Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

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On Mar 4, we left Gili Air island to go to Ubud, Bali.

Again, our travels consist of 4 segments:
- Gili Air Island to Bangsal port of Lombok by long tail boat.
- From Bangsal port to Lembar port by mini-bus.
- From Lembar port to Padangbai of Bali by big ferry boat.
- From Padangbai to Ubud by mini-bus.

We arrived in Ubud, when it almost get dark. The mini-bus was supposed to drop us off in the middle of town, but it dropped us off at the edge of town.

We tried to look for the guesthouse that Soniah recommended (Darta Homestay) but we were unable to find it.
We ended up at a guesthouse called Palengi Guesthouse, which is run by a nice family.

The guesthouse has a bali garden style setting, with about 6 rooms. We took the room that is single detached. The rooms are built surrounding a small courtyard, with plants and trees. It is a lovely setting.

The guesthouse owner offered us a lovely green banana pancake every morning.

Ubud is the cultural center of Bali. A lot of artists (painters, dancers, crafters, carvers) gather here. Many foreigners come here to get inspiration or to learn the Bali arts. The town of Ubud is set up like an ancient town, with narrow cobblestone streets.

Ubud is the last leg of our Indonesia travels and we decided to not do too much. We wandered around town, and walked outside of town where there are lovely rice paddies.

Ubud is quite touristy. Everywhere we go in town, we were asked if we needed a taxi. That happens at least 50 times each day.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to find restaurants that are nice & cheap. And we missed the grilled fish from Gili Air.

As a side note, one common "phenomenon" (as I don't know how to call it), happens with price negotiation, in Gili Air and in Ubud. This happened to me a few times. When I ask the vendor how much it costs, she would reply in Bahasa (or some other local language), which I don't understand. Immediately, someone else (next door vendor, driver, neighbour) would step up and give me a price, in English. This price is usually about 5 to 10 times of what I would be prepared to pay. I would respond with a price, but the "representative" would hold firm. So, I laughed and walk away. The original vendor would get mad at the "representative" as she loses a sale.


On March 9, we took a tourist bus from Ubud to Denpasar airport and flew back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Overall, we are pleased with our Indonesian trip. It is much better than we expected. The people (once we get past the touts and transport sharks) are really nice. Phyllis had wanted to visit the Komodo dragons, but we would probably do so in the dry season.

We plan to revisit Indonesia in Feb 2008. (In April 2007, we took advantage of the "Free Seats" offer from Air Asia and got tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Bali, we just paid taxes for our flights.)

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Photos

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Guest houses in Ubud are very nice. Garden setting provides privacy. This one costs about US$4.50

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The rent includes breakfast of banana pancakes (or toasts) and a big bowl of fruit salad. I especially love the white mango.

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One of Ubud's many Royal Palaces around the main cross-roads near the Bud market

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Rice field just outside Ubud.

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There are lots of art shops, making wood/stone sculptures.

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inside Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

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ceremonial bathing pools

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Elephant Cave. So called because it was discovered during a search for elephants.

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Bali (Denparsa) airport

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Looking down at the sea off Kuta.