Ubud adventures

We love Ubud! It’s our fourth or fifth or maybe even sixth time and we’d happily come back again. People come to Ubud for many reasons, EAT PRAY LOVE being one of them, YOGA another, we don’t come for either, we come for the food, the art and the rice paddies.

When we were arranging Ma’s next trip over Ubud was the natural choice, Ma’s a born shopper and loves to eat, both of which we did plentifully. From our regular dinners at BATA BATA, a tiny beautiful brick built warung which has long been our favourite local eatery in Ubud, to a special occasion dinner with cocktails and cigars at Mozaic with the lovely Bobby and Kate who we met on Lembongan while Bobby was doing his divemaster, Ubud delivers great food across the board. We went back to old favourites like Ibu Rai and enjoyed new haunts Golden Monkey for great Chinese food and Kafe for indescribable Mexican. It’s no wonder our waistlines are returning to Lembongan slightly larger than when they left, ha!

But we didn’t just eat, we wandered the hot streets of Ubud, up Jalan Monkey Forest along Hanoman and through the narrow market stalls hunting out the perfect take home pressies for Ma. We cooled off in Cocomart and indulged repeatedly in the patisseries at Daily Baguette, sorry I had stopped talking about food hadn’t I! We bought not one, not two  or three but four new paintings *smh* we’ve no walls yet enough art to fill a gallery! It is hard to resist such reasonably priced beautiful art. We bought a stunning turtle from the incredibly talented Aex who has a gallery at the bottom end of Jalan Jembawan, all the more stunning because Aex, native Balinese has never been in the ocean. We bought a gorgeous head painting by Manik at his gallery on Jalan Lungsiakan and a further two by unnamed artists, one a large gorgeous fish and the other a huge piece we bought in Sukawati, smiling faces in a field of flowers that was so colourful and inviting we could not resist.

When not shopping or eating we were often to be found cooling off in the very lovely pool at our accommodation Kiskenda Cottages which is newly opened and a real find, well at least it will be when the construction on twelve additional rooms is finished. But building work aside Kiskenda is in a beautiful location at the bottom end of Jalan Bisma and has been thoughtfully constructed and furnished and is run by very lovely people.

We spent a fun filled afternoon with Bate aka Bobby and Kate (Sorry guys he won’t go for BobKate)  making jewellery at Chez Monique where J had made a replacement wedding ring last year and this year made a statement octopus ring, Bobby made a travelling wedding ring stamping a wonderfully sappy HAPPY WIFE HAPPY LIFE on it, while Ma made a spectacular snake ring, Kate a gorgeous pendant and I impressed the hell out of myself with my detailed feather thumb ring. It’s a great experience and you walk away with a one off piece of jewellery that you made!

We ventured off and around Bali with Wayan, who has been our trusty driver since we first set foot on Bali, showing Ma temple after temple until we were thoroughly templed out. My favourite excursion was to the breathtaking Jatiluwih rice terraces which we arrived at just as the heavens opened and we wandered through the green fields stopping to take photos, a vision in red, blue and green plastic raincoats, slipping and sliding as we went. We never made it to the fabled Blanco museum despite repeated attempts so we’ll definitely have to return again some day.

Time always flies when I’m with Ma and this trip was no different and it seemed no sooner had we arrived than we were packing our bags once more, this time with an assortment of goodies she brought over and cereals, marshmallows, nutella and nuts bought on Bali to return to Lembongan for our final three weeks here before heading off on our adventures once more Xx