Category: Ubud

When Nostalgia hits you in the present

Leave a comment

I woke up too early for breakfast and too late to go back to sleep so I impulsively grab my camera, a jumper and jump on my scooter. I have enough time to see the rice fields one more time before my bus to Canggu depart and I feel I might regret not riding in Ubud one last time before leaving the town.
It’s my last time in Ubud before who knows when… I feel nostalgia already while driving through the little streets and the green landscapes. This morning is my last sunrise completely by myself. Nobody I know is around and I can freely do as I want. I’ll miss this sensation of freedom but I’m ready to meet my friends-familyfromBali and start another type of Journey with Wes in Lao.

This subtle feeling of nostalgia makes me see things more vibrant, more beautiful, more unique and magical. Any goodbye, any realization of a new Era coming up is making you appreciate the World for what it is really: a Miracle. How strange is it to miss this moment of my life while living it…

The last sunrise in Ubud.
Going to the Tegallalan Rice Terrace one last time, before the tourists awaken, before the heat start heating up the asphalt, was a sort of goodbye for me. A closure to one side of me, of an experience and a type of adventure I lived for the last months in South East Asia.

Cinema and Rice Fields

Leave a comment

I just can’t get enough of these green luxurious landscapes. Wes suggests that I grab a breakfast at Sari Cottage. The only way to access this all organic and vegan coffee shop and restaurant is by walk or by scooter. If your heart is well hang in your thoracic cage, you might be able to drive there without having a heart attack. I only half dramatize when I say there is just about enough space to drive on a paved elevated path with one scooter. When the local cross you, you better stop on the side and try to squish between the border of the path and a high fasted paced vehicle coming your way. Of course, if you miss a turn, go too fast or are not careful with all the pot holes, you simply end up in… The water of the rice fields.

It is just the right amount of danger for me and it makes me feel like arriving safe and dry, and grabbing a delicious breakfast in this secluded place is worth the effort. It does feel good to just be, observe and have fruits after an intense drive!

The afternoon, I buy a ticket to see a documentary about Miles Davis in a REAL CINEMA. I always have been a movie fan. When I was young and living in Paris, I used to go to the movies three or four times a week at least. Back then, the unlimited pass for young people was only 20 euros. In between my university lessons, when a promising moving was coming up, or when I was bored, when it was rainy outside or too cold, I was hoping in the first cinema around and spent delightful hours in the dark, living my emotions to the fullest.

After nearly five month of backpacking, Ubud is offering this sweet feeling of being back home for a moment, by opening the doors of a Movie Theater.

Coming out of the theater, the sun already set. Time to grab dinner. I lost myself in the little streets and grab a bite somewhere. The hundred of restaurants along the way look more appetizing than the other and I decide that I would come back one day to try them all.

I come back to my room and enjoy the solitude. The last time I will get lonely this trip? It always sting a little, even knowing it will probably be the last one in a long time. Being a long term backpacker means accepting this dual feeling of loving being alone but also feeling the pain of it.

Gamelan

Leave a comment

I sat down at the first row. I was not the kind of student who used to sit right next to the teacher in class but after all, it’s not everyday that I’ll be able to see a traditional Balinese show. And after the few first notes of the Gamelan resonated in the big room, I knew it was probably be the last time!
Continue reading →

The longest day

1 Comment

A look at my bank account is telling me that it’s time to reduce the expenses. Not that I bought an extra bag of souvenirs or that I am filling up my stomach every night while emptying my wallet but comparing to the other countries I travelled so far in South East Asia, Indonesia is not the cheapest in terms of accommodations and traveling from a city to another.
Continue reading →