November 9 - 21 - part one.
A little background first...there were 16 of us on this trip, my 17th to beautiful Bali. I started organizing Ladies Only groups to Bali (from Canada) in 2002. The first group was 3 weeks after the first bombing, the second group 2 weeks after the 2nd bombing but the 4 groups since then have not coincided with anything serious other than the execution of the Bali bombers the day before we arrived this time. I first went to Bali in 1983 and fell in love with it right away. Lots has changed since then but the culture and beauty of the island has remained the same (for me at least.)
I have to say that there was a bit of apprehension going to Bali for some of the ladies on this trip as the Canadian Gov't (just like the Australian gov't.) changed their travel advisory to avoid all non-essentail travel to Bali the week before we left.
Anyone nervous about being in Bali quickly relaxed once we arrived and saw where we were staying and how peaceful and quiet it was. Ubud seemed quite busy and so did the beach but all the locals said that they thought it was quiet. I guess that Bali has been really busy for the last year or so, so I guess it depends on what you are comparing it to. I didn't see a shortage of tourists the whole time we were there. The restaurants were busy...lots of people shopping and the traffic was crazy.
Without sounding like a whiner, we live way too far from Bali. I always envy the Aussies who say they are in Bali in just a few hours...sort of like our distance to Mexico. It takes 28 hours from Calgary, with connections in Vancouver and HKG with Cathay Pacific. I try and make the flights over and back, part of the whole journey...lots of reading material, a few glasses of wine and good long walks around the connecting airports. The trip over is always better as the anticipation of arriving in Bali is huge. I always feel like I've arrived home, when the plane lands in Bali. And then when you get out of the airport and see all the smiling faces and smell the tropical air (and clove cigarettes) I know I've arrived in my own little paradise.
The first part of the trip, we stayed in Ubud at the Kumara Sakti. This is a fabulous little hotel property with 11 rooms. They offer yoga retreats every second week and the other weeks are booked by groups like mine. I've been staying at the Alam Sari, which I love as well but the Kumara Sakti is within walking distance of Ubud so that's why I decided to try it this time. It's just up the road, about a 20 minute walk from Terazo Restaurant. If they don't have a group booked in, they will take individual bookings. There are 2 pools, a fabulous spa and amazing views from their rooms. You really feel like you are in the middle of the jungle. The only drawback could be that they don't have a full service restaurant, so other than breakfast, you'd need to go elsewhere for food (or order in). For groups, they can include lunch and dinner but they don't offer that for individual bookings. With so many excellent restaurants in Ubud, I can't imagine that finding other restaurant options would be an issue but it's worth knowing about.
I love staying in Ubud as there is just so much to see and do, the shopping is amazing and so many wonderful restaurants to enjoy. Travelling with a group does offer certain challenges so I pre-book as much stuff as I can before we depart.
We started day 1 with a Balinese offering class, where we made 2 offerings and learned about the significance of these daily offerings. Afterwards we went on a rice paddy walk which was so amazing. We walked up the road from the hotel (about 5 minutes) and first stopped at a local priest's compound. Everyone enjoyed seeing how the Balinese live and other than the little garden snake that scared the crap out of a few of us, it was a good stop. We cut across the road and entered the rice fields. I have to say that I didn't know that there was so many rice fields hidden behind the buildings along this road. It seems that there has been so much development in Ubud over the years but it was nice to see that there are still many areas, so close to town, that are thriving in their rice production. There were many locals working the fields that morning so it was a great way to start the trip.
We ended up at an organic restaurant (can't remember the name right now) for lunch...beautiful setting as it was right in the middle of these rice fields. The food was excellent but the location was unbelievable. I'll try and get the name if anyone wants it.
Later that afternoon some of us went to the Taro Elephant Park to watch the show and ride the elephants. It seems to be one of those things on many people's ‘bucket list' of things to do so it's nice that it is offered in such a pleasant surrounding. I have to admit that once you've ridden an elephant there might not be a good reason to do this again but the first time is exciting. The Taro Park is very well maintained and the staff are extremely friendly. I haven't ridden elephants elsewhere in Bali so can't compare but I do really like this park. I've been here 4 times now and other than my last trip in May all the rides were great. In May, I rode on the oldest female elephant that they have at the park and she wasn't having a good day. It was abit scary but we hung on and tried to smile while everyone was taking photos. She wanted to be in the lead so pushed her way past all the other elephants, had a few ‘potty' breaks and then shook and quivered for the rest of the time.
