Guess what we had for breakfast? Mie goreng! It was time to make moves to Ubud. Our driver and soon to be best Balinese friend, Bedu, picked us up and we started our trek.

He wanted to show us his country and he knew we loved the culture so he planned a few stops on the way. First was the Batik factory where women were hand weaving and painting all of the beautiful and delicate Balinese fabrics. Next stop, jewelry! The entire village was dedicated to silver jewelry crafting. Bedu took us to the fanciest company where we were given a private tour of their showroom and dungeon like workshop. We went through the entire process, observing each workers' specialty. On the way to the next stop, the Batuan Temple, Bedu gave us a lesson in Balinese culture and Hinduism. His enthusiasm is infectious. Just down the road, we watched in awe the art of woodcarving. Our last and possibly favorite stop was the coffee farm. We were led through the garden where their herbs, coffee and medicinal plants are grown. The famous Luwak coffee (poop coffee) is harvested here. We sat down in a lovely courtyard and enjoyed a tasting of many teas and coffees, all of which are made in house. The flavors included mangosteen, lemongrass, tamarind, ginger, red rice, ginseng, cocoa, coconut and Luwak.

The drive itself was spectacular and we knew we would love Ubud before we even arrived. Our predictions were confirmed as we drove through town to get to our hotel, Nick's Pension. We followed meandering stone paths to our bungalow which is surrounded by lush rain forest vegetation and right above a scenic river. We explored town and had another very traditional dinner with Bedu.