I've never believed those computer screensavers are real. But I hate being a cynic, so after years of having SE Asia on the bucket list it was time to go. My best friend since childhood and I had always planned to go on a trip to celebrate turning 30, so it was perfect timing.
We spent almost 30 hours in airports and on airplanes to get to Bali from San Francisco. Taipei is a great airport to have a layover (clean and good food). China Airlines turned out to be a pretty good airline to fly. But despite all this we were itching to get there. We finally landed in Denpasar, the urban center of Bali where a driver had been arranged to pick us up. Beware of people offering to take your bag. They may forcefully take but still expect a big tip. From there, we braved an hour long ride to Ubud, down narrow, busy streets jam packed with trucks and scooters whizzing every which way. In Ubud, I found this amazing place on AirBnB. One of the guys met us at the road and from there we trekked down a long dirt path, through rice patties fields being harvested.
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| View of the rice patty fields |
Our bamboo eco-hut emerged, admist the palm trees overlooking a pure, vibrant green rice party field with a river flowing through. The inside of the hut was beautiful, with a shell chandelier, colorful tiled patio, secret outdoor shower and towels folded like swans.
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| One of the best AirBnb's ever! |
They brought us tea and coffee that we drank overlooking the view. After a gorgeous sunset we took a stroll into town but were overwhelmed by the aggressive Vespas.
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| Sunset view from the hut |
Turning around, we ended up at a warung close to us, where each table was its own little hut, with low tables and cushions to sit on. My friend had fried fish in coconut curry and I had the most flavorful (and spicy) chicken satay I've ever had. With 2 entrees and plenty of beer and wine, the total meal still came to a little under $40. Satisfied and jet-lagged, it was not hard to fall asleep despite the "glamping" situation.
The next morning, we were again provided with tea, coffee and free breakfast (omelette with Thai basil and goat cheese, sautéed zucchini and garlic, wheat toast with fruit jam). After that we headed to Yoga Barn in Ubud, a studio compound where many stay and practice on retreats. We easily got into a class and practiced for 90 minutes in an open studio overlooking ponds and palm trees. Butterflies flew in through open windows and it felt like zen heaven.
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| Outside of one of the Yoga Barn buildings |
After that we walked a short distance to grab lunch at the Dirty Duck Diner (Bebek Bengil). This is a food stop not to be missed. The restaurant grounds are vast, allowing most diners huts to eat in or elevated dining areas overlooking... You guessed it, more rice patties. We drank fresh coconut and tried their house special, dirty duck. You get half a deep fried duck with super crispy skin, a variety of hot sauce accoutrements and succulent meat, rice and Balianese vegetables (eating with your fingers is encouraged). We stuffed ourselves and still this meal came to a little under $30. So worth it!
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| Dirty Duck with all the fixings - so tasty! |
After that we continued down the busy street, toward the heart of the city. There were tons of cute shops and restaurants. We kept seeing a lot of signs for massage places and heeding some common advice (get as many massages as you can), we decided to pop into one called Dini Bali. A little skeptical at first, we were quick converts. For an hour I got the same caliber of massage I get in SF for ~$100. Yes the ambiance was a little strange but it felt great. And was $7 after currency conversion!!
We made our way to the Ubud Palace, which is confusing. When you get to that corner there's several palace-like buildings, none of which are labeled. We overheard several conversations from other tourists having the same confusion. So pick whatever building you like better, snap some pictures and call it a day.
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| Possible Palace Location |
We went back to our hut to make sure we caught the sunset. We headed back to the main road in town to grab dinner, where we found Cafe Lotus. The back of the restaurant was open space and faced a temple, where they were having a traditional Legong dancing show, with beautiful costumes. It was better than dinner theater!
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| View of Legong dance from the restaurant |
I drank the local Balianese rose wine, which exceeded my expectations. Robin got the white, which was on the sweeter side (comparable to a Riesling), so after she switched to the Bitang local beer, which is everywhere. I had seared tuna with glass noodles and local fruit with coconut shavings for dessert.
The next morning was our last in Ubud. The hut owners brought us Balianese French toast (which I like more than American as it's not very eggy), with a side of papaya in Thai basil. A great way to end the experience, then it was off to Seminyak!
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