On my last night in Bali there was a knock at my door, my host family had brought me a beautifully wrapped gift, a thank you for staying with them. It was a gorgeous orange sarong, a lovely reminder of my time in Ubud. I was very touched. I allowed plenty of time to get to the airport, the traffic wasn’t too bad so we made it there in 1.5 hours (on a bad day it can take 2). I had to wait about half an hour for the check-in counter to open then went through security. By then it was lunchtime … [Read more...]
Eat Pray Love
I couldn’t leave Ubud without writing a post called Eat Pray Love. For those who somehow missed the phenomenon, Eat Pray Love is a bestselling memoir written by Elizabeth Gilbert. Her book is divided into three parts, Eat finds her in Italy dining on pasta and pizza, Pray follows her inner journey while on an ashram in India, and Love finds her discovering traditional healing wisdom and romance in Ubud. The book and subsequent Hollywood movie (filmed here in Ubud) have played a big role in … [Read more...]
Silver workshop with Chez Monique
Yesterday I went to a silver jewellery workshop, run by a company in Ubud called Chez Monique - they offer the unique opportunity to make your very own silver souvenir, a ring, necklace or earrings. The class is run by a friendly chap called Sunarta. I ask if his whole family are silversmiths and he explains that in earlier times the skills and techniques were passed down through families, but these days things have changed. 'You can't tell kids what to do these days, they want to choose for … [Read more...]
Green School Bali
Yesterday I did a tour with Green Village, which included a visit to Green School Bali, touted as the most sustainable school on earth. We also visited a chocolate factory, bamboo factory, and the spectacular Spring House – a six story luxury villa set on the edge of a river. What do they all have in common? Bamboo. The story of this amazing bamboo story begins with a guy called John Hardy. John moved from Canada to Bali in the 70s and built a highly successful international jewellery … [Read more...]
Elephant Cave – Goa Gajah
Last weekend Neil and I decided to check out the Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah), a significant and very old Buddhist and Hindu site about 10 mins drive from Ubud. I had anticipated a fairly brief wander around this popular tourist landmark, but the wander turned into an amazing two hour jungle trek – in jandals no less! Entering the site we saw stacks of rocks all neatly laid out, which I learned were excavated from the ruins of a Buddhist temple dating back to the 11th century. Our tour … [Read more...]
Kecak Fire and Trance Dance
Kim and I decided to go and see the Kecak Fire and Trance Dance tonight at the local temple – we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a really entertaining show. Part of the ancient Hindu epic story of Ramayana was performed, using fabulous costumes, beautiful dancing girls and the voices of 100 men who sing, chant, clap, sway and cheer as the story unfolds. The story involves a prince, an evil demon, a monkey king and of course a beautiful woman. After the … [Read more...]
Great chai in Ubud, and coffee
I love a good cup of chai, but in my experience a good cup of chai is really hard to find. Yesterday I unexpectedly stumbled across my best chai ever at a hip coffee shop here in Ubud called Seniman. Now, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I hadn’t stopped by Seniman for the coffee. No, I had actually stopped by for their porridge! Yes, they do a great big bowl of steaming hot porridge with coconut milk and strawberries, and given that my tonsils are the size of golf balls at the moment I had made … [Read more...]
10 tips for living in a homestay in Bali
I have some friends coming to Bali so thought it might be useful to offer some tips and suggestions about coming here. I have also asked Neil for his thoughts as he has lived here for nearly 6 months. Here are our top 10 tips: 1. Fly with Garuda airlines. Why? Because you can have your passport stamped by a customs official on the plane, which will save you an hour in a hot arrivals hall in a slow moving queue to get your arrival stamp (you need this even if you have a visa). You need to flag … [Read more...]
Best spa in the world – In my element at Fivelements
Here is a post about one of those rare ten out of ten days…. Last Friday I spent my day at a healing and wellness retreat called Fivelements, located about 20mins from Ubud. I first heard about Fivelements through David Wolfe (sounds like he’s a personal friend of mine lol!) because he did a talk there a week before I arrived in Bali. I was disappointed to miss his talk but I looked up Fivelements as I knew it would have to be special if David Wolfe was going there – and I was right! The … [Read more...]
My new Bali cottage
It’s been three weeks since I moved into my first Ubud home on the edge of the jungle… What an amazing haven it has been! Time has slowed right down for me, there is no stress, no rush, no hassle at all. My day starts when the roosters wake me, some people might find the cock-a-doodle-do’s annoying but I love my new alarm clocks. Then I meditate for half an hour, with the ceiling fan on to cool me. When it's daylight Agung brings me a flask of hot water, I squeeze a lemon to make a hot … [Read more...]
