According to common folklore, baby Jesus was born some 2000 years ago. Considering how Christianity has brought two millennia of terror and suffering onto the world, why not celebrate the anniversary with a little bloodshed. Stage free for cock-fighting in the village down the road. Just as on the Philippines, the cocks have a single blade tied to one of their feet. Betting is a big thing and from what I’ve gathered, one can either simply bet on a winner or on how many cuts the loser will suffer.

The area north-west of Tabanan is hardly developed at all in terms of tourism infrastructure. Which is perfect for me and also a stark contrast to pretty much all of south Bali. Up here, there is about one bed-and-breakfast per village. The one we are staying at has a total of four rooms, so locals really don’t see a lot of westerners. Some of them are keen to take pictures with my friend and me - whether it’s because we are about two heads taller than them or simply because we are foreigners, I don’t know.

25th of December 2010 I spent at a waterfall in the Blue Mountains. Five years later it’s one on Bali. The property we are staying at is green, to say the least.I like the outdoors bathroom a lot.

Moved to a place 1.5h west of Ubud. Close to no tourists around here, just a couple of local villages. Very nice and relaxing.

It is surprising how many people get up in the middle of the night to climb a volcano. My friend and I were two of them. After a 2:00am pick up, we were delivered to the bottom of Mount Batur at 4:00 sharp. With two hours to go until sunrise, we set out on the climb up to the 1,700m peak. It was a reasonably easy hike with a 700m ascend stretched over almost 2h of walking.

Ok I’ve changed my mind about Ubud. This town is incredibly annoying. Traffic is even slower than Yangon (sic!) and vast areas of Ubud exist solely for the purpose of tourism. I’m always glad when I get out of the town and to our resort on its fringe. The area around is beautiful though. Kids around here have funny pets (warning, picture of a snake ahead!).

It’s been, I don’t know, three days? Four days? I’ve spent my time in Ubud so far by doing rather little besides reading, eating, getting massages and going for walks. Oh and checking out the local co-working space. I had a strong desire for some rest, partially because of what my bowels went through but also because I’ve been on the road for more than a month now. And no matter what people might think, travelling can be very exhausting.

It’s a touristy place but, much to my own surprise, I’m quite fine with it. I don’t see it as a place where I want to experience authentic Asia but rather as a place to stay and have a nice time. The tourists coming here aren’t the 18 year-old Aussie shitheads who populate the southern parts of the island, intoxication and fornication the only things on their minds. In Ubud it’s more a crowd that is drawn by art and nature.