Kasia on her travels: Cheeky Monkeys and Chilling Out

I can't really blame being busy for not having posted for a while, I've just been wrapped up in the joy that is Ubud and spending my days chilling out and enjoying being in one place for a while. Ubud was made for chilling out, I read somewhere, possibly in my guidebook that Ubud is a place where a day turns into a week and a week turns into a month, or words to that effect. I can see why, I'd be happy here for a few months or years even.

So here's a rundown of what I have been doing in the last ten days or so.......

Reading. A lot.
Taking dips to cool off in the small pool at my lovely accommodation Raka House.
Shopping. A lot. I was going to save my limited bag space until I got to Bangkok just before I come home and do some shopping there but the choice here is too good to pass up. I'd love to bring my mum and sister here. Just checked my baggage allowance on my flight home, can still do shopping in Bangkok. Phew.
Having bargainous massages and facials. Had a facial yesterday for £4. It was probably the best I've ever had. I've also had a traditional Balinese cremebath which is a treatment for your hair. You basically get lovely smelling herbal type stuff put on your hair and then massaged in, followed by a neck and shoulder massage. This is then washed off and you get a blow dry and you hair smells and feels amazing. Trust me mine needed it, it's never looked in such bad shape!
Cookery class. It was much fun. Mostly I learnt that Bumbu Bali spicy paste goes with and in everything. Will be making some of that when I get home.
Mooching around, sitting in cafes overlooking beautiful green rice paddies and drinking such things as lemongrass ginger fizz (and the odd mojitio). Bliss.
Visiting the criminals in the Sacred Monkey Forest. I've never seen so many monkeys in one place before and these ones are very definitely cheeky monkeys. You are warned they like to 'remove' items such as sunglasses, hats and anything else small they can grab. Still every now and then you hear someone scream and turn around to find a monkey making off with its latest pair of shades. They will jump on you if you have any food, which you are told not to take but yet people sell you bananas at the entrance to take in with you, ERROR. I even saw a monkey trying to open one poor lady's bag. She was most upset, but with all the screeching she was making I did find myself urging the monkey on, thinking you've brought it on yourself love. I spent most of the time walking around eyes on the monkeys (quite tricky there being so many) telling them "I know your game, I've got nothing for you" and feeling quite smug that I made it out with all my possessions.
Jewellery making class. This was most excellent. I designed and made my own lotus flower ring. Well it's supposed to be a lotus flower, it's definitely a flower anyway. You have to draw your piece and then use a small saw to shape it from the silver. They do the tricky heat bits for you, I imagine if we did that there would just be a gloopy mess of what was once a piece of jewellery. Then it's all polished and Ta Da! You have you very own piece of silver jewellery. I will never look at it in quite the same way in shops again knowing the processes that go on. I thoroughly recommend having a go at doing this if you ever see a class anywhere.

That's about it so far. I want to go for a walk out of Ubud, visit the palace, possibly see some dancing (at 2 hours plus a show I think I'd lose interest pretty quickly) and undoubtedly have another massage before I move on. My time on the trip is rapidly running out and whilst I've long since lost the enamour of living out of a bag I'm not quite ready to come home yet. I have some more diving arranged after Ubud and then basically a night near the airport before I fly via Singapore to Siem Reap. I'm trying to soak it all in, in just over three weeks I'll be home! Best go and wallow in the pool while I still can......