Ubud, Bali

Here we experienced more of the infamous Balinese jungle humidity, and welcomed the shade of the Sacred Monkey Forest downtown.

 Within this park, which costs a few dollars for admission, huge, ropy trees keep everything cool and revered macaques have the run of the place.  

Flip-flop wearers beware:  Juvenile monkeys are curious not only about you and the bananas you may have purchased in the park to give them, but also how your toes might taste.  The good news, though, is twofold — the sting from a monkey nip goes away after a few minutes, and in Bali, you’re all but assured of not getting monkey pox.  So there’s that.

There are approximately eleventy-four jewelry shops on each block, alternating with housewares and clothing.  Don’t be surprised if you see the same products over and over again, and don’t be afraid to bargain for better prices.  If you fall in love with a piece of jewelry or artwork and have enough time in Ubud, make a note of the place you saw it and do a lap around town to see if it appears repeatedly; if it does but you’re still in love, this could help your bargaining price.

I’d recommend two romantic restaurants in Ubud, one beautiful and comfortable, the other, a delight for its decor, food, and cocktails. 

At the Cafe Lotus, set amdist Ubud’s main (and gorgeously golden) temple in the heart of the business district, we ordered an appetizer sampler platter, sat alongside a large reflecting pool of lotus flowers and happily lost track of time.    

The other, Cafe Indus, was a couple doors from our hotel, a few minutes outside the city center, and an absolute feast.  Something like a marble neo-palace, you can choose to dine on floor cushions or on the patio overlooking the river gorge. We chose the patio for sheer romance by candlelight.  My watermelon cocktail, begedels, and curried chicken were all divine. 

The Indus’ owner, Janet De Neefe, is Ubud’s answer to Gordon Ramsay or Tom Coliccho, with three restaurants, a B & B, and an Indonesian cooking school in the area.  An Australian woman who married a Balinese man and has ever after pursued writing, cooking and a Balinese life, her story is recounted in her book/cookbook, Fragrant Rice.

Our hotel in Ubud, the Pita Maha, was a fancy jungle hideaway.  For far less than you’d pay in the US, we had our own elegant marble-and-wood villa with a little plunge pool.  The hotel’s infinity pool sits below the dining rooms and above the river, with a dream view of rice paddies and palm trees across the way.  

We tried Pita Maha’s spa on our next-to-last day, having been led down a warren of stone steps to a vine-covered tower built right into the hillside.  Here we enjoyed a tandem massage in a softly lit room with a picture window view of the green jungle and of rose petals floating in the hot tub just below.  Prices were more than at Pemuteran’s Taman Sari, to be sure.  However, both places put a bamboo bowl of rose petals fashioned into a large flower beneath the headpiece of the massage table; if you happen to open your eyes, you see nothing but beauty.

One of our favorite parts of the Pita Maha, though, were the small frogs hopping here and there and croaking softly at night.  With frogs disappearing from around the world, their presence reminded us that Ubud, and Bali in general, is a safer haven than most for anything that grows.

* For more photos from Ubud, click here.

 

Continued in A Balinese Way of Life