Rest of Bali & Singapore

For the sake of finally (finally! It's taken me almost 2 months!) finishing all of our posts from Bali and Singapore, here is a super long post about the rest of our trip starting from our bungalow in Ubud.

As stated earlier, we sort of lived as vagabonds hopping from hotel, to bungalow, to shack - It was a blast!  Here I am carrying the brunt of the load after McKay's poor decision to not put sunscreen on and consequently frying his shoulders.  Here, here for strong women!

We roamed around the streets of Ubud for a few hours, feeling a bit like Joseph and Mary, just looking for room in an inn.

We finally landed a sweet hotel that overlooked Ubud's Royal Palace, conveniently located above the stage where a performance of the Ramayana would be later that evening - meaning we got to watch for free!  Score!

The Ramayana is a performance with musicians and dancers based off of one of the two great Indian epics.  It's not just a story, but rather, a Hindu teaching tool that depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characteristics for fathers, spouses, siblings, servants and kings.  Here I am on the stage.  Near the end of this post I have included the two versions of the Ramayana that we saw.

Early in the morning we journeyed to the rice paddies of Ubud to watch the sunrise - How yogi of us, right?

It was so peaceful.  No wonder all the yogis come here to meditate.  

There was definitely some meditating going on for us as we traversed the tranquil rice paddies.

Trying some of the local fruits.

We made our way up to this neighborhood, high on a hill top, where all the yoga masters live and teach.  It overlooks all of Ubud.


There are no roads where cars can travel in this neighborhood, so everything must be transported by head.  Below was the team of women transporting cement on their heads for the building of a house!

Then it was on to the south of Bali where the Uluwatu temple and kecak dancers awaited us.   

But first we had to change into sarongs, (a fabric wrapped around the waist) before entering the holy sight.  McKay proudly sported his Balinese kilt, as he liked to call it - He is half Scottish after all.

At the edge of the cliff lies the majestic Uluwatu temple.

As promised, here is the video of the Ramayana from Ubud and Uluwatu.

That evening we slowed down our pace a little to enjoy a romantic dinner on the beach with stars above, crashing waves ahead and...

...serenading voices.

McKay's favorite part was getting to pick the fish fresh from the tank!

Sorry little fishy...

...but you were so delicious.

Before heading to the airport, we spent a day in Kuta going to the spa and lazying about at the beach (very unlike us).

Our cute pedis!

We had one more day in Singapore before we flew home and it just happened to be on my birthday!  (That was, after all, why we made the trip, in case you didn't know.)
 Best birthday present EVER!
Our dear friend took us out to birthday sushi.  She seriously spoiled us and we love her family to death!  Did I mention that she is the one that introduced McKay's family to me.  Well, she was, and for that I am eternally grateful, because now I am happily married to the most amazing man I know.  Thank you!

 Being in the military and all, we had to make a stop off at the Battle Box, a command center used by the British during WWII.  It was later surrendered to the Japanese.  Inside, they had recreations made of what the center would have looked like when in full use.  McKay ate it all up.

That night we hung out with our friends more, eating delicious food, playing board games and talking until late.

And thus ends (finally) the saga of Bali and Singapore.  Now back to our everyday lives!