Bali - Day 5 - Paddy Walk, Ubud Market and Suckling Pig

Perhaps I am getting a bit lazier, or as buz calls it, "going native"; thus, this will be another post on the shorter side. My enthusiasm for Bali isn't waning, just my desire or need to do intensive blogging.

The day started (as it has every day here) with breakfast at the Villa. Actually we go down past the other 3 villas and have it at their dining area which consists of 3 large teak picnic tables outdoors on a covered veranda. There are a few other things we have done repeatedly and they include: massages, swimming for pleasure, playing cards, happy hour, swimming to cool off, being driven into central Ubud and sweating.

After the breakfast, massages and swimming, sis, dad, max and I went on a hike through the local rice paddies with max leading the way most of the time. It's still pretty awesome to be able to just go out in the paddies and follow the paths the farmers use to get around their plots. But the heat was a bit much and we had to return for a cool down swim.

For lunch it was into Ubud to go to a famous stall for suckling pig, the only thing on the menu. (I'm really going to need to get to the food blog before I start mish-mashing in my mind all these restaurants.) It was superb, but at $2.50 for a couple of pounds of perfectly cooked pork, I would say this might be the best Road Food I have ever had. (Tomorrow night, our final night in Ubud, we have ordered the Villa hosts to get our clan an entire suckling pig...you should all be jealous.)

Lunch was followed by shopping at the big market in Ubud where I picked up a few presents for my nieces back in the states and a Bintang beer T-shirt for myself ($2). Since arriving in Bali, Bintang is the only beer we've had, and it is cheap enough and tasty enough that we won't need to try another.

Then it was back to the Villa for more swimming and whiling away the rest of the day. BTW, for the first night here it was mostly cloud free, and the stars were brilliant. I'll be sleeping out on the porch for the 4th straight night.