Ubud, Bali

On the road to Munduk from Ubud… A view from above of Saranam Eco Resort

Our two week trip to Bali started with four nights in Ubud, the cultural heart of the island. I of course had shamelessly read Eat Pray Love and although not on my hit list of best reads, I definitely came away with that dreamlike image of how my stay would be…cycling around in floaty dresses and sleeping in a thatch hut in the middle of a rice field. Ubud was actually very much like this so it lived up to our high expectations and we couldn’t have been staying in a more picture-perfect place. Our hotel, Alam Indah was just what we were after – typical Balinese cottages dotted around lush gardens and our room ‘Lilly’ had impressive valley views. The staff were so friendly and especially boasted three well-practised sentences ‘how are you?’ ‘what you do today?’ and ‘what you do tomorrow?’. Being put on the spot like this we needed vaguely exciting replies “not much” and a shrug was not going to cut it!

Lilly Room at Alam Indah

Our walk from Alam Indah into town was an eventful experience going through Monkey Forest – which I originally thought would host a few monkeys, and that we would be lucky to spot one, but to my surprise it was a playground for over 300 mischievous monkeys – hard not to miss!

Once on the relatively monkey free Monkey Forest Rd, we spent our days wandering in and out of galleries, shops and cycling around the outskirts of Ubud as well as discovering the foodie hot spots. Some of our favourites were Cafe Lotus, Casa Luna, Cafe Wayan, Coffee & Silver for pre-dinner drinks and live music and Cinta Grill for post-dinner cocktails! Ah, we were also big fans of Batan Waru – best noodles in Ubud! For those who would wander further afield, we checked out one place, ideal for lunch, which was incredible and highly recommended – a stroll through the rice fields led us to Sari Organic – an organic farm that produces all of its delicious food and has views to die for…

Sari Organic

One day trip that was handy from Ubud and an unforgettable experience was going white water rafting with Bali Adventure Tours. They were so organised and made it great fun with a two hour trip down the Ayung River, which was like stepping into the film set of Jurassic Park – I was in heaven!