Temples & Rice Fields: Ubud, Bali
In the colourful outskirts of Ubud, you can discover sacred temples of ancient deities, waterfalls and evergreen rice terraces, as well as smiley-eyed locals ready to sell you handmade Balinese goods – think traditional oil paintings, cotton sarongs and wood-carved Buddhas. Bali doesn’t really do ‘tours’ in the traditional sense – it’s more find a driver you trust (by booking at your hotel, taking a traveller recommendation or having your friend who speaks Bahasa suss them out on the street), hire them for a day or half day, and tell them where you want to go (and don’t forget to take suggestions, as they have all the mad local knowledge). Simple. So, on my last full day in Bali (I had a red eye flight out of Denpasar that evening), I took off with my two new Californian friends (who, funnily enough, were in Bali because one won the Price Is Right and 6 nights in Bali was one of the prizes) with our trusty driver Nyomen for a day of exploring. I had the …