Blue Sky Mind

Out of the seven cities that we visited in Bali, Ubud was at the very top of the list. It’s the perfect little microcosm of what Bali has to offer and why people are so madly in love with the place. It’s an oasis of lush green vegetation and interesting animal life, yet filled with good food, adventures and mindfulness alike, and interesting people.

Kevin and I were able to spend three nights and roughly 2.5 days in this magical little town. We would strongly advise more for your stay.

Getting to Ubud

We traveled to Ubud from Seminyak by cab for a fixed rate of 300K rupiah. This seemed to be the standard price, and it took about 1.5 hours.

Total cost for getting to Ubud: $20

Where To Stay In Ubud

Our accommodation situation in Ubud includes both a hit and a miss. I was so excited about the place I’d picked for this part of the trip -- it was the only place we would be staying for 3 full days, so I chose what I thought was a cute and romantic, albeit minimalist, cabin experience via Airbnb.

And minimalist it was. Minimalist plus extremely loud construction next door, a thin, lumpy mattress, and mosquitos in the room. Kevin was not having it.

Complete with outdoor shower -- and mosquitos.

We immediately got online to look for a different place to book for the next two nights and found Green Field Hotel, which had been recommended by a friend (thanks Lauren!). At $80 a night, it would be our splurge of the trip, but boy was it worth it.

To move from the Airbnb to the hotel, we journeyed a mile on foot in the middle of the day carrying our massive backpacks, so we arrived tired and drenched in sweat. Fortunately, we were staying in a palace, so pretty much all strife was forgotten at that point.

When we were first taken to our room, which overlooked a private rice field, we thought we had entered another part of the lobby. The ceilings were so high, the decor so lavish, the space for two people so immense. We thought $80/night couldn't possibly buy this.

But it can in Ubud, and we lived it up for two days in that room. This was our favorite place to the point that we calculated how much it would be per month to live here, and could we both work remotely to move to Bali? Just kidding...kind of. It didn't not come up.

Total cost for three nights in Ubud: $190

Things To Do In Ubud

I'm breaking this section down into two parts: adventures and relaxations. I'm definitely more of a relaxation-seeker on vacations, whereas Kevin is an adventure-seeker. I think travel buddies often have to deal with this dichotomy and I think Ubud is a great place to satisfy both.

Ubud Adventures

Visit the Sacred Monkey Forest: Kev had been looking forward to this part of the trip more than anything else, so excitement was high as we entered the park. I immediately became fearful as we walked in and saw at least three monkeys jump onto unsuspecting people who looked absolutely terrified. I was under the impression that if you didn't draw attention to yourself, the monkeys would leave you alone.

But no, they were seemingly non-discriminate, aggressive, and wanted whatever was in your bag. Preferably food, but cameras were interesting too -- which I found out when one of the little weasels pulled my camera out of Kevin’s backpack. It was perhaps one of the more terrifying moments of my life stealing it back from that monkey, because the look in his eyes was of pure evil and hatred. He started coming after me to get the camera back until a kind bystander scared him away.

I sort of had a full on panic attack after that, and felt that we needed to leave the Monkey Forest immediately. Poor Kev. At least he got to make some monkey friends while we were there -- and keep all of his stuff.

Kevin & his furry friends in the Monkey Forest. Note that the coffee cup is also stolen!

Rent a motorbike: The motorbike rides would become one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. The wind blowing the humidity off your face, the freedom of mobility, and the amazing sightseeing to be had, especially as a passenger -- it’s just unparalleled. It costs about $8 USD a day to rent a motorbike and we had zero trouble with the whole experience (though to be fair, we both grew up riding motorcycles).

I got to ride on the back of this sweet rig.

Happy Travel Favorites

Explore the streets: There are so many fun little shops and restaurants in Ubud. It’s a truly thriving economy, with a good mix of local and Western business owners. It’s a blast to just walk around -- you might even run into street monkeys!

Take a cooking class: We did ours through Peon Cooking Class and would highly recommend it. Not only was it a full cooking class, but we were picked up from our the Airbnb and given a tour of the local market tour and a working rice field. All this for just $26/person!

We made a massive amount of delicious food, and met some lovely people, including a woman who had quit her job at Microsoft in Brazil and was traveling the world for two years. She gave us the name of traditional healer in Ubud, who we tried to visit before leaving but never made it.

Watching the rice field workers work do their thing on the way to our cooking class.

Sweltering as I cook up some chicken satay at our cooking class.

The final spread, which we served family style.

