Rachel and Allen Present: 36 Hours in Ubud
The New York Times has a fantastic series of articles entitled “36 Hours in…” wherein it outlines everything that you need to know for a weekend trip to places all over the world. They’re great itineraries and well worth a read if you’re heading to a city that they’ve featured. We’re not sure if they’ve done one for Ubud, but we figured we’d come to the rescue and do it for them, with personal touches, of course. So, without further ado, we’re pleased to present our 36 Hours in Ubud.
Day 1
1:00 PM
Get off your flight from the Komodos and have a look around. Yep, this airport is pretty nice, I guess you’re fully in the first world here. Walk out of security and have a look for your personal driver to take you up to Ubud (they do have Uber here, but it’s technically illegal and the taxi driver’s mafia will literally wreck the car if they think that it’s taking their business). Whine and cringe about the $20 US charge to head to the hotel, but end up going anyway due to lack of options.
Make sure you stop on the way to your hotel at a coffee plantation to taste the local Balinese specialty of civet coffee (don’t worry, even if you don’t ask for it or want to, you’ll be taken to one anyway)! This is where civet cats, which are closer to weasels than cats, eat the coffee beans, then poop them out, and the locals pick through the poop and roast the digested beans. Note that it’s surprisingly good – apparently the civet cat’s digestive tract takes all the bitterness out of the brew, leaving you with nothing but a quality, smooth cup of java. Fantastic stuff.
Arrive at your hotel in Ubud after a hour-long talk about Balinese marriage customs with your super laid-back driver and take a snooze. It’s been a long day. We recommend the “Jacuzzi in the Jungle at Romantic Hideaway” that we found at AirBnB.
4:00 PM
Go for a walk around Ubud! Truthfully speaking, it should only take you a couple of hours to do this, but there are lots of great shops and cafes on the way so it could take much longer. The dining scene in Ubud is, as a rule, fantastic, but make sure you stop off at Kismet for some eats about half-way through. Come for the cool architecture and decorating, stay for the fantastic halloumi burger and cocktails, and leave when you get your first bill for food in Bali and realize you’re paying Western prices. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
8:00 PM
Ubud isn’t a very nightlife-oriented city, but there are a couple of options should that be something you want to pursue, including a hookah bar off the soccer field that stays open until 2 AM. What you’re really in Ubud to do, however is to get in touch with the spirit of Bali, so what you should be doing is relaxing and taking in the energy for your early morning. Don’t forget to bicker with the hotelier for an hour regarding a scooter rental that apparently you just have to go across the street for anyway, you’ll need it.
Day 2
6:00 AM
The gates to Tirta Empul
Step 1: Get wet.
Get your butt out of bed and into the saddle, you have a half-hour drive to Tirta Empul ahead of you through the beautiful Balinese countryside. The thousand plus year old Tirta Empul temple is a Balinese holy spring, famous in these parts for healing your mental woes, balancing your chakras, and giving blessings to all who perform the cleansing ritual. Needless to say, with those lofty promises it’s a pretty popular place, so you’ll want to be there when it opens at 7:00 AM.
When you enter, make sure you wear the sarongs when it says to, follow the rules as posted, and try to get an English-speaking guide to help you through the process (bonus points if he can’t operate a camera properly like ours). This is a pay-as-you-see-fit service, apparently most of these guys are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. Make your way through the dozen spring sources, performing the ritual at each. Leave cold, clean, and feeling balanced. Congratulations, you’ve started your day on the right foot!
Step 2: Get wetter.
Step 3: Go all-in.
10:00 AM
Return to your hotel for breakfast on the terrace if available, or try out one of the many fantastic dining options around Ubud. Speak with your hotelier about having a traditional Balinese spirit healer come to your place to get those chakras lined up and your spirit lightened, and book him in for later in the day.
12:00 PM
Spa time! Take your significant other for a chocolate or coffee scrub, full-body massage, and soak at Sedona Spa, in the North West part of Ubud. You should have warmed up from this morning’s cleansing ritual by this time.
We're cute sometimes.
2:30 PM
Quality Mexican food in Bali? Hard to believe, but it definitely exists – have lunch at Taco Casa in the South East of town. The 8-Layer Burrito (or Burrito Bowl!) comes highly recommended.
4:00 PM
Get ready for your session with your Balinese healer. You won’t be sure what exactly he does, but you do know that you will feel lighter and more balanced than you have in weeks. Rachel used Mr. Wayan, who came highly recommended by the English lady who was part-owner of our hotel, and we would recommend using him as well. Unwind in your hotel’s pool or jacuzzi afterwards.
If the healing thing isn’t your bag, be sure to check out the Monkey Forest in the South West of town, where hundreds of monkeys inhabit the trees and pester tourists incessantly.
If you hate monkeys, like Allen, then just hang out.
7:00 PM
Dinner at Sage!
Get ready for a big meal at Sage in the South of town. We highly recommend the mushroom rendang, and all of their desserts are fantastic. You wouldn’t even know it was vegan (especially if I hadn’t just told you).
For after-dinner drinks, head on over to No Mas Bar for a few beers, and to hear some of the absolute worst Bon Jovi renditions you’ve ever heard from the house band. Don’t get too carried away however, your final morning is another early one!
Day 3
6:30 AM
You thought you were going to get out of Ubud without hitting up some yoga!? I don’t think so. Get up, put on your most expensive pair of stretchy pants, and head on over to the Yoga Barn complex for some morning flow.
After you’re limber and have your blood moving, don’t forget to grab a kombucha from the café here in the complex and take a walk around, then grab some vegan organic brekky from here, check out one of the many local options, or return to your hotel if that option is as good as ours was.
10:00 AM
Hop in your (outrageously expensive) private car and head down to the Denpasar bus station, you’ve got a back-breaking five hour local bus ride to look forward to as you make your way onward to Java!
Going to miss these rad Hindu statues in the rest of Indonesia.
Congratulations!! You’ve survived 36 hours in Ubud. Hopefully you left more balanced, limber, and relaxed than you came in. If your next destination is Java, as ours was, you’ll need it as the next couple of days are going to be doozies.
