Hey All
Here is the third post about my Bali and Kuala Lumpur Trip (you can find out what we did in Kuala Lumpur here) but today it's all about Ubud, this was the first town we stayed in and our favourite, we loved everything about Ubud, the people, the feel, the food and what to do.
Where to Stay
We stayed in three different places in Ubud as the first night we arrived late and headed off mid day to the jungle to celebrate out anniversary (I'll share the anniversary hotel in a later post as it's beautiful!) so we were briefly in ubud, as we knew this was a short stay we stayed in the Gatra Ubud Inn, this was a bargain £16 a night with breakfast and great, it was just off the main street. We booked all of our accommodation for Ubud on Expedia.
For the other two nights we were in Ubud we stayed in Kamandhani Cottage this was £26 a night but had a pool, we were so glad we choose somewhere with a pool for the main part of our stay as it was so warm it was nice to chill out in the pool either after we'd got back from dinner and a few drinks or for a mid day cool down, the rooms were well decorated and had everything you needed including fridges and good showers.
We had one of the downstairs rooms which meant we could walk out of our door and into the pool, this was also right in the centre of Ubud and the perfect location to explore from.
What to Do
Ubud was our favourite place, we loved just walking around and exploring and the general vibe of the place. There is lots to do in Ubud including yoga classes, jewellery making and cooking classes. Below is what we got up to!
Ubud has the water palace in the centre of it, how gorgeous is this, we went for a walk around to see it but you can attend ceramonies here in the evenings.
Edit: Google maps definitely told me this was called the water palace when we were following directions there but it is also known as Saraswati Temple.
Edit: Google maps definitely told me this was called the water palace when we were following directions there but it is also known as Saraswati Temple.
There are rice paddies everywhere you can go and see, this was by the side of where we were having drinks, what we really wanted to do was the Campuhan ridge walk from Ubud to see the local area and the paddies, this is easy to do from ubud. One thing that as great for us was we were on three and Bali is on there list of countries you can use your phone like at home, having maps etc was so useful for walking around and exploring.
One of Ubuds main features is the Sacred Monkey Forest, this was one of the main reasons we stayed in ubud as trips here were pricey but entry only cost 50000 IDR which is about £2.50! The monkeys are so clever as you can see above, this was a monkey on the street outside that stole a water bottle from a tourist and managed to open and drink form it!
There are great markets in Ubud too, I bought quite a few dresses, you have to be prepared to haggle though or you will get charged extortionate rates!
We also booked a tour online through bali jungle trekking, to go for a trek in the forest and see some of the waterfalls, there were a few different options available to book. We went for the Balu Jungle Trekking experience, this meant we got to walk through the forests, see the temples in the forest, canoe across lakes, visit the waterfalls and see the beautiful Ulun Danu Temple, We also did a coffee tasting so this day covered a lot we wanted to do. I'd really recommend this as one to do.
Where to Eat
One of the may things we loved about Bali was the delicious food, the local dish was Nasi Goreng and absolutely amazing, so make sure you try that! We loved going for food and a cocktail or two in evenings before retreating for a late night swim!! We also found loads of great cafe's for drink stops each day, I had to limit myself to one coconut a day, they were so refreshing in the hot weather, we found most places were reasonably priced!! You can also get amazing pancakes filled with coconut in some places that are delicious and well worth a try.
Kafe
This was the first place we had food when we landed in Bali and it set the expectations high, I had an amazing paneer curry, it was so good. They have an amazing range of vegetarian and vegan meals as well as other dietary requirements! The sorbet is great too. The mains are around £2.50 -£3 and for a large bintang about £2! These were our beer of choice and delicious!
Mamma Mia Pizza and Pasta
On our last evening in Ubud we fancied pizza so headed to Mamma Mia's, pizza cost about £2.50-£3 a pizza! Large beers were just under £2 here too!
Clear Cafe
Clear Cafe was amazing, its a restuarant where you don't wear shoes, has great decor, you sit on cushions, which I loved doing in bali and even had a firemans pole as an exit choice if you were sat upstairs, the food tasted amazing and looked pretty, had a great selection of vegetarian and vegan options and a great juice menu! Prices were a bit more expensive than other restaurants but mains still only cost around £4!
Kafe Arma
Kafe Arma was one of the last places we ate in and we went for the Nasi Goreng here and it didn't disappoint, I was still meat eating when we were in Bali so I had the chicken one, Nasi Goreng varied from place to place but usually consisted of rice in a red sauce and veg, satay chicken, veg and sometimes a fried egg. This one was a pretty good one and cost a reasonable amount, I really liked the decor around here too!
Lastly we exchanged a lot of our money in money changers in Ubud and had no issues, we got a much better rate than back in the UK too, we always went into money changers that were a specific shop not just someone on a street stall!
Looking back on all of this has really reminded me how much I loved Ubud, me and my other half both said we wished we had left Ubud as our last destination as it had such a relaxed vibe and was our favourite.
Have you been to Bali?
Love M
xxx
