Photo Story – The rice plantations of Ubud Bali

Thought the photos of the rice plantations were especially deserving of a separate blogpost. I caught sight of them along the Penestanan trail. The ‘sotong’ (blur, confused) in me thought that the older ones were wheat, and I then I realised they were actually more matured rice saplings.

Rice plantations along the Penestanan and Sayan trail

Along the way, I passed by several rice plantations, at varying cycles of their life. It was a lovely sight to behold. I never though I’d see such things beyond the Geography textbook in secondary school!

I caught sight of everything from the tender young saplings which have been placed in the flooded paddy fields, to adolescent saplings emerging from paddy fields with less water. And finally, fully grown rice plants which have grown as tall as my mid-calf. You can see little rice seeds emerging from the stalk. Love it.

rice plantations of Ubud Bali
The rice plantations of Ubud Bali
ubud bali rice paddy field
Just the sort of thing for a nature lover
ubud bali rice paddy
Lovely rice saplings basking in the afternoon sun
rice plantations of Ubud Bali
Shots of the paddy fields, up close. They are growing up!
rice plantations of Ubud Bali
Here are more matured rice saplings
rice plantations of Ubud Bali
Up close and personal
rice plantations of Ubud Bali
A horizon of green
ubud rice plantation bali
That’s how the rice plantations of Ubud Bali look, on a lovely afternoon.

The rice plantations looked so amazing, covered in every shade of green. As a city-girl, it was a place where I did find my ‘inner peace’. Then I realised, as I looked across acres and acres of these plantations, how back-breaking the work could be. It’s not just planting them in flooded rice terraces, but harvesting them as well. And sending them for processing.

What could be a tourist attraction to some, is actually someone else’s livelihood. Let’s not forget that.

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