Travel for travelling - Bali - Kafe Batan Waru & Uma Mandi Ubud Hotel

UBUD 18,3,2014

Bali has left a deep impression in my memories of a great place for vacationing. Beautiful beaches, exotic gourmet, enjoyable shopping, and a place to discover more about myself, at peace in this heaven in the heart of southeast Asia.

Our flight was at 10 O'clock in the morning, flying with JetStar, and only took 4 - 5 hours from Perth to Bali! A German man in Bali said he was envious of Australians because Australia is one of the closest countries to Bali. How lucky they are!

Walking out from the airport, turning left, we saw one taxi station - the blue bird group. They offer transfers from the airport, at prices that are considered fair, but not the cheapest.

So we continued to walk until we saw another taxi station, while on the way several drivers offered us around US$40 to UBUD. We tried quite hard to bargain (ha, it's one of the must do thing here), until finally there was a driver willing do it at US$25!

English is an essential skill for service people in Bali, and this driver's English was very good and he chatted with us all the way. I quite enjoyed the ride and was not bored at all! Since he seemed very popular, we asked him to be our driver later however he had reservations already.

Probably because of the busy traffic, it took over 1 hour to get from the airport to our hotel in ubud. I was so hungry and tired, it was like torture instead of a holiday!!

Right after we lay down our luggage, we caught another taxi to Ubud city for dinner. The receptionist was so nice, he booked the restaurant for us after recommending the Kafe Batan Waru  ^ ^

Kafe Batan Waru restaurant in Ubud

Kafe Batan Waru restaurant - our first meal in Bali! The atmosphere was nice, with our table close to the sidewalk, where we soaked in the nice breeze amongst the flicker of candlelight. Enjoying avocado juice, it was beautiful! This is the sort of holiday I like!

Kafe Batan Waru restaurant, Avocado juice

We ordered the popular Crispy Duck and Nasi Goreng. The duck skin was crisp and very fragrant but the meat was a bit dry, and the Nasi Goreng was tasty - surprisingly delicious ^ ^

Kafe Batan Waru, Crispy Duck and Nasi Goreng

They had prepared lemon antiseptic for us to wash hands, so I could just use my hands to finish the duck and leave it without a bit of meat left ~ sweet huh!

We left the restaurant around 10pm, but there were more customers than when we arrived. A website said that they had been named the best restaurant in Bali in 2004!

Uma Mandi Ubud Hotel, Ubud

During the first three days of the trip we stayed in Uma Mandi Ubud, which was recommended by D's mom. The building was beautiful with local Bali architectural style, surrounded by rice fields and very quiet, but we needed to watch out for insects and mosquitoes.

When I woke the second day, there was a giant insect right next to my pillow! Glad it was not in my mouth! Soon we found it must have come from beneath the balcony door, and we filled the gap with towels...

Nice swimming pool of Uma Mandi Ubud Hotel, Ubud

Room facilities were mediocre. If you need a hair dryer just ask the receptionist, but they did not provide toiletries.

Uma Mandi Ubud Hotel, Ubud

This is the view from the balcony, we tried to keep mosquitoes and insects out of our room, so we only opened the balcony on the last day before we left. It was very relaxing and peaceful just observing the view from there!

The pool was not very big, but I think it was quite nice and pretty, and the staff also clean and maintain it everyday.

They made fresh breakfast every morning. There are all kinds of egg dishes, toast, juice, coffee, and milk you can choose from. Meals were not bad, and they cooked soft eggs professionally, but the milk was very weak and coffee was very sweet.
Otherwise the waiters were very friendly, and D ordered three boiled eggs and 8 pieces of toasts every day! We could tell from waiter's smile that they thought we  ordered too much!!

Breakfast in Uma Mandi Ubud Hotel, Ubud

Ubud is sort of a countryside compare to other cities, and people here were very passion and friendly. Especially the receptionist, because he helped us to book restaurants every day and called taxis. Before booking the room online, we emailed them to inquire (bargain) about the price first, and then we got it for about US$50 per night. 

Here is the link of this hotel - http://www.umamandiubud.com/