OK……so on 27th April after 6 wonderful nights at the Santika Beach Hotel, we were picked up by my old friend Sila (see recommended rivers list), for our transfer to Ubud.
On the way we stopped at a silver place in Celuk, it was called Mars and I was impressed with the quality and the prices…I bought a few things! After this we went to Sukawati Markets. It was my first time to these markets and it certainly won’t be my last….much cheaper than Ubud and similar things (not all the same though), if you ever need to get anything in bulk then this is the place, but boy oh boy was it ever hot! (Really I cannot express how humid it is away from the beachy breeze at this time of year…phew!)
After we were done with the market we headed for the Honeymoon Guesthouse to check in. Again…I will do a full review when I have time but needless to say – WE LOVED IT. For the price it is just perfect, the location is what really sold me, it was nice to be walking distance to everything and not organise a driver or wait for a shuttle as I have done when staying at other places in Ubud. Sure – this isn’t 5 star luxury but in Ubud I find myself spending very very little time in the hotel so it was perfect for us.
Once we checked in and found our room we piled back into the car and had Sila drop us off at The Dirty Duck. I just love this place, the duck is yummy and the view out the back of the rice fields is very pretty.
After this we wandered through Ubud, stopping at across the road from the market for an Ice Lemon Tea and then all the way back to the hotel to have a swim and get ready for dinner at Mozaic!
This was my second time to Mozaic, but my parents first. It impressed as always! No – it isn’t cheap…in fact out meal here cost just over 3.5 million rupiah while our total for 3 nights accommodations a honeymoon guesthouse only cost 2.3 million rupiah – crazy!! But it is wonderful and a great experience – this time I wasn’t quite a wowed as the garden was closed because of possible rain, so we were all undercover…but still amazing food.
The next day we had no plans, wandered around a bit and ended up at Café Wayan in their lovely garden for lunch (finishing with cakes of course). The on a whim we decided to get dead set touristy and head off to the Safari Park – no usually my kind of thing. Well, I can say I have been proved wrong – I thought this place was absolutely amazing…the White Tigers especially. So go if you can –little kids or big kids will all enjoy this place!
For dinner we head back to Ubud and go to Casa de Luna – it was OK, but not as good as it was in the past.
The next day, we wake up bright and early ready for a rice fields walk – this was one of the best things I have ever ever done. We used Wayan Sueta from Hidden Bali Vacation Tours (www.hiddenbali.com). Wayan is an amazing host; he speaks perfect English and is extremely friendly and knowledgeable about all things Bali. We stopped for a rest many many times along the way (it was tough in the heat) and we spoke about the world, about Bali and about life. Do not hesitate to use him – so wonderful!!
In the afternoon we rested (well some did – I of course went shopping!!!) For dinner we only made it a few steps down the road to Café des Artistes and I am really glad we did – I really loved this little place and will certainly be back.
To sum it up, I really really love Ubud and I’m sorry it took me so many years to actually stay the night in this lovely place – so my tip would be forget planning a day trip, even if you just stay one night it is worth it.
Next morning…we wake up ready for our transfer to Seminyak…..to be continued in part 3!
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