Ubud, Bali (or Paradise Found)

We checked out of our hotel in Java and headed for the airport. We made one very interesting stop first. We visited the Pramanan Temple. This is a complex of Hindu Temples that were built between the 9th and 10th centuries. No one knows why they were abandoned.

They Temple complex is quite large with beautiful gardens. Java suffered a major earthquake in 2006 that killed hundreds and severely damaged the temple complex. Many of the temples can’t be entered, others you can go into. They are restoring the entire complex. It is very interesting to visit a Hindu complex set on a current day Muslim island. The Muslims respect the Hindu traditions and have incorporated the Ramayana and Mahabharata legends into their life. There once was a huge powerful Hindu nation based in Java - ruling today what would be all of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It has been reduced to the island of Bali.

We left Java and flew back to Bali and drove to the city of Ubud where we will spend the next 9 days. It is amazing leaving the Muslim island where most of the women cover their hair and to in less than an hour to fly to an island with almost no Muslim presence. As we drove to Ubud we passed Hindu Temple after Hindu Temple and statures to the gods dressed with cloth. We are driving into the mountains where all you see is green jungle or rice patties terraced on the hillside. This is the Bali that everyone dreams about. It is gorgeous. Ubud is like Carmel dropped into the middle of the jungle. It is full of shops and restaurants and massage parlors. Everything is nice nothing tacky here!

Our hotel: Komaneka at Bisma is beyond belief. I made a movie of it and if you click the link you can get an idea. It is straight of Architectural Digest. Brand new, all clean lines, has its own rice patties, and an unbelievable pool. The staff can’t do enough. After dinner Cathy and I had a massage. The massage room in Bali style is surrounded by water falls which combined with the sounds of the jungle make for a fabulous backdrop for the massage.