rice terraces

Ubud, Bali

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Bali has something for everyone and Ubud is a great example of this.

About 1 hour, 15 minutes from the airport, the main town is always busy with legions of mopeds.  It’s not unusual to see a family of 5 on a single moped. If you’re visiting Bali, renting a moped is a popular way to get around. The law is currently changing to require foreigners to have a motor bike licence before renting a moped (largely due to tourists renting them without any experience of driving and getting in accidents).

Ubud has a beautifully carved historic palace, where you can buy tickets in the evening to see entertainment from Balinese folklore and amazingly graceful dancers. Parts of the entertainment can be a bit surreal with fantastical creatures and costumes, but well worth experiencing.   In the hub of the town there is also a large market and the surrounding streets sell all manner of clothes, shoes, jewellery, handicrafts and assorted tourist tat.   Locals also offers taxi rides on every street.  Haggling at the stalls and for taxis is expected, but as always give a fair price, as the Covid lock down hit the Balinese extremely hard.

The town is a good base to visit sites like the Tegallalang rice terraces (about a 20-30 minutes taxi ride away).  If you’re an Instagram fan there are numerous back drops specially designed for the Gram.  For thrill seekers you can use specially designed swings or zip lines to traverse the deep tropical ravine.  There are also plenty of cute cafes/warungs where can enjoy lunch or a few drinks and take in the exceptional views. If you plan to visit Ubud, I need to recommend Wayan Sutika, who is an exceptional driver/tour guide, as well as being super nice and fluent in English. He and his family also have their own beautiful home stay (B & B accommodation) on the the outskirts of town. Wayan has acted as a guide/driver for us each time we visited Bali and has always shown us new and fascinating places and is extremely knowledgeable about the history of the fabulous places he’ll show you.

Ubud attracts visitors from all over the world.  Visitors range from backpackers and old hippies, through to those who enjoy the high end ultra luxury resorts on the outskirts of the town.  With such a diverse range of people you will find any type of food/drink you can think of.  Many visitors are interested in health and fitness, and there are fantastic spots all around Ubud if you want to join yoga or mediation classes.  There are also plenty of vegetarian/vegan/raw food restaurants and cafes if you enjoy clean eating.

If you feel like kicking back for an afternoon or encounter a rainy day the Pondock Library is well worth a visit. It’s a not for profit organisation that has a library and also runs classes were local artisans can teach you local crafts or skills. Classes include Balinese cookery, woodcarving, dance, music, and painting. You can join a group class or arrange for private class, and costs are very reasonable.

I had a couple afternoons when I just wanted to relax and learned how to make traditional offerings you’ll see everywhere you go, and another class to learn fruit carving (I was beyond of proud myself and will never leave a melon uncarved again).

I’d definitely recommend trying local Indonesian food. One of the best restaurants I’ve visited is Cafe Wayan which is very atmospheric and you can choose to sit at traditional low tables or at western tables and chairs. The place also has the prettiest bathrooms you’ll ever see and are always adorned with fresh flowers.

The other thing you’ll find around Ubud are beauty salons or spas, offering all sorts of treatments, with massages being the most popular.  Prices in salons are usually set, so I would advise against haggling.  One of the best I have ever visited is Karsa Spa. It’s about a 10 minute taxi ride from the centre of town, or if you’re feeling athletic you can go on a 40 minute trek along the Campuhan Ridge to it (It’s uphill, but not too challenging, I would advise against doing it at midday like I did).

Karsa Spa offers different packages and I would recommend getting one that includes their flower baths if you want to indulge yourself. The spa is set in beautiful gardens and you can’t help but feel bougee having your nails done sitting in a garden looking out on rice terraces.

While the town has expanded and got busier from when I last visited 4 years ago, there are still plenty of beautiful walks 5 minutes from the town centre. You can also visit the monkey forest, about a 5-10 minute from the town centre (Personally I find monkeys terrifying, but if you like them you can go visit and quite possibly have your sunglasses stolen by the cheeky little sh1ts). My one word of caution is that the Balinese have a bit of a laissez-faire attitude to health and safety. Footpaths around the town centre are often uneven so watch your step. Zebra crossings also seem to be more a suggestion than the actual law so be careful crossing busy streets.

