Day trip to Ubud
We had our driver pick us up from Jerami early at 8.30 in the morning and had a good drive up to Ubud within an hour. We started out at the Botanic Gardens, entry fee of 50,000 Rp each. Grabbed a map and hit the paths for a nice walk in the relative cool of the day. We saw about 4 other tourists along the way, so it was very quiet. Due to the rains from the previous night, some of the paths were a bit slippery, so would suggest to wear good shoes! The highlight of the walk was seeing a hibiscus flower bush - as I am a champagne drinker, I recognised the red flowers that I usually buy in a jar of syrup. The orchid garden was lovely too. The gardens weren't as big as I had expected, but set out with clear signs to get to different areas and worth the walk. There is a small café in the grounds for refreshments too.
We had an appointment at the Viceroy for a spa treatment/lunch package. The website for this hotel is absolutely stunning and they are so upmarket that they don't quote nightly rates on the website, you have to email them to find out the huge price tag. So I thought we would feel like the rich and famous by just having a day-trip there and use their facilites.
We were the only ones in the hotel spa and we had 2 hours of massage, steam treatment, mandi lular and use of the Jacuzzi. They had about 10 different oils to choose from, I had rose and hubby picked cloves - I must admit his oil overpowered the room and I failed to get a whiff of rose at all! He didn't like the mandi lular at all and thought they were rubbing sand into him! I told him to lie back and think of England in the name of soft skin.
Next was a 3-course lunch at the hotel restaurant called Cascades. We started with ayam soup, then we had pork loin and mixed seafood stir-fry, followed by a chocolate mousse with raspberries. The food was beautifully presented, crisp white tablecloths and professional service, but I think that I would prefer just a normal restaurant as this was a bit snooty! We could have used the infinity pool for the rest of the afternoon, but instead we took a drive through Ubud and headed back to Seminyak. It is very tiring when you do nothing all day, but sit in a car, get massaged and well fed. So the Viceroy was a glimpse of what the rich and famous get up to in Bali, but done it once and no need to go there again.