Just a short note to say thank you very much for the helpful hints and tips from this site which made our short trip to Ubud all the more enjoyable. Living in Darwin gives us the opportunity to scitch over to Bali for a long weekend when the fares are right and we just spent a wonderful 3 days at Ubud following advice received on BTF.
Stayed at Furama Villas which would not be everyone's cup of tea but was perfect for the quite weekend away we were looking for. Beautiful Villas set amongst the rice paddies and wonderful attentive staff. About 20 mins into Ubud with the 5 x daily hotel shuttle. Following the BTF trail we started day 1 with a massage (Rp 50,000 for 1 hour) and walk around Ubud - so much to see just in the street! Made our way to Ibu Oka's for lunch and enjoyed the great suckling pig and marvelled at the simplicity and popularity of this small and very busy lunch hot spot. Definitely worth experiencing and great food!! Did a reccie at the markets in the afternoon just to get an idea of what was there and get a handle on the prices without loading up too much. A few quiet beers at Tropical and back to Furama for traditional Indonesian dinner rounded out a perfect day in Paradise. Day two we got a little nore adventurous and hired a scooter for RP 50,000 for the day. There are plenty of places up and down the street to get these.This was the first price we were offered and didn't even bother to haggle as it seemed (was) so very cheap. Went straight to Venezia Spa in Monkey Forest Road for a great massage (RP 80,00 for 1 hour) and it was one of the best we've had in a beautiful relaxing environment. Off to the Monkey Forest, again following BTF advice and had an absolute ball laughing at the playful antics and feeding the cheeky monkeys. Spent over three hours here marvelling at the old temple ruins and talking with the locals that are on hand to make sure the monkeys are looked after. Genuinely lovely and gentle people that made our visit very special with a personal tour through the back of the Forest visiting some of the monkey groups that are not on the main tourist track. Then off to Wayan's Warung (again on BTF advice) on Monkey Forest Road which served fantastic food and ice cold beer in a relaxing tropical setting with smiling friendly faces at a cheap price - what more could you ask for?? Could have stayed there all day but had to push on to barter with the market ladies for the normal tourist gear of sarongs, bags, watch and jewellry. Then, following the BTF trail, up to Indus for the sunset with drinks on the balcony with great views over the river and across to the volcanoe - truly memorable and highly recommended. We couldn't stop raving about the sensational food at wayan Warung so returned there for dinner and were not disappointed. This restaurant is worth the trip to Ubud by itself!
The next day was down to Kuta and back to Darwin. Kuta will always have a special place in our hearts but wow, how busy is it now!! Did the obligatory 50 DVDs and had another great massage at Eve - just near Waterbom (another BTF recommendation) - 2 hours for Rp 150,000 - fantastic value and just the thing before jumping on the plane for the trip home.
Had no problems anywhere, didn't take any medicines or special precautions aside from not drinking the tap water (still brushed teeth in it) and had a fantastic time - thanks in no small part to the posts I have read here before leaving. Thank you one and all and congratulations on a great forum that you have going here - hope we all enjoy the magic of Bali for many years to come......