I had arranged dinner that night at Café Wayan. It is always a good night there...good food and pleasant service.
The next day we started with a visit to John Hardy...jewellery factory and showroom near Celuk. John Hardy doesn't own this business any longer but they do design wonderful jewellery. Quite expensive but they usually have a sale...starting at 70% off. We did a tour of the factory and then wandered around the showroom. The showroom is made of bamboo and is quite a fascinating structure. Honestly though, I am usually too busy looking at all the jewellery to notice or enjoy the hospitality that they offer here but if you went and just wanted to sit and relax, they are very accommodating. They will also arrange for you to have lunch with them but with a group, I didn't even ask if that was possible.
Besides, we had lunch reservations in Pacung at the Saranam Eco Resort. I love the views from here...lots of rice terraces and huge open spaces. We also stopped at the Bedugal Markets. I really love shopping at this market as they are fun to bargain with and there is a huge variety of things to buy, and of course the spectacular washrooms at Crackers Bar and Grill.
We also stopped at Beratan Lake to see the Ulun Danu Temple. Unfortunately it was raining so it was a short stop.
We ended up this day with happy hour cocktails (I think this is from 5-7PM) and dinner at Indus Restaurant. It was just packed here so I was glad that we had pre-booked. The food was quite good but I think the reason to go here is for the views. Just remember to arrive before sunset or else you'll see nothing. I had pre-arranged for them to transport us back to our hotel so once we got our bill I asked our waiter if he could get the vehicles organized. We all left at the same time and had a good laugh when they had 1 van for 16 of us. Only in Bali would that not be funny to the locals but there was no way we were going to fit into one vehicle. Definitely had a problem communicating that we'd need another vehicle (or 2) so I took matters into my own hands and found some taxis. Sometimes I find that there is a ‘common sense' element lacking in Bali but I usually chalk it up to cultural differences and language problems. At least they are usually smiling throughout any challenges so it is just a matter of taking a deep breath and remembering why you came to Bali in the first place...to experience something different than you have at home.
The next day we did a bike ride. This was arranged though the hotel. We started at with a stop at the rice terraces at Tegallalang...again, beautiful scenery and a ‘must do' if you want to see rice terraces. We had breakfast overlooking Mount Batur. It was quite chilly but the scenery was wonderful. It was very overcast when we arrived but then the sun came out and we chilled out on the outdoor veranda, while enjoying the view.
The bike ride was so much fun. We stopped at 2 villages, one being the oldest village in Bali. The buildings were so different there than what you normally see. There were tons of kids waving to us along the way but I had a hard time unleashing my grip from the bike handles to give them the high five. It was mostly downhill...thank God. I did a similar bike ride with Bali Biak last May and can only say, if you think you can ride a bike, go and do a bike ride when in Bali. I know there are so many fabulous companies that offer these bike trips...just pick one and do it. Most of the girls on my trip said it was a huge highlight for them. I would highly recommend Wayan and Bali Biak as I think he has really fine tuned his bike rides and of course the lunch that he provides at the end of the trip is exquisite. I would have used him again but the hotel had their own guy that they like to use and I also like to deal with lots of different people in Bali, just to get the experience of what others are offering. Again, main thing is just get on the bike and experience something different.
Thursday we did the cooking class at Honeymoon Bakery. On Tuesday and Thursday, they offer a visit to the market before the cooking class, and again, this is usually a highlight for my groups. We start at the Ubud market at 800AM and spend about 1 hour 30 min. checking out all the food stalls and looking at all the unique fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken etc. The basement of the market is abit scary and I wouldn't want to be there when it rains (it's quite stinky and I'm sure there are little creatures down there!!!!) but it is really worth the time spent as it gives you a good insight into how the Balinese shop for their daily food requirements. It's always funny as most of the girls just want to shop so I try and keep them moving past all the stalls that open around 900AM. Great place to buy spices, soaps, placemats, jewellery, clothes, metal objects, cooking utensils (knives, mortar and pestle) aromatherapy oils, wooden items, beaded baskets etc., once the ‘tourist' stalls open.
