Bali II (Ubud)
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007Jan 28-Feb 1
After Kuta’s craziness, we decided to soak up some arts and culture in Ubud, the cultural centre of Bali. Rather than risk the lunacy of driving ourselves, we hired a driver who showed us the beautiful countryside along the way and pointed out the various art villages on the outskirts of Ubud. Each village specializes in a different type of art – woodcarving, painting and weaving to name a few. The techniques are perfected and passed down through generations, creating very talented craftspeople that produce high quality products for very low prices (by Western standards). Our driver waited patiently while we checked out the various accommodation options in Ubud, which is home to some of the priciest hotels on the island. Our intention was to stay in a losmen, which is a very cheap option where you sleep in a room in a family compound for under $10 Cdn per night. However, Claude found Gayatri II Bungalows with its beautiful gardens, infinity pool and rooms overlooking the rice paddies and we couldn’t resist. It was splurge at 350,000 rupiah ($45Cdn)/night (incl breakfast), but we definitely got our money’s worth – the place was like a bloody palace! Just check out the photos!
The best part was that it was located two minutes walk from the main street and we didn’t need to pay for any taxis to get around. [read on]
tambour