We have no art. We do everything as beautiful as possible. - Balinese saying

If you've ever been to the City of Ubud you'll understand the meaning of these words.

A walk through the center of Ubud can easily take forever. One wants to stop all the time in order to be able to process the entirety of colorful details.

All the wonderful rumors you might have heard about it, are true.

Let me take you on a mind-blowing walk through one of the most impressive places on the isle of Bali!

@surfermarly on her discovery tour

You're such an enchanter, Ubud!

It's always recommendable to follow a friend's recommendations.

You will fall in love with this place - she said.

And she hit the nail.

Traveling has a lot to do with following one's emotions, especially if you're on a trip where there are neither concrete schedules nor a deliberately defined program for the day. Then you take things as they come and let them do their magic.

Ubud is the perfect place to go with the flow.

A classic Balines scene: abundant street decorations and motor bikes

The guy sitting on the stairs was offering me a taxi, but I prefered to walk

When culture meats commerce

Indonesia aims to attract 8 million tourists to Bali in 2018.

Such a number of people is hard to hide, and the massive stream of visitors has its impact on the Balinese life. Places that may have been idyllic and lost treasures one day, are now made accessible for tourism.

Balinese traditions are mixed with new external influences - a multicultural blend evolves.

Commerce has a special vintageous charm in Ubud.

Could be a scenery for a commercial spot: Billabong shop façade

Celebrating the Kuningan day

One of the things I like most about the Indonesian culture is their way to celebrate.

Lucky me, I visited Bali during the Galungan holiday. The family that hosted the villa I was staying at recommended me to visit the City of Ubud on the 9th of June in order to witness the celebration of Kuningan day.

The Balinese believe that Kuningan day is the day when their ancestors return to heaven after visiting the earth during Galungan celebration. They make offerings to be given to the ancestors on their farewell day. - When to go to Bali

You can't walk on the streets without coming across the offerings and decorations.

Decorated Herbie - Side information: According to the Indonesian culture, yellow is one of the holy colors

Decorated motor bike

Offerings on the streets

Community sense

In the Balinese culture the community is of inestimable value.

It was admirable to see how important cooperation is in the Balinese culture and daily life. Rituals and traditions are seldomly practiced by one person, they're rather enjoyed in groups. Especially during the mentioned celebrations - such as Galungan - everybody has their task contributing to the collective.

Seeing them all dressed up in their traditional robes - whether they were bringing offerings to the temple or attending clients in their shops - was very special.

They live it up with dignity.

A very pretty shop owner - she was proud I picked her for my photography series

The young lady on her way to the temple - the basket was filled with offerings

These preppy young men were on their way to the temple, too

The Balinese dynamic

There is no such thing as silence in the streets.

The air is filled with the rattling noise of motor bikes and the spicy smell of food. Everything is in motion, yet there's always enough space and time to find your corner in order to pause for a while.

Then you just take a seat in one of the street cafés and watch the fast Balinese life passing in front of you.

One Balinese long black coffee, please!

Bali in motion: local people and tourists mixing on the streets

Two Balinese ladies leaving the temple after handing over their offerings

If you've ever tried the Balinese food, you probably won't eat anything else in your life

I swear the Balinese cuisine is one of the best I've come to know so far.

The fact that 90% of the ingredients used for typical Indonesian dishes are found in local markets - and not in the supermarket - really makes a difference. Everything is absolutely natural - and you can taste that!

During my whole stay on the isle of Bali I've tried uncountable different dishes, but the Chicken saté will definitely rank above my favorite three.

Here's to the glory of the Indonesian cuisine!

Enjoying my chicken saté at the Bebek Joni Restaurant (Ubud)

Thank you for broadening my horizon, City of Ubud!

We recognize the true value of an experience once it's converted into a memory.

Thanks for your time and stay tuned for part #2 of my photography and video series "Discover Bali".

Much love,
Marly -

Thanks for your valuable time!
This blog was launched at the end of July 2016
aiming to provide stories for open-minded
people who enjoy living on the edge of their lives,
stepping out of comfort zones, going on adventure,
doing extreme sports and embracing the new.
Welcome to the too-much-energy-blog!

We travel because we're not tied to the ground.

Original content. All pictures taken with my incredibly professional iPhone 5S.