Anther wonderful 8 day holiday to Ubud has been had -along with Julia Roberts who was there filming her new movie Eat, Pray, Love!
Stayed at the luxurious Hilton Hotel at the Melbourne Airport which is around 60 paces from reception to the Garuda check-in which was a dream. Noticed I was the only person without luggage locks and started to get paranoid so left the line and locked up my suitcase.
The Garuda flght was all fine except did someone take the padding out of my seat 'cause I had a numb bum for a while there!
Wizzed through the whole VOA/Immigration trauma by going to the middle line after I handed over my US$25 -not the right hand side that crawled it's way through. We were lucky the flght got in early so we had 3 planeloads behind us.
My Greenfield rep was there waiting for me with huge smile and full of great information and advice as I'd never stayed down that part of Ubud before. I didn't realise just how close Tegal Sari is, sharing the same driveway and even a small pathway between the two properties. I was on the 2nd level with jawdropping green rice paddy views (good idea to check when harvesting is as the fields wil be just brown mud)that I had only seen pics of. If you're looking for somewhere to stay that's cheap so you can spend all your cash on restaurants and souvenirs and day spas then this is the place. The free transport around Ubud is a treat, the reception staff very helpful and the gorgeous pool area a great place to hang out. If you're like me and on your own wanting a special getaway experience it might not be suitable. I missed not having a tv to watch the news at night and perhaps a movie after dinner. When one of the power blackouts happened between 6pm -10pm I wanted to be somewhere that had a generator so I didn't have to languish in my room without lights or AC as the street was way too dark to walk along without falling through the footpath -might have been romantic for some!
Staying at Greenfield means a short walk to some wonderful places to eat including the delicious Indonesian food at Warung Enak (check out their great menus on their website), Thai at Siam Sally, pizza at Pizza Bagus (also has a deli so after all that Asian food you might just want to get a ham/tomato roll), the crisy duck place that everyone talks about and the scrumptious Gateway to India where the dosa was brilliant. The best place by far if you could get a table was Kafe a little bit further along Hannaman Street for healthy and organic options(has a great website with their menu). Also nearby was one of my favourite spas over the years Zen Bali Spa whch is down the laneway alongside Siam Sally for great massages/exfoliation treatments.
After 4 days I was finaly being picked up and taken to my Kaja Ne villa on Monkey Forest Road next to Cafe Wayan (runs the best cooking classes in Ubud)so very central. OMG, did I say OMG out loud? There I was in my Ubud heaven with my own salt-water swimming pool (yes, just for me), 5 different breakfasts to choose from, afternoon tea served on my deck every day, outdoor bath tub, shower, romantic netting around my king size bed with a heart shaped petal arrangement, big screen TV and DVD with free movies to choose from as well as cable television, free internet, book library and a car and driver whenever, the most gorgeous staff who all knew my name and reminded me everyday. It was a joy to stay there for the other 4 days and how good is this - with checkout at 12 noon and my fight not until midnight I had the 'check out' room until 8.30pm for free which was more luxurious and bigger than most hotel rooms.
It really was another magical holiday and Ubud is so much more than a daytrip from Kuta. I didn't do the rice paddy trek but heard that the one through Beji Ayu for 200 000 rupiah is great value (pick up 8am, breakfast, village walk through the rice paddies, lunch and a 1 hour massage). I had spa treatments everyday and the stand out by far was Bali Botanica and the Chakra Dhara treatment combining dripped warm oil and relaxation massage -they're a few minutes from the main road but will come and pick you up.
I'm a bit of a foodie and tried most of the cooking schools before and the Cafe Wayan cooking school is the standout. It's held at their stunning sister property (a few minutes by car)and is very interactive with small groups (there were 4 of us)so all questions answered and then a beautiful garden setting to eat everything you've made .I even bought my massive mortar and pestle from the chef knowing it would be well seasoned and not needing extensive washing at home but boy did it add some weight to the bag.
Enjoy your trip!