In January we began a year long travel itinerary that will span over more than 15 countries. Our first stop is Indonesia and will be exploring the Bali region for about two months. The first two weeks were spent in Ubud and this will be what this post will cover. Ubud is considered the artsy and cultural area and is a very popular spot for tourists. The city center is filled with markets and the streets are lined with shops containing everything from wood carvings, sarongs, hand made jewelry, to every type of local food vendor imaginable. The one thing I realized really quickly is that most buildings, storefronts, even homes are very unassuming. While places may not appear spectacular from the outside, once you walked through the door you could find some very magical places if you take the time to explore.
I was truly mesmerized by everything about Bali so I wanted to cover as much as I could about our first two weeks but feel free to just skim through and check out the photos or skip to the end to read through the list of activities we did while we were here.
The best piece of advice, in case you don’t read the rest of this post, is to HIRE A PRIVATE DRIVER! Even if you want to rent scooters or you stay in an area that is walking distance to activities, you can learn so much from a driver. We hired a driver for two half days and he taught us so much about the Balinese culture and took us to places we would have never know to go on our own.
Getting there
We flew on Turkish Air from Houston Intercontinental Airport to Istanbul and then our second flight was direct from Istanbul to Denpasar, Bali. We were able to secure business class tickets with miles which was a life saver as there is a 14 hour time difference Central Time Zone in the US and this allowed us to sleep on the first leg of the trip.
While the business class tickets were great, access to the Turkish Business Class Lounge was even better. This lounge is a new lounge that opened in 2018. Turkish air is known for offering impressive service and this lounge did not disappoint.
Upon arrival we were able to stow our belonging in a locker and even had access to a private shower to freshen up after our long flight.
And the food in this lounge was never ending! The airport itself is very different from airports in the US in that the shopping and food services are 24/7. And you could do some serious shopping. I would consider it more of a high end mall.
Arrival to Denpasar was pretty straight forward and the entry process was quick with the exception of getting the extension for our tourist visa. Bali has tourist visa upon arrive for a 30 day stay but they also offer a paid extension for an additional 30 days which is the one we needed since we will be in Bali for a total of 58 days. In the past they offered this extension at the airport but once we arrived we quickly realized that was no longer the case. The immigration representative assured us we could take care of that in the city so Instead of worrying we just accepted the 30 day visa headed out to collect our luggage.
The Luggage
Indonesia was the first stop on a year long trip so packaging was a little stressful. I will write more about this topic this in a later post as I feel like as our travels progress, I will have better insight on what we did right and how we could have improved with packing. For now let’s just say we quickly realized we packed way too much.
We EACH had one full size bag with our scuba gear and one full size Samsonite hardshell suitcase, an OSPREY Carryon roller bag that could convert to a backpack and for our personal item each of us had a standard size backpack. In theory this sounded doable but we quickly realized that the issue wasn’t going to be the size of the bags but more so the weight. We weren’t overweight from an airline perspective, just overweight in regards to handling all the luggage.
Getting to our Villa
The villa we were staying at took care of arranging a driver to pick us up. We were super happy to see our driver waiting on us as soon as we walked out of the airport doors! We loaded up and hit the road. The drive took us about an hour and a half and it was already dark so we really didn’t get to see too much on the drive but once we arrived we were greeted by the resort host who walked us to our villa to give us a quick tour.
Where we stayed
Surya Kembar Villas sits along the Titibatu river on sacred grounds located in Mas, Ubud, Bali. The villas have been designed in an elegant, rustic style but in a way that give you a secluded, tropical oasis feel with all the amenities of a luxury resort.
Our suite had a private gate and consisted of two separate buildings. One with our living and dining area that included a full kitchen. And to be honest we did’t even need to utilize the kitchen; there was a restaurant on the property and surrounding areas that were all amazing and the prices were super reasonable compared to what we were accustomed to paying in the US. There was a private entrance to guest quarters just off the living area. The second building contained the master that opened up to a private terrace and pool. We learned later from our private driver that it is traditional to have 4 buildings for each Balinese home, one of which is a Temple used for prayer.
