3 Nights in Ubud: A travel journal

The drive to Ubud was slow. Real slow. They reckon it should take 2 hours from Uluwatu; it took us took the best part of 3. Our driver kept having micro-sleeps as well so that wasn’t ideal. We crammed all 6 of us plus 4 suitcases into a regular sized SUV so it wasn’t the most comfortable trip for some either.

We crawled down Jalan Raya Uluwatu again, crawled along past the airport, then crawled past Sanur before it finally opened up. When it did, it seemed like the driver didn’t know how to respond, as if he was tentative, expecting someone might cut him off at any given moment.

Maybe they would.

We took a break at a batik store to stretch our legs, which was actually pretty cool if you’re into Balinese arts and crafts. If I was, or if I had a purpose for something in the shop I probably would have been happy to buy something. As it were, anything would have just been a souvenir for souvenir’s sake and I try not to do that anymore.

As we approached Ubud, the traffic became notably more dense, especially down Monkey Forest Road and Jalan Raya Ubud. Little did I know that this was standard Ubud traffic.

The Beji Ubud Resort

We arrived at the Beji Resort Ubud around 1, checked in, had lunch at their restaurant then took a peek at the facilities.

The resort is pretty cool. There are 5 pools including an infinity pool that overlooks the jungle valley. Our room was a stand-alone family bungalow with 2 singles and a large bathroom downstairs, and a super king bed and secondary bathroom upstairs. Plus there’s a balcony overlooking the resort, which was perfect to read a book or eat room service while the kids slept inside.

The whole place is extra leafy and feels like walking through a lush garden whenever you wander. The restaurant is quite good, but a bit pricey by Indonesian standards. Breakfast is included but it’s only ok. By the third morning, we actually went out for breakfast, as we were keen for some actual good coffee (thanks Seniman).

Click here to check available dates for the Beji.

Ubud centre is uncomfortably busy

After lunch, we got a taxi into town, which reception arranged for us (it was actually their own shuttle car just not on a shuttle time). The resort is about 7 minutes by car from the town centre. We meandered through the Ubud Royal Palace and then found our way across the road to what they call the traditional art market.

Just down Monkey Forest Road is the Ubud Market. Someone said it was a traditional market but it didn’t feel very traditional. The Ubud Market packs colourful stands with Bintang shirts galore, wooden trinkets, sarongs, and occasionally bags.

Upstairs was particularly intense, where women stall holders were actually grabbing us to take a look at their crap. It was most unpleasant. I don’t care how desperate you are, they need to understand I’m much more likely to buy something if I’m not constantly pestered.

I get it, I have money and they want me to spend it at their stall, but what they see as helpful is largely annoying.

The rest of the market wasn’t that bad though. Most people were actually friendly, waved at BMan or asked how old A2 is. We did even buy something from one of the less annoying people: a tie die short for BMan.

There are also a few cool places to slow down with a drink or food inside as well. We found nice, pressed juice inside the market, and coffee too.

After doing a full lap of Ubud Market we ended up down Money Forest Road. We walked up the street and stopped in at Grandpas for a pick me up while we waited for the hotel shuttle. I had an iced latte and Kynie had some kind of banana-gelato-iced coffee combo which was just divine. Both came in enormous jars and I complemented mine with some gelato on the side which suited the hot day perfectly.

Gelato is something that seems in ample supply in Ubud. You don’t have to walk far to find a place and they all seemed to be doing a decent trade at all times.

On the way back to our taxi rendezvous I swung by the Saraswati Temple, right next door to the Lotus Cafe. What you see in this picture is about as much as you’re allowed to. The actual temple is behind that structure and you need to be in full dress and ready to worship to go beyond it.

Avoiding Ubud’s crowds

Our first day in Ubud (yesterday, obviously) was fairly busy — what with the journey and all — so we had a very cruisey morning. We had a sleep in (or at least as much of a sleep in as is possible with a 2 year old), had breakfast at the resort, then enjoyed the facilities. Good news for us is that the facilities of the Beji are exemplary. We had a long swim in the main pool, diving board and all, then checked into the infinity pool. Most infinity pools you see “extend” into some sort of water, usually a beach, sometimes the ocean off a cliff. But this pool merged with the forest. The symmetrical, green pool and jungle were one.

Kynie and I left B.Man with his grandparents and we went into town for lunch. We ended up at Milk and Madu, a hundred metres from Ubud Palace. We both had a chicken wrap and what else, but a fresh juice.

The Campuhan Ridge Walk

After everyone else fell asleep for their arvo nap, my father-in-law and I set out on the Campuhan Ridge Walk. This is one of a few walks around town but I chose this one as it seemed relatively easy, not too long, and we could walk back to the hotel.

