Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 9

We had heard about Ubud’s Monkey Forest and, as it turned out, it was only a 10 walk from our accommodation. This one is an absolute must if you are in the area. It’s a lush jungle that houses three temples and hundreds of monkeys. They are very accustomed to tourists and not at all shy! It pays to put anything on your possession inside a bag or backpack – even a bottle of water or sunglasses. The Monkey Forest really is a lovely spot; an oasis away from the hustle and bustle. After a cruisy rest of the day, filled with drinks / food / massages / shopping, I went to a Sound Medicine session in the evening. Wow, this was a beautiful experience! After some meditation, everyone lay down on mats and cushion. ... read more

Ubud is known as the Spiritual and or Cultural Centre of Bali. A lot of activities are to do in Ubud, or in the surroundings of Ubud. Therefore, the city is a best known tourist place, a travellers place and a backpackers place. In the evening, restaurants and clubs are booming, where in the morning and the afternoon a lot of excursions can be booked. Close by Ubud you find the Gunnung Kawi Tempeles and the Holy Spring / Tirta Empul. The (Tegalalang) rice terraces in Ubud are famous. But did you knew that Ubud was famous because of her craft carving? Overnight, I stayed in the Mansion Hotel, a little bit out of the centre of Ubud. The Mansion hotel in Bali is defiantly a good place if you would like to spend some time ... read more

Welcome to Ubud, home of commercialised healthy living and spiritualism. Bali's cultural heart of galleries, spas and artistic creavity is a buzzing business catering to visitors and expats seeking a 'better' way of life.  Walk the adjoined gauntlets of Jl Wenara Wena (Monkey Road), Dewi Sita and Jl Hanoman to pick from a plethora of variable quality spas and nail bars, browse silver jewellery and silk clothing shops, sample organic or vegan icecream and select your cafe of choice to enjoy fresh salads, extracted juices and beetroot and cacao pie.  On the way you can recite 'no thank you' to every man you pass who sits waiting to ask if you'd like a 'motorbike', maybe 'tomorrow?' for 'cheap, cheap'. Smile and shake your head at the laminated signs that are presented in your path in the ... read more

We arrived back in Padang Bai at around midday and after picking up our suitcase from Aquaria, we headed straight back to Ubud for some much needed shopping. The local village markets we had spotted previously were on our hit list. Ketut told us Guwang Markets are usually busy in the morning so we went in the afternoon (on a Thursday) at 3:30pm. They had such a great selection of artwork – both traditional and abstract. The thing to keep in mind here is that their ‘starting price’ will be lower than the main tourist markets so therefore your room to move on price shortens. At your standard Art Gallery in Ubud we would offer $200 for a $1,000 artwork. After a half hour of serious bargaining on our last day I got my favourite Mohammed ... read more

Driving through the narrow streets of Ubud trying to find our guesthouse, put a little fear in all of us but after passing through the rusty gates, we found a little paradise. And so explains the wonder of Bali… Still feeling enchanted after re-boarding the ship the day after our “Safari Under the Stars.” A few mishaps along the way didn’t ruin our evening. It took us 1-1/2 hours to reach The Elephant Park which was founded by Nigel Mason and has been documented on You Tube as “Operation Jumbo.” It is a touching story of how the elephants as this refuge were rescued and brought to Bali from Sumatra. By the way it should have only taken us 1/2 hour but our driver made a few wrong turns. Upon arrival we all hit the ladies ... read more