Sideman – Bali

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Bali is my happy place, and I was lucky enough to visit a new area in the eastern part of the island called Sideman (syd-a-min).

We arrived at night, not knowing much about the area, apart from it was still pretty rural. We stayed in the gorgeous Bebek Biru, which is a home stay (a Balinese bed and breakfast) which had two terraces to sit and enjoy the breathtaking views. Sideman village is still very traditional with a daily food market.

About 5-10 minutes walk outside the village, the area caters more to tourists and is dotted with home stays and warungs (traditional Balinese cafe/restaurant). When travelling to Bali you can only exchange money into the local currency once you are inside the country. Sideman didn’t seem to have any currency exchange shops, so remember to exchange cash before arrival, as most small local businesses still only operate with cash.

My first morning I was woken to a sensory overload of local nature. Cicadas were thrumming, water buffalo mooing, bullfrogs croaking, roosters crowing and geckos chirping, as well as the ever present drone of small vespa mopeds that both locals and tourists use to get around. Everywhere you go you’ll be treated to amazing views over the lush mountain forests and expertly manicured rice terraces.

The views from all over Sidemen are spectaclular. Bali is especially reliant on the tourist trade and the Covid lock down hit small local businesses especially hard. Many businesses have numerous side hustles, as making a living is so tough. While you may be in a home stay they can also arrange escorted tours, beauty treatments, cooking classes, moped hire etc. The locals are incredibly hard working and industrious.

I’ve always been impressed by the sweetness and generosity of spirit the Balinese have. Their warmth and kindness, after the cynicism and self centeredness of the west is disarming. This was very much the case when I visited Bukit Artha Warung. Komeng, the owner was funny and totally adorable and took great pride in making sure his guests enjoyed their food and even insisted we take an umbrella on an evening when it rained. Warung Deva also became a favourite.

Sideman is still very rural, so if you’re looking for bustling nightlife it maybe isn’t for you. However, you can still find plenty to do. The local warungs offer excellent Indonesian food and also western dishes, and can provide traditional Balinese cooking classes. If you feel like treating yourself there are any number of local beauty shops where you can enjoy all manner of beauty treatments at extremely reasonable prices. A 1 hour traditional massage costs between £6-9, if you haven’t had one of these before then you are definitely in for a treat.

If you enjoy a more active holiday, locals can arrange guided treks of the rice terraces and local mountains, white water rafting and visits to local places of interest such as beautifully decorated temples and waterfalls. Tukad Cepung waterfall is especially lovely, but it’s quite a physical climb up and down some very steep stairs, so bare this in mind if you have dodgy knees etc, when you get there its worth it, but go early to avoid the Instagrammers, posing for ages. In the last couple of years there have been issues with Instagrammers trying to do things like pose naked, or refusing to wear sarongs when visiting sacred sites. While I struggle to understand this sort of moronic behaviour, it’s important to be respectful of local culture and behave accordingly.

It’s possible to hire a guide and driver for a very fair price. We got to see stunning temples like Pura Kehen, carved with stunningly beautiful craftsmanship. A little bit of haggling might be acceptable, but please remember that the locals had nearly 3 years without any income at all, surviving only on what they could grow in the fields. So be a good guest and pay fairly for the excellent service you’ll invariably receive.

Sideman feels a bit like stepping back into a simpler time. Locals still thresh rice manually in the fields. If you live in the West and have ever complained about how hard you work, trust me, you haven’t seen hard work until you have seen rice farmers toiling in the heat. It was also refreshing to see a group of boys probably about 10 – 13 laughing and joking, out flying kites (which the Balinese love) and huddled together under a tree to try get some shade. If they were in the West, they would mostly likely be inside on a Xbox or some other screen.

If you get a chance to visit Bali and want a break from the hustle and bustle of some of the busier resorts, you’ll love Sidemen. It may be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.