Going with the Grain for a Rice Time

The next day we just stayed in Ubud.  A friend in Singapore had told us about a nice hike called Campuhan Ridge Walk.  Originally a trail to bring goods from villages to Ubud, it has now become a very popular hike.  Starting just off a main road you walk along the side of Ubud Palace, Moss covered walls on the left and a vine covered river on the right gives it a very Indiana Jones vibe.

After a few hundred meters you breakout into countryside.  The trail is covered with large pavers so the walking is easy.  You head uphill for a good kilometer or two with valley views on each side.  It reminded us of one of our favorite hikes back in the Bay Area – Edgewood Park.  We were there fairly early, but by no means as early as some.  There were people there, but not what I would call crowded.

As the trail leveled off we reached a village with some guesthouses, cafes, and some artist studios.  We kept trekking along and began to hit rice paddies.  We were at the season where we could see the beginnings of the next crop.  Some paddies were being prepped by turning over the muddy soil beneath the water with a walk behind rototiller.  Afterwards, the bottom was smooth and leveled by hand with a screed.  Then bamboo poles were used to layout a grid with impressions in the mud.  Finally, rice shoots were planted at the intersection of the grid lines.

Even through there is lots of rain in Bali, it appears to share something in common with the American West—water rights.  Concrete canals run over the hillsides and will split and apportion the right amount of water to each farmer.  These splits are not symmetrical and you can almost see the portion allocated for each group.  For example, there are 10 shares on the canal, and 2 go down here to these 2 farmers on the left, while the other 8 shares go further.  Simple but effective.
 

Another thing we didn’t know about rice is that after the paddy has been drained and the rice harvested farmers release ducks into the paddy. (I assume that they have had their wings clipped and are unable to fly.)  The ducks will then eat up the grains that didn’t make it into the harvest—fattening the duck and cleaning the field.  The Balinese Circle of Life!

It turns out the village is called Keliki and is home to an art movement, the Keliki miniature paintings.  This started on the 70’s and one of the key players was an artist named Wayan Surana.  We went into his gallery and ended up buying one of his works.  His daughter was minding the gallery while he was teaching an art class elsewhere.  Our purchase experience will be the subject of another post.

We returned to our hotel in Ubud for lunch and a little bit of relaxation.  Sitting in loungers by the pool for the afternoon with no cares other than a scheduled 2pm massage.  Post massage was cocktail time. Downtime is good on trips like this—a body needs it’s rest!