Ubud, Bali, Indonesia: Part 2

We’ve enjoyed Ubud so much that we extended our hotel stay for another two nights (which also means we get another free hour massage, woohoo!). Our rental car had been great while driving around the island, but since we planned to stay in major towns/cities from here on out we decided to get rid of it and go ahead and do taxis/shuttles when needed. It's funny because if we would have asked around we may have never gotten the car in the first place. Multiple people have informed us that (besides the obvious hazards on the crazy roads here) there are other risks like being pulled over and being fined for random things or just flat out being demanded for money. Yikes! Thankfully we never had that happen to us. 
That morning we woke up early for a half day tour with our Aussie friends. We ate our free breakfast at our hotel since it was so amazing although we knew this tour included breakfast as well. You never know just what breakfast will include (or how it’s cooked) with these types of things and we always play it safe for Tyson’s food. The shuttle picked us up at 8am and brought us to the tour company owner’s house for breakfast. His family had many houses in a traditional Balinese style living quarters with many religious elements and it was beautifully decorated throughout. We were led to a large outdoor eating area with a few cooks making banana pancakes and fresh fruit. We made sure to save a little room for our second breakfast just in case it was something yummy. 

After breakfast we all jumped back in the shuttle and drove about 40 minutes away to the starting point of the bike tour. Tyson and his new Aussie friend Billy sat in the back seat with Marshall and I and they were giggling the whole way. They got a kick out of sharing toys, 'talking' to each other, and pointing out interesting things as we drove past. So cute! 

The Aussies did the research and scheduled the tour for all of us and said they purposely set up the tour so you start at the top of a hill and the bike ride is almost entirely downhill. Good thing since it was 2.5 hours long! Once we got to the starting point we all picked out our bikes. All the bikes were rickety and a little squeaky so we tried to pick one that we didn’t think the gears would fall off of half way through. There were about 10 of us on the bike tour and the others were in their 60s already complaining about the bike ride before we even left, lol. We started riding through little villages and jungle areas and the tour guide would stop at times to show us cool stuff and explain the significance to the area/culture. We continued riding downhill and then we came to a point where the road was completely blocked off due to construction. Apparently our guide didn’t know that the road would be closed that day so we all had ride (more like walk) our bikes back up the hill a half mile to cut over to another street. I haven’t worked out much this trip so I’m not exactly in tip top shape right now. Let’s just say I was a little embarrassed that the 60 year old ladies weren't that far behind me when we got up the hill.

Once we got on a road that was actually opened we headed toward an all-girls elementary school. We stopped to say hi and all the little girls swarmed Tyson and his friend Billy. They all thought the boys were so cute. The other people brought candy and other things and handed them out to the kids. Once all the candy was gone, we continued riding and came to the rice fields. The fields are so green and luscious. We saw several workers out there quickly cutting the rice before it started to rain. I’ve never seen people work so fast in my life! What an amazing experience and such a great way to see the breathtaking scenery that most people think of when you hear Bali/Indonesia. Definitely a highlight of our trip. 
After about two hours of riding we arrived at the ending point and jumped on the shuttle to head back to the tour owners house for lunch. They had made a buffet full of local foods and all of it was so delicious. Tyson spent most of the lunch time chasing billing around the courtyard. When those two are together they are inseparable, let me tell you.  After lunch we all piled into shuttles to go home and said our goodbyes to our friends and thanked them for the fun times. 

We were all so exhausted from the bike ride that we decided to spend the rest of the day at the hotel relaxing in the room and playing with Tyson. We bought him some big Legos and some beach toys in Bali and he’s enjoyed playing with those lately. He also has an ABC book and flash cards we go through. He has memorized the first syllable or two of most of them and it's a lot of fun going through to see how he says the word. So amazing to watch him grow and learn day by day. 

The next morning we went on a walk and just started heading towards the big outdoor market in Ubud center. Of course we stopped at Starbucks along the way. I gotta take advantage of any opportunity I can get to get my frap! When we got to the market it was fairly early so they were still setting up.  We strolled around a bit and looked at their souvenirs and other random stuff, although we didn’t end up buying anything. On the way back from the market I stopped in a little boutique and bought myself a new shirt. It’s pretty exciting getting a new shirt when you’ve been wearing the same seven shirts every week. I’m going to feel like I have a brand new wardrobe when I get home and unpack all my clothes. Definitely a much bigger appreciation for the variety and options I've had my entire life!

Later that afternoon we took Tyson to a play area down the road from our hotel that Marshall found when going to the supermarket. It’s actually a fast food restaurant that has a big play area with slides, peddle cars, and a ball pit. This place is so dingy, I swear each ball had an inch thick of dirt on them. Hence the reason we steered Tyson towards the slides and cars. He had fun and we made sure to scrub his hands nice and good when he was done, lol.

Later that afternoon we invited our Aussie friends over to our hotel to hang out by the pool and then eat dinner since it was their last night in Bali. The boys played by the pool for a while and then we were all getting hungry so we walked across the street to a restaurant that served an array of foods such as Indonesian, Mexican, Italian, etc. Our table was like a foot from the ground so we all sat on pillows around the table. We were hoping that we could corner the boys in so they wouldn’t run around the restaurant but unfortunately that mission was not accomplished. The boys were having fun running around and had no interest in sitting down to eat dinner. We ended up packing our food to go and leaving dinner a little early because Tyson was clearly showing signs of being tired after they found each other's heads when not looking and running right at each other. We wished the Aussies well and again thanked them for the great past few days we’ve spent hanging out with them. It’s been awesome for Tyson to have a playmate and for us to have good adult conversation.

The following morning we organized a hotel shuttle to take us to the monkey forest that Ubud is known for. It so happened that another Australian couple (Austin and Sylvana) that had a boy (Seth) around the same age as Tyson planned to go with us to the monkey forest. Perfect, another play mate for Tyson! Can you believe that? When we got to the forest the first thing after the gate is a stand to buy bananas to feed the monkeys. We bought a bunch of bananas and started walking through the forest. The monkeys were jumping all over our new friends, but Marshall was hiding our bananas in his pocket so they weren’t climbing all over us. The monkeys were actually a lot tamer than we expected. It was surreal walking around and a monkey just straight up blocking your path and not moving until you handed him something. Those things were crazy for bananas and would eat as many as you'd give them. Lots of fun and happily surprised that we didn't get ambushed or poop flung at us. We had such a great time with our new Aussie friends that we decided to make plans that evening to go have dinner and do some salsa dancing with the boys.

That afternoon we cashed in on our second free massages and enjoyed every minute of it. Now I can see why some people get massages every day when they’re in Bali, especially when you can get them for like 5 bucks! After our massages it was time to meet up and go to dinner. We walked about half a mile to the restaurant that is themed out as if it were in Cuba, complete with a red convertible Caddilac in front and everything. The upstairs is a recreation of a room Fadel Castro used to frequent, apparently. 
We got there about 30 minutes before the band started so we ordered food and drinks while we waited. Once the band started Tyson immediately started bobbing his head and shaking his hips which amused everyone watching. He absolutely loves listening to music and dancing around. Marshall and I took turns dancing with him out on the dance floor and scarfing down food when we could. It was getting way past Tyson’s bed time so he told us he was 'all done' (basically by waving both hands as if saying bye) and we knew that was our cue that he was ready for bed. Such a fun night out though. We’re so glad Austin and Sylvana invited us out!

Tomorrow we leave Ubud and head Southeast to a beach town recommended by several fellow travelers. We're excited to see what it brings!

Next Stop: Sanur, Bali