Ubud feels like love. Here, daily life is full of small rituals that express gratitude and respect and caring — for the gods, for nature, for the community. Flowers, incense, celebrations, dancing, music. These are not rituals for tourists, rather the culture that brings tourists here. The Hindus of Bali believe in karma, and that we serve the universe and ourselves when we are grateful and respectful and caring.
Here are some examples of what I saw all over town in Ubud.
Buddhas and Hindu gods wear cotton sarongs and hold parasols to keep them cool in the heat.
Handmade baskets of flowers are on almost every door step and at the the bottom of every stairway.Some have fruit or other snacks.
The temple gods get little baskets too.
It’s not unusual to see cement pathways that have carvings of human faces, or animals orsmiling suns
The Balinese love their rice paddies, which serve as symbols of fertility and sustenance. Farmers put small shrines in the fields to in honor of the rice goddess, Dewi Sri.
At Ubud’s Sacred Monkey Forest, the community protects and celebrates more than 1200 macaques, considered sacred because one of Bali’s most important gods, Hanuman, is a monkey. The monkeys aren’t confined to the park so occasionally they show up at breakfast.
Even the temples get special outfits.
Small shrines like this are all over town and usually filled with food offerings to the gods. I saw monkeys raiding them!
A few of the flower-decorated, layers-of-flavor dishes we prepared in a cooking class at Mai Organic Farm. Chef Kadek and his associates cooked with joy and humor and, uh, love.
“When you cook, don’t forget to smile.”
Thank you Ubud for the love. I’m on my way to Nepal, another place of great wisdom!
This is so lovely! The texts and the imagery are much more… I can feel the spaces, breathe the aromas, and taste the food… they bring me joy and peace. What did you cook?
Thanks for sharing.
C
PS Last night’s John Vaillant’s keynote was brilliant. He got a standing ovation. He’s an old friend from Vancouver. Many thanks!!!
I don’t know the names of what we cooked but it was full of a lot of garlic, ginger, galanga, lemongrass, basil and coconut milk. There was a noodle dish,, a soup, a pile of vegies and rice, tuna and tofu satay with peanut sauce, and fruit.
Camino Milagro 
This is so lovely! The texts and the imagery are much more… I can feel the spaces, breathe the aromas, and taste the food… they bring me joy and peace. What did you cook?
Thanks for sharing.
C
PS Last night’s John Vaillant’s keynote was brilliant. He got a standing ovation. He’s an old friend from Vancouver. Many thanks!!!
I don’t know the names of what we cooked but it was full of a lot of garlic, ginger, galanga, lemongrass, basil and coconut milk. There was a noodle dish,, a soup, a pile of vegies and rice, tuna and tofu satay with peanut sauce, and fruit.
Glad you are enjoying the conference!
exactly what I needed to read today … a welcome respite from the craziness of the world around us!
Yes, I think I’m going to continue to look for the love. I’m going to a couple of places where I will need to get over some personal prejudices!
Love makes the world go round. In some places, anyway.
Good play on words. I think!
that food looks so yummy! I loved Bali but the monkeys—not so much. They would snatch your bag right out of your hands looking for food.
Yes those monkeys! They are in control.
So much to love about Ubud. The first picture of the moss-covered statue is wonderful. Maggie
Yes, I was late to the Bali party but now I understand why it’s so popular
Yeah, this one made my day Kim. Thanks! And happy Valentines Day to you!!! ❤️
I honestly didn’t know I published this on Valentines Day until after someone mentioned it!
Such love and peace here. Thank you for introducing us to this experience! 💕
Yes and the people are so kind, which I guess you are probably going to be if you pay this much attention to flowers and gods and music.
🙂