Honeymoon in Bali - Part 5

(Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4)

On the last day of our trip, we woke up and ordered breakfast through room service. We were already packed and ready to go, but we wanted to get one more massage before leaving the hotel. I booked the massage the day before, and they offered me a 50% off discount, so I added a facial for both of us. The spa was much nicer than the one at the first hotel. It was a private room with a little garden and we soaked our feet and had some herbal tea before entering the room for our treatment. It was relaxing to be pampered once again.

We had another hour until our driver was scheduled to pick us up, so we relaxed at the bar, drinking and reading and catching up on social media. Our driver picked us up and suggested that we get out of the main part of Ubud until well after lunch time, due to the traffic. He took us to the art villages to see some paintings and wood carvings. I knew I wanted to get some local art while we were in Bali, but once we got there, it was hard to choose because of the high prices. We bought one painting and a wooden box and called it a day.

Our driver suggested a place for lunch were we could sit on the second floor of a restaurant and look out over the fields. It was a hot day, the hottest we experienced in Bali, and we were worn out. After lunch, we went to the famous monkey forest. We had seen a few monkeys here and there, but nothing like what we saw at monkey forest. When doing my research on Bali, I had come across a lot of videos of people who bought bananas and then held them over their heads and waited for the monkeys to climb up them for a picture.

That was harder than it looked. The banana vendor was swarmed with big monkeys when we passed by, so the first bunch that we bought were gone in no time. The big monkeys were aggressive and scary, so I went on in search of the baby monkeys. We walked all around the forest and had fun watching the other tourists take pictures and protect their things from the thieving little monkey pickpockets. I bought two more bunches of bananas, and was able to get a monkey to climb on my head, but my husband only caught the bottom half of me on camera, so I had to try again. Then he was able to get one to climb on him, and I caught it on camera. It was my mission to do the same, so I hid the bananas until I found a sweet looking monkey who I thought was small enough not to hurt me on his way up my shoulders. By the time we got pictures and videos of our monkey fun, I was ready to go.

Then we went to the Elephant Temple, Goa Gajah. It was a really beautiful place, with lots of huge trees and water fountains. It was so hot that it was nice to take a break sitting under the trees after climbing all the steps to get down to the main part of the temple. It was our last major stop before we left Ubud.Our driver also gave us some time to shop in the main shopping center in downtown Ubud before heading toward the airport. We were shocked to find that they sold paintings identical to the ones that we had looked at earlier for much cheaper. We felt a little duped, but it gave us the chance to buy some more art. I also bought two gorgeous sarongs, and we were proud of ourselves when we were able to haggle the price down for a good deal. Junkyu was much better at haggling than I was. Koreans haggle occasionally in the traditional markets, so it wasn't completely foreign to him. Then we bought some delicious gelato and hopped back into the car.

We drove down toward the airport, and our driver took us to a huge fish market on the beach where we chose our lobster and fish. We sat down on the beach near the ocean, among lots of other tourists, and enjoyed the romantic atmosphere of our last Balinese meal. Neither of us had ever tried lobster before, and I hate seafood, so I wasn't expecting to like it. I ordered some chicken just to be sure. But we ended up loving the lobster. It was tender but not slimy, and had the texture of chicken. It was grilled with butter and garlic and it was the perfect meal to end our trip. We sat beside a Japanese couple and their translator/tour guide, and I struck up a conversation with them.

After that, we got back into the car for the last time and drove to the airport. We felt gross after being in the hot sun and on the beach all day, so we went into the bathrooms to freshen up and change our clothes. We bought a few souvenirs in the gift shop, and repacked our suitcases so that we could travel lightly on the plane. The ride back wasn't so bad, but as soon as we got back to Korea, we had to rush home and take showers to get ready for work. On the way home, a taxi driver rolled up the window while Junkyu still had his hand on the door, and smashed his finger. Thankfully, he was okay, but it was not a fun first experience back in Korea.

We enjoyed our trip to Bali a lot, and I think it's safe to say we had a great honeymoon.