Location: Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

We called up Wyam from yesterday to drive us north to Ubud, and the rain started pouring down faster than I’ve ever seen. Within minutes the street had become a legitimate river. The water was flowing up and over the curbs, bypassing the overburdened storm drains and flowing from the roof channels like a lineup of faucets. He dropped us off at our hostel and we ran through the rain (for like half a second before we were soaked!) to reach our new hostel: Puri Garden.

Every time we arrive at a new hostel Max goes ‘I think this is the nicest hostel I’ve ever been to’ and then we get to the next one and he says it again. But this one may legitimately be the nicest. The whole thing resembles a temple complex with trees and a full garden in the middle. There’s a beautiful blue pool at the edge of a lawn where free yoga classes are offered every morning. A giant wall on one edge of the pool reads “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” We walked into the attached patio restaurant full of people playing cards and eating fresh delicious colourful food while listening to some relaxing indie/r&b music. In the corner was a little gated set up full of puppies that you could climb into and just play with (Max did immediately of course). Signs on the walls showed where to sign up for free movie nights in the cinema room, free daily massages, or free mani-pedis. Our rooms featured double bed bunk beds (I can starfish!) and great A.C.

I immediately signed up for a pedicure, and Max signed up for a massage.

How is this real?

Am I dreaming?

The torrential rain was going strong so we huddled up on a couch in the restaurant for Max to write while I read and did a little research for our time here in Ubud. Eventually I was called up for my pedicure in the theatre room and almost fell asleep on a bed-chair. Max came up to get his free massage, and we both ended up potato-ing (that’s a thing now) on the comfy couches watching Moana.

Before we actually fell asleep I kicked us up to go on a walk. The area we’re in is busy but quite a bit more relaxed than Kuta. There aren’t trinket stalls the same way, and when people ask if you need a taxi or a tour it feels somehow less Hawk-ish. There are yoga studios everywhere and small boutique shops selling interesting handmade wares. We found many restaurants we are excited to try, but ended up stopping at a taco stand that was having cheap taco Tuesday. Um yes please cheap?! Our hostel may be amazing but it’s one of the more expensive ones (understandably) we’ve stayed at so we really have to cheap out on food – and tacos were perfect.

We relaxed by the pool edge and spent the evening watching shows, writing, and staying in the nice relaxed state we dropped into this afternoon. We’re both so excited for our plans tomorrow and I think it’s definitely going to be a bit less relaxing!

Sav