Yogurtsoda

I ate a lot in Bali. I mean, it was hard not to. Breakfast was overflowing, and Ubud is full of restaurants and snack stalls waiting to be sampled. On our third day, I had the mee goreng for breakfast with a fried egg on top, because, you know, breakfast.

We decided to walk to Ubud’s downtown to burn off some extra calories, making our way down Jalan Bisma until we got to the Monkey Forest.

The Monkey Forest was only mildly terrifying, and after Nishan got his photos of Ubud’s monkeys gone wild, we stopped for lunch at Ibu Oka, the pig-centric restaurant that Anthony Bourdain infamously raved about. I got the spesial, which is a little bit of everything atop rice and greens, and you know what? Sorry Bourdain, but I’m not with you on this one. This little piggy was not my vibe. Too greasy and too porky. Somebody call the harambulance.

Aftewards we stumbled over to Ubud Palace which strangely enough is also Ubud’s central pickup and taxi queuing location. We headed back to our hotel after that, eager to enjoy teatime before dipping into the pool.

The next morning after a breakfast of banana pancakes, we figured we should take a day trip to the coast. Four days into our trip and we hadn’t even visited Bali’s famed beaches.

The hour-long drive led us to Seminyak, where we stopped at Warung Sobat for their grilled lobster. Warung Sobat is about a fifteen minute walk from the beach, and although it’s a casual spot, make sure to make reservations ahead of time so they can prepare the lobster accordingly. It comes with rice and a deliciously garlicy buttery sauce, and was totally worth our carbon monoxide fume-filled taxi ride to the coast.

Things went downhill once we got to Seminyak’s coast. I won’t even include photos. The beaches were lined with inebriated spring breakers and seemingly miserable families on holidays they didn’t want to be part of. (To be fair, I’d rather be in Ubud over Seminyak too.) Dudes, lay off the Bud Light and EDM.

This was our cue to head back to Ubud. Tea time and a dip in the pool was sounding real good right about then. An hour later and we were back at Komaneka. Ah, much better.

It’s January. You know, that time of year when we’re all dreaming of a warm day at the beach under the sun. It’s been nine months since Nishan and I returned from our honeymoon, but memories of Bali run deep. We took a red eye flight to Hong Kong and after a quick lunch of duck noodle soup at the airport, we got on a plane to Denpasar, Bali’s hot and hectic airport. After an hour in a taxi, we arrived at what would be our home base for the next week: Ubud.

Our lingering jet lag meant that we woke up before sunrise, but who can complain with this view? After a delicious breakfast of rice dumplings stuffed with banana and drizzled with palm sugar syrup, we were off to explore the town of Ubud.

We wandered through Ubud Market, brimming with the most delicious fruits you can imagine — but only if you get there early enough. After nine in the morning, the market reinvents itself as a kitschy souvenir market, but still bustling.

Afterwards we stopped at Kafe Batan Waru for lunch. Batan Waru would become one of our favorite haunts during our stay. The outdoor seating, the charming street, but most of all the food made the place an easy choice. We feasted on lemper ayam (sticky rice and shredded chicken grilled in banana leaves), kangung tumis (Asian watercress with shallots, garlic, and soy sauce), and skewers of sate ayam madura. All washed down with sugary, icy cendol, of course!

It was time for our massage appointment next. Don’t get me wrong. We had no interest in the Eat, Pray, Love narrative, but we couldn’t pass up Bali without a massage. So we took the stroll down beautiful Jalan Kajeng, stopping along the way to admire Bali’s stunning stone carvings and larger-than-life architecture. We got caught in a rainstorm, which was fine, because really, anything in Bali is fine. Yes siree, you’ll find me in Bali being phased by just about nothing.

Relaxed, kneaded, and slightly sleepy, we made our way back to downtown Ubud to check out Pura Taman Saraswati. This temple honors Dewi Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, and it’s a bit incredible that the temple sits literally in downtown Ubud, just a stone’s throw away from a Starbucks.

We headed back to our hotel after that excursion, just in time for tea. If you are staying in Ubud, I cannot recommend Komaneka at Bisma enough. It it is by and far the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at, not only for the wonderfully appointed rooms and grounds, but especially for the incredible warmth of the staff. I’ll write more on that later, but for now, I’ll say that our trip in Ubud was marked by one constant: our daily excitement at what deliciously home-cooked snacks and sweets each afternoon tea would bring. It’s been almost a year and I’m still craving the lemongrass tea and irresistibly fragrant honey.