I’ve been to Ubud a few times in the last 20 years and each time it’s different, but I’ve always been attracted to the artistic, relaxed and somewhat remote vibe it offers. An additional plus is the climate – up in the mountains it’s cooler, greener and not so humid. To get a real feeling of the area we decided that two weeks would be good – on reflection two months wouldn’t have been enough. It truly is magical with a deep sense of spirituality and authenticity. The pace of life is slow, it’s relaxed, calm and simply divine.
Aiming for a more local experience with go with an AirBNB, Villa Air Terjun, it overlooks the Oos River and is set amid vibrant a tropical jungle with views over the river and paddy fields peaking from above the ridge. It’s an impressive space with three separate pavilions, a kitchen/dining area, study/office and a huge bedroom with tv and lounge, all surrounding a pool and great gazebo – we spend a lot of time sitting outdoors and taking it all in. It’s a peaceful area with the sound of birds, the water rushing below and nothing else.
The villa manager is Sri, a local lady who cooks us breakfast each day – delicious fresh fruit and eggs any way you like (as long as it’s scrambled or fried)! Along with housekeeping, her daily ritual is to place the 23 offerings around the villa, each specifically placed to protect the village, villa, people and place. It was a fascinating ceremony performed with devotion, care and consideration, it was never rushed, and always with a deep sense of gratitude and spirituality. This just added to the sense of serenity… it was a perfect escape, and an absolute treat at every sunset.
The only downside was that the villa is 15 minutes from Ubud and relative isolated, Made the driver was essential and always on hand, ready with local suggestions. Five minutes’ walk from Air Terjun is Santi Mandala Villa hotel with a restaurant. The food is tasty, it’s cheap, the service is snappy and the staff friendly. We venture down there on the nights we don’t want to go out …the mie goreng was a winner.
For all my peace and zen, the first time we hit the centre of Ubud the main shopping strip around the market is pure chaos. It’s loud, crowded and hot, the shops are an odd assortment of boutiques to tourist junk. I’m a shopper but I wasn’t tempted with the general frantic atmosphere. But if you move to the outskirts the shops become more inviting, the crowd thins and the general hustle slows down, the best is around central Monkey Forest Road. It’s much more appealing and the allure of Ubud is back!
The coffee shops are plentiful, vibrant and artisan, they all look fun. The diversity of restaurants is impressive from Greek to Italian, steakhouses to warungs… there’s plenty on offer. A couple of favourites, Honey and Smoke for Australian woodfired steaks, quaint and a new offering but well worth a visit.
By chance we dropped in to Donna for a drink – what a great choice. Sitting by the indoor pool, the décor is classy and modern, a bottle of Craggy Range Sav Blanc, feet in the water, fans on high, surrounded by greenery… it made for pretty much a perfect afternoon. This is the place you want to be – it’s cool, service is slick and the food tasty. It was so appealing we come back for dinner. It’s a different vibe, very busy but there’s families eating at the booths in the front, it’s quite dark and isolated there at night. We move to a table by the pool and it’s an immediate change, again it’s the place we were after. The lobster was tasty, the standout was the espresso martini’s, by far the best presented, and tasting, I’ve ever had. This is a dining destination, and later in the night, it’s a full blown nightclub – it’s got it all!
On the other side of Ubud is Copper Kitchen. It is a superb space, modern, edgy and cool, the restaurant looks out over the river at the back but has indoor seating, the pool bar has gorgeous with jungle views. The food is an interesting mixture of traditional Indonesian and Western fare, all presented with a little flare. The staff friendly, knowledgeable and ready to help, with a diverse wine list offering local and wines of the world. It would have been good to eat there either at dinner or in a busy period as the atmosphere was non-existent, but it’s all about timing and March is not the month to lunch in Ubud’s high-end restaurants.
Mixing it up we join a cooking class at Canting Bali in the rice fields. We’re picked up early for a look at the local markets. From the outside they look dirty with little to offer – there’s live chickens in cages, tacky cigarette stands and lolly shops but once we pass by the ladies selling flowers and ready-made offerings all is revealed. It’s not a big space but the baskets of flowers, bright yellow geraniums, deep red rose petals, crisp white lilies, soft lilac hydrangeas are all on offer. The fruit is plentiful, ripe and fresh, dried fish, freshly butchered chicken, blue eggs (?!?), vibrant red and green chillies. It was a hidden treasure. Strangely we didn’t buy anything for the cooking class, it was just a tour and explanation, and with that we head back to the cooking pavilions amid the rice paddies.
The preparation benches are set up with big wooden chopping boards, the kitchen burners separate with shining utensils ready to go. It’s open air space with a dining area at the back. We pass a second kitchen which already has a class in full swing… everyone is animated, enthusiastic and getting stuck in!
At the tables we’re shown how to make the offerings, from assembling the bamboo baskets to what flower colours mean and how it all works, it’s interesting and a nice aside. Armed with aprons we set up at the kitchen chopping blocks and proceed to make our way through the menu – there is zero expertise required here, basically everything is peeled and prepared, all it takes is a little chopping! There’s an odd bit of crushing and grinding with a mortar and pestle – it’s more a novelty than anything else, but we all get into it. The way they cook rice was interesting… washing, soaking, the use of bamboo baskets and the process taken is considerable – it’s their staple food each and every day, so it’s understandable, but there’s not an electric rice cooker in sight – very impressive!
The recipes we cook are the traditional spread, it’s tasty, fun and gave an insight in to local produce, showcasing the simplicity of Indonesian food. It was super cheap at $35AUD a head and worth a try if you’re looking from something a little different and avoiding the midday sun.
A few everyday points to note – the Fitness Plus Ubud was a great gym, friendly, clean and plenty of equipment, apparently airconditioned but it was all under maintenance when were where there! The local supermarket is Pepito Market Andong, it has everything, including scrumptious steaks, creamy cheese and lots of liquor, there is Indonesian food there too but if you’re in need of a taste of home, hit it up!
Ubud is a special place, there is no doubt about it. It’s now trendy with the yogies in full swing, artists in abundance and an influx of foreigners who have a lot of money to spend that’s not welcome anywhere else in the world. But the essence of Ubud is still there, it’s a little harder to find, but when you do it’s wonderful and well worth the journey. Two weeks was never going to cut it!
