another beautiful day in ubud
Posted on | July 28, 2009 | No Comments
it’s all very well to stay in a fabulous modern villa very close to the beach, in the middle of all the beautiful bars/restaurants/boutiques/people of seminyak….but returning to ubud always feels like coming home, to me.
firstly, there is the leisurely way the road climbs as you leave the coast…..you know it’s going to be cooler crisper air up there.
the traffic dies down a fraction and you start to see more trees and rice paddies.
the tropical green is very soothing to the brain after all the concrete din of the busy, touristy coastal strip.
it’s fun to wander along the boutiques on jalan raya seminyak, but for me, bali is all about looking down a long, impossibly steep green gorge and hearing only insect and bird song, and rushing water far below.
the air is cleaner and quieter and softer.
and while the showrooms packed with incredible antique furniture are impressive, they don’t take your breath away like the glimpse of a cascade of rice paddies terraced into the steep side of a valley.
i’ve been coming here for fifteen years and in that time i’ve seen a lot of change.
with the inexorable development has come a few good things, notably a great deal of consciousness-raising regarding bali’s street dogs.
on the first day I ever spent in bali, I journalled about the dogs: skinny, homeless, damaged, cowering dogs, sneaking about eating garbage, and breeding uncontrolled.
the situation is still far from perfect but the the improvement is wonderful and very noticeable.
one website is here and they accept paypal donations.
it costs $20 dollars to spay a female street dog and this goes a long way towards controlling the problem.
they neuter, treat, feed, shelter and re-home as needed from very clean premises, employing local people.
they have a high profile in ubud and they also fund an animal ambulance…which we spotted several times on the roads over our two week stay.
some of my wealthy generous kind-hearted animal-lovin’ readers might like to throw a few bucks their way, hey?
here they are again: BAWA BALI
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