Hi Gram,

Today was like a field trip for us. I woke up early and joined the group for breakfast before they headed off to the water temple. I visited the temple last year, but since I’m not a fan of getting wet or participating in religious ceremonies, I ended up just sitting around. This year, I decided to skip it and go on a scooter adventure with some friends instead, meeting everyone after they were done getting their heads dunked and purified.

After the group left, I headed upstairs to work on my computer for a bit. Then I met up with Mark and Chad once they’d finished breakfast. We hopped on our scooters and set off, picking a random destination on the map. After a fun 45-minute drive through the countryside and small villages, we arrived at a set of waterfalls we’d chosen on a whim. We paid the entrance fee and then began descending a lot of stairs—more stairs, and then a few more—until we reached a shallow river.

Now, here’s the thing: I really don’t like water, and I definitely didn’t bring sandals or water shoes. I was wearing my gym shoes and socks, and the riverbed was covered in little stones. So, I made a snap decision to just wade through the water and deal with the wet shoes later. Honestly, it was the right call. We walked a bit further to the first waterfall, crossing over rocks, dirt, and mud, then headed down to the second waterfall, which was even more impressive—raging and beautiful.

Without the wet shoes, I would’ve been much slower and less comfortable with all the rocks, so it worked out. After snapping some pictures and enjoying the views, we climbed back up the stairs—seriously, were there always this many stairs?—and returned to our scooters. My shoes dried out nicely on the 45-minute ride back, which felt like a bit of a roller coaster with all the hills and sharp turns. We arrived in the village to meet up with our friends, and of course, we looked kind of badass rolling up on our scooters while everyone else arrived by bus. (At least, that’s what I like to tell myself.)

After stowing our helmets and grabbing my umbrella to escape the sun, we joined the group for a village tour. Our guide showed us a traditional Balinese home, explained the rice harvesting cycle, and talked about some of the local industries, including a drum factory. It was fascinating, but I had a bit of trouble hearing all the details, so I let others follow the guide more closely while I took in the surroundings, as I’d visited last year.

Back in the village square, they had prepared a delicious local lunch for us. After eating, a group of local teens performed a ceremonial dance, and they invited us to join in. It led to a lot of laughter and smiles as we tried to mimic their moves. Then, the ladies showed us how they balance fruit and packages on their heads and invited us to give it a try. We had a great time trying it out and taking photos until everyone had their turn. After some final goodbyes to the village folks, we headed back to our scooters, while everyone else piled into buses.

The ride back to Ubud on our scooters was peaceful and fun, and once we returned to the hotel, I took a quick shower to cool off and then relaxed a bit before dinner. At the designated time, I met up with a group at the front desk and led them over to Arma for dinner. Arma is a charming little spot—a restaurant, museum, theater, and hotel all rolled into one—not far from the Plataran. We had a lovely dinner outdoors, and I spent time chatting with Morgan, Christine, and Leelama while we sampled some unique drinks and desserts.

Our timing was a bit tight, though, with the waitstaff taking their time and our large group trying to remember everyone’s orders. We barely finished dessert when we had to rush over to catch the fire dance show. Luckily, we made it just in time. The performance was incredible, telling a story through dance and fire, with flaming balls tossed and kicked across the stage—it was truly a visual feast.

After the show, some people gathered back at the hotel for games, but as more folks arrived, the noise level made it hard to follow conversations. I decided to call it a night and headed back to my room to rest up for another busy day tomorrow.