Tout it from the mountains...

From Bali 4

Today, I experienced true bliss in Bali - 2 hours of trekking along the Campuan Ridge in Ubud that was beautiful, picturesque and peaceful.

I totally understand that tourism feeds the economy of Bali and that people have to make a living, but seriously, I don't want to buy a batik sarong, a wooden carving or postcards as I'm stepping out of a temple or restaurant, no matter how cheap they are.

This trip's been sorta transformative in many ways, including a nascent but deep understanding of what it means to be a traveler instead of a tourist. Which means that you can live without wi-fi in your hotel room(as long as the internet cafe's not too far away), a little bit of sweating won't kill you (roll down the windows) and that living with cats really does not prepare you to be considerate when it comes to snoring (sorry, Stephen).

Getting back to the trek - it started at the breathtaking Pura Gunung Lebah, a sprawling temple complex that had numerous rock carvings of garudas, supernatural gatekeepers and beautiful platforms that I believe are used for worship or that act as staging locations (gamelan orchestra, visitors, etc). There was no one in the temple complex and Stephen and I spent a good 20 minutes looking around, snapping pictures and just taking in the grandness of this temple that was surrounded by trees and lush greenery. The only sound that we could hear were birds and the nearby river. It was a truly spiritual moment in our Bali trip.

Then we got on the walking trail on the ridge between the Wos & Chakri rivers, a trail that went north and uphill and cut through rice paddies and the small village of Bangkiang Sidem and which then cut back south into Central Ubud. It was postcard-perfect - from the undulating hills, the quiet rice terraces, the oblivious ducks/ chickens/ cows, and I didn't even get too bothered with the crazy mangy mongrels that popped out at any time from any number of locations and almost made my traveling friend wet his pants.

And all along the trek, there wasn't a single tout. We were greeted with warm and bemused smiles from the local residents and nobody asked if we wanted taxis, or drinks or paintings of naked women and frangipani flowers.

This is the Bali that we just don't see enough of, and after our extravagant and vacuous dinner at the much-hyped Ku De Ta last night, I was glad that I got the chance today to experience the Bali that every traveler knows about intimately and is lost on too many tourists.