit to the healer,  Wayan. It is the same healer the author of Eat, Pray Love went to while she was in Ubud. She was able to tell us numerous things about our health just by looking at our hands and feet. I wasn’t told anything earth shattering, so I guess I’m going to live.

My real Eat, Pray, Love moment with Wayan the healer

Four days went by and we were back on a plane to Singapore for Kelly’s big birthday weekend. The fun is just beginning.