Ubud, The West Hampstead of Bali

Classic Bali paddy fields and palms

We rocked up in Ubud a few days ago knowing it is the old hippy center of Bali. It is inland so no beach here so naturally enough we sought out a hotel with a swimming pool! We met a lovely Canadian teacher on the bus, Nina, who recommended a great place. OK it doesn't have a pool but we have a balcony on 3 sides, views over palm trees on one side, and the volcano in the distance on the other, with an amazingly ornate carved wooden four poster bed. Kieran was almost ecstatic when he saw the bed (it even has dragons on it), and as the hotel next door allows us to use their pool for about 65p each we feel like we've hit the jackpot!

Ubud is very swanky with a million art shops and clothes shops selling some lovely things but all at really extortionate prices! And that's not just the pikey in me; even Kieran agrees they are overpriced. It is where all the rich middle-class westerners come on holiday and our hopes of buying some nice things have been dashed by all the pesky tourists who pay those prices.

We spent the first day basically lounging around the pool and window shopping. The second day we went to a museum and then went to the pool (again) - to be honest it is really too hot to do anything else. The last day we managed to get our shit together and hired a scooter and had an amazingly cultural day. We started by visiting an art gallery by a Spanish dude called Antonio Blanca who is "The Dali of Bali". Do look him up as his art was very interesting - mostly as all the frames are part of the art. Then we went to the local Monkey sanctuary and got gooey over monkeys. We went for a great drive around the centre of Bali, and admired some old cave temples (although the waterfall that some old dude showed us round the corner was kinda more interesting). On our way home we stumbled upon a huge crowd of identically-dressed women taking offerings to a temple - pyramids of fruit piled precariously on their heads - and finished up by having an Indonesian feast in this dirt cheap but amazing warung (restaurant) that Marigold recommended.

All in all we have loved Bali. The Indonesian people aer the most friendly people we've met so far and their infectious giggles have us in hysterics every time. The food is delicious but light and (Kieran says) the Bintang - the local brew - is pretty good too. Speaking of which we have one waiting for us in our amazing hotel to help us toast our last day in Bali before moving onto Bangkok for Kieran's 30th birthday on the 13th March. It promises to be a ping pong happy day...