Oh, Ubud

Dear Artic Boy,

I enjoyed our time cycling through villages, drinking cat poop coffee, eating food, bonding over being one of the only Americans in SE ASIA, and chatting. Why do you live in Antarctica? Lame.

Love,
Megan
AKA non-resident of Antarctica

* I met him on my tour. He was cute and from New York. He told me that Antarctica has a bar and a coffee shop. They only eat frozen food. 1000 people live there during the summer.I'm still in shock. Have you met anyone who lives in Antarctica besides a penguin? Bigger question, why do I meet cute boys who live in obscure places like Antarctica?

So, yesterday was a wonderful day of exploring. I went on a cycling tour through villages north of Ubud. It was absolutely beautiful. We started with breakfast next to a volcano. Then headed to a coffee plantation. Bali is one of the only plantations in the world to produce a special brew of coffee called Luwak. It is the most expensive coffee in the world because they feed coffee beans to a civet (type of cat) and the beans pass through their digestive system into their... poo. It is cleaned of course and there are 3 layers of protection on the bean. People pay about $50 per cup or $100-$600 a pound in the US and Japan. From all my years of drinking, smelling, and dreaming about coffee, I can say that it tasted like strong espresso that wasn't filtered. I wouldn't pay more than $3. (Side note- I couldn't remember the name so I literally just googled cat poop coffee and found it right away. haha)

After the cat poop coffee, we went cycling. The scenery was breath-taking.It was full of bright green vegetation, rice paddies, temples, stone walls that lined the road,and cute houses. Along the way, we stopped at a rice paddie and the farmers showed us how they harvest the rice. Once the rice is "ready" they cut the stems down. Then they hit the top portion of the stem on a hard surface (in this case wood) and the rice falls off. There are so many steps in planting and harvesting. I can't believe how cheap rice is and how little these workers get. Many of them were cute old grandmas. I wanted to take them home, but I'm not exactly sure where home would be at the moment.

We left Ubud today. I was sad to leave. It was a beautiful town. I have never seen so many temples. EVERY house had it's own temple. I couldn't count them all even if I wanted. You had to watch where you were walking because there were little shrines everywhere on the ground. Some of them were full of food that the insects/dogs loved to munch on, but most of them were flowers. Each of them were showered with some kind of holy water. You could smell incense burning everywhere. It is the most traditional Balinese city in Bali. It was full of shopping, art, and music. Oh, I want to go back.

We are now in Kuta- beach and surfing town. We came across a night surfing competition tonight. It was really cool. There wasn't a lot of organization, but there was spot lights, an MC, and dj. I especially liked the drunk girl (i hope that was her excuse) who thought it would be funny to go swimming in the middle of the competition. I also enjoyed watching her friends and the life guards go chasing after her. They caught her. The second time she was quicker and got away. ha

We leave Friday for Singapore. I guess there are Christmas lights everywhere there. Yahooo. It doesn't feel like it should be Christmas. Everything I have experienced lately tells me it's July. Christmas means home. Yeah!


ps. We have been eating amazing street food here. We have been eating meals for $.50- $1. Fabulous. I love a deal. Thanks mom for making me become a scavenger.

Until next time.... more pictures to come. The internet is too slow here.

xoxox
Lots-o-Freckles