Sunday, 22 December 2013
Related posts: Bali Day 1, Day 2 and 3, Day 4, Day 5
Breakfast was served in our room today. It was such a nice feeling, having breakfast with a view of our private pool in the villa.
Our tour by Nantan Tours (arranged by the hotel) started at 10:30AM. Our planned itinerary for today was to visit Ubud town.
Ubud is located about 1 hour from Seminyak. On the way there, we visited Sari Amerta, a batik shop in Batu Bulan. There were batik artists at work, and they had a massive shop with various batik products.
The type of products ranges from clothing, footwear, accessories, and even paintings. After that, we visited Yatra Gallery, a silversmith center just further up from the batik place.
We had lunch at I Made Joni Restaurant in Ubud. It’s a unique restaurant overlooking paddy fields. I was quite surprised to see it at first. We have paddy fields in Malaysia too, but I haven’t seen a restaurant with a view of paddy fields. These Balinese are very good are promoting their natural beauty! I am impressed!
Apart from the nice view, the food is good too! Their signature dish is the nasi bebek (duck with rice).
After lunch, our journey continued for another 20 minutes before we reach Ubud town. Our tour guide dropped us off at the market and we explored the area on foot.
After the market, we visited the royal palace, known locally as the Puri Saren Agung. The palace was built by Ida Tjokorda Putu Kandel, the ruler of Ubud from 1800 to 1823. I was informed there is a dance performance every evening, starting at 7:30PM.
After visiting the palace, we went to Coco Bistro, a café just around the corner. While we were having coffee there, a religious procession took place. It was very fascinating. We left Ubud around 5PM and arrived back at the hotel 1 hour later.
Back in the hotel, we had another swimming session. Since there is a private pool in our villa, I made it a point to go swimming at least once a day to get my money’s worth. Haha!
For dinner, we took the hotel shuttle to Mama San Restaurant (website). It’s a restaurant with a bar and lounge area on the first floor. It’s a nice place, and the price is quite reasonable. The ambiance is perfect if you want to chill out with some friends after a long day of exploring Bali. As for the food price, we were charged 358,000 Rupiah (~RM100 or USD32) for 2 people (3 dishes).
- Diet Coke. Price 25,000 Rupiah (RM7 or USD2)
- Sprite. Price 25,000 Rupiah (RM7 or USD2)
- Lemongrass Chicken. 110,000 Rupiah (RM30 or USD9)
- Roasted Duck Hoisin. 82,000 Rupiah (RM23 or USD7)
- Stir Fried Rice 60,000 Rupiah (RM17 or USD5)
After dinner, we walked towards Jalan Oberoi and came across Anomali Coffee (website). Turns out it’s a nice looking cafe so we decided to give it a try.
They serve a range of interesting coffee, mostly local blend. We can see they have the famous Luwak coffee, Bali, Jawa etc.
After our supper at Anomali Coffee, we took the cab back to the hotel. The driver didn’t use the meter and charged us 30,000 Rupiah. (~RM8 or USD3)
Monday, 23 December 2013
My wife was feeling a bit under the weather today, and it was raining the whole day, so we decided to stay indoors.
Later in the evening, we went to the famous KUDETA (website) for dinner. Prior to going there, I requested the hotel to make a reservation at the restaurant. KUDETA is well known for the best sunset view in Bali, and also for its parties. Too bad for us it rained that evening, so we couldn’t see the sun setting down. The waiter gave a seat on left wing of the restaurant with a view of the inner courtyard.
Below are the items we ordered along with their prices:
- 1 barramundi fillet. Price: 290,000 Rupiah (RM81 or USD25)
- 1 fiji water 330 ml. Price: 30,000 Rupiah (RM8 or US2.5)
- 1 fries 50,000. Price: Rupiah (RM14 or USD4)
- 1 herb coral trout. Price: 290,000 Rupiah (RM81 or USD25)
- 1 panna cotta. Price: 115,000 Rupiah (RM32 or USD10)
- 2 cappuccino. Price: 60,000 Rupiah (RM17 or USD5)
- 1 coca cola. Price: 25,000 Rupiah (RM7 or USD2)
- 1 sparkling water 250 ml. Price: 40,000 Rupiah (RM11 or USD5)
The total bill was 1,055,000 Rupiah (~RM295 or USD92), including taxes and service charge. The food is definitely way more expensive than Mamasan. To be honest I wasn’t that impressed with the food, given the price I had to pay. It may be better if you have your meal somewhere else and come over for drinks to enjoy the view.
Imran Jaafar 