HOLIDAY IN BALI - a perfect getaway in UBUD

Ubud, a small town in central Bali has a known history back to the eighth century, when the Javanese Hindu priest Rsi Marhandya came to Bali from Java. It is regarded as the cultural centre of Bali. During our 3 days stay, we had a good time enjoying the countryside and the Ubud Balinese food.

   Puri Saren Ubud (Ubud Palace) in the center of the town.

Just in front of the Ubud palace is the most popular "Babi Guling" (roasted pork) IBU OKA restaurant. We had our lunch here.

The signature dish of "Babi Guling special" came with rice, pieces of crispy pork skin, some fried innards, roasted meat and chili-vegetable gravy. 

 

 

Ubud is famous as an arts and crafts hub, and much of the town and nearby villages seemed to consist of artists' workshops and galleries with some remarkable architectural surroundings.

 

Terraced rice fields could be seen along the rivers, away from the town centre.

 

The monkey forest was a good place to relax - enjoy the jungle and their "monkeys".  

 We spent an hour or so in this forest park.

After a tiring day, we relaxed in the Balinese Spa on the top floor of the hotel.

It's a must to dine in this bebek bengil restaurant when in Ubud.

This dirty duck (a traditional smoked duck) was superb ! We loved the taste ! The ingredients used were just prefect. It's another great dinner to end the day!

UBUD - HOLIDAY IN BALI (1)

We returned to the Ngurah Rai International airport the next day to pick up our daughter arriving from Brisbane. She was joining us to Ubud, a small countryside town about 75 minutes drive from Kuta.

The arrival concourse was a bit chaotic as there were too many people meeting arriving passengers. We have no problem picking up our daughter but had a hard time in locating our hotel's driver from Ubud.

Fortunately, the driver responded to the airport paging system, met us and we were on our way to Ubud.

  Passing the incredible artistic sculpture of horses.

Entering the countryside road.

Finally we arrived at the entrance of Komaneka Rasa Sayang, Ubud after a 70 minutes or so drive.

 Hotel's reception. 

Check-in was smoothly done by the friendly receptionist. Welcome drinks with cold towels were served as the receptionist briefed us on the facilities of the hotel.

 

Our room was a deluxe room with a private balcony surrounded by tropical garden.  

 

A spacious bathroom with extraordinary amenities.

We were later ushered to the swimming pool area for an afternoon high-tea.

A delicious spread of local cakes and fruits.

Indonesian "sambal bajak" 

"Popiah"

"chocolate cakes"

Indonesian "kueh wajid"

Steamed "Kueh lapis"

 Local fruits.

Before dinner, we took a short walk to the street near our hotel. The main street was congested with vehicles.

Plenty of shopping along the way.

As recommended by the hotel, we tried out this local restaurant, the Cafe Wayan.

 

Bintang beer as starter.

The waitress recommended us for the following popular dishes.

Nasi campur.

Balinese special.

The Balinese curry chicken set.

 

The strawberry cheese cake looked good but the taste was not as good as I expected.

It's a good way to end the day with such a delicious dinner. We returned to our hotel preparing to watch the world cup at midnight. 

HOLIDAY IN BALI

Landed Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport in the afternoon. The Immigration clearance was prompt as there were special counters for "Asean" nationals.  

 

Leaving the airport for our hotel in Kuta area.

 

Just before arriving the hotel, we were held up for a few minutes by these boys carrying a huge kite on the road towards the Kuta beach.

 

Checking in at Rama Seaside Resort and SPA.

  Plenty of green in the hotel area.

We were allocated a deluxe room on the ground floor.

The room was spacious and comfortable. However, the bath room was a disappointment. The shower was not functioning and the bath tub looked dirty. 

A good size swimming pool in this property.

We had our dinner in the hotel's restaurant. These Balinese food were not too bad. The waitress were friendly and helpful. We had an early night as we had to leave for Ubud the next day.