Bali Trip Nov 2013 - DAY 4

Hi again all... So this is my 4th day in Bali....

3 Nov 2013 - ( Ani's Villa, Ubud Market, Campuhan Ridge Walk)

After a few days of fun and uhmm... a little partying in Kuta, hehe.... it was time for us to move our butts to a more quiet and relaxed place... Where...? Ubud of course. So around 10am, we checked out from Hard Rock Hotel Kuta and went straight to the Plus Priority Kuta Lounge to board our 10.30am free shuttle to Ubud... Do refer my previous post on this shuttle service here ---> Bali Day 1. It took us around 35 mins to get to Ubud from Kuta.... The Plus Priority Ubud Lounge was exactly nearby the main entrance to Monkey Forest but we asked to be dropped nearby Ubud Market since it's nearer to walk to our accommodation in Ubud from there.

So we finally arrived at Ani's Villas in Ubud. Our home for the first night in Ubud. Phew it was quite a walk! Haha it seriously seemed nearer when I viewed the walking distance from Ubud Market to the hotel in Google map! :P Plus the fact that all of us were carrying our bags which were already filled with some new stuff bought the days before didn't help! Haha I was scorned by my friends for not arranging to take the taxi. That walk made us decide to rent motorbikes from the hotel right away! :D

NOTE TO ALL: If you're interested, Ani's Villa is situated exactly in front of the Bridges Restaurant right after the bridge on your right if you're from Ubud town. Bridges Bali Restaurant is on Google Map. Most hotel sites do not describe this so it is hard to find this place just based on their incorrect location on map of the hotel sites like Agoda etc...

Nice...

We took the villa which had an outdoor living area, outdoor dining area, a kitchen and 2 bedrooms.
The villa had 3 queen beds so it was perfect for the 6 of us. The villa cost exactly Rp1.200.000 per night.
Only USD 120.

The villa is built facing the stream down below...

Nice bed and rooftop. Check out that baby cot! Perfect for families. :)

The seating area just beside the pool. Another villa (that door) is just in front of the pool.

Really love the area. Perfect for relaxing after a few hectic days in Kuta. :)

More view of the pool area and beyond... Hehe. Oh there's a temple under renovation exactly
in front of this hotel facing this pool area so currently the view is a little uninviting. Should be
beautiful once the temple renovation is completed.

Ani's Villa is situated exactly in front of the Bridges Restaurant right after the bridge on your right
if you're from Ubud town.

One of the areas for breakfast. Oh yes the daily price includes a set breakfast. You can choose from
a few set choices mainly egg cooked to your liking with bread, fruit salad and a glass of juice.

The view of the villas and the currently on renovation temple right across.

So after a short rest in our villa, we immediately jumped into the pool for some needed cooling off. It was a really hot afternoon! Especially after our almost 600 meters walk carrying our heavy luggage going to the hotel hehe. The pool was really clean but was also deep! Think it was 2.5m at the deepest end.

We then went to look for some Halal food for lunch on our cool rented motorbikes! Woohooo! Luckily we had just enough brave boys who were willing to 'drive' the motorbike for the rest to ride hehe. So off we went. Btw the motorbike rental was Rp50.000 per day.

The Bali gang... :)

Me & my rider...

We found a Halal place to eat named Putri Minang...of course that sells Padang food. And delicious too. This restaurant is just along the main  Jl. Raya Ubud. When Ubud Market is on your right, go straight ahead along Jl. Raya Ubud until you reach Jl. Hanoman to your right. Do not turn right. Just walk straight ahead for another 50-100 meters and this shop will be on your right. There is another Halal cafe beside this restaurant. 

The usual selection of great spicy yummy Padang food.

My lunch with brown rice. Errr not liking the brown rice hehe. Tasted too healthy.

After lunch we went straight to Ubud Market... Ubud Market is quite huge. I would recommend at least 3 hours here for you to cover the whole area. Paintings though are cheaper in Sukawati I & II (there are 2 Sukawati markets nearby each other) so go to both and explore if you have the time... I did not go this time around but my friend did and bought a few paintings at Sukawati II..

Cool fancy colors!

A lot of shops here selling all kinds of paintings...

Ubud Market...

Ubud Market...

Good combination right?

Seriously a lot of tourists here...

After testing our bargaining skills, we went to Campuhan for the Campuhan Ridge Walk. Please read the Campuhan Ridge Walk in TripAdvisor and there will be hundreds of great comments and tips and how to go on this walk. We did not follow the walking route as we had our motorbikes so we rode straight to the other end of the walk from Karsa Kafe. I highly recommend doing this walk if you really came to Ubud to experience the quietness, greenery & scenery. When I was there we could only hear the sound of the river below, the birds and the grass caressing each other in the late afternoon breeze. Loved it. Just don't start walking too late in the afternoon or you will be walking back in total darkness hehe. Better to arrange a transport back at Karsa Kafe if you happen to be there after sunset. Early morning is the best time of course.

This is the path coming from the other end of the Campuhan Ridge Walk...

As far as the eye can see. The ridge in between to valleys complete with rivers. It was Bali Kuningan
holiday hence the many people (all teenagers!) who were enjoying the serenity with us....

The Bali gang...

Private villas...

This is Karsa Kafe. Your bonus at the end of your walk. Seriously good shakes and smoothies here.

Views from Karsa Kafe...

My mango smoothie. Superb!

Us at Karsa Kafe...

Sunset at Karsa Kafe...

From Karsa Kafe we went straight for dinner. We chose the Halal restaurant right beside where we had lunch today. Please refer above for directions.

This is the Grilled Chicken (Ayam Bakar) with brown rice. What's with Ubudians and brown rice? Hehe.
This set comes with a glass of ice lemon tea and vegetable soup. Rp30.000.

This is my chicken cooked in coconut cream. Yummy! Just ate this by itself. Say no to brown rice! :P

Since we were in Ubud where there really were a lot of cool chick cafes to hangout at, we decided to just spend the rest of the night at this cafe simply named "Kafe". Seriously. Just imagine the confusion every time you are talking about going to this place with your friends. "Lets go hang out at Kafe tonight" "Which cafe?" "You knowww....the Kafe" "Uhmmm but which cafe????" "The cafe is called Kafe!" "Seriously man...this is not helping" "Dammit its Kafe with a K!" "Owhhhhh!". Well.... Anyways...the cafe is seriously cool and cozy with their wooden furniture and fluffy cushions. They offer a lot of drinks to choose from and quite a number of healthy drinks too! Food menu were quite interesting too. All of our drinks were really good. The cake too tasted great! I tasted the Brownies with Ice Cream. Very moist, sweet but slightly bitter chocolaty taste if you're into it. I know I am. And my drink was Banana Milkshake. So good the next day I ordered the same again! :)

They receive a lot of good reviews in TripAdvisor. And here's a link to their sort of website ---> Kafe, Ubud Oh if you fancy going here...it's at Jl Hanoman 44b...it's almost towards the end of Jl. Hanoman on your left if you are from Jl. Raya Ubud...

The 2 storey Kafe. :)

Cozy...

Some of the drinks menu...

Sounds interesting...

Yummy looking desserts!

Just love the place...

That's all for day 4 in Bali.... to be continued with day 5....see you again soon! :)