Things to do in Ubud - My 4d3n experience

I've been travelling quite a bit last year and I don't intend to stop!

 

Let's take a look at the places I've travelled to in 2014:

- Bangkok

- Taiwan

- Tioman for Diving

- Maldives

- Bali

- Myanmar

& the travel plans I have for 2015:

- Bangkok

- China

- Japan (Tickets just booked!!)

- Dayang for diving

- Boracay

- Korea

Okay, so back to this post.. it was SX's birthday in October and I decided to fly us both over to Bali for a short and relaxed trip. I didn't want the trip to be an activity-filled one as I wanted us to just pretty much do nothing and enjoy each other's company.

I spent quite a long time researching and decided to book our villa at Ubud area which was less crowded as compared to Kuta area. We stayed at Black Penny Villa and I loved it there. Totally didn't regret booking this place!! The villa was new.. less than 2 years old? & they only had 10 villas available so you really got to book WAYYYY ahead as it is always occupied.

I booked my villa through agoda but if you wish to find out more about the hotel:

http://blackpennyvillasubudbali.com/

EH, disclaimer first hor.. I am not paid for this entire blogpost nor am I sponsored for any free stay or free food or free massage. I paid for every single thing on this trip and I'm just sharing because quite a few of you guys asked me for my itinerary and I felt like blogging today. Haha.

Day 1.

My airport attire.

Our villa had an infinity pool at the balcony area and we had an unobstructed view facing the forest & stream of river as well as the padi fields. It was almost perfect but after going to Maldives, the ultimate paradise, I have pretty high standards. HAHA.

Room tour!!!

The entrance.. 

 

Our bedroom.

Bathroom and a bath tub that we didn't use..

I mean, why use the bathtub when we have... 

an infinity pool at our balcony??!!

Haha.

 

Oh, forgot this bit, before checking in, we walked across the street to get some local food!

Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku

Jalan Kayu Jati No.12, Ubud

We both ordered the Nasi Campur which was like rice with chicken, aiya you can see from the image. The shiokest part of the meal is the chili!! The fried chili and sambal was so good. We returned to this restaurant on our last day before departing to the airport. The crackers, cookies and biscuit there were very yummy too! Like home made kind and very fresh.

We were actually running slightly late after checking in as I took the liberty of booking SX and I a 2-hour spa treat at the town area followed by dinner at a famous italian restaurant. But the infinity pool in our room was too inviting we couldn't help but jump into it. 15 minutes of soaking in the pool also good enough!

Our view..

We had the hotel staff call a cab for us to drop us at the shopping area as we missed the daily bus timing. And here's us having our ice cream moment.

Then we went over to Sang Spa for an hour long of massage because we were late.. haha but it was okay because we returned on our 3rd day!

 

Dinner was at Il giardino.

Jalan Kajeng, Ubud, Bali

http://ilgiardinobali.com/

The restaurant was one of the more atas ones around that area and we were the only asians dining there. The food was pretty good, everything we ordered was up to standard except for the pastas. Which was a shame because I was really looking forward to it.

The restaurant setting is pretty romantic but I didn't had my camera flash with me so I had to rely on my iPhone for the pictures during dinner.

 

The salad, chicken skewers and oh the pizza was so good!!

Salmon salad.

The super good mushroom pizza!!!

One of the better ones I've had.

Chicken skewers and lemon risotto was very impressive too!

After dinner, we headed back to our villa, poured ourselves some alcohol - we were hooked onto Choya the entire trip. It is pretty strong but so delicious lah, the perfect night cap, and jumped right into the pool again. :)

Day 2.

What I planned for us on the 2nd day was White Water Rafting!
 

I book via this website: http://www.baliraftingtours.com/

It was one of the cheaper ones around and pretty decent too. The others I found from the popular websites were like double the price of what I paid.

I was super excited to go water rafting!! It was fun for the first 30 minutes then I got bored. Haha. & I got tanned after the 1.5 hours rafting!! Super sad lah, I didn't know my legs would get half shade darker and I totally did not apply any sunblock on my body except for the sunblock pills and applying sunblock on my face.

Surprisingly I was the first to get up that morning, guess I was pretty excited to get the day started!~

 

You can still spot sleepy head SX in bed.

 

I called for room service & it is time for breakfast!!

 

Seriously.. I just want to relive this day all over again! Having breakfast by our balcony with such a view..

 

Here's us all suit up and read for water rafting!!

 

There were a few points where we had to get out of the raft and the water was pretty chilly but I didn't mind it at all as we were pretty warm from the sun and all that paddling.

 

 

The waterfall that everyone stops at for a picture.

 

After our morning exercise, we headed back to our hotel to shower and change before heading out again. It really felt like a workout because we had to climb down and up like almost 20 flight of stairs and each step was so high and uneven.

Here we are at this cafe that serves really good coffee and food!

