My experiences of Bali
My first impression of Bali when we land at the airport is that Bali is beautiful and hot. The sky is green blue over the beautiful trees. Our Indonesian travel Guide wants to show us the best of Bali and speaks a lot on the way to the hotel, he says that it´s his task to present the best of the island. When we visit volcanoes and other turist attractions, our guide wants to be in place early to avoid crowds and give us the opportunity to explore the countryside undisturbed. The hotel staff takes good care of us. We are often served fruits that they hope we have not tasted, it often tastes sweet and different.
Ubud is a family and artistic city that is focused on cultural heritage. Malls and museum are close to each other. The calm is never far away if you look for it and it´s a quiet atmosphere. A mango melts in the mouth and the green nature is beautiful. Single clouds are seen in the sky and birds are singing in the tree. The town goes to sleep early but has a lot to offer on the day. Sun, beach and alcohol are taken at the beach resorts. In the twilight there is music from the dances performed at the palace. There are men and women in traditional Balinese dress.
Ubud offers great opportunities to enjoy massages and other health samples. Along with Jalan Bisma, Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Monkey, there are many health store. Prices vary greatly and the methods vary. Relax with aromatherapy bath in paradise surroundings or treat your entire body with a gentle treatment with everything from pedicure to massage to hair clipping.
Keep in mind that shopping in Ubud requires patience, partly because many stores sell the same item at a very variable price. It is also possible to bargain 50–60% without the customer having to open his mouth. In other words, look around before buying something. Bargaining on goods is often taken for granted throughout Indonesia. If you are not interested, it’s easiest to say nothing at all and avoid eye contact with the seller. It can be difficult to pass a store or a market stall without being overwhelmed with persuasion attempts. Sometimes you get caught in a store and many get stressed by this. Exercise your self to turn off the hearing and a friendly attitude always has the best effect.
Few are coming to Ubud to party. However, some places offer nightly activities, Jazz Café, Jalan Tebesaya offering good food and relaxing atmosphere with live music every day of the week. It usually ends at midnight so do not come too late. At Jalan Monkey Forest you have Putra Bar, who plays reggae band. I suggest Putri Mianang at Jalan Monkey Forest if you want to eat Indonesian food. However, Indian, Italian and Thai food is also easy to find. Restaurants with different specialties are located close to Ubud. There are great opportunities to eat vegetarian food, it is possible to eat in most restaurants with large and varied selection.
Are you interested to read more about Bali — welcome to my travel blog and read “Best places to stay in Bali”