UBUD 19,3,2014
We were considering buying a local SIM card upon arriving in Bali. However, the receptionist of hotel helped us to book restaurant, massage or taxi all the time, and most of the restaurants and hotels have free WiFi, just not all are very fast.
After the lovely breakfast, our very punctual driver was waiting in the lobby, who the receptionist had called for us. From Uma Mandi Hotel to Ubud City is about 5 to 10 minutes by car, and after "communication" with the driver we got it at US$5.
We asked the driver to take us to the PT. Dirgahayu Valuta Prima first, it was a currency exchange shop, which has green signboard at JL. Raya Ubud road. D says this shop had the best exchange rate compared to the others, and they had security guard so it was quite safe.
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| Currency exchange shop - PT. Dirgahayu Valuta Prima |
After that we walked along Jl. Raya Ubud toward Ubud palace. We were looking forward to going to Ibu Oka Bali Guling for lunch. They were famous for roast pork. It said on the website that every person who travels to Bali must try them!
Both of them are located on Jl. Suweta, but we went to the one opposite Ubud Palace. They didn't have many customers, probably because it was still early at 11 O'clock, so the meals were prepared pretty quick.
The large pork with rice meal was about US$7, the set included crispy pig skin, soft pork, vegetables, rice and a bowl of vegetable soup. The roast pig skin was very fragrant and crispy, the pork was tender and juicy, but the side dish was a little spicy therefore we ordered a coconut ~ the coconut water was not to our liking but the soft fruit inside the coconut was delicious. Soft but chewy a little bit like jelly!
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| Ibu Oka Bali Guling, grill pork meal and coconut water |
Then we just crossed the street to Ubud palace. Although it was quite small and not as stunning or splendorous as old times, the building is full of Indonesian specialties. Every piece of gate, wall, and statue had beautiful patterns and delicate carving, and the stone statues were life like! Surrounded by tropical plants and amazing architecture, it was really worth the visit!
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| Ubud palace |
Indonesia is an old country with abundant history and unique culture. It was interesting to see they sometimes still carry goods on their head!
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| Ubud palace |
Bargaining skills are really important here! Upon asking, they always gave ridiculous price first (which might actually sound reasonable to wealthier foreigners). There was a lady who offered me a Sarong dress for US$30 and in the end she gave us a deal of US$5. I was very happy but just after I paid the money she immediately said 'only US$4 for the second one'!! When we walked out of the shop the next one offered me US$3 and another boss said US$2! At that moment I was really sad, and felt the businessmen were so sinister! Before we finished at the market, I went back to the Sarong shop and with D's help bought another one for only US$2.5, which made me feel much better, and happy ~ ha!
When we were walking along Jl. Wenera Wana toward the Monkey Forest, we received a lot of massage shops' flyers. One of them was only US$7 per hour, so we decided to give it a try because we were tired from walking whole morning. It was normal to be naked and only wear underwear for massage in Bali, but I didn't get used to it. Once they begin the massage, it doesn't matter whether you are naked or not. The only thing I cared about was to just relax and enjoy the beautiful feeling!
We didn't go into the monkey forest because we don't like monkeys that much and were afraid of being attacked. However, we could see a couple of monkeys playing on the street when we got closer. You really need to watch out for those naughty monkeys! I was carrying a plastic bag in my hand and suddenly a monkey ran to me and tried to rob me of it. Maybe he could tell there was some bread in it!
Well, the local people helped me to scare the monkey away, so I had a chance to run!
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| Monkey forest |
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| Cute monkey |
We had dinner at Bebek Bengil - also known as "dirty
duck". As before, the receptionist booked the table for us the day before. They had a
large sign with a
duck on it, and are located at the Jl. Wenera Wana and Jl.
Hanoman junction,
next to a large COCO supermarket (which is a great shop!).
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| Bebek Bengil - also known as "dirty duck" |
This restaurant has a very beautiful Balinese style, and our table was in the middle of a garden, under an arbor. I liked it so much! D chose his favorite Fish & Chips, and I ordered Crispy Duck again and Lemon Tea.
Crispy duck was better than Kafe Batan Waru restaurant. Crispy but tender and delicious! The Fish & Chips was different from what we thought, but not bad. It was fairly small and simple, but not expensive. We were really happy to be in such a beautiful and quiet dining environment, and importantly there was free WiFi that worked very well. So D was also satisfied and very happy with this restaurant!!
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| Bebek Bengil - Fish & Chips, Crispy Duck and Lemon Tea |
We were very careful about the water we drank here, and only consumed bottled water. We even used it when brushing our teeth. At the beginning we didn't know which brand of water is better, so we bought some of them to try, and I recommend "Club" brand. They had blue packaging and with a small handle for their large bottles it was easy to carry around and tasted pure and natural!
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