We were dropped at the Purah Gunung Lebah (you know, that big temple down in the valley you can see from the bridge. If you’ve been to Ubud you know the one). After walking down the driveway we followed the path right to pass the temple instead of entering it and just kept walking.

The walk is paved the entire way and it soon becomes pretty clear why it’s called the ridge walk. To the left is a valley containing the West Wos River and to the right is a valley containing the East Wos River. And we were walking the ridge between them. In fact, Campuhan in Balinese means “Where two rivers meet”, which they do back down near the temple.

Funny story, yesterday afternoon as I was poking around the temple, I looked down into the river and what do I see but a middle-aged man buck naked in the middle of the stream having a wash. I was both bemused and amused, and I was just hoping that this is some sort of sacred, holy bathing ritual.

Along the path we walked, flanked on either side by tall green grass that is often used for thatching roofs by the Balinese. Before we knew it we reached a string of cafes and stopped for a fruit juice at a local warung. It wasn’t completely needed as we’d only walked 1.2km, but you know, it was hot and we weren’t in a hurry, so why not.

We strolled past a surprising number of guest houses and homesteads and realised that people can actually live and stay up here, well away from the chaos of the Ubud town centre. The road was widening and soon enough the bikes on the road become cars on the road.

At the top of the hill (still only 2km from our start point) was Karsa Cafe and Spa. The cafe has a stunning view out over rice fields in all directions, it’s just magic.

We calculated that our hotel was approximately on the other side of the ridge to where we cafe was and confirmed this on Maps. Pretty well directly across. It seemed just as far to walk on and around than to walk back and around.

We figured we weren’t quite at the top because we  could see water rushing through irrigation systems and became quite enamoured with working out the system. We eventually asked someone where it was sourced from and learned it came from Gunung Agung, the nearby volcano.

The Ridgeway turned into an actual road and it was like this for the rest of the way back with cars passing us every few minutes. We passed a multitude of temples, more rice fields, and family compounds. One of the temples was a hive of activity with many volunteers weaving baskets and setting up for something, I think it might have been in preparation of full moon festivities. We made it back but the walk certainly took longer than expected.

Not long  after getting back it rained pretty horrendously so we hunkered down and just had dinner at the resort. But this was by no means a bad thing, the Beji do some really good food. It just meant we couldn’t explore any new places.

Day tour around Ubud

For our second full day in Ubud, I had arranged a half day tour of the surrounds. Because everything I read about every sight said to get there early I asked the driver to pick us up at 7:30. Obviously we couldn’t go to every place early, so we picked the most important ones first.

If you want to book your own tour, this is super easy. Ask any person in any street and they’ll know a guy. More seriously though, there are loads of tourist stands in the main parts of Ubud as well as people holding Taxi signs. You can book a short taxi or a day thour through any of them, it’s the same system. They or their friend has a car, you’ll haggle, then they’ll pick you up at the agreed time and drive you for as long as you like. I also found they are pretty lenient with the drop off times and can be quite flexible.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces

The first stop was Tegallalang Rice Terraces; a fully functioning complex of rice terraces run by a variety of local families. There is a charge of a few dollars to get in, and then as you pass each family’s section they ask you pay a token amount to support the family. On a busy day this would add up real quickly. As I explored, I wondered what they make more from, rice farming or tourist dollars. Nevertheless, they are not asking a lot so I’m fine to help them out.

We descend the rice terraces carefully. They are steep, and some of the steps down are high. Oh and also, remember that torrential rain I mentioned yesterday? Yeah, well, apparently there’s a lot of mud and dirt on rice terraces, so they were extra slippery and muddy today as well.

The terraces are absolutely beautiful, though. Layer upon layer of bright green grass in dozens of tiers reach down into the valley. Water cascade from one to the next. It was spectacular to say the least. We explored down one side and back up the other, passing workers and even the odd swing. Being careful not to slip, we somehow found a different way to cut back across to our start point. The place is a maze!

Pura Tirta Empul

15 minutes away by car is the Holy Spring Water temple, known as Pura Tirta Empul in the local language. You may have seen photos of people bathing/swimming in these pools, praying under the fountains. But what you don’t see is the rest of the complex. First of all, there are actually 2 pools plus a smaller pool that have fountains, plus there is a whole temple for ceremonies out the back.

There is also a large courtyard and another pool, however, this pool is stacked with large fish instead of worshippers. And of course, what temple would be complete without the requisite scary monster statues. Seriously, I want one of these statues in my house, they are so cool. This is my favourite one I found in Bali.

The Holy Spring Water Temple in Ubud was actually one of the few temple complexes where I didn’t feel uncomfortable. Usually they make me uneasy because they make visitors feel so unwelcome. I got the feeling I was quite welcome to have a dip as long as I was ok to have a pray with everyone else, whereas most temples are for believers only, not just someone who wants to have a stickybeak.