The location of our villa was just a mile or so from the city center. We had access to the shuttle service several times as well as just asking for a driver at any time we wanted to go into town.
We were able to walk to town which we did several times. The distance wasn’t very far and the road our villa was lined with rice fields which made it is nice walk. The bigger issue was the traffic. Sometimes it was easier to just take a quick 5 minute car ride Many of the roads are very narrow and you need to use extreme caution as the scooters weave in and out of traffic. But overall the location was perfect!
Next door to our villa was Titi Batu Ubud Club which is a health and wellness facility. They have a full gym, restaurant, bar and spa. We didn’t actually need to use the spa because we had spa services offered at our villa but we had complimentary access to the Club during our visit which was perfect for our daily workouts.
Balinese Culture
Let’s start off by saying everything is relatively inexpensive in comparison to the US. I would contribute that in some part to their way of life. We learned the most about this from our driver Gede. We hired him to give us private tours for a couple of days. He was super nice and helped us understand not only how their families lived but a good bit about the Hindu religion as well. Bali is primarily Hindu while most of the other parts of Indonesia are Muslim.
One of the first things you may notice while walking around in Bali are small baskets made from banana leaves filled with flowers. They are everywhere, in front of Temples, on the ground, in front of doors. We even had them in the entrance to our villa each day (actually twice a day as customary in their culture). These are daily offerings and have purpose and meaning and while I am no expert, here is what we learned. It is called Canang Sari and Balinese people use these offerings to show gratitude and to help maintain the balance between good and bad. Balinese women are responsible for preparing these offerings and each is placed and blessed with a prayer and holy water. I was in awe of the beauty of these and was amazed at the entire process.
There are ceremonies happening seemingly all of the time when we arrived. We learned that some only happen once maybe twice a year while others are more frequent. And many of them last all night long. One that was happening the week we arrived was Ngaben. We learned that Ngaben is one of the most important ceremonies in Balinese culture. This is their cremation ceremony and can be the most significant in a life of a Hindu Balinese. The majority of Bali’s population follows Hinduism and they believe life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. To be reincarnated into a new body the soul is cleansed in fire through cremation. It is noted to be one of the most lavish and expensive rituals in their culture and because of this they use temporary burial grounds for their dead until they participate in one of these ceremonies which can be months after the death of their loved one.
Where we ate
The food choices in Bali were vast. We really enjoyed traditional balinese food but you could take your pick from any other type of food as well. We did a Balinese cooking class just a couple days after arriving which was really helpful in us understanding local cuisine for the remainder of our visit.
They don’t eat a lot of bread and instead include rice options in most of the local dishes. But no need to worry, tourism is huge here so they also offer many dishes that cater to those of us that need our carb fix here and there.
One of the most noticeable things to me was how delicious all of the vegetables were. Everything tasted organic and fresh as if it had just been cut off the vine. We would not only watch local deliveries every morning to the restaurant here at Surya Kembar but also watch the staff walk around and collect items growing right here on the property.
The waitstaff here are some of the best I have ever seen. The service was pretty consistent across the board no matter what restaurant you are at. I can’t put everything at the top of the list so I’ll list the places we enjoyed the most below:
Cascades is located atop the luscious Valley of the Kings. You will have beautiful views of a jungle ravine as you enjoy fine dining at its best! Cascades restaurant is located in the Viceroy Bali resort just a short drive outside of Ubud. After dinner we were escorted by golf cart to Apéritif bar for an after dinner cocktail. Apéritif is a 1930’s inspired cigar bar and the craft cocktails were just as much fun to watch them make as they were to drink. This was the perfect ending to a fabulous date night!
