What to do in Ubud, Bali on a Weekend

The two most popular areas of Bali are (1) Kuta which is famous for its beaches, and (2) Ubud, which is Bali’s arts and crafts hub.  

Last June, I went to Bali with my high school friends and we decided to stay in Ubud over Kuta because no one didn't feel like going to the beach.    Personally, I find our local beaches beautiful already so when traveling overseas, I rarely try the beach unless we’ve a lot of time to spare.

The first time I’ve heard of Ubud was from the book Eat, Pray and Love.  I haven’t actually seen the movie so all my impressions of Ubud are solely based on my thoughts as I was reading the book.   But nope, our trip to Ubud wasn’t for eat, pray and love. It’s more eat, sleep and eat. Haha…

One of my friends booked a private villa in Ubud via Airbnb.  It’s a nice private villa called Villa Iman 1.  It has a private pool, 2 bedrooms, an open kitchen and a spacious living room.  Here are some photos of the villa from Agoda.

The villa is as pretty as the photos from the travel site.  I just didn't use the photos I took because by the time I thought of taking photos, our stuff was all over the place. Haha...

The only caveat is it’s way inside a village and you’ll have to walk because the road could only accommodate motorcycles.  To get there, you’ll pass by scenic ricefields like these -  

I grew up in Pampanga so these are common scenes for me. Haha...

In front and at the back of our villa are also ricefields.  Here’s the view from our bedroom window.  :)

My advice – private villas are great to stay in especially if you’re a big group.   However, if you have big luggages or if you have plans of staying up late at night, choose a villa with a good location that isn't too far to walk from the main road.  Also, if your villa is too far from the main road, there's a big chance you'll be lazy to go out the moment you’re in the villa.  Take it from us.  Haha... 

In our village, there are also lot of other private villas for rent.  Here's one with a beautiful Balinese door.

You'll also spot some art galleries.  Here's one called Villa Rita. 

We also spotted a villa where we saw some paintings-in-progress  - it could be they hold art classes there or maybe there's an artist staying in that villa.

Now on what we did while in Ubud - as I said, it was mostly food trip because apparently, no one (out of us 5) researched except on what foods to try.  Wahaha... 

Outside the villa, we spent most of our time in Ubud's main intersection where all roads leading to it are dotted with restaurants and stores.  Ubud Market and Ubud Palace are also located right at the intersection. 

Here are some discoveries during our walk:

Arang Cafe was the first restaurant we tried in Ubud - it's also right there at the intersection (beside the tourism office) so you won't miss it.

 

 Check out what we had -

Fruity Black & White Salad

Slipper Lobster Fiddlehead Fern

Prawn and Shrimp Green Nasi Goreng

Sate Pentol

Sate Bebek 

Everything was beautifully-plated and all dishes were yum! For me, it was our best meal in Ubud. :)

How much was our bill? 913,000 Rupiah. Couldn't get used to a lot of zeroes. I always get confused whenever we pay.  Haha... Anyway, Rp913,000 is about USD70 or Php3,200. 

The Starbucks in Ubud is the most unique Starbucks I've ever seen.  Check these out - 

From what I read, the locals want to preserve the character of Ubud that's why you won't see the usual flashy Western fastfood joints.  Starbucks respected this when it occupied an old temple stockroom and preserved the local vibe.

Check out the toilet door at the Starbucks building - an intricately-sculptured Balinese door. :)

BTW, while sipping your cup of coffee, you'll also get to enjoy this scenic view -

 

There's a temple right behind Starbucks and based on my research, it's called Taman Saraswati.  Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, Literature and Art.

 

Beside Starbucks, there's also another restaurant called Lotus Cafe.  We also had a meal here.  Here are some of the dishes we tried.

Assorted Balinese and Indonesian delicacies

Crisp wonton

Smoked Duck

Bebek (duck) is a popular delicacy in Indonesia.  I think we ordered duck every meal but I loved this smoked duck the most. 

During our walk, we would also stop whenever we see something that looks interesting like these -

This is Cafe Bliss and the store promotes the raw food movement.  So these are uncooked, unprocessed foods.  They are a selection of fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, etc.  Among those that I tried, I loved the Mango Banana Passion Fruit Roll Up and the Greenola Energy Bar the best.

Greenola Energy Bar

The Greenolar Energy bar is made from dates, shredded coconut, spirulina, moringga, almonds, goji berry, sea salt.  So healthy, right?  A pack of 2 bars costs Rp30,000 (USD2.50 or Php112).   

While paying for my bill at the counter, spotted these reusable glass straws with brush cleaner. Great gift item for shake drinkers.

Along the main road, you'll also spot a lot of establishments offering fish foot spa. But nope, we didn't try this.  We opted for a massage instead.

You'll also see a number of temples.  I was curious to know why temples are so near each other.  Too bad, we didn't have any tour guide. But I tried googling and one site shares that Bali has over 10,000 temples and shrines though there was no explanation why. 

