Solo trip 3 weeks Bali (part 2)

Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali

I have split my trip to Bali in a couple of blogs. This blog is about my 4-day stay in Ubud.

After a very relaxed yoga and surf retreat on Nusa Lembongan I travelled to Ubud; the cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali. I stayed here for 4 nights and this are the things I did in Ubud:

Rice Fields and monkeys
Mountain bike tour
Climbing Mount Batur (click here for the complete blog about the climb)

Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:

Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)
Week 1: Surf and yoga retreat on Nusa Lembongan
Week 3: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing

Tip: Click the layers on and off in this map with the square button (with the arrow) on the left in the grey beam.

I stayed at the calm – but super central – hotel Sandat Bali Ubud.

Location:
Sandat Bali Ubud
Jl. Sugriwa No.21, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Tel: +62 623 61971138
Website: www.sandatbaliubud.com

1. Rice fields and monkeys

The first day I just went for a walk in Ubud and its surroundings. Especially my ‘discovery’ of the hike in the stunning Kajeng rice fields just a few hundred meters from the centre of Ubud was a nice surprise for me. After my visit to the beautiful Hindu Temple Saraswati I just followed a sign with ‘Sawa ricefield view’. I found this sign almost next to the entrance of the temple and a couple of minutes later I arrived in the gorgeous green rice fields.

Of course I couldn’t skip a visit to the famous Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Although the temples and statues were lovely, I didn’t feel very comfortable walking around with all the wild monkeys. At the end of the day I thanked my feet with a pedicure. There are many beauty salons to choose from along the Jalan Monkey Forest.

I had the best rendang at Waroeng Bernadette! After dinner I went to a traditional Balinese dance show in the Ubud Palace. I bought my ticket that morning during my visit to the palace. It was a good show, but in my opinion it took a little long.

Locations:
Saraswati Tempel
Jl. Kajeng, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Kajeng Rice field
Jl. Kajeng No.88, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Waroeng Bernadette
Jl. Gootama, Utara, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Tel: +62 821-4742-4779

2. Mountain bike tour

The next day I did a very fun mountain bike tour with Bali Emerald Cycling. The tour started with a visit to a coffee plantation where they make the world famous Kopi Luwak. The coffee cherries they use to make the coffee are first eaten, digested and defecated by the civet cat (enjoy!). This gives the coffee its unique taste and makes the coffee rather expensive. If you want to taste Kopi Luwak here, you’ll have to pay a little extra.

After the coffee we were dropped (including our guide) at the foot of Mount Batur and it was all downhill through amazing rice fields, villages and nature. We stopped from time to time to give our hands some rest from the brakes and for some explanation about the Balinese culture and traditions. The tour ended with a magnificent lunch buffet at the house of the owner of Bali Emerald.

I had another amazing “Asian fusion” meal, this time at Sambal Matah.

Locations:
Bali Emerald Cycling
Br. Dukuh Geria, Pejeng Kawan, Tampaksiring, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Tel: +62 361 976373
Website: www.baliemeraldcycling.com; also other tours available.
Satria Agrowisata (koffieplantage):
Jl. Raya Kintamani, Manukaya, Tampaksiring, Kabupaten Ginyar, Bali 80552
Website: https://satria-agrowisata.business.site/ (only in Indonesian)
Price: Free coffee and tour when it’s part of Mount Batur trekking or the mountainbike tour. You’ll have to pay a little extra if you want to taste the Kopi Luwak.
Sambal Matah
Jl. Goutama Sel. No.5, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali
Tel: +62 361 972577

3. Climbing Mount Batur

I headed to bed early, because my night would be very short. The following morning I climbed Mount Batur and admired the magical sunrise at the top of the volcano. I really recommend this adventure if you’re visiting Bali!

Tip: Click here to read my experience about climbing Mount Batur.

The rest of the day I just chilled with a book and had lunch with an organically brewed Balinese beer at Soma Cafe. My dinner at Kebun Bistro was another culinary (French) highlight.

Organically brewed beer at Soma, made in Bali.

Locations:
Climbing Mount Batur via Puji Sunrise Trekking
Jl.Bisma No.28, Ubud, Bali, 80571
Tel: +62 819-9930-5933
Whatsapp: +62 819-9930-5933
Facebook (Puji Sunrise Trekking’s website doesn’t have any content)
Price: 350.000 Rp per person (about 20 euro)
Soma Cafe
Jl. Gootama, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80515, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 8493655
Kebun Bistro
Naast Tegun Galeri, Jl. Hanoman No.44, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Tel: +62 817-7007-7333
Website: www.kebunbistro.com

From Ubud I travelled to Gili Trawangan, or “Gili T” and stayed there for 3 nights. Read all about that in my blog: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing (coming soon).

Click on the links below for my other blogs about Bali:

Climbing Mount Batur (from Ubud)
Week 1: Surf and yoga retreat on Nusa Lembongan
Week 3: Gili T, Uluwatu and Canggu – Partying, diving and surfing

Bali is the only destination I travelled completely solo. Other great destinations to travel on your own and I already wrote a blog about are: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Israel. Take a look at my blogs for more travel inspiration for a solo trip.

I’ll write more about other perfect countries for (solo) travellers including Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Cambodia.

If you have any questions, please let me know in a reaction below or via the contact page.

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Making memories

Week 2: Ubud – The cultural, culinary and green heart of Bali

1. Rice fields and monkeys

2. Mountain bike tour

3. Climbing Mount Batur