Ubud

Ubud is a vibrant city with colourful artisan shops, interesting cafes and cultural interest. It is also surrounded by rice fields which make it a great stop. Despite having been super commercialised since the famous Eat Pray Love book and following blockbuster movie, it was still a pleasant area to explore. Traditional dance shows are on offer at night in the many small temples and multiple tours can be arranged to visit the rice terraces.

Ganesh and offerings

We went to an excellent guesthouse in Central Ubud called Padma Accommodation. Our private Balinese style bungalow was only a few months old and decorated with local crafts. We were amazed at the size and quality of the room, for only 250,000 rupiahs a night.

Our own private outside area at Padma Accomodation

Inside our room

We spent a great afternoon at MandalaWisata Wanara Wana (!) commonly known as the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, a dense forest populated by Balinese macaques who greedily accept or steal tourists’ snacks, water bottles and more. Despite the extreme tourism and at times unnatural behaviour of the monkeys, the thick jungle surrounding, old temples scattered around and mystique figures carved in stones make it all very worth-while. It was fascinating to observe the monkey’s behaviour, from grooming one another to playing with rocks and digging the soil or breaking leaves with them.

Comfortable?

Interesting fact: they all ate their bananas as if it was a corn on the cob, throwing away the centre!

Family time

Inviting!

Most restaurants along the busy streets of Raya Ubud and Monkey Forest are overpriced and crowded, but interesting art boutiques and galleries can be found with paintings, jewelry, batik, wood-carving and other souvenirs which make browsing and wandering the more appealing. Gamelan music (traditional Balinese music of xylophone, gongs and drums) is very hypnotic and peaceful and can be heard everywhere in Ubud, played live in shops and temples alike.

Local market

Water lily garden in the centre of town

We did a walk around Ubud in the rice paddies, following a suggested trail by our host at the hotel. It was a nice stroll in the surrounding fields and green mountains. Half way, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant for lunch which was set in the middle of a huge garden overlooking the rice terraces. We finished our trek in the hills following the road back to the city, under the hot Balinese sun.

Rice fields in Ubud

Green, green, green!