In the bustling heart of Ubud, you would never guess that just around the corner is the Kajeng Rice Fields walk. A little along from the Ubud Palace you could be forgiven for thinking this is another tourist metropolis. However, if you can scratch the surface of this town, it becomes clear that fame and the resulting tourist fortune has done little to change the humble people leading quiet, simple lives, just off the beaten track.
This is a highlight of Ubud. From Ubud Palace my mum, Veronica, and I walk a block and turn down Jl. Kajeng. This street, lined with market stalls selling local crafts, massage parlours and restaurants, feels like it should be tourist central. Yet there is a resigned air to the market sellers. It’s quiet today and most of the vendors are reclined and on their phones. It seems that business usually comes to them as there is no hustling, no one is pushing their wares.
Kajeng Rice Fields
Further along the stalls peter out and signs for small warungs (restaurants) and accommodations become more frequent. To me it seems that we’re headed towards a dead end and I wonder what could possibly be down this way. Nevertheless, we turn a sharp left and the road opens out onto seemingly endless rice fields.
The advertised restaurants and accommodations are dotted along the path and across the fields. They are starkly in contrast to, and yet somehow also in harmony with, the fields.
Newly planted paddies, with their plants standing to attention in sharp rows, line the path and stretch as far as the eye can see. Finally, in all directions, the fields are interrupted by forest.
We walk along the path feeling like imposters in the quiet. There are a few other people wandering about though. We pass a couple of backpackers and a number of mopeds pass us, heading one way or another. Their motors cutting through the quiet like a blade, zooming here and there. Some of the passers by are locals, some tourists.
Young Coconut
Near to an intersection with Jl. Summan, we buy a young coconut. I hand over IDR2,000 (AUD0.20) and we pause to watch. The vendor has a pile of them in a little grass hut along the side of the path. By now it is very much a path and no longer a road. He machettis off the husk and the top of the shell, carefully handing me the giant cup so as not to spill any. The coconut is surprisingly heavy. With a flourish and an almost toothless smile, he pops a straw in the top.
We sit on the nearby wooden bench sipping the young coconut water and watching the ducks in one of the nearby paddies. Mother duck quacks her ducklings along and there are some chickens nearby who also seem to heed the call.
We also watch as a couple of young (human) mothers come towards us along the path, pulling their little children out of the way when another moped zooms past. The path is only wide enough for one-way.
Once we finish the coconut water, I take the giant nut back to the vendor. He expertly carces off two sides of the the husk, immediately transforming the pieces into scoops. Then he hacks the whole thing open and into two parts, such that we can spoon out all the thing, slimy , sweet flesh.
Soon, we head off along the path again in the direction the mothers and their children have just come from. Loosely following Google Maps, it looks like we should be on a loop that will eventually take us back to the main street.
Encouragingly, the path is paved with slabs that have some inlaid etchings. This convinces me we are on some sort of tourist trail and not, in fact, trespassing on private land. It looks like a community project that has been undertaken, with hearts and signatures, something like the Indonesian equivalent of a European lock bridge.
Sweet Orange Warung
In the meantime I marvel at the rice paddies and the houses around. Some are little more than huts. Others are fascinating two story constructions of a mix of concrete, wood, bamboo and thatching. A modern take on traditional weave, one such building is under construction with barefoot builders and no scaffolding.
At another crossroads, I pause again to consult with Google Maps for directions and we take a left. Soon afterwards stumbling across Sweet Orange Warung. The only indication that the restaurant is open is a young girl who lightly waves us towards our choice of tables. On closer inspection, there is a couple under one of the far off pergolas.
We take a seat and settle on some local fare as a late lunch – nasi goreng, a noodle dish and a beer each. We are on holidays after all. The food is delicious and very affordable. The view and the atmosphere couldn’t be more immersive. Surrounded by the rice fields more duck and chickens quack and cluck away to our left.
There are some renovations happening nearby and some periodic power tools break the otherwise rural silence. It’s not hard to talk mum into sharing a coconut sticky rice before we leave.
Subak Juwuk Manis Rice Fields
By now the shadows are lengthening and a hum of evening insects seem to be infiltrating the otherwise peaceful fields. It would be incredible to stay out here and experience night closing in.
But to be frank, we’re a little lost and need the light to find our way back. It is so beautiful though. We pause several times to take in the changing light and the stormy looking clouds over the fields.
Unbeknownst to us at the time, we hit the last turn that takes us back to the main road. The path is broken and muddy and we have to hold on around a particularly ominous patch. At this stage I’m certain we have taken a wrong turn and for a moment I contemplate doubling back, looking for the correct path, taking another stab at the right way.
However, another corner and the way forward opens up in front of us. In a moment we’re back on the main street, having popped out right in front of the Sariswati Temple.
Good To Know
The Kajeng Rice Fields Walk and connected walks like the adjacent Subak Juwuk Manis Rice Fields are free and easily accessible, just behind the main street of Ubud.
This turned out to be a highlight of our stay in Ubud. Perhaps more special for being unexpected, its sheer proximity to the town is what surprised me the most. I would absolutely visit here again, planning the path a little better and perhaps even allowing for a couple more stops along the way. Even better would be to stay in one of the cottages offering accommodation among the splendid fields.
Make sure you put aside enough time to soak in the atmosphere, preferably pausing for a meal and time enough to wander a bit, and perhaps get lost in the experience.
Would I Return?
Yes.
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