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And Then There Were Three

Because my mom showed up! She always does. Her wanderlust is beyond compare. Example: In the two years I spent down in South America, she came to visit me four times. She has subscriptions to Nat Geo Traveler and Conde Nast Traveler. There is a cupboard in the dining room full of just maps. When I'm at home, over breakfast we dream up big trips we can't afford. When I'm away, she books plane tickets and comes to visit me. When we travel together, she's eager to sight see, cheerful, patient, helpful, aware of her surroundings, and really good at going with the flow. She's a superb travel buddy in my book. I have the coolest mom in the world. Don't even argue.

The morning she arrived, I walked to the airport to pick her up and we headed directly to the beach, backpacks and all, for some much needed mother-daughter time. Satisfied, we headed back to the guesthouse for breakfast with Dana and a couple hours later we found ourselves in a taxi on our way up to Ubud, towards central Bali.

To make things less confusing for all the locals who asked, my mom started calling both Dana and I her two daughters, which is pretty much how it is anyway. Dana's parents are mine, and mine are hers. It's one big happy family.

Ubud is known by many as the third and final location in the book Eat, Pray, Love and upon arrival, it becomes clear why the author fell in love in this wonderful setting. Only a handful of roads make up the town, which is thriving with monkeys, dotted with Hindu temples, and surrounded by serene rice terraces. The overall atmosphere in Ubud is very peaceful.

A visit to the "monkey forest" is not to be missed.

Not only will you witness the beauty of a mother's love in her natural environment,

you'll also get to experience first hand how monkeys like to groom each other.

Aside from getting mauled lovingly by monkeys, we took a small day trip to see some more of central Bali.

First stop was a cool, fresh dip in a beautiful waterfall.

The rice terraces here don't hold a candle to the vast plantations I hiked through in the Philippines, but they were still a thing of beauty.

We donned sarongs and sashes to do a brief tour through the Holy Spring Water Temple in Tampak Siring.

It is one of the most famous temples on Bali. Visitors come from near and far to bathe in the holy water and leave their offerings.

Our next stop that day was to a tea and coffee plantation.

Serious sampler platters!

This region is known for brewing "Kopi Luwak" which is coffee made from beans that have been processed through digestion of this cute little cat-like animal called a civet.

The civet eats the best looking coffee beans, let's his or her intestines work some magic that apparently makes the beans better, then poos them out to be searched for by Indonesian coffee bean farmers and made into a tasty concoction.

Now that's a quality turd.

The beans then get cleaned and roasted, as momma is demonstrating here, and brewed into a delicious, rich, smooth cup of Kopi Luwak, or "Cat-poo-ccino" as we like to call it.

Yum!

Another not-to-miss activity in Ubud is to see a traditional dance. The music, dance, costumes, and performance are very unique, to say the least.

Although a bit strange at times (especially the music), the performance was very entertaining.

When we weren't out exploring, we spent time lounging by the pool, doing yoga in our backyard, and strolling through the rice paddies behind our little apartment, window shopping at the jewelry boutiques, visiting art museums, getting massages, and snacking at the organic cafes and local warungs.

And showing off our newly purchased "Bali Pants" in our cute little poolside apartment!

Ubud was a perfect way to start trip with Mom in tow. Things get more exciting in the next post!

Kristina Bair
Current Location: Perth, Australia

I set out on an adventure of living life to the fullest through the things I love: travel, diving, hiking, wellness, culture exchange, and overall happiness (and some debauchery, in moderation of course).

 

I live by three general rules:

   1. Stay safe

   2. Have fun.

   3. Be kind.

 

Life dealt me a damn good hand and I'm all in, all day.

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