Eat. Pray. Ubud

We got into Ubud late evening. After checking into our garden home stay – D’Ubud House Homestay in the heart of town, we freshened up and grabbed some dinner at Ibu Rai restaurant. The atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxing; I ordered Ikan Babur Bambu Bali which was fresh, along with grilled fish cooked in mild Indonesian flavours. For dessert, I had tiramisu and wiped my plate clean. 

We were pretty tired and went off to sleep soon after. I had booked us on a very early morning trek to Mount Batur, Bali’s second highest volcano. I woke up with a start around 2.30 am; the alarm had not gone off. I ran out of the room towards the reception and then the road, but the minivan that was to pick us up was nowhere in sight. Thankfully, it pulled in two minutes later. The trek was challenging as the climb was very steep, full of loose volcanic rocks. Putu, our guide was of immense help along the way, motivating us and pulling me up at difficult stretches. We made it in time for the sunrise. It was a spectacular sight; the sun rose through the floating clouds and Batur lake at its bottom.

Sunrise at Mount Batur

We passed through sleepy villages, vegetable and fruit orchards as well as coffee plantations on our way back to Ubud. It was a very scenic drive, I tried to keep my eyes open while the others in the bus slept. Soon enough, the driver stopped at one of the coffee plantations where we sampled a variety of coffee. The world famous Kopi Luwak was available at Rp. 50000 a cup but we decided to avoid it.

Ubud Palace

The rest of our only day in Ubud was spent sightseeing. We went to the Palace for a quick tour, Ubud market for souvenir shopping, tried the famous Babi Guling at Ibuoka and finally to Elephant Cave, a 9^th century sanctuary full of bathing pools, fountains and rock wall carvings. I found the last sight to be the best one. We also got some good bargains on souvenirs and paintings in the market right outside this historical Hindu site.

Babi Guling

At Elephant Cave

After a hectic day, we decided to unwind with a relaxing massage before heading to Kuta, our final destination. The Balinese massage at Sari Spa at our home stay was the best way to end an exciting day.

Vibrant Vietnam in Outlook Money magazine

September 2017 issue

Bandung - Of Floating Markets & Hot Springs

Navigating our way through Gambir railway station, Jakarta was a breeze. We took a print out of our tickets at the electronic kiosks there, showed our tickets at the entrance and walked towards the platform where our train was waiting. We were off to Bandung, known as Paris of Java; also a popular weekend getaway for Jakartans. Set amidst volcanoes and picturesque tea plantations, the city offers a cooler climate. It is also a popular shopping destination because of its many factory outlets.

We reached our hotel Gino Feruci Kebon Jati Bandung fairly early. As the check in time was 2 pm, we decided to leave our baggage at the reception and set out to explore the city. Bandung is a bustling city with a few pockets that are clean and well preserved. It certainly does not look or feel like Paris anymore, as it may have back in the day. We booked a car for the day; the driver had a limited English vocabulary so we communicated in monosyllables, mostly.

Lembang Floating Market

He drove us to Lembang, a neighbouring town known for its hot springs, orchards and tea plantations. Our first stop was the floating market, recommended by our driver. Although we were hesitant to first go in, we were glad that he took us there. It was the best attraction we went to, all day. There were ducks, rabbits to play with, a school of red fish amidst nicely landscaped gardens, a variety of street food to choose from as well as some adventure activities. I was quite surprised to see a lot of Iguanas up for sale there. Some of them were up to 5 ft in length which really freaked me out!

Pet Iguanas for sale!

De Ranch

Our next stop was De Ranch, a good attraction for those interested in horse riding. We didn’t spend much time there. As I had read good reviews about the Maribaya waterfall and hot springs, we decided to go there next. We paid around 40.000 IDR each as the entry fee. The waterfall itself was quite a disappointment and I would recommend avoiding this sight altogether. As we had gone all the way, we decided to take a dip in the VIP hot springs at 125.000 IDR each. Besides access to the private hot springs, we were also given some spicy chicken and rice along with white tea as part of the package. 

Maribaya Waterfall

On our way back to Bandung, our driver Mus asked us if we would like to go to Farmhouse. It was a delightful attraction with a variety of birds, sheep that you could feed as well as my favourites - rabbits. I fed various rabbits there, the brown ones were the cutest. As I wanted to hold one of them, one of the helpers took me to the area where the baby rabbits had been kept. I fed them carrots and posed for a few photographs, this was one of the best experiences on the trip. Strangely enough, I had expressed an interest to hold one of these adorable, furry creatures just five minutes before Mus recommended this attraction! Outside Farmhouse, the road was full of shops selling rabbits. They seemed well behaved as they were not in cages, in spite of constant oncoming traffic.

At Braga Permai, Bandung

At night, we headed to Braga Street and had dinner at Braga Permai, a boulangerie and patisserie since 1918. Their pepperoni pizza coupled with the lively band made for a nice evening. As we were not ready to call it a night just yet, we went to Romepoet next. A college band was performing English numbers, I even sang one along with them! North Sea Bar was our last stop, it reminded me of the pubs in England. 

The next day, we went shopping to Cihampelas Walk. It is a great place to relax, shop and bum around. Unfortunately, we couldn't spend a lot of time there as we had to catch our flight to Bali. And that was another adventure!