Visit the Tegalalang rice field terraces: We rode our motorbike out to the famous Tegalalang rice field terraces early in the morning, before it became overrun and chaotic with tourists. Upon arrival, we met a local named Wayan, who took us on an impromptu private tour and even lead us via motorbike to a coffee plantation afterwards.

Tegalalang (teg-ah-LAH-long) was lush, peaceful, and expansive. Wayan was goofy and talkative in his broken English. We passed by a mother washing clothing in a little stream as her two children splashed in the water and exchanged good morning’s. We stopped to chat with an incredibly frail-looking rice field worker carrying a huge load of rice up a 45 degree terrace slope. Kevin picked up the carrier himself and was shocked at how heavy it was.

One of my favorite shots from Tegalalang, the famous rice field terraces.

Pro Tip: Most people you meet will be named Wayan, because that is the name of every first-born child in Bali, men and women. There are four total names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman and Ketut, meaning first-, second-, third- and fourth-born. I think I read this in “Eat, Pray, Love,” and it was confirmed by the locals.

Visit a coffee plantation: The coffee plantation we visited was called Bali Pulina, and was just up the road from Tegalalang. You walk in and get to meet the animals responsible for producing the most expensive coffee in the world, called civets ("luwaks" in Balinese). They’re these furry little cat-pheasant looking things, that I wanted to pet but was told would bite.

The best part of the plantation is their cafe deck, which overlooks more lush green rice terraces. When you buy a cup of kopi luwak here, they also bring you eight other teas and coffees to taste beforehand, like ginger and ginseng coffee! Our thoughts on the world’s most expensive coffee: I don't understand. But you can't not try it.

When you buy a cup of luwak copi at Bali Pulina, you also get to taste test seven other teas and coffees!

A happy girl sipping her coffee in paradise.

Do yoga: I tried a vinyasa class at the world renowned Yoga Barn. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the experience, because the class was indoors, packed, and boiling hot. Also expensive for yoga at 100K IDR a pop. But again, it feels like something I needed to see once. I wish I’d had time to try some other studios.

Relax: We spent our afternoons at the hotel (infinity) pool, swimming and tanning and getting some much-need relaxation time. In the evenings, we shared a bottle of Balinese wine on our terrace overlooking the rice fields as the sun set and went to bed at a hard-fought 9:30 pm.

Enjoying the sunset on our private back patio overlooking more rice fields. Heaven.

Ubud Foods

Now for the delicious part. Because what would a vacation be if you were mindfully devouring the local fare?

Sweet & spicy fried tempeh at our cooking class.

Classic chicken satay, also at our cooking class.

For breakfast at our first Ubud accommodation, we climbed up to the top floor of the Airbnb’s restaurant, watching the monkeys climb all over the construction site before the day’s work started. There, we were served coffee, OJ, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. There is so much amazing fruit in Bali!

At our palace hotel, we also got a free breakfast. This time, it was a luxe buffet of classic Indonesian dishes.

Free breakfast buffet at our Ubud palace hotel, including the requisite Nasi Goreng.

Here’s a list of recommendations from the aforementioned Lauren, who actually lives in Ubud. We didn’t make it to most places on the list, but I definitely trust her judgement for mindful eats:

Seniman: Best coffee
Alchemy Cafe
Kafe Ubud
Bali Buddha
Clear
Mama Mia
Sopa
Mudra: Trendy, healthy lunch spot
Seeds of Life: Raw food
Warung 9: Vegetarian buffet
Clear Cafe: Microbiotic & raw food
Sari Organic: Lunch out in rice fields
Down to Earth: Cool nighttime theater
Elephant: Evening dinner, good for sunsets

The Thai peanut "salad" at Mudra, one of the most popular places on TripAdvisor in Ubud.

Pro Tip: Don’t get sushi here...you will not be impressed. Kev and I tried it so you don’t have to.

Ubud Is Happy Travel

Ubud might just be the happiest place in the world for how many mindful activities it has to offer. It’s not surprising that so many yoga and meditation retreats take place here. Both Kev and I really wish we’d had more time (and no accommodation drama). There is so dang much to do and see, I think you could spend a whole week here.

For the next part of our Balinese adventure, read about our sunrise hike at Mount Batur.

What a day. We successfully wake up for our hotel pickup at 2:30 am, but are so sad to leave our magical palace. We sleep for the hour long drive to Mt. Batur, arriving at the starting point while it is still dark.

