Ubud is a spiritual place, full of painted art, wood carved art, revered monkeys and yoga.

Yoga Barn in Ubud

Our on-tour yoga guru, Phyllis, had been waiting for Ubud for exactly this reason.  The yoga scene in Ubud is big and Phyllis is big on yoga, so it was a perfect match.  I got up early with John and Pip this morning and drove out to the Yoga Barn.

The Yoga Barn is just off Ubud’s circular road at the dead end of a quiet street that overlooks serene paddy fields.  I might have to get Pip to write a bit about the rest, because we dropped her off and went back.  I really just did want to drive the bike and I love getting up early.

Back at our accommodations Julia had awoken and our breakfast was waiting. Banana omelet and a side-dish of various fruits, which turned out to be surprisingly filling.

Ubud Market

After that we were off to the Ubud Market where all sorts of trinkets, carvings, shirts and textiles awaited us at whatever bargain price we good negotiate.  The morning at the market is apparently the best time to be there, as everybody desperately want to make a sale to bless their wares with good luck for the rest of the day.  Wield that to your advantage.

The only thing I bought was cute, hand painted works of art for TLG’s bedroom. Let me just say, to make the first sale of the day is a big deal, and I only paid as much for it as I initially wanted to.  Julia bargained for many things, but in the end came away with only a bag.

Across the road was Pura Agong, the Presidential Palace and, as a tourist attraction, John’s attraction too.  The temple is an ancient, relatively well preserved structure and the architecture is immaculate.  The significance of the structure escaped us a little.

Just before check-out time we went back and picked-up Phyllis. We needed accommodation again, but as it turned out we walked 3 doors down and found the perfect place.

Ubud-Sensasi – new, clean accommodation in Ubud

Ubud-Sensasi is a private residence with 4 new accommodation units.  It’s set in about 20m back from the road and overlooks a beautiful padi field with with a strip of tropical jungle.

Ducks worked their way up and don the padi field, clearly contributing in a significant way.  The rooms were very clean and tidy and we knew we had found a gem.  The initial offer of Rp 120,000 was negotiated down to Rp 100,000 and we were set.

Babi Guling in Ubud at Warung Ibu Oka Babi Guling

Lunch was next, and our gracious new hosts directed us to Warung Ibu Oka Babi Guling, right opposite the Presidential Palace, where Bali’s famous traditional dish, Babi Guling, was served.  Babi, meaning pig, and gugling – literally translated as rolling, but probably meaning spit-roasted – is one of the must-try dishes in Bali.

Rp 35.000 each later, we had a large bowl of spit roasted pig on a bed of rice, some pickled veggies, fried pork skin and what resembled a blood sausage.  Not one for innards of any kind and defo not a fan of pork skin, never mind fried, I enjoyed the meat, veggies and rice tremendously.  The restaurant was constantly brimming and the turnover was fast.

Monkey Forrest

On our full stomachs we went to face Julia’s fears – long tailed Macaque monkeys – in the Monkey Forrest.  Monkey Forrest is a forest enclave where there are loads of monkeys.  The monkeys are revered and they walk around fat, playful, naughty and content.  “Beware of your classes, keys, money and jewelry. And don’t hide food from the monkeys – they’ll find it” warned the sign as we went inside.

After a short walk we found loads of monkeys hanging about, eating loads, feeding their young, playing in the water and conducting monkey foreplay in a very colourful way.  Julia got assaulted by monkeys when she was young and now has a phobia, but she controlled it beautifully whilst we were there.

A text from work requested some urgent help with something on our website.  We easily found an Internet cafe not too far from the enchanting Monkey Forest. I must have picked the slowest Internet cafe in Bali and after trying fruitlessly to log onto my work website, I gave up.  In the end couldn’t get onto any websites.

Skype worked fine however, so I spoke to my colleagues and walked them through what they needed to do.  I think the Internet connection in Kuta are quite decent.

Mas Village for Wood-carvings

Next was some giraffe shopping in Mas village, a precinct of Ubud, known for their wood cavers.  Actually, it’s easy to find wood carvings all over Ubud, but we were looking for something at a good price, so we thought going directly to the suppliers would be cheaper.

We didn’t shop too much, as we’ve been gunning for giraffes from the moment we arrived in Ubud.  We found a nice tall one and wondered how we’d get it back to Kota Kinabalu.

Jelatik Spa & Beauty Treatment Centre

Earlier in the pay Pip and John had booked a proper spa treatment for us, and the time had arrived.  Jelatik is on Monkey Forrest Road (as is a great deal of Ubud) and is a decent Spa and Hair Care centre, which, judging by the Guest Register, is hugely popular amongst Japanese and Koreans.

I opted for a short Balinese Massage whilst John and girls went for a 90 and 120 minute treatment.  To my own spite I fell asleep during the treatment.  Such a waste of money when that happens.

Two hours later we were all as relaxed as gum on a hot tar road.  John and Julia were positively radiant, and Phyllis stayed behind to continued her prolonged relaxation.

Cecak Fire Dance in Ubud

The rest of us were of to the Cecak (monkey) Dance for some cultural education.

Several vendors wanted to offer us their show, but all the prices were Rp 50,000. It includes transport to what the guy told us was a venue 1km away.  Turns out the venue is more like 10km away and it took us about 15 minutes to reach it.

The Cecak Dance is an epic about a local fairy tail that involves monkeys. Cecak, named for the sound of a chattering monkey, is the main character in a traditional story of good vs. evil.  About 20 toursts witness the spectacle performed by the members of a local village – a worthwhile experience.

Following the dance we looked for Phyllis who we couldn’t find.  We went to the Jazz Cafe, hoping to try them for dinner.  It was Monday, however, and much to our dissapointment, they were closed.

Dirty Duck Restaurant

We went to an Ubud ikon, Dirty Duck Restaurant, instead.

We tried their signature dish, Crispy Duck, as well as Bali roasted chicken and the house special fish.  A large bottle of Bintang was also spotted.

The Dirty Duck is a restaurant sprawled out across what must have been a padi field.  Along the massive grass area that is Dirty Duck, there’s several individual, raised huts with sit-on-the-ground tables and lots of pillows.  The waiter seemed to be giving us a guided tour of the restaurant, because we walked all the way to the back before he told us it was full.

We walked back to the front of the restaurant and sat at a vacant table there.  We ate loads of food for a rediculously low price.

On the way home we collected Phyllis from Kafe, a cafe belonging to yoga barn located right opposite Ubud-Sensasi.  Bed was our destiny and we met it shortly after.