O'er vales and hills

"I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills"

Walking in Ubud area with its enchanting discoveries, peaceful setting, pleasant weather and godly aura is a pleasure so intense, that could inspire a lesser soul to follow Wordsworth's footsteps.

We decided to do one of the Lonely Planet suggested walking trails of the Sayan valley and Ayung river. We set out at 7.15 am after a hearty breakfast of fruits and egg toast. As we walked along Ubud centre, we witnessed the Saturday street market - first unexpected discovery. The streets were buzzing akin to any local market street. Coconuts, especially orange ones and roosters were omnipresent.

We walked over the Djampuan (It still retains the Dutch spelling of "dj" for "ch") bridge to enter Penestanan, which is the artists' village of Ubud. Even if one wasn't aware of that, the graffiti and the art shops are suggestive.

I was fascinated by one particular art shop which said "Danger! ART". I spotted the artist and waved him the "good job" hand signal. After our dive training, hand signals have become second language.

Just as we climbed uphill into the village, the rain God showered his blessing. After a small bargain, I managed to get a poncho from the only shop on that road, which was damn neat. We walked a few blocks further and Mandar realized this water resistant jacket wasn't that resistant at all. So he went back the shop to get a poncho, while I waited by a shop that looked like a taxi hire-cum-shop-cum-homestay. I got chatting with the middle-aged man who was fascinated with my Indian origin. Another reason to visit Bali - Indians are fancied here, especially if you are a Hindu you get additional brownie points. The reason being, in a Muslim dominated country, Bali is the only Hindu area, and Hindu tourists are rare.

Mandar returned, and both of us in electric green ponchos made our way into Jalan Sayan. We bypassed the main road to walk through a narrrow mud road that passed through the rice fields. This was the second unexpected discovery: a badling of ducks. It was such a cute sight to see them doing their morning ritual which was pecking and flushing about.

We entered the main Sayan road to reach Hotel Sayan Terrace. This hotel used to be the house where Colin McPhee spent his life writing "A House in Bali", one of the early works of a Western author on Balinese culture. The cottage overlooks the Sayan valley and downhill from here is the Ayung river. Here comes the third unexpected discovery: we were the only two trekkers going downhill through a steep narrow path or should I say something that looked like a path. There were few patches where if you missed a foot, you would bungee down under. Half way down, Ayung river views were superb. We waved to the folks who were rafting over the rapids. 

We realized there was a local following us. Upon chatting he told us he was going down to the river to make an offering since today was a magical day. He asked us if we wanted a guide down which we refused. Thankfully, we trekked safely down to the flat land and found the guide waiting for us. It didn't take us much to guess his plot; there was a lock on the gate to the field and there didn't seem to be another path unless the gate was opened. He told us the field belonged to him, and we had to pay his family to traverse it. We should have explored a bit more, but in the spur of the moment, and after significant bargaining, tipped him to open the gate to us. Upon crossing the field, we were right along the river Ayung. The sight was amazing. After clicking several pictures, we realized the guide led us to believe there was no other path to the river. We had taken the wrong route or rather not the guidebook recommended one. We trekked uphill which was a fairly non-adventurous trek since there were steps along that way built by farmers. This was a relief after the tiring and "watch-every-step-you-take" trek downhill.

We hit the Sayan road again, back to where we started and walked our way back after snacking on some peanuts and bananas. We decided to take it slow and steady and stopped along the art street for lunch. The menu of the day was "pesto lasagna" which sounded delicious after a long trek. Both of us ordered the same at this organic cafe. To make hardcore non-vegetarians enjoy a vegetarian lasagna is truly something. Kudos to the chef!

After lunch, my feet finally gave up and we flagged a cab back to our homestay. A short nap, and a Balinese massage after that, soothed our tired bodies and we slept off by 10.00 pm like babies.