NEXT STOP UBUD…
After spending an amazing few days on the island of Lombok our next stop was Ubud!
Ubud is a town situated in the uplands of Bali. It is known for its traditional crafts, dance and of course, its monkeys. The surrounding Ubud District’s rainforest and terraced rice paddies, are among Bali’s most famous landscapes. It is also home to a range of restaurants, cafes and streets of shops, many selling goods from the region’s artisans.
TRANSPORT
From Lombok, we caught a ferry back to Bali, this took approximately 2 and a half hours. As I mentioned in my previous travel post about Lombok and the Gili Islands, we booked return ferry tickets through our Trailfinders representative in the Conrad Bali Resort. This saved us from having to queue and purchase tickets at the port the day we caught the ferry. Once we arrived in Bali we had arranged for someone to collect us and drive us to the next Balinese town on our list.
ACCOMMODATION
The Alila Ubud has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve stayed in to date. The Alila is a tranquil and secluded hillside retreat that sits high up on the edge of the Ayung River valley in Bali’s central foothills, in the traditional Balinese hill village of Payangan. The resort is located 15 minutes from Ubud town. From the contemporary design and traditional Balinese architecture to the secluded courtyards, spacious terraces and private gardens, this boutique hotel really creates an intimate feeling like no other.
We stayed in one of the Valley Villas. Each villa is perched over the Ayung River Valley, above the rainforest canopy, each 75 sqm Valley Villa immerses you in an amazing feeling of being on top of the world (literally). You can enjoy spectacular valley views from a spacious walk-around deck. If you are a fan of monkeys and wildlife in general then this is definitely the place for you. Monkeys frequently visited our villa and continued to ‘chill’ on our walk-around deck. I found myself taking a ridiculous amount of photos of these furry rascals every time they paid us a visit. It really was an amazing and unique experience.
Villa aside, our stay here felt like a jungle retreat. On our first night we were treated to a traditional dinner and I can honestly say it was divine. The staff could not have been more helpful and knowledgeable about tours in the local area and the overall atmosphere was just perfect.
WHAT DID I GET UP TO?
There was a lot of relaxing by the pool, monkey watching with a binoculars from our villa, exploring and last but not least, elephant trekking. Complimentary afternoon tea and yoga were also available to us which was a definite bonus.
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY
We decided to visit the Elephant Safari Park which wasn’t too far from our hotel. While I went elephant trekking just outside of Bangkok in Thailand a few years ago it was just as fun getting to hang out with elephants once again, especially since they are one of my all time favourite animals.
The elephant sanctuary in Taro is known for its rescued Sumatran elephants. There is a lot to do and see here so we spent a good few hours getting to know these adorable giants and I was (once again) snap happy, hence all the photos. Included in the entry fee is a buffet lunch which was a nice addition. Overall, I really enjoyed our visit – a beautiful placed filled with beautiful animals.
RICE FIELDS
We couldn’t visit Ubud and not see and learn about the rice fields. On our last evening we booked a walking tour through rice fields not too far from the Alila. The tour involved trekking through the fields, visiting a village and traditional Balinese house and we also got to meet some locals along the way. The tour was just a couple of hours and we went late in the afternoon so we were back just in time for dinner. Definitely worth seeing if you visit Bali.
YOGA WITH A VIEW
I mentioned earlier that a Yoga session was optional during our stay. This was on my list of things to do on the trip so I was excited to get at least one session in before we left Bali. The yoga session went on for about an hour just before breakfast. A morning of yoga with incredible views was just what the doctor ordered.
RELAX AND UNWIND
There was plenty of unwinding and relaxing as this was our last stop in Bali before we caught a flight to Singapore. The pool was only a short walk from our villa which was convenient and its surroundings really were the cherry on top of our stay in Ubud.
CURRENCY TIPS
In Bali you can only take out a maximum of 1,000,000 Indonesian Rupiah daily which is approximately €60. This proved to be a bit of pain so make sure you take out enough to keep you going. Also, notify your bank that you will be away so they don’t prevent you from taking out cash when you are away.
TRAVEL TIPS
Bug Repellent – As I mentioned above, there are a lot of mosquitoes so I would highly recommend stocking up on sprays and creams etc. I tend to get bitten a lot when I go away and I found that I still got bitten a lot even though I covered myself in spray every day and night. Just keep topping up!
There you have it – my final Bali travel diary. Our next stop was Singapore so I will be writing a blog post on what we got up during our visit. Keep an eye out if you’re considering a trip over soon. Bottom line I absolutely loved my time in Bali!
If there is anything in particular you’d like me to blog about let me know. You can catch me on Snapchat: duffyloikes, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Until next time…
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