Ubud, Bali

We spent 3 days in Ubud on our trip and it was a nice getaway from the coast. Ubud is about 1.5 hours from Kuta depending on the traffic and whether your driver stops at various villages that specialise in different art and crafts. Choices include the silverware village, artists village and the wood carving village.
Ubud is Bali's art and cultural centre set in the rice paddies and foothills of the nearby mountains.
Ubud sees a lot of day trippers stopping off on their  way to the Kintamani volcano. Central Ubud has certainly gone ahead with accommodation and dining options but still maintaining a very large village feel although at times the traffic is extremely heavy in the narrow streets .
Art galleries are abundant in Ubud as well as interesting craft stores that don't stock the mass produced items that appear in the shops in Kuta. Ubud also has the Monkey Forest and the monkeys can be a little intimidating at times and can also be seen venturing into town to source food from the many sacred offerings put outside the shops.

Ubud has many great warungs (small family cafes ) and we enjoyed the Babi Guling (suckling pig ) at Ibu Oka. This was very crowded with locals getting takeaway and once they have run out of the Babi Guling they shut up shop. So most days it is not open for dinner.  
We also sampled the Barbecued Ribs at Naughty Nuri's Warung which is very popular also. The ribs were very tender and moreish and the Martinis which they are also known for are very very strong !

View from Hotel room

Rice paddie terraces

Monkey eating the offerings

The ribs at Naughty Nuri's Warung

Babi Guling

Best place for Babi Guling

Wood carving in the hotel

Part of the foyer in the Hotel

Seminyak, Bali

My previous stays in Bali have always been in the Seminyak region as it was quieter and also contained many good restaurants and interesting shops. We visited the area and I could not believe the development of new hotels and shops. Seminyak has certainly gone ahead and now if you want somewhere quieter  on that side of the island you need to look in the area of Kerobokan and Canggu. 


We went to breakfast at an old favourite and Bali institution -La Lucciloa  as it has a great location on the beach and it feels like you are dinning on your own patio. The service and quality of the food remains the same and makes a great breakfast spot. Many years ago it was so hard to get a taxi back from La Lucciola as it was so far out - not any more !

We also visited a new place called the Potato Head Beach Club which is an impressive building with its facade covered in old window shutter of various sizes. The complex is huge and has 3 restaurants and a couple of difference bars overlooking the beach.

Other highlights of the greater Seminyak area were the Sarong and Mamma San restaurants. Both restaurants severed great food and service was of a high standard.


Mama San

Sarong

La Lucciola

Potato Head Beach Club exterior

Mama San