Day 6 - Ubud

Today, the Campuhan Ridge Walk was on our agenda. Although it was nice, we liked the short hike two days ago much better. The highlight of the walk was the coffee we had at "Warung Widi". We also talked with the owner and learned about the coffee production. He uses slow roasting, which actually takes only 1 hour. Fast roasting, on the other hand, only takes 20 minutes. He also enthusiastically told us about the plantation and the bean selection. You could really tell how passionate he is about the subject. On the way, we also met Kadek, who offered us a glimpse into his home. He explained that there is only one room per building on the farm, so everyone basically has their own house. At least if they can afford it. We can't imagine that all Indonesians have their own golden, hand-carved temple in their yard.

For lunch, we went to the restaurant Zest. It was a really hip, vegan, eco-friendly restaurant with a stunning view. They had delicious mushroom pizza and broccoli in cheese sauce. Unfortunately, the neighbor at the next table accidentally knocked over Erik's drink and Freya had to suffer the consequences: a wet pants. Luckily, she had a spare pair of shorts with her. With her new pants, we headed to the Ubud Palace. It's a 15-minute walk from the restaurant. So, the plan was for Erik to ride the scooter and Freya to walk. The city traffic is not so nice.

(Erik's perspective from here)
I said goodbye to Freya on the scooter and packed a few things. When I was finally ready, I tried to start the scooter, but nothing happened. The fuel gauge was blinking at me frantically, reminding me that I forgot to feed the scooter. With great difficulty, the engine finally started again, and I joined the traffic. The next gas station would surely be mine. But if we're doing it, let's do it right, thought the scooter and it simply stalled in the middle of the street. There was nothing else to do but to look for one of those mini gas stations on foot and get some fuel. Fortunately, I had read before that there are such small gas stations where you can fill up bottles (vodka and water bottles) with gasoline. I then ran back with a 1.5L bottle of gasoline (beautiful light blue color) and refueled the scooter. Well, then off to Freya, she's probably already waiting!
(Erik's perspective end)

After Erik skillfully passed by Freya (although he had the navigation phone), Freya was able to catch up with him luckily. Sometimes, the slow traffic is a good thing. First, we visited the Ubud Palace. It's not very big, but it's free and beautifully designed with nice details. The next stop was the Saraswati Temple. After a few difficulties finding it, a woman helped us. The outdoor area of the temple consists of a large lotus pond and is really beautiful. It's hard to believe that something like this is right in the city. Afterwards, we strolled through the Ubud Market and once again got haggled by many vendors.

In the evening, we watched a show at the Ubud Palace. The story of a kidnapped princess was told through music and dance. Attention, the story is long and confusing. If you like, you can stop reading here, nothing exciting happened today anymore.

Sita (the princess), Rama (a friend), and Laksama (Sita's brother) venture into the jungle of another kingdom. The evil demon priest Maricha notices this and reports to the equally evil King Rahwana. Rahwana plans to kidnap Princess Sita. To serve his king, Maricha transforms into a golden deer to lure Sita away from her companions. But that doesn't work because Sita simply asks Rama to kill the golden deer. So, Rama hunts the golden deer while Sita stays behind with her brother Laksama. Rama kills the deer, and Maricha then transforms back into his human form and cries out in pain. Sita hears these cries and thinks it is her friend Rama. So, she sends Laksama to check. He quickly draws a magical circle around Sita that no one can pass. Rahwana, the evil king, seizes his chance and transforms into an old priest who asks Sita for water. Sita falls for the trick and is captured by Rahwana.

That was the easy part...

On the way to the evil king's palace, he is attacked by Jatayu, the giant bird. Jatayu is a friend of Rama's father and fights for Sita's life. Unfortunately, he loses the battle and is left fatally wounded. Rama and Laksama find Jatayu, who tells them about the princess's kidnapping. Then Jatayu dies. Enter Hanoman! The monkey warrior Hanoman and his followers storm the stage and perform their "monkey dance". Rama asks Hanoman for help and gives him her ring to identify him as the true savior if he finds Sita.
In the king's palace, the staff takes good care of Sita. Especially a lady named Trijata, whose role we don't know exactly. Rahwana enters and wants to force Sita to marry him right here and now. However, Trijata manages to persuade him to postpone the wedding until tomorrow.
In the night, Hanoman joins Sita and shows her the ring that identifies him as the true savior. Then Hanoman does something that we don't quite understand. On his secret mission, he starts destroying the king's garden. The guards of course notice this and Hanoman defeats them. He reports to Rama and Laksama. They ask him and his army to attack the royal palace and rescue Sita. An epic battle ensues between Hanoman and Rahwana. The evil king falls, and everyone is happy.

As you can imagine, it was an "interesting" experience. During the dance, the dancers were extremely attentive to where they looked and what they did with their hands. As they say, "It was nice to see, but you don't need to see it every day."