JBR 6-21 Jan - Part 2 - Ubud
Found a mini van and driver just outside Ramayana Hotel entrance and asked him to take us to Ubud. The price wanted was only Rp 200,000 and seemed to be a reasonable price, so we headed off toward to stay at the Mansion for 5 days.
MANSION HOTEL
The Mansion is located in the village of Sayan, about 3km from Ubud. There is a scheduled hourly shuttle bus, operated by the hotel, until 9pm between the hotel and the palace downtown. Saved the hotel phone number on our cell phone as we were told by another guests that the evening buses sometimes didn't come to take you back to the hotel. That advice came in handy as I used it one evening.
Stayed in Sahadewa room which is one of the Frangipani residences. Has a shared common area lounge room outside. Inside there are two bedrooms, one with a single bed which used by our daughter. Outside was a shallow swimming pool and a deeper pool was found on the side of the main building near the front restaurant (Indochine).
The surroundings and structure of the hotel were magnificent. Nice art works were on display in the main building where there were 3 computers with free internet for use by guests. Staff were friendly and helpful.The hotel was enclosed with walls and a high front gate.
Breakfast was al a carte in the Terrace Restaurant with continental or American selections. Other specialities included cinnamon toast and pancakes.Bali coffee was available in a plunger broght to the table
SHOPPING
Purchased a large brass door knocker for Rp170,000 form an art store in Ubud on the mains street on the opposite side from Murni's Warung but a little further up the hill. The shop also sold other furniture fittings and knobs, woven baskets and other artefacts. Everything was priced well and there was no need to bargain for a reasonable price.
EATING OUT
Found Murni's Warung on the main road near the River. There are 4 levels to this restaurant which includes a bar on one of the lower levels and the fountain terrace further below.
Coco's Bistro was good for children. The staff were very friendly with our daughter.
The Indus Restaurant was our favourite pick for the whole ginger fish and beef rendang. The Indus has good quality food at a reasonable price and an amazing view. I can highly recommend this place.
TOURS
We were recommended a driver Gusti Gunawan by our hotel in Ubud whom we engaged over three days of the 5 days stay in Ubud. I found Gusti to be professional and courteous, allowing me to plan the main places to see and he also offered suggestions for restaurants and places of interest. Gusti's price was Rp 550,000 for an 8 hour trip anywhere on the island.
Gusti's lives in Sayan near Ubud and his contact details are:
Name: Gusti Ngurah Gunawan
Mobile phone: (0812) 362 7033
Email: gngunawan@gmail.com
Tour 1: Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), Tirta Empul water temple, Presidential Palace, Kintamani and hot springs at Toya Bungkah.
Last time I visited the elephant cave, there were no lights and I was expecting to need a torch, but it wasn't required with the new lighting.
At Tirta Empul, there was a temple ceremony the day we arrived at the water temple which was quite colourful. It was also excellent to see a large number of people bathing in the temple's water just outside.
At Kintamani, we had lunch at a buffet and purchased a carved chess/backgammon and draught set from for Rp 200.000 a far cry from 2million asked for at a department store style 'art market' just after Tampak Siring. Many sellers at the volcano lookout were persistent and you had to shut the car doors very slowly when leaving as they always put their arms in the way.
The hot springs at Toya Bungkah contain two very warm pools and one very large cooler pool. The entry cost of Rp150.000 included a locker key, towel, welcome drink and meal of satays. We sat by the large pool under one of the outdoor umbrellas. There was a good view of the volcano and the lake. There was a lot of building activity to expand the facilities with a new main building and rear garden nearer to the lake.
Tour 2: KlungKung Royal Court, Safari and Marine Park at Gianyar and Sukawati Art Market.
The punishment meted out to people in the after life amazes still me on the KlungKung ceiling panels. I have to remind myself not to commit adultery. You don't need to buy a sarong from the carpark hawkers as they give out sarongs inside the palace/temple compound after paying a very small entry amount.
Entry to the Safari and Marine Park was $US35 each. From the entry area a bus takes you into the park. There is a good warung just before the elephant rides which does a good soto ayam with noodles. Our daughter fed carrots to baby elephants, rode a large elephant and patted the tiger cub. There were some juvenile Komodo's on display in an enclosure, a bit smaller with some colouration on the side of the head. Some of the exhibited tigers appeared to be white, but the tiger cub in the patting area was orange and black in colour. The coat had an interesting feel with wire-like fur. You can pay Rp 80.000 for a photo of yourself with the tiger cub. You probably need to use the flash on your camera as the room is quite dark near the tiger cub. Also near the tiger cub are the live snake exhibits. Returning toward exit/entrance is the aquarium with various local fish on display.
At Sukawati art market, we bought a small decorated single tier umbrella for Rp70.000. There seemed to a lot of t shirts and sandals, but some different styles to Kuta. Would have like to stay a little longer to explore the market, but needed to head back to Ubud for the evening.
Tour3: Indus Restaurant Ubud and Butterfly Park at Tabanan.
Drove to an umbrella shop where we purchased two desktop umbrellas decorated with gold paint, hearts and Chinese coins for Rp 130.000 each. Enjoyed a great lunch at the Indus Restaurant. The Butterfly Park was one of the highlights of the whole trip. The entry was Rp60,000 and our daughter had a great time there, holding at least three butterflies at once, the giant Barong moth and the large stick insects were also amazing to hold. It is best to arrive in the morning when the butterflies are more active. Although we went in the afternoon, there were still lots of butterflies to see and we had the butterfly keeper all to ourselves. She was very helpful and spoke impeccable English. The latest you can arrive is 4pm.
HEALTH:
The Mansion Hotel supplied a plug-in mosqito killer with replacement pads whilst the Ramayana in Kuta did not. However, I took my own plug-in mosquito zapper. While I brought one European adapter and a 4 point Australian power board, I found that the liquid type usually needs to be plugged in an upright position. Given this, a power board is not suitable unless it can be fastened on its side. Both hotel rooms contained one universal adapter which became useful when we needed to recharge things at the same time as operating the mosquito zapper. As a back-up, we also burnt a mosquito coil in the hallway of the Mansion apartment each evening. Mosquitos were more of a problem in Ubud than in Kuta.
Immodium was effective for cases of diarrhoea which was virtually unavoidable. Also took salvital powder from Australia and drank it with bottled water to replace electrolytes.