Ubud, Bali

Amy
Apr 8, 2019
4 min read

Updated: Jul 14, 2019

UBUD, BALI

2nd - 5th April 2019

02/04/19 - Day 4

Our first stop on the way to Ubud was Tegenungan Waterfall! Woo!

The waterfall was absolutely stunning, definitely a tourist attraction but it wasn’t overly busy that we couldn’t go for a swim and experience the strength of the waterfall itself! I managed to get water under my contact lenses from the spray, so spent most of the time in the water not being able to see haha - but WHAT an experience! One of my favourite parts was the sign “Don’t worry be sexy” (which they say a lot here) “But not naked” - can’t believe they even had to say that! Must be the wild travellers!

We also took a dip in some holy water that apparently is supposed to cleanse you. All of the locals believe the water is sacred, so I’m really getting my fair share of blessings on this trip haha!

Later in the afternoon when we had swum until our hearts were content, we arrived at our hotel. Although very comfortable and clean, it wasn’t exactly very authentic! However, I can safely say they had the most comfortable beds ever and the location was amazing to get to the markets!

03/04/19 - Day 5

This day was definitely one of my favourite days of the trip so far. We began the day with a local cooking class where we learnt to cook the most popular Indonesian dishes. To start off with they took us to the local market which felt like every family holiday ever, haha! I loved the rustic feel of the market, the busyness and the delicious smells from each stall. There was everything you could possibly imagine being sold.

We learnt all about the different ingredients we would be using for the cooking class and where all of it had come from. It was cool to see how fresh (to a certain extent) the food was as it had been bought from the market first thing in the morning! This was definitely a highlight for me going around the market, it’s an opportunity to feel immersed in the Indonesia culture!

After exploring the market, we went to a local family's home who hold the cooking classes and were taught how to make a Canang sari which are offerings that are made every single day. These offerings are most commonly found in temples and in peoples’ homes. The locals make these offerings for both the good and the bad spirits to keep peace and balance between both sides. Typical good spirits receive offerings with money and food, and bad spirits, cigarettes and alchohol.

The facilities for the cooking class that the local family had was amazing. They were very organised and managed to put up with such a large group! We learnt to make over 5 different traditional Balinese meals from soups to Tempe to green pancakes.

The cooking class was definitely a highlight of this Indonesia trip so far! The family were so friendly, the food delicious, and we also got a little recipe book at the end so we can now go home and cook some yummy Indonesian food.

After the successful cooking class we visited Monkey Forest on the way back to our hotel. The grounds itself was stunning, almost like a movie, something out of Jurassic Park (crazy)!

Of course the main attraction were the cheeky monkeys! I was expecting them to be jumping up all over us but instead they seemed very well behaved and didn’t sit on shoulders, pestering people. Enjoy some delightful monkey photos!

Cute family photo of the Bali tour group (well, some of it anyway!)

04/04/19 - Day 6

Today we started off the day being productive. Much to our mind and body’s protest, we ventured to the gym and worked off some of the ridiculous amounts of food that we had consumed!

Now onto the exciting stuff! Today we went to Tegalalang Rice Terraces, the largest rice terrace in Bali where the land can only be past down through families rather than bought. It was absolutely stunning! The walk up and down through the terraces made us wonder how Mum and Laura managed to do it haha! Really beautiful though and more so in person than through photos, but here is a little snippet...

We met the cutest little old man who pulled me out of the group onto the floor next to him and proceeded to use my use my hands to play a delightful little tune on whatever instrument that was haha! Apparently he had a thing for blondes so that explains it, the cheeky chap! He kept on playing a wooden flute and dancing around which was very funny to watch! Of course I had to wear the hat to make this photo way more authentic!

When you go to the Tegalalang Terraces, the main attraction is getting your candid Instagram photo on the swing overlooking the fields... so here we are... these are our Instagram worthy shots!