Bali is to Australians as Ibiza is to Brits. Neither places had ever inspired me to want to visit because of their reputation for drunken bogan behaviour from the aforementioned nationalities. I was probably one of the few Aussie’s that had never been to Bali, even Vaughan had that one ticked off!
Over time though, I have become increasingly curious about Bali as I realise there is more to the island than Kuta. Its beautiful temples, stunning beaches, diving and above all the warm hospitality of the Balinese people.
We chose Bali as the last stop on our one year round the world trip. Having been on an intense 7 week overland trip through Africa then a few days running around Singapore, Bali was our wind-down retreat, a place to relax before we returned to the shock of normality!
There were two places we wanted to spend time, Ubud for its beautiful temples , yoga retreats and tranquillity and the Gili Islands for their white sandy beaches and excellent diving. (I will cover this in a separate post).
We arrived in Bali from Singapore and our first shock was the US$35 payment on arrival. We had been very good with our research into Visa requirements up until now but because Bali was a last minute decision it somehow slipped through the cracks. Lucky enough we had some Indonesian Rupees we could pay with and paying rupees was actually cheaper!
My first surprise was how built up Bali was, our taxi ride took over an hour to get to Ubud, the traffic was horrendous and the urban sprawl reached nearly all the way to our destination.
As it was our last gasp of freedom before returning home we treated ourselves to a nice place to stay so booked ourselves into Nick’s Hidden Cottages. Nick’s is a small beautiful Balinese style resort surrounded by rainforest and rice fields and 10 minutes walk from town and 5 minutes walk from the Monkey Forest.
For $70 a night we had ourselves a Super Deluxe Room with ensuite and balcony that overlooked the pool, the price also included breakfast. A bargain I thought 🙂 The room was huge and nicely decorated with bamboo furniture, it was just perfect!
Spending the next few days enjoying Ubud and its surrounds, I can see why it is so popular with the alternative types, art and craft lovers and those seeking peace and tranquillity. It’s a world apart from the loud party scene of Kuta and the flashy beachside resorts of Legian and Nusa Dua. Here you will stay in traditional Balinese charm nestled amongst rainforest, at a much cheaper price than the beach side locations.
If you love shopping for arts and crafts, Ubud has it all, it’s the centre for the craft industry and every other shop has beautiful bamboo crafts and furniture, wood and stone carvings you won’t find the same abundance as you will here. Ubud is also the centre for traditional dance and you will find regular nightly performances. And if you want relaxation then there is no shortage of yoga retreats, massage and fish spas!
Over the next three days we explored the town and its craft shops particularly enjoying the large market that spanned two levels and sold everything a tourist could desire! There was no shortage of wooden phallic shaped bottle openers and Bintang beer tea shirts 😉
We enjoyed massage and fish spas and dining and many of the nice restaurants and cafes around town including at our own resort.
When we were not out and about exploring we were enjoying the tranquillity of the resort particularly in and around the pool 🙂
Touts were prowling the streets selling tickets to daily dance performances so we purchased tickets for around 75,000rp ($7) for an evening performance of the Kecak fire and trance dance which took place at Uluwatu Temple. It was superb , the singing, dancing and and costumes just so beautiful and the setting couldn’t be more perfect. I would highly recommend attending one these.
We enjoyed exploring the temples, a particular favourite being the Saraswati Lotus Pond Temple, with its pretty lotus pond and a fine example of intricate carved Balinese art in its stone work.
Another pleasant complex to visit, although not that big so doesn’t take that long to get around, is Puri Saren Palace right in the main centre of town. It’s also another popular spot for music and dance performances.
Another must do in Ubud is the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The temple complex is set on 10 hectares of prime rainforest and comprises of three Hindu Temples which are rumoured to have been constructed in the mid 14th century. You can’t go into the temples but you can explore the grounds and it’s all very lovely.
Of course monkeys are the other attraction at the sanctuary, apparently over 600 macaques inhabit the area and are very used to humans. If you don’t want any interaction with the monkeys then don’t bring food, drink bottles or anything that might entice them or otherwise you will find some unwelcome attention.
Macaques can be aggressive although we never witnessed this but it is worth noting. If you don’t like monkeys then this temple might not be for you! We risked the interaction , so purchased a bag of bananas at the entrance and within seconds Vaughan was swamped by monkeys! Either they were pretty well behaved or we were just lucky! They took only the food, the worst Vaughan endured was a slightly stretched T-shirt and some mushy banana stains 😉
The babies were very cute and if you sat down long enough you would find a very interested youngster looking for something you may have they can play with. One baby loved my African bracelet, the mother wasn’t at all perturbed by the fact her baby was interacting with me.
The temple is lovely with plenty of carvings, interestingly enough mainly of monkeys. A dragon carved stone bridge spans a ravine and there is a short walk you can take amongst the vines.
The complex was an easy 5 to 10 minute stroll for us from our accommodation, past the rice paddy fields. Having explored the temple we took a different route back towards town via the small lanes and paths that followed the ravine, it was simply sublime.
We did plan to do one of the bicycle or walking tours of the rice terraces like the Tegallalang Rice Terrace and surrounding countryside, but Vaughan had lost his footing and twisted his ankle while stepping off a pavement so that put a stop to that idea.
So why did we love Ubud? Its laid back tranquility, set amidst rice paddy terraces and rainforest. It has more of a traditional Balinese feel and people that come here seek the same serenity. Surprisingly the demographic seemed to be largely European, during the day the tourist numbers swell as the day trippers are bussed in but come late afternoon the town returns to normal. The locals were simply delightful, they are some of the nicest people we have met in Asia, they really made us feel welcome. I could quite easily have spent another few days here but we only had so much time left and Gili Trawangan was our next stop and that I will cover in my next post!
One thing is for sure we will definitely be returning, Ubud has become a favourite place 🙂
If you have enjoyed the photos and would like to see more! then the complete gallery can be viewed in the Trip Photos