You'll also notice some flower offerings placed in statues - whether in temples or at the entrance of houses and establishments.

The offerings are placed in a small tray made from a leaf and they could include flowers, a biscuit, cooked rice, slice of fruit/fish/meat, nuts, etc.  The one above even has a candy.  From what I read, each object has a symbolism and even the colors have meanings.   The daily offerings serve as gifts of gratitude to the gods or appeasement to negative spirits. 

Traditionally, there's usually one at home who is assigned to do the offerings daily (usually the Balinese women).  But as more Balinese women join the workforce, ready made offerings could also now be bought at the market.

Speaking of the market, here are some of the things you could buy at the Ubud market.   

The woven baskets with nets would make nice gifts for moms (to keep off flies from food) but they are just too bulky to bring.   Since I didn't want to hand-carry something bulky, I had to get a more compact pasalubong for my mom. Haha...

Colorful glass coasters

 There's also a lot of batik clothing, sarong, malong, shawls...

If you love to cook, you may want to get some herbs too. My friend said the vanilla sticks and cardamoms are great buys since they are expensive back in Manila. 

Shopping in Ubud market is a bit tricky though.  I thought being able to bargain 50% off is already a good deal but I found out that some vendors quote 3x the real price!  In short, if you've bought something already, don't try asking the price from other stores so you won't feel bad if you got ripped off. :)

While at the market, please also don't forget to buy some Snakefruit.  This is locally called "Salak" and it's endemic to Indonesia. It tastes like durian but without the strong smell. :)

During our last night in Bali, we also had dinner at Amanusa. It was too dark to see the beautiful beach view though.

Anyway, I would love to go back to Bali.  Next time, I would probably join a biking tour to explore more areas in Ubud, attend a yoga class to burn calories (so I can eat more! Haha...), sign up for an art class or cooking class and maybe, even go see Kehtut! Haha...  After all, the word "Ubud” originated from “Ubad” which is ancient Balinese for medicine.  :)

Where to stay in Jakarta: Pullman Jakarta Central Park Hotel

I had a last minute business trip to Jakarta, Indonesia this week and was booked at the Pullman Jakarta Central Park Hotel, the venue of the activity I was attending.  

I took the PAL straight flight to Jakarta which flies late in the evening and arrives after midnight. Our flight got delayed and we arrived at about 1am (2am Manila time) so I was a bit groggy by the time I reached the hotel.  But the great news is the front desk upgraded me to an executive suite. Yay! 

After I checked in and was headed to the elevators, I knew the hotel was unique because this was what greeted me -

My grogginess partially dissipated because I found the display interesting but at the same time a bit unsettling because the jumping baby on a bikini might just move! Hey, it was 2am and I was all alone in the elevator area. Haha...

And there wasn't just one jumping baby but 3 of them! Haha...

When I reached my designated floor and was headed to my room,  the hallway was happily decorated with Andy Warhol-ish paintings. Nice.

My room was at the far-end, near the fire exit.  I had to take a second look when something caught my eye at the dead end -

This!

 

I had to rub my eyes to make sure it was just another art piece! Haha...

Since I was upgraded to an executive suite, my room had a receiving area.

It also has Pop Art touches...

Even the guest toilet's wall was adorned with this corner painting.  

Here's the bedroom.

Check out the details -

 

Here's the bathroom area -

The only downside of the toilet and bath is it's all open.  The glass doors don't have locks too.  So maybe it's ideal for couples or if you're traveling alone.   Some of my fellow delegates were saying if they had their kids with them, they won't be able to take a shower because for sure, their kids will peek through the transparent glass! (The middle portion of the glass is the only one that is frosted).   

But I really like the bathroom's rainshower and the wooden plank-like flooring.

Even inside the bathroom, there are some artsy touches like this bottle opener.

 

I was able to see more of the hotel in the following days.  It's like walking inside a modern art museum.  Check these out -

And there are more of the torso-less, crossed legs statues!

I also like the hotel's playful choice of colors and furniture pieces.

 

And while waiting for a lift, you can even sit on a coveted Cobonpue's Bloom chair.  Proudly designed by a Filipino. Yay!

Here's the nice view while sitting on the Cobonpue's Bloom chair - it's the mall adjacent to the hotel.

 

The feature that fascinated me the most at the Pullman Jakarta Central Park Hotel was this-

During the evenings near the lobby elevators, you will notice some floor stains with ants swarming over them. Here's the close-up image of one stain.

Once you step into the area (even if you're away from the stains) the ants will come to you!

Here I am trying to take a photo of the floor (that's my shadow) when the ants started coming towards me! Haha...  But no worries, they are just digital images being projected on the floor.

 
And here's a kid who was having fun being followed by the giant ants!:)

If you're wondering about the hotel service, I found the staff cheerful, courteous and very helpful.  The food was good too.  :)