It was our first time back in South-East Asia since we had to make our way home from Thailand last March. It was good to be back. Our pick up from Nirwa Homestay was ready waiting for us at the airport with a sign reading Helen & David and getting through the visa process was pretty straight forward so it didn’t take too long. Our pick up cost 250,000 IRP which is around $25 and the journey from the airport took about an hour to reach our accommodation.

We were greeted by the the mum of the family who offered us fried banana and tea and we enjoyed a good chat with her before making our way to our room. We had a bungalow style accommodation which was very spacious with an open roof, chairs, a lovely bathroom and a great Asian themed outdoor seating area. It was perfect and we were right on the edge of the rice fields.

The great thing about Nirwa is that apart from the fact that they are very accommodating and friendly we were happy to be away from the business of the streets of Ubud but only to be a 5 minute walk and we would be there. They are quietly nestled into the back alleys and it’s very peaceful in their area.

We explored a little of Ubud and it wasn’t long before we got the charm of the Balinese people, they are so friendly and fun loving people. There was a ceremony taking place that day and so the boys of the town were being chased around by the elders dressed in traditional costume. There was a great atmosphere about the place. Most of the streets were quite quiet due to the festival but we found a fairly boutique standard eatery that didn’t blow the budget but perhaps was a little nouveau cuisine for our liking. We had our first taste of the unusual textures of Indonesian food and cheap beer.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)