Ubud, Central Bali

We left Nusa Penida by boat with a solid plan in mind before getting to Ubud in central Bali. Rent a scooter for 4-5 days from the port we will later depart from to avoids taxis and messing around with transfers to and from Ubud. On arrival to the port, literally before the ferry doors had opened we were greeted by a man popping his little head through a little hatch on the boat calling ‘taxi, taxi’. We hadn’t even got off the boat before being harassed, a new high! As usual we ignored everyone around arrival ports and head away to assess the situation in peace. This situation was becoming quite bleak as we could not find a scooter rental as planned. The port turned out to be far more remote and empty than expected with little around. Speaking with locals they didn’t have scooter rentals nearby nor did they have taxis or grab (Asia’s Uber). Speaking with a hotel receptionists didn’t help either and on leaving, a local drove past to say hi. We got chatting and explained our situation so he offered to take us to the next closest town sure to have motorbike rentals. We agreed for a small fee and drove 30 minutes to Semarapura.

He dropped us off right in the centre so we could search for a scooter hire. Long story short and 2 hours later we were still walking around. Again, we got speaking to some locals who also said Samarapura has no scooter rentals nor taxis nearby. During our chat, one guy left and came back with a scooter taxi for us. Needing one each he called his mate to pick us up and agreed to ride us to Ubud. An hour later we hopped off the scooters having finally arrived at our hotel in Ubud. Our plan did not work although we eventually arrived safety.

Ubud is a beautiful cultural region surrounded by countless rice terraces, some overlooking Mount Batur or Mount Agung. It is clearly a religious area given the number of Hindu temples and shrines and the vast number of men and women regularly seen with offerings throughout the day, even in the more remote surrounding towns. It’s also an area full of crafts and dance performances as seen by the many craft shops and late night performances.

For me, the views around here are lovely so it was important that we booked into a hotel overlooking these views. Unlike other places we’ve visited so far, when it comes to accommodation cost, the sky is the limit here. We’ve come across rooms/ villas for £1000+ per night for two and although central Ubud accommodation is pricey, a short ride away opens up lower priced accommodation. After a good bit of research we found this highly rated gem of a hotel with only 3 rooms in total, yet has a swimming pool, 24 hour reception and breakfast included for £11 a night each. The room is lovely but the balcony view is what we wanted. It’s fair to say it did not disappoint and got Jess all teary!

We spent the rest of the evening scheduling the next few days before riding over to Campuhan ridge for a sunset walk. We then enjoyed dinner at a restaurant that looked nice from the front however the host offered to take us to their gardens to eat. Through a back door revealed this maze of plants, stone sculptures, ponds and small pegodas scattered around for guest to eat beneath at a candle lit table all looking very cultural, almost religious. We couldn’t really take photos because it was mostly dark but we certainly enjoyed a peaceful dinner with some of the best food we’ve had yet and certainly the nicest setting so far although it did cost a small fortune of £7 each!Read more