Plataran had us from the moment we walked in. The service and attentiveness from the staff was super welcoming. Our first visit to Plataran was for a quick cocktail and the espresso martinis were spot on! We decided to return to have dinner at their restaurant which we did a few days later. Upon return we were escorted via golf cart through the beautiful property to their restaurant where the views, food and service secures Plataran on our list. We didn’t stay at Plataran but if you were looking for a central location in the heart of Ubud you should check this place out.
L’Osteria Pizza e Cucina was a little Italian place that was not only delicious but in a great location. It is at a busy intersection so it was a perfect place to grab a bite to eat and people watch.
Chora Mediterranean Restaurant and Bar – we selected this restaurant after looking at reviews online. We arrived a little before sunset and were able to enjoy the garden outside but honestly this place was just as beautiful after dark. Their menu focuses on health organic foods. From the architecture to the cuisine, Chora brings the Mediterranean to Bali!
Batubara Wood Fire Grill is an Argentinian inspired steakhouse. Since we have roots in Texas we love a good steakhouse so we wanted to check this out. While nothing can really compare to a great Texas steak I can say that the rustic elegance atmosphere and the locally sourced organic vegetables along with the table service checked all the boxes!
Pande Egi is one of those places we would have never visited had it not been for our driver. We wanted to experience traditional Balinese food and Pande Egi was it! Our driver actually secured us a seat on the balcony overlooking the rice fields and in with us to help us order our food. An experience we will not soon forget. If you are one that likes to be adventurous then add this to your list!
Here are a few highlights of things we did in Ubud
The Monkey Forest is a must-do if you are visiting the Ubud area. There is a small entrance fee to enter then you are able to roam around the park and view the monkeys in their natural habitat.
There are a lot of monkeys that live here. Depending on where you get the info there are anywhere fro 340 to over 700. The interesting fact is that the live in groups and have their own territory in the forest which is approximately 27 acres in size.
There will be no Monkey Business here! Be sure and follow the rules, don’t feed the monkeys, don’t touch the monkeys, and the hardest one of all is don’t make eye contact or smile at the monkeys. Sounds silly but showing your teeth can be a sign of aggression. Pete sat near one and he accidentally looked at him and the monkey grabbed onto him. They aren’t aggressive so you just have to stay calm and don’t run from them. We got lots of great pictures and videos during our time in the park. As we were leaving there were monkeys walking around the streets near the park and without warning one decided to steal Pete’s water bottle right from his hand. We saw monkeys steal several things from people throughout the week so just be aware they are a little greedy!
One interesting fact is that the forest is owned and managed by the village of Padang Tegal and If you explore the entire park you will run across a graveyard and temples belonging to them. The other interesting fact is that graveyards are only temporary burial grounds for the dead until their cremation ceremony called Ngaben is held. Read more about that in the Balinese Culture section.
Balinese dance – Balinese dance culture incorporates ancient Hindu traditions with drama that tell stories through dance and music. There are many different types and during our two weeks in Ubud we were able to see two different performances.
The first one was the Legong dance performance. This performance included a group of about 18 men that played instruments while the story of a king who finds a lost maiden and holds her captive is depicted throughout the dance. The costumes were beautiful and the dance was mezmorizing.
The second performance was the Kecak dance which is commonly referred to as the Fire Dance. This performance was super fun! It is performed by chanting males instead of musical instruments and female dancers. I think there had to have been at least 30 or more men that were on stage during the performance. Just as with the Legong dance, there were beautiful costumes and just when you thought the performance was over the fire dance began. We got there early and had front row seats and we would definitely go back to see this one again!
Balinese Massage – The first thing you will notice in Ubud, and pretty much anywhere in Bali, is massage parlors are as plentiful here as Mexican restaurants are in Texas. You can find one on every street if not more than one. And let me tell you, they are wonderful! For $12 USD, and many times less, you can get a one hour massage at a moments notice. I did make one mistake though, I wanted an hour long foot massage and instead ordered a foot reflexology massage and those are NOT the same. I won’t ever make that mistake again! I am sure she did a great job and it was my fault for not understanding the difference but there is a difference. Probably the most painful foot massage I have ever had but I am still convinced there was some benefit to it. After the fact I read that it should help cleanse your body of toxins and so hopefully it did that through my sweat glands as I broke out into a cold sweat throughout the whole process! At any rate, that is the first and last time I will try that.
