Our time in Ubud, Bali was reserved for a slow down. A place that not only could we reconnect with each other but also our surroundings and our time to appreciate how unbelievably lucky we are. It also harboured a sadder fact, that once Bali was over we only really had (excluding a small section of backtracking) under two weeks left, a feeling that makes our hearts drop. Yes we’ve missed our friends and family but we haven’t really missed the UK, we’ve felt as if we could hop on a plane after Dubai and let the wind take us wherever it chooses.
However, this wasn’t going to dampen our spirits on our little slice of tropical luxury that is Bali. Before I write please note that unlike previous entries where we’ve written a day by day account in detail of our actions, some of our days in this case won’t contain a great deal.
Our first day gave us the chance to get our bearings as per usual and check out our absolutely stunning hotel, we decided not to really discuss our hotels/hostels in the blog- but this place is an exception to the rule. Some of the shots of the rice fields around our hotel.
We decided for ease and convenience to eat at the Abian restaurant which is attached to Tegal Sari (our accommodation). The prices are amazingly reasonable and the food is as good as you’ll find anywhere else in Ubud.
Our second day was a very atypical (I joke) Richard and Jenny day, we decided to get some sun and hopefully work on that non existent tan, but we spent far too long doing so which resulted in as you can guess, burn as opposed to tan- that’s the sun tan out of the door.
That evening we ventured out to a place Jen had been looking forward to for months before we actually travelled; Bali Buddha. A restaurant that specialises in vegetarian/vegan food and healthy juice concoctions (including a Turmeric, Apple and Aloe Vera juice), all their food is also non MSG and organic/free range. Fear not carnivores, meat eaters are also catered for- though it’s definitely a turn of the tables with only a few free range meat dishes on offer. The food is absolutely amazing and the restaurant is simple but atmospheric. Underneath the restaurant is an organic shop. Walking back through Ubud, which is referred to as the cultural capital of Bali, you get the feeling that everyone has been inspired by their country, with artists’ shops lining the streets (they outnumber the rest of the shops by at least 4 to 1), Spas and massage parlours, music shops, book shops and many carving stores.
Day three and breakfast brought to our room the next morning (a reoccurring theme for the week that followed), gave us the refreshing boost that’s needed for the very easy day that followed.
We decided we owed it to ourselves and Ubud to take a venture out and explore, of course our first ports of call were the main Ubud attractions, first stop; Ubud Palace. It doesn’t really have the grandeur of Buckingham Palace or the Whitehouse but this palace, which is still home to the Balinese royal family, holds a certain charm in a form of architecture that we had never witnessed before; it kept reminding me in a sense of Mayan but then I could be horribly wrong, just an instinct though.
Next on the cards was the Water Palace, a small temple situated next to Ubud Palace and with one of the most impressive approaches to a temple you will ever see. The architecture is in typical Balinese style like that of Ubud Palace.
In the mid afternoon heat we were getting slightly exhausted so one last stop off this time, around the Ubud market, with hundreds of a little stores trying to plough their goods of on you. Just a look this time, though I’m sure Jen will be back to spend her hard cash on them- hopefully she’ll be able to haggle them down a bit first mind you.
We got back to the hotel grounds for some great views of the sunset.
Then we ventured out to Pizza Bagus for a pizza that would challenge any British pizzeria and nearly (emphasis on nearly) challenge the Italians themselves and a mere fraction of the price; £2.35 roughly for a large pizza.
Day four and another day and another happy couple wake up in the beautiful though exceedingly hot Balinese weather. Today was one of the ‘must do’s’ while in Ubud, the monkey temple- just another typical though charming temple but the grounds are renowned for the abundance of free roaming monkeys and at 15,000Rp (approx 90p) you really don’t have a valid reason not to. It also gave Jen the chance to have her leg caressed by one of the younger monkeys.
Our evening was devoted to our first Balinese dance, one of the main draws of Ubud itself is the cultural attractions and the most famous of which are the dances. There are at least four dances a night of varying price and quality. The first dance we chose to see was a Legong dance at the Ubud Water Palace performed by Chandra Wirabhuana Troupe. The Legong is a series of dances performed in very colourful traditional Indonesian wear and accompanied by a Gamelan- a traditional Indonesian orchestra.
To say Jen was impressed would be a large understatement, as was I, but she was truly mesmerised from the moment the show began to the moment it ended. The dancing was amazing and the choreography was insanely precise, with both parties; the dancers and the orchestra excelling at what they do best. If we didn’t do anything else with our time in Bali this is the one thing we’re glad we did do.
The rest of the evening was spent with great company and more importantly;
Day five was a day for Jen, somehow she managed to get me to agree to have a Balinese massage with body scrub, body mask and flower bath at the Petrenin Spa. For a variety of reasons I was personally against the idea though of course I was more than willing to do it for Jen. The phrase best suited for this experience would be ‘eat my words’! With our skydiving experience we had been left feeling exhilarated and the adrenaline was rushing through our bodies like never before, with this experience we were left at the opposite end of the scale feeling so unbelievably relaxed and so devoid from any stress (not that we have any) and worries. The whole thing lasted two and a half hours and for the level of service and quality we received we would pay upwards of £150 (and the rest) in England but here in Bali…175,000Rp or approximately £11, you just can’t say no. As I had at first convinced Jen to skydive and she had loved it she had returned the favour, though it was so different the experience will definitely go down as one of our most vivid memories.
Our evening was filled with jazz and tapas at Coffee and Silver Café on Monkey Forest Road. We stopped by for some dinner when we were met by the Danish owner who had told us about the music and asked us to stay, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed our night.
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