 

Seminan Coffee Studio

http://senimancoffee.com/

Jalan Sriwedari, Ubud, Bali 80561

 

But we were there pretty late, like 2pm? And most of the food item that I wanted to order were sold out :(

 

Ohh you..

 

 

Finally looking decent after a hot shower and makeup.

Here's how the SX's cappuccino was served.

A cup of water, 1 indonesian dessert with coconut filling & the coffee on a long wooden panel.

 

& I had mocha!

 

We order 2 sets of breakfast.

The bacon was super crispy and salty. I liked everything except the sausages. Okay, I'm not a huge fan of sausages to begin with so maybe it is just me.

 

Fried spring roll which almost couldn't go wrong.

 

I can't remember what this is but it is not bad too!

I can never reject beehoon with soup.

 

Snapped some pictures along the streets after our lunch..

 

Walked a little more and we came across this padi field and we decided to stop and take a few snaps.

Selfie stick put to good use!

 

After that we continued a rather long walk towards Monkey Forest.

 

Yes, it is a park filled with free roaming monkeys!

Some were pretty fierce and naughty.

 

The trees there must be more than a hundred years old.

 

This lovely caucasian lady helped us take a picture and when she passed my camera back to me, she said "Oh you are most welcome, such a good looking couple."

 

Sometimes I wish I was as open and friendly like them. I'm not stereotyping but it is pretty true that asians are more private and shy with their compliments, smiles and hellos. Even when I was working as a stewardess back then, the kindest words I've heard were spoken from caucasians. Okay, they can get pretty mean too lah but asians seldom express themselves as well I guess?

 

So I always tell myself to say "Thank you" to people who hold the door for me or even the lift. And also to taxi drivers before I alight the cab, I will always say "Thank you, and good night/good day".

 

I still don't dare to go and super compliment strangers lah, I think their reaction will be a stunned one instead of a happy one. Haha.

 

After spending about 40 minutes at the Monkey forest, we walked back and decided to pop by a little cafe for a drink.

 

SX wearing that stupid headband thing that he bought at one of the souvenier shops.

 

And our dinner was at..

 

Coco Bistro

Jl. Raya Ubud

 

I had grilled fish which was really yummy but I hated all the bones that I had to remove one by one.

 

This was what SX had, chicken. He can't live without his meat.

 

I was craving for something soupy again so, tom yum soup!

 

Molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream to end the meal.

Day 3

So I didn't plan anything at all for the day because as I've mentioned, I didn't want this trip to be very hectic and rushing here and there so I left the 3rd day empty.

We woke up at around 11-ish am and headed for breakfast!

Did some research before I left for Ubud and it seems like this place is a MUST-GO and so we went.

 

Babi Guling Ibu Oka.

Jalan Suewta

 

It is one of the most famous food in bali.

A close up of the suckling pork skin, grilled pork, grilled sausage and fried pork with rice.

 

I wouldn't say it is a MUST-EAT for me because the suckling pork skin was pretty tough to chew and the fried pork was left out for awhile and it has hardened to. The only thing that I like was the grilled pork and the veggies + chili.

 

I would rather have the Nasi Campur opposite my villa any day.

 

We went back for a pampering session at Sang Spa.

Sang Spa

www.sangspaubud.com

 

After that, we pop by another cafe for a sweet treat.

Chocolate-ty goodness.

 

Worth the calories? *Nods head vigourously*

 

& lunch was at..

 

Melting Wok Warung

13 Jl. Gootama.

 

The place is owned by a French lady if I'm not wrong and she serves local food with a twist. I really like both the dishes that SX and I ordered.

 

The above noodles with chicken was what he had.

 

& this was my spicy curry noodles and I really enjoyed it.
The soup was clear and light and so generous with the vegetables.

 

Dessert was the famous creme caramel which SX really love but for me it was too much after a few mouthfuls.

 

 I would suggest for you to make a reservation in advance because when we tried to get a table the night before, it was all full and the owner didn't allowed walk-ins. So we went the very next day for lunch and we managed to get a table for two!

 

We then headed back to our villa and jumped right into the pool straight.

 

Take me back there right now!!!!

 

Look at the view below our villa.

 

We decided to go explore the padi fields and yes, we had to climb down a crazy amount of stairs.

Half way there now..

 

& after say, 10 minutes?

 

Here we are.

 

:)

 

& then it was time to slowly climb back up to our villa..

 

Decided to take a break halfway because my calves were hurting so bad.

Climbed way too much stairs for the 3 days I was there.

 

 

Pretty sunset taken from our balcony before we headed out for dinner.

 

Why is sunset always prettier overseas?

 

Or am I just being bias?

 

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I really can't wait for my Japan trip this coming April!!

 

We will be going for 12 days and will be heading to Tokyo + Kyoto!

 

*this picture is not mine, found it on the net*

 

We purposely booked our tickets during the sakura period.

I really hope this is what I will see when I'm there.

 

Any one has itinerary to share or must go to eat places in Tokyo or Kyotor, can please email me or leave a comment here?

 

Thank you!!