By Jason Rupp and Carla Marie Rupp

Indonesia’s Bali is a hot spot for the young party crowd, and always has been since the Australian and California surfers discovered “waves that dreams are made of.” We left Bangkok on a direct plane to Bali’s Denpasar Airport and our first stop was the original party beach of Kuta, where the surfers first settled back in the 70s. Nowadays Kuta and its next beach Legian almost feel like Pattaya Beach, with a mix of everything to satisfy any desire. While we had fun in Kuta and Legian – actually tons of fun – it feels like Balinese culture is watered-down and is put on display as a show. There is actually much more to this island. In Ubud, Balinese culture is flourishing and isn’t showy. It’s practiced in real-time to the max here.

On our taxi ride to Ubud, we enjoyed the extraordinary beauty of the scenery of green, terraced rice paddy fields. We knew we were leaving the beach scene behind with new adventures waiting. Our driver Puta (growing long hair because it’s the custom when a wife is pregnant) took us to the family guest house we reserved. We were amazed by the family’s hospitality and that they had their own Hindu temple in the guest house. Decorative carvings in wood and stone line the streets in Ubud. It almost feels like the whole town is one big temple.Religion and culture are everything. Bali is the only island in Indonesia that is dominated by the Hindu religion. There’s a beautiful Hindu temple on an island seaside cliff called Tanah Lot that we visited to photograph and experience.

Exploring the town is easy on foot. We found the Seed of Life vegan cafe for a delicious lunch and fruit smoothies, had massages and decided to plan the next few days. The Monkey Forest was first on our agenda the next day. Jason’s favorite book as a child was the book “Curious George.” He always loved monkeys. So spending the whole afternoon at a sanctuary with the monkeys without cages was a storybook come to life! However, while we took pictures of monkeys, we always followed the rules that included not getting too close to them. We were careful not to walk holding anything in our hands. While they are cute, a monkey will snatch anything! It made us feel good that the locals value the monkeys. They are well-fed and look nourished although visitors are not allowed to feed them. You would enjoy seeing our walk though the Monkey Forest in a YouTube video on the Jason Rupp Learning to Walk and Talk YouTube channel.

During our walk that evening, a travel agent sold us a deal on a great river rafting day trip. We were glad we did it. We were picked up at our guest house and brought back after an amazing adventure. Our last stop before booking our taxi to the airport was to Caramel Patissiere to get a box of goodies. We also bought lovely items at a batik shop. So for a quieter Bali time with adventure and culture, go to Ubud. It’s worth seeing! That’s our recommendation.

Jason Rupp and Carla Marie Rupp are freelance travel journalists reached at

[email protected] and [email protected].