Bali – Ubud  3/5/16 – 8/5/16

An hours car ride across mostly coastal road, traveling West, we reached Ubud.

Enroute our driver made a detour as he said one of the little villages was holding a ceremony. However a few miles onto the detour and the road was closed to through traffic. That said we ended up going through the village. The driver informed us that the ceremony lasts for 1 month and 1 week, once every 5 years in honour to specific gods who had blessed their economy. The streets were paved with dried grass ornaments some 3 or 4 meters high, hanging every 20 meters or so. Each ornament was decorated with yellow ribbons on the left side of the streets and white on the right side. The village was packed with the locals in traditional ceremonial uniforms. All dressed in white with yellow waistband. It was stunning.
Once arrived in Ubud, we were shown straight to our room, passing an impressive large pool. It wasn’t long before we were dressed in togs and in the pool. It was great, slightly cooler than other hotel pools, but this was a blessing in disguise. We then headed into town. Not been hear before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but WOW was I surprised. Ubud is very different from any other area in Bali. It’s quite upmarket, lots and lots of boutique shops, quite bohemian, and has a Latin American feel, (or more specific Cuban feel). It didn’t take us long to find the vast streets of bars and cafes. Salsa music evading the streets everywhere we went. It was quite busy to say it was a school night, filled with many tourists and locals alike. Great vibe and a great place. The first bar we went I was called Havana, listed no.2 on Trip advisers top bars in Ubud. A great little Cuban bar, where the waiting staff danced the night away with the female customers. The menu was extensive with the food that you would find in any restaurant in the capital of Cuba. Our meal was fantastic and reasonably priced. The 5 piece band playing throughout the evening added an extra touch of authenticity. A great venue and one to look out for. Further down from hear we found ourselves on the famous Monkey Forest Road in the centre of Ubud. What a great street with a festival vibe, gentle soft lighting coming from each bar, music playing loudly and Thursday nights appear to be live band night, some bars with an acoustic guitar playing soft tunes. It was glorious to wonder these streets in the warm air as the stars shone brightly.
The next day we wondered further afield and before long we were standing outside Ubud Temple. It appeared they also were getting ready for a ceremony. Large ornate statues and figurines painted in gold, with the finest purple threads all adorned the palace. The place was heaving, so we didn’t spend too much time there as I thought temples were supposed to be calming, relaxing places, this one was far from that today. Around the corner we came across Ubuds street markets. Hundreds and hundreds of brightly coloured stalls, all under brightly coloured parasols. An amazing sight. These stalls were selling the normal touristy stuff along with the local artists paintings and sculptures, very impressive, however as with anywhere in Bali the only thing to spoil the ambiance, was the many scooters flying by. There was barely room for people to walk between the stalls let alone negotiating scooters as well. Again thus became a little overwhelming for us so we didn’t stay too long. A short stroll later, we found we had walked a circuit and was soon back outside our hotel. By now it was lunchtime, and lunchtime means cocktail time.
several cocktails later, and after a dip in the pool, shower and afternoon Nanna nap, we out exploring again. We came across the famous Dirty Duck Restaurant. Like many of the others we’ve visited it doesn’t look much from the road side, however once through the doors, it expands into a vast wonderful oasis. Many many areas for eating in fact I thought we’d passed 3 or 4 restaurants before we were sat at the table. It’s menu is large and at the front there’s a piece to read on how it got its name. Apparently after it was built, the owners wanted a name that would easily translate to English. One morning before opening day, many ducks flew in from the back where the rice fields are. After landing the left tiny dirty footprints on the floor, that led to its name. I recommend their crispy duck, with salad and potatoes. It cane with 3 or 4 side dishes, all authentic Balinese traditional spice dishes. Lush. The whole place was lavish, the furniture, the table decorations and it’s scenery. In fact it’s an open air place with views of paddy fields and temples.
We then had drinks in bars, Baliwood – was brightly lit with reggae music playing, XL Shish bar – a Moroccan inspired bar with rugs and cushions everywhere, Bamboo bar – very busy with backpackers but it had a great party theme, and LOL bar – although this is highly recommended by Trip Advisor, when we got there it was very quiet, with no atmosphere so we just walked passed.
The following day we took the advise from our good friends Paul and Anjila, who recommended getting a taxi driver for the day. Again on trip Advisor we found a company called Amansuka. Our driver picked us up, asked where we wanted to go, we just asked to visit a temple, waterfall, and the elephant sanctuary. We certainly got our monies worth as he drove us around Ubud for 8 hours visiting amazing places. Firstly we went to a temple, which was next to the Ubud Palace where we were yesterday. He walked around with us, giving us a full description of the temple, it’s age, it’s history everything. He also informed us that both the temple and the palace were getting ready for a ceremony tomorrow. He added that the whole town will be coming to a halt as the palace belongs to the Balinese Royalty, and one of it’s family members were being cremated in Ubud tomorrow.
Next he drove us to the elephant sanctuary. This place was amazing. It has also got its own museum, where we learnt about its history. In the 90’s the Royal Family bought and rescued elephants from Sumatra, where they were being abused. The sanctuary was then born. Initially the locals did not agree to this and hunted them, however the government got involved and educated the locals. Nowadays tourists visit in their thousands on a daily basis. This was truly an awe inspiring place we even got to play, cuddle and feed the baby elephants.
Then after a local lunch, we headed for the Rice Terraces at Tegallalang. Again an absolute must do in this area. Our guide – wise in his knowledge – informed us of the history and the laws governing paddifields now. A stroll among these and we were off again. This time to a waterfall at Tegenungan Village. This was spectacular. We had to climb down several hundred steps to get to it, but once there we felt it’s spray of water from the other side. It was amazing. Lastly he took us to Tirta Empul, an amazing water temple, where people visit to go in its waters to be blessed. He informed us of its history and stated this was the most important temple for local Hindu in Bali. He even talked through its ceremony and the ritual the locals were going through. Very interesting.

On the whole a terrific day and we’ll worth the money. Our guide was extremely knowledable, lively with his running commentary, and spoke very good English. All for around NZ $70 excluding entrance fees.
Once back at the hotel we were shattered so a nap was in Order. Tomorrow we leave for Sanur.