The hike begins with a small group - all of us wearing headlamps - at 4 am, lead by a Balinese guide who does this all day every day for a living. I am in shorts and Nike’s, Kev is in hiking boots and adventure pants. Within 30 minutes, we lose two of our group members to fatigue and food poisoning (by lose, I mean they turned around!). The guide is keeping a quick pace and in the dark, it’s hard to tell how far we’ve gone at all. We emerge from the trees and it looks like you can see the top of the mountain hanging out up there in the starry sky, and from our vantage, it looks a quick 30 minutes to the top. Wrong. We hike for at least another hour, with the terrain steadily getting steeper and rockier. There’s just the faintest amount of light creeping into the sky now, and I’m literally dripping sweat.

The view from the top of Mt. Batur before sunrise.

Finally, we make it to the top, where hundreds of other hikers are trickling in and plopping down on the sparse few benches overlooking the view. As our internal temperatures begin to normalize, we realize... it’s very freezing up here.

The sun is still taking its sweet time to clear the horizon, and with the wind blowing, we eat our “prepared breakfast” of hard boiled eggs (cooked in natural steam pockets), dry bread, and stone fruits. Batur was a good example of how we (I) could have better prepared for my sometimes high-maintenance travel needs.

Wondering why I didn't bring a warmer jacket to go sit on top of a mountain.

Pro Tip I: Jacket, hiking boots, sunglasses, and a backpack filled with water, snacks, and cash - these are things that would have made the experience more enjoyable, but that I didn't bring in the name of minimalism. As much as I love the concept of “less is more,” I’m just not that easy to please.

Pro Tip II: Go to the bathroom before & save water for the top! There are no bathrooms until you near the end.

We were so lucky to have this perfect weather for our climb.

The experience of watching the sun rise over the ocean and finally witnessing the view was unforgettable. I was proud of us for our accomplishment! We woke up early on vacation and worked hard to get to the top of that mountain. But now for the walk down. This was easily the most treacherous part, because the path was pure rubble that slipped and slid under each step. Luckily I had Kevin to cling onto for most of the way, and made it without a single fall. But it wasn't easy and I was tense the whole trek down.

Cuddling up next to the natural steam pockets for warmth.

Met a few more monkey friends on our way down the mountain. These ones were a bit less scary.

Pro Tip III: We wouldn't recommend going if it’s rainy or even cloudy. You’ll have completed a very strenuous hike for just about nothing. Even if you’ve put money down, maybe just ditch the other half of your deposit at that point. The view is what makes everything worth it.

From there, we were joyfully reunited with our bags, which (in a leap of faith) we had entrusted with the tour company. We set out on our shuttle to the town of Amed, which only upon getting in the car did we learn was about 2.5 hours away. Thus began our winding ride through the countryside and small towns of Bali. This was a really cool way to see the "real Bali." Mt. Batur area specifically is so remote and untouched by tourism, as were most parts we drove through. Sadly though, poverty on the island is very apparent.

Side view of the serene lake at Mt. Batur.

Arriving in Amed, we struggled to find our hotel, even though there is literally only one road through the entire town. Our driver got out and asked a few people (even taking my cellphone with him at one point!), and we were able to find it that way. We had an ocean view room at Anugerah Villas, which was modest but lovely with the balcony and view.

Our view from the hotel in Amed. My actual dream.

We had lunch at the hotel, watching their tiny staff wake up from their afternoon naps to make us fresh juice, grilled mahi mahi, and veggies. From there, we treated ourselves to our first full body massage at this beautiful spa in town called Swasti Dewi Salon & Spa. It was the first place we did massages that didn't look like a dingy US nail salon. We began our massage with fresh juice (as is customary) and ended with green tea and...a PUPPY! Snuggling tiny, three-week old Lompak the golden retriever was a trip highlight, for sure.

View from the rooftop restaurant at Anugerah Villas, where we stayed in Amed.

Tiny puppy friend we met at Dewi Swasti Spa! So much joy in this little guy.

We spent the rest of the day riding our motorbike around, sipping mai tais and “zombies” on the black rock beaches, and eating dinner on a cliffside as the sun set. Early bedtime because hiked a mountain today.

Amed was easily one of my very favorite places on the trip. Sleepy, but absolutely beautiful, so charming, and very untouched by tourism.

View of Amed from the clifftop restaruant we ate dinner at.

Pro Tip IIII: We got an awesome round trip deal to our next destination, Gili T, through our hotel. 500K rupiah total for two people to go from Amed and return via Padang Bai. Kevin was ready to accept the first offer of 800K per person. The best deal is usually not the first one!

Next up, read about our wild 24 hours on Gili T!