Ubud Eco Educational Bike Tour
We signed up for an Eco-Educational bike tour that promised to take us to small villages to see how Balinese people live, how they farm, visit temples, rice terraces and sample delicious Balinese cuisine...oh yes and do some bike riding too.
They delivered on each promise and then some. It was really a spectacular day. Riding by the vibrant green rice terraces with a breeze in the air... perfect. We had breakfast overlooking Mt. Batur volcano and the nearby crater lake. Beautiful and thankfully there were no eruptions. After some bike riding we paid a visit to a Balinese family. They live in a family community of 20. Once sons marry they raise their own family in the compound. When daughters marry they go to live with the husband's family. Depending on how many sons you have - things can get pretty crowded. Ever inquisitive, Lisa Carey asked what happens in families where there are no sons. The answer: you adopt a son from a family member with sons to spare. The grandparents house (also within the compound) is always built on a higher platform to show respect. On honeymoon night the bride and groom sleep in the grooms grandparent's house so they can be closer to ancestors (or something like that). The grandparents (thankfully) sleep elsewhere for the night. But jeez - talk about a buzz kill...your honeymoon night in grandma and grandpa's bed with the rest of your family sleeping only meters away?I made friends with the family's pigs (there were babies too!) and got a good laugh at the weight set made of stone. The Iron Maiden poster seemed a bit out of place - but apparently heavy metal has wide appeal. All along the way kids line the streets to give the bike riders 'high-fives' and scream "hello!". So cute. You'll notice a picture of a huge zucchini growing from a vine and defying the laws of gravity. Later we rode by a wedding - you can tell where celebrations are happening because the front entrance is decorated in woven palms and flowers. The family invited us in - what an amazing experience. The celebration lasts for days and includes lots of eating and dancing. Lastly (and thanks for sticking thru this long post) we stopped by a rice field where harvest was in progress. They asked for volunteers and I helped beat the rice grains out of the stalks and then sift the grains. Let me tell you - lots of work goes into growing and processing rice! Only order it if you realllly want it. My favorite picture is of the grandma who, while sitting amongst piles of dry rice stalks lit up a cigarette.
