|
|
|
“Cultural Ubud - a place in Bali to be visited..” |
"Lovely place to enjoy lunch or just pick up some cakes (it's also a bakery). The gardens out the back are a nice place to relax for a few hours during the afternoon."
read review
"A unique experience. Over 5000 dancers performing in front of Tanah Lot Temple just after a sunset."
read review
We arrived into Ubud just before 6pm and looked for accommodation. We found a place not far from one of the main Roads. It's a bit of a crazy room - there's a bed-side lamp as the only illumination, a tiny fan but a full-sized fridge in the corner - plus the bathroom although adjoined is outside. That's right, you can have a shower looking up at the stars (or more likely at the ground for creepy-crawlies).
After a shower we enjoyed a very splurgy meal in 'Ary's Warung - the poshiest Warung we've seen so far. Both of our meals were delicious (Snapper & Tuna) and the service was top notch. We had a Bali Hai beer afterwards before having an early night.
This morning we looked around at other accommodation but the difference is not that great for our budget range. So we're staying put. We kinda enjoyed having breakfast on our balcony looking out at the ravine. We walked around the galleries, markets and art shops taking in the art scene and a bit of culture. Afterwards we had lunch in Cafe Wayan, which came recommended and for very good reasons. Definitely worth it. Afterwards, we took in another stroll, walking off lunch before hitting Ubud Fitness Center for a bit of a work-out. We headed home, showering and chilling out before dinner (which didn't go down so well). We broke the mantra of eating in an empty restaurant (albeit a very beautiful one). We then had Reflexology for the first time which was interesting. Another quiet night. Definitely catching up on the beauty sleep after a week of partying in Kuta.
The next day we hired a driver and went to Tanah Lot (west coast) via a Monkey Temple and Royal Palace. See individual review.
On our return to Ubud, our driver mentioned two places in Ubud which might be semi-decent for a few drinks. The first, Jazz Cafe was very nice although we arrived just after the live-band had finished. We got chatting to the bar staff who offered to bring us to the other bar - Ozigo - after they had tidied up. So we went there and it's a decent place. Just needed a few more people in it to really kick-off. We had a few jugs of Bintang with them before heading home; Ozigo have a driver who kindly brought us in their BMW. Nice!
The next day we had lunch over-looking the rice-paddie fields before another day of visiting the art galleries and studios. I didn't plan to but I ended up buying quite a few paintings :o) That night, we tried to make the post office to send them home but it was closed. We went to a tourist office with similiar shipping facilities. What a shock! It turns out it's more expensive to send them home than the paintings themselves. They're only 3.5kg for myself and Kev's; 80euro they wanted. So back to our room or should I call it an arts&crafts studio. We bought brown tape, paper, the works and wrapped all the paintings up - which are now occupying about one third of my back-pack :o)
We got a few hours sleep. Linda Evangelist once famously said she wouldn't get out of bed for 10,000 quid. I had a similiar mantra back home, although to a lesser extent. I wouldn't get out of bed before 5am unless there was a plane-ticket in my hand :o) Well, this morning I broke that mould. We stirred at 2am to climb a volcano. That's right. It's funny how in a week of travelling you can go from one Saturday night pissed in Bounty Nightclub to the next taking in a sunset up Mount Batur(~1700m). We drove north for just over an hour to Kilamanti. The climb itself was only around 2 hours long but it was tough enough. That early in the morning and all. Hopefully the photos give some idea of it. From the summit you could see, Mount Rinjani on Lombok in the background while Mount Agung just to the right. Lake Batur to the south. Definitely worth it.
We had hired a driver for the day so after the descent we drove straight to our next stop, which was two hours away.
previous travel blog entry
Would you like to comment or ask a question?
Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).