The cooking class is great. Lots of fun and many stories are shared about traditions and cultural expectations with food and cooking. I've done this class 5 times now and only once had Janet de Neefe teaching it. It seems she is quite busy these days but her staff are well trained and very entertaining. It's a pretty hands on class so if you want to help chop and grind, you'll love this experience.
After that we went down to Jalan Dewa Siti to my favourite sandal shop. You can't miss it as it has a big sandal in the front of the store. I stock up on sandals of various sizes to give as presents to friends that haven't made it to Bali yet. They have 3 shops in Ubud and one in Legian so if you can't find what you want, chances are they can get it for you.
We stopped for a cold Bintang at Batan Waru, just up the road, and then headed over to Jalan Hanoman. If you are a shopper, you will think you've died and gone to heaven shopping in Ubud. Just don't be in a rush as you need to take your time and stop in at each shop. Lots of beautiful art here as well if you have the time to look.
Most of us ate at Terazo that night and then went to the dance performance at the Ubud Palace...except that it was raining so they moved it next door. In my opinion, nothing compares to a dance performance at the Palace but the set up next door was pretty good. I love going to these performances when in Bali. You get to see all the local kids hanging around watching their family members and neighbors dance. Way better than hanging out at the local mall which seems to be a favourite past time of our teenagers in Canada.
Dinner that night was at Warung Enak...a fun experience for us. They had all these paper mache type monkeys all over the restaurant. Some of them were dressed in bikinis so I guess that is what motivated 2 of the girls to whip off their tops and pose with the monkeys for a quick photo. It's always the girls that you would least expect to do something like this that are the most wild!!! They did this as we were all arriving to our table so hopefully the staff were preoccupied and didn't notice!!!! Food and service were excellent here. I also bought a bottle of wine here because of the booze shortage in Bali and their prices were good.
Next day was the full day at the spa. Some of use stayed at the hotel for this and others went to the Bali Botanica Spa (same management). I have to say that the ‘Full Day at the Spa' treatment is one of my favourite things to do in Bali. You start with a 2.5 hour Ayurvedic massage. They pour a litre of warm oil over your body, which helps to cleanse your chakras. It's an amazing massage and at the end of it you feel like you are walking in the clouds. After lunch you also get a facial, body scrub, flower petal bath and a 1 hour head/hair treatment. It think the price is around 880,000 rp...so cheap for all this amazing experince.
Dinner that night was at Lamak. I had heard that it was expensive but I thought it was very reasonable...not much more than other nice restaurants in Ubud. Again great service and food. Cool bathrooms too. They proved transportation for us so ask for this as they probably will do this for anyone who asks.
Our last day in Ubud was a free day. I went shopping with my tour guide. There were a few girls looking for pots, garden statues and water features. We started in Tegallalang and went down as far as Batubulan. There are so many shops along the road side. If you are looking for these things I would suggest you get a driver for the day and just start driving around. I do use a really great stone carving place called Peras Stone Carvings (you should be able to find their website if you google them). I love dealing with them as they have great quality products, a website and use Paypal. Easy to do business with them. We ended up back at Warung Enak for a late lunch and the back to the hotel for one last massage treatment, and flowers painted on toe nails and finger nails.
We had a group dinner this last night at the hotel. They did an amazing job decorating their yoga hall for us. It was all Balinese type decorations with little twinkle lights everywhere. I forgot to mention that this hotel has lots of steps so either this is a positive (a great workout) or a big negative. You had to be careful after a few Bintangs!!!!
Okay, this is long enough so I will have to post the rest later...more shopping, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Jengalla, Padma Hotel, snorkelling, more group dinners etc.
I know this was long but it was an action packed trip! Thanks for reading. Other than the booze shortage and abit of rain our Ubud stay was excellent.
Cathy (from Calgary where it is - 32 right now...yes that is a minus not a plus sign!)