Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Ubud is a place that worms its way into every one of your senses. It has its own tapestry of colours, its air is heavy with incense, and gongs and bells tinkle in every temple. 

As we drove through the town after being picked up from the ferry in Sanur, I finally felt like I was in Bali. This is what you read about and see in pictures, every inch of Ubud feels ornate and steeped in culture. Our driver dropped us off in the centre of town and told us it was a short walk to our accommodation. It was not a short walk (especially with a 20kg backpack) and when we arrived we were sure that we were in the wrong place – it was way too nice for what we were paying! 

Sania’s House Bungalows was a great find. It is a family run place in a very decadent Balinese setting. Everything you touched was beautiful, every detail down to the door handles. The staff couldn’t do enough to help and it was fascinating to watch the older ladies of the family make their daily offerings around the bungalows.

  

One of the first things we did in Ubud was seek out a traditional Balinese dance performance. We found a Legong and Barong show taking place at Ubud Kelod Community Hall (every Wednesday at 7.30pm, 75,000RP). Suffice to say that Community Halls where I come from do not look like this one! 

 

This performance was accompanied by Gamelan music, which is also unique to Bali and definitely like nothing you will have heard before. The stage was set as men in traditional dress sat on the floor and took up their positions at instruments that resemble drums, bells, gongs and xylophones. 

Then the dancers take to the stage to tell their stories and fulfil their rituals (most of Bali’s ancient dances are connected to Hindu rituals. Some dances worship ancestors, some dancers act as vessels for spirits, and some welcome and entertain visiting Gods). These girls dance all the way to their toes and fingertips and shifting eyes, it’s mesmerising to watch. 

The next morning, with bells still ringing in our ears, we rented bikes (25,000RP) and cycled to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary (30,000RP), home to over 600 long-tailed macaques. I’m not going to lie, I needed a lie down after this one! These monkeys are bold! As we were walking in, one monkey was banging on the roof of the toilets just to mess with people’s heads. Plus, if you have food on you they WILL find it and beat you up for it. But actually if I’m honest, if you don’t have anything of interest they really couldn’t care less about you and will leave you alone. Some of them fight with each other, some of them are happy out washing stones in a puddle and most of them are busy looking after their teeny tiny babies. It is a really nice forest for a walk around and it’s refreshing to see how much free reign the monkeys have there – but it’s definitely their turf!

Our next stop was a place we had been looking forward to for some weeks now, The Yoga Barn. The Yoga Barn does classes, workshops, retreats, detoxes, meditation... it’s impossible to leave there without feeling healthier! They also have a really sweet little cafe where you can relax with tea and all sorts of weird and wonderful natural foods. We booked a package for 3 classes (285,000RP) and chose to do Meditation, Intro to Yoga and Healing Yin Yoga over the following days. 

First up was meditation and our teacher was named Punnu, who has a very impressive but distracting beard. He was great and thought us all about our energy and chakras and what to expect from the meditation. Then we all sat in a circle and held hands while a woman chanted “1,2,1,2,1,2” and we were instructed to breathe in on 1 and out on 2. It sounds simple but she was going so fast that everyone got dizzy and felt like passing out after a few minutes, plus we all had dead legs and pins and needles in every extremity... but after some encouragement from Punnu (“don’t panic, it’s organic”), things seemed to settle down and everyone got really into it. The whole experience was very intense and it’s very hard to describe how you feel afterwards, but I definitely recommend giving it a go. Our other 2 classes were more about learning the basics of yoga, stretching and relaxation and were just what the doctor ordered after almost 4 months of travelling.

For our last day in Ubud we booked a tour with an operator called Jalan Jalan Wisata (“Kintamanu Volcano Tour”, 150,000RP). Our first stop was at the Elephant Cave, which despite its name is not home to a single elephant, but a cave there is. 

My favourite part was watching men building a new structure just using bamboo and string and balancing on a tiny frame as they did it.

We visited the Rocky Temple which is very beautiful but not one for the faint hearted (or the lazy) as there are thousands of steps to get to it,

And we made a stop at a coffee and spice plantation where they grow and roast their own coffee, spices and chocolate entirely by hand. 

The rest of the day was spent touring temples with picturesque gardens and ponds brimming with catfish, as well as rice paddies stretched out for miles. 

What really made the day fun was a school tour of local kids who happened to be doing most of the same stops as us. They were so happy to be let out for the day and loved practising their English with us and asking us for photos (on their smartphones!). But while we were in an air conditioned people carrier, they were having way more fun in their school bus:

Other Bits and Pieces: 

There are spas everywhere in Ubud. Some are good and some are not so good. There is one called “Bodyworks” which is supposed to be the business but you need to make an appointment there. Avoid “Magic Fingers”... I don’t want to talk about it!

All tour companies appear to do the same tours around Ubud, but ask for a group tour rather than a private car and it will be cheaper.

Pretty much every evening in Ubud we ate in a Warung right beside Sania’s House called Warung Lokal. It may be crawling with lizards but they have the best sweet and sour chicken in Indonesia and everything costs around 30,000RP.

Next Stop: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam