Date: March 10-15th, 2025
I considered staying in a village instead of a tourist spot, so my options were Undisan or Ubud, but I ultimately chose Undisan. I believe it was a great decision because I made many friends and enjoyed delicious local cuisine. I stayed at Dsari Homestay, but they recently added a new cottage that I highly recommend. The host is fantastic, providing assistance, tours, and offering intriguing foods. Here is the photos of the new cottage
From this point, I decided to visit Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, Mount Batur, and Mount Agung, stayed in the fields, enjoyed plenty of their cuisine, and cooked for myself. I will share more photos of these places in a separate Bali post, as I prefer to concentrate on the village here.
Village houses are very clean and surrounded by many fruit trees. I am impressed by their traditional design, featuring mud roof tiles, which I believe is beneficial as it helps keep the temperature down, eliminating the need for AC or fans. I don't understand why Indian villages have switched to cement roofs, as it makes the house even hotter; it's time to return to traditional roofing. Typically, joint families live in a single home, with 4-8 houses in one lot, allowing brothers, sisters, and cousins to live together. In the past, Indian families also lived this way. Children learn to cook as early as 10 years old and help their parents a lot.
Since Hinduism is the predominant religion, you'll notice that each home has a temple with at least three structures. Interestingly, in Indian families, the temple room is located inside the house, whereas in Bali, it is outside. The deities primarily worshipped include Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh, Surya, and Chandra, along with local gods. They perform puja three times a day: in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Additionally, they place flowers and offerings in front of the house, which is not like rangoli in India but more similar to Gobili during Sankranti.
The village local market opens around 4-4:30 AM, and many locals purchase items for prayers, food, snacks, vegetables, fruits, and meat. In every village I have visited, I spend time in local markets to buy cooking ingredients and snacks. Tum (spices with ground chicken, pork, or tofu) is a good snack, and deep-fried dried legumes are also tasty. Additionally, Jaje uli, made from cooked rice and coconut, is delicious. A variety of fruits like bananas, papayas, rambutans, mangosteens, guavas, oranges, and watermelons are available. The market closes around 7-8 AM as people have their breakfast and then head to the paddy fields. It doesn't seem like many people engage in scams here.
Villages are encircled by numerous thick trees and paddy fields wherever you go. It's enjoyable to stroll around these fields. I ventured to a secluded spot to relax and read a book. Interestingly, I encountered many farmers who were surprised to see me there alone with a book. Several of them attempted to engage with me, and one invited me to his home and offered food. He works as a tour guide or driver, which seems to be an additional source of income for villagers. You never know when it will rain, and when it does, the downpours are heavy and can last for 3-4 hours. People continue to travel despite the rain, wearing raincoats.
Roads are clean and seems better maintained compared to indian villages.
The food is quite similar to South Indian cuisine, though I noticed it relies more on meat than lentils. I usually cook for myself, but I have tried their food occasionally. A popular dish during this time is Babi guling, which is roasted pig served with rice. Rice is the main source of carbohydrates, sometimes accompanied by noodles. Chicken, fish, and pork are relatively affordable, but eggs cost around 12 INR, which I find surprising, and not many people seem to buy them. I enjoyed guavas, bananas, durian, and pineapple. I tried sour fruit for the first time in the host village; it was very juicy, but I couldn't eat much of it. Mostly i cooked as i eat once a day.
There are 4 to 5 waterfalls, and I visited Tukad Cepung Waterfall and Krisik Waterfall. What frustrates me about Indonesia is its commercialization; for instance, you have to pay 200 INR just to see a waterfall.
Tukad Cepung Waterfall attracts some tourists, but it can still be enjoyable despite the crowd. It's a great spot for taking photos, and a local assisted with capturing pictures. Here is the video of it.
Krisik waterfall is incredible, with no visitors and no entrance fee. I visited with my Italian friend Roberta, and we spent a few hours enjoying the stream and waterfall. The area is completely enveloped in lush green vegetation and bamboo trees. Roberta posed for some artistic photos, adding to the fun of our outing.
During the first two days, I was the only guest, but then Roberta, the Tigress Lady from Italy, joined me. She is full of energy and promised to accompany me on a trip to Italy. We cooked together (she cooked twice for me, good girl such a keeper), relaxed in the paddy fields, enjoyed the waterfalls, and I brought along a book on Numerology/Astrology, which led to many discussions about her personality. Roberta is a Numerology 8, which signifies an individualistic and lively nature. Her numerology and Chinese astrology, which is a Tiger, matched well. Since I am a number 4, we might either become bitter enemies or best friends, only time will tell. We attempted to attend a cockfight, but it was closed, so we spent time chatting around the village corner instead.
Cock fighting appears to be a popular pastime and gambling activity for those looking to earn some money. Nearly every evening, people gather around an enclosed area to place bets on cock fights. The roosters are kept in cages and later used for the fights. I attended these events twice; it's a great opportunity to meet local men from the village. I didn't see any women there, so it seems to be a sport dominated by men.
Village generally winds down around 7PM and you can hear roar of crickets sounds.
Radom photos of people:
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