Indonesian Wrap up

For our final day in Ubud, Alexandra left the itinerary to me, and when visiting a cave is one of the options, there's a pretty good chance that's what I'll pick.

We visited Goa Gajah, a small cave where worshipers first started congregating back in the 11th century, and where Hindus still come to pray. Visitors enter "Elephant Cave" through the mouth of a demon carved into the rock face centuries ago.

No, Alexandra and I haven't suddenly developed an obsession for polyester, scarf belts. Because all of the temples at the sight are considered to be holy, the coverings are required.

Even though we'd already explored a rice field next to our hotel, we heard about an organic restaurant located a mile or two in the middle of another rice field and decided to take a look.

Ubud can be overwhelming with the number of tourists, but by just strolling a couple of blocks off the main drag, we soon found ourselves in the countryside.

It was worth the hike for fresh lemon grass tea, coconut water, vegetables picked from an adjacent garden, and chickens that earlier in the day were probably roaming next to the restaurant.

Yum!

Like many popular tourist areas, Ubud is facing the difficult question of where to draw the line between development and overkill.

On the last day of our trip, I spoke at length with a gentleman involved in the retail industry. When he was a boy, he said kids wandered around town, without any worries, playing in wide-open spaces, enjoying the clean air and water.

Now, he said most land has been gobbled up, parents are afraid to let their children outside unaccompanied because of the excessive traffic racing through the narrow streets, and much of the environment has become polluted.  The business owner said he's worried the day might soon come when the Balinese destroy their own paradise, the very paradise that made the economic boom possible.

Hopefully, that never happens because the island of Bali is a magical place and the people just as enchanting.