Day 15: Ubud, Bali

Well, our first night in Ubud wasn't the best. The room was so big, as big as our entire apartment we live in right now, if it was all one level. So that wasn't the problem. And we had a nice big bed (two twins put together haha). The problem was our hotel was adjacent to a night club. Loud music played until 3 am. When I called around 1am complaining that we couldn't sleep, they said they would call the club to complain. They called back 30 minutes later saying there was nothing they could do about it. I asked if they could bring two pillows to put over our ears. They brought them 30 minutes AFTER THAT! I was going insane. So we didn't wake up very happy. 

Above is the view from our balcony. Behind those trees is a big rice field and the first day we got there, we watched this little boy play with a kite after the rain. It was awesome!

We had to turn the day around and decided the monkey forest is the perfect thing to do! So that's what we did! We rented a bike because we knew we would want to do a lot that day and didn't want to be stuck. 

There are quite the quantity of photos so be prepared! I was definitely not as brave as I thought I would be when I was actually with the monkeys. You buy bananas at the front gate, and then stick out your arm, and they literally jump out of no where onto your legs then up to your hand, and eat them ontop of your head or your shoulders. It's amazing! And if you don't watch yourself, they'll take your entire bag of bananas, or your sunglasses...earrings..anything. They love it and we saw one teasing a person with their glasses from up high in the trees.

He was the biggest monkey we had seen! Definitely threw Drew for a loop because it was the first time!

 

 Below: The only time I let myself be vulnerable with the little creatures. I figure if I just sit there, they are bound to come on my lap. And they did!

 

The monkeys just roam the streets outside of the monkey forest.

And steal bananas from the front gate.. haha.

They say not to touch them with your hands or they'll bite. It was really hard not to when they're sitting on your lap!

 Haha that was really funny to see.

Once we were done with the MF, we decided to see what else we could do. So we hopped on our bike and explored a bit.

 Above, we were trying to find directions to the "Elephant Caves". We were told they date back very far and we were curious.

 

 

 

 We finally got to the Elephant Caves after a scenic route.

Right when we walked in, a tour guide came up to us (he had maybe 5 teeth and smelled like he has NEVER showered EVER.) and told us to follow him! So we didn't really have a choice but to do just that. By the end of it, he asked for money and I think we ended up giving him 20$ because we didn't have change! We were kinda bummed because the entire place we could have gone on our own. But whatever! He was stoked.

 

We went inside these caves that were SO OLD! I think something like 400 BC. Later on our trail, we bought Trevor these really cool book ends that resemble the caves. 

These fields above are EVERYWHERE. So pretty. Everywhere you go is greener than any green.

Below: You had to wear a skirt if your shorts were too short. You can only imagine Drew and how happy he was about this one! It was all part of the experience though because they say this place really is a sacred part of Indonesia.

Above, that was part of this HUGE Budha statue that once sat up on the cliff. It fell down I think in 1970. 

 We were then led to this wonderful lady where we paid her to give us blessings.

We then went back to the street where our hotel was to get refreshed, and get some lunch. We got some american food at this nice bar/restaurant. And then went to the market to get some souvineers. Did I ever mention I am REALLY good at bargaining? If there was a sport for it, I'd be a gold medalist.