Pura Guning Kawi

Around the corner was Pura Guning Kawi. Despite my comments about Pure Tirta Empul not 8 seconds ago, this was probably my favourite temple I visited in Indonesia. We arrived in the local village and walked past some shops and the obligatory scary monster statue before actually arriving at the temple.

Before arriving though we were warmly welcomed by a handful of vendors aggressively hawking sarongs. “Only $2” one vendor called out. This had my attention. I had actually already considered buying one because the previous day a few of the temples didn’t offer any loaners and I couldn’t get in.

So I said to him “Okay $2.” I picked one out and handed him 20,000 to which he said, “oh no, that’ll be 30,000 rp please”. I walked away instantly because in my country, $2 = 20,000 rupiah, almost to the cent. He’s trying to bait and switch me and I don’t care how small the difference of a dollar is to me, no one pulls the bait and switch on me. So I went to his neighbour who happily accepted 20,000 for a sarong.

We paid our entrance fee and began our descent down about 270 steps. Only myself, my mother in law and B-Man went down because it was hot, and some in our party didn’t particularly feel like walking down a whole bunch of steps.

I completely understood, especially on the walk back up.

The walk down was fine, in fact, it was quite picturesque as a sidebar. We passed some more stalls and a few flooded rice fields and before I knew it, we were at the bottom of a lush, green valley. If you’ve been to Abu Simbel in Egypt (or at least seen a photo), this will evoke memories of that trip, like it did for me.

The temple is made up of 10 larger than life statues, or shrines, that have been painstakingly carved out of the rock face. Legend has it that they were carved out by the god Kebo Iwa in one night. Obviously this has been made up, but little is known for sure. The important thing is that they are incredible to see, and I can’t help but think how long such skilled workers would have actually spent in creating this.

Since my two year old did not feel like walking up 270 steps (or down for that matter), he requested to be carried by walking in front of me and putting his arms up. While we still beat mother in law back up, we did need to stop for a drinks break at a wood carving store. And thankfully, there was Bintang waiting for us at the top.

Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave

By now we were all hot, sticky, tired, and ready for a nap, even though it’d only been 3 stops. But, a deal’s a deal, and this is our last chance so we kept to the plan and powered on to Goa Gajah, home of the elephant cave.

This is another temple that is famous for one small thing, but that thing is just one small part of the entire complex. Whenever someone promotes Goa Gajah, they will undoubtedly show you one photo, and that photo will be of the cave. I will too, but I’ll at least show you more than one.

Goa Gajah begins with a massive market section before you even enter (taking the exit through the gift shop mentality a little far). As you approach, you see down into the the large site with a large number of black, pyramidal roofs. These are all small shrines and are a mainstay at any temple. There are two large, shallow pools with 3 statues of women pouring water from a jar into each.

And then of course there is the elephant cave. Much like Gunung Kawi was, the cave has most definitely been intricately carved by the fingernail of Kebo Iwa. But regardless of who did and who did not carve it, the design and stone work is incredible. The cave is also carved out of a stone wall, however, so much rock has been carved away, it more looks like the cave has been pushed out of the side, rather than being carved into it. Again, you’ll always be shown the close up, which makes it seem huge. But here it is in a bit more context.

As you enter the cave, you walk down a short, dark corridor before coming to a T-intersection, whose arms are about the same length. There’s not a whole lot down either way. I would be surprised if you spent more than 90 seconds in there.

The last part of the complex is the Buddha Temple. This is a walkway of steps down a bit further into the valley. Moss covered rock are strewn everywhere, there’s a pond covered in lily pads, but for the most part, it’s just a very pleasant setting to take in some of nature’s beauty.

It was around about now that, while I was carrying him, B-Man, my 2 and a half year old son fell asleep. Luckily we were done and our cabbie dropped us back at the Beji for a nap and a swim.

Traditional Balinese ribs for dinner

We recharged the batteries throughout the afternoon as we recovered from the mornings sticky adventures and headed out to dinner to Naughty Nuri’s Warung. Naughty Nuri’s is famous for their ribs, but we didn’t actually know this at the time. We just saw them barbecuing huge racks on a barbecue under a tin roof, surrounded by picnic tables. The restaurant was small and had a cosy, family-run atmosphere, not at all what you’d expect from a franchise, and especially not from a flagship. All that said, the ribs were just sensational. It was one of the first meals I’d had that wasn’t Indonesian cuisine and could not have been happier (or fuller).

We only had 3 nights in Ubud so this was our last night. There was certainly more I would have like to have seen in Ubud — check that, there’s definitely more I would have liked to have seen around Ubud. But it’s given me a good sample and a desire to come back another time.

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