Our villa offered private massages so for our first time in Ubud we opted for those. It was quick and easy. It was like phoning a friend. We called the front desk and they were at our door within 20 minutes tables and all. From what I can tell the masseuse are all independent and service many different locations. I can tell you the ones that our villa Surya Kembar use were wonderful!
Balinese Cooking Class
Within the first couple of days of arriving in Bali we took a Balinese Cooking Class. Our villa recommended Ketut’s Bali Cooking Class and it was perfect! The cost was only 350k IDR which was only around $24 USD each and included transportation to and from our villa. We learned a lot about traditional Balinese foods and even substitutes we can use in our home countries.
There were 6 of us in the class and were able to sit together and enjoy the meals we made. The chef was very informative and entertaining, we would recommend taking a class at the beginning of your trip as it helped us understand Balinese foods on menus through the rest of our stay in Bali.
Temples, temples and more temples
There are many temples to visit in Bali. One that we will highlight here is Tirta Empul: Bali’s Sacred Water Temple. The temple was founded in 926 A.D. and is dedicated to Vishnu, who is the Hindu god of water.
Our driver escorted us to the entrance where we paid our fee to enter the temple. You are required to wear a sarong but if you don’t have one they have some on hand for you to borrow (with a small donation). An assistant helped us put on our sarongs and also offered to guide us through the site and boy am I glad we accepted his help. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour to explore the entire site and without a guide we would have been aimlessly walking around. He was able to give us the history of the different parts of the temple and explained the ceremonies that take place there. There were several taking place while we were there so that was very interesting to watch. Jaba Tengah is the most famous part of the temple. It contains the purification pools where local Balinese come to purify themselves. Visitors can go through the process as well but you need to come prepared and have a change of clothes.
Jewelry making tour – there are shops everywhere to buy locally made jewelry. gold, silver, wood, just about any and every kind. But the highlight for me was to visit Sari Dewi (arranged by our private driver). We were able to get a demonstration of the process that they go through to make their jewelry. It was really fun to watch and even more fun to do some shopping afterwards.
Art Galleries – Our driver also wanted to take us to his favorite art gallery. Yana Art Gallery had some of the most impressive wood art carvings we have ever seen. The best part was to be able to watch the local artists at work. You can find shops selling similar pieces in city center or all over Ubud but the prices here were more reasonable and we were able to really understand how each piece was made and understand the entire process.
Coffee and Tea Tasting – One of the last tours we did while in Ubud was to visit Satria Agrowisata which is a coffee and tea tasting shop in Ubud. (Disclaimer: The Satria Agrowisata in Ubud is simply a tasting room and not the actual plantation.) Upon entry you are given a tour through Satria’s demonstration garden and guided through their tea and coffee production that happens at their plantation that is located in the northern part of Bali. This plantation is best known for offering kopi luwak coffee, produced with beans previously eaten partially digested and then excreted by the Asian palm civet, a small tree climbing animal. Because of this, luwak coffe is some of the most expensive coffee in the world. And let me start off by saying luwak coffee is delicious for those that are wondering.
Our tasting included 13 different varieties of flavored teas and coffees in addition to the cup of luwak coffee we ordered. They were all pretty great so we left with a box of just about each flavor! The big takeaway for us was understanding how Balinese coffee and tea is prepared. Even when you buy coffee at the local market it is ground very fine, almost like a powder so all you do is add your hot water. Once you stir your cup you do not stir again as any sediment will settle in the bottom of your cup. They don’t use a coffee filter or even a press like we would typically see in the US.
The other things we enjoyed were visiting the rice terrace and some waterfalls. There is so much it is hard to cover everything but feel free to enjoy the videos below that cover a few more things we saw!
The Modern Nomads 
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