Probably part of most foreigner's plan coming to Ubud and that looked online for nice place to eat, The Lotus café probably popup on your screen. Cosy place to have a meal with a view of the water temple. Price are of course a bit more expensive then your local restaurant but still good for Western standards.
Quick meal at Lotus café
The main entrance to the café was closed when I went there (around 4th of November 2024) so you had to walk close to the temple entrance and there was a waiting area. You actually have to wait to be seated here, I think the café is very busy and a lot of people probably do come with a reservation for the evening. It wasn't the case for me, I came just like that with the hope of having a quick dinner before heading to the Dance Show. The waitress was nice and bring me to a table close to the water but did insist on the fact that it was reserve after 6:30pm so I had to eat in like 45mins which was ok, the kitchen was efficient and got my meal out pretty fast.
The quality was there too, the atmosphere is peacefully and you can look across to the water to the temple and see people visiting it.
Kecak Fire Dance
What was suppose to be the highlight of my night, I was really looking forward to it because of the previous cancel show earlier during the week. The show was happening a bit further down the city and not at the palace where I thought it would happen and where I bought my ticket (the guy only tell you after, fair game) still the venue was really cool and actually a lot of seats were available.
I did come very early like 40mins at least before the show because I did read review online saying that people had a hard time getting a seat but it wasn't the case at this venue. Some street vendors are inside the venue to sell you beer or other drinks before you take your seat.
The show lasted for 60-90 mins I think, was done by 9pm which is already very dark night time in Bali. Although I did enjoy the show as it was a different experience, I actually preferred my time at the lotus café, it felt really good there.
Considering the price to be 100k IDR or like 7USD I would still do it again but it is probably going to be very similar.
The do tell a story about spirits and ancient time with their performance and also had a page you could read before the show to understand what was going on. Not much talking, lots of movements.
The fire show happens during the second part before the end where they actually burn stuff and a guy just walk through it like it is water, pretty impressive.
It was the end of my week here in Ubud and this night was a good conclusion.
One of the temple was doing a ceremony on the Main Street.
Got really lucky during my last few days in Ubud as I walk in the street around lunch to find that a special ceremony was happening and they actually blocked the entire street even fore pedestrian. I watch most of the ceremony, it was a very spiritual moment and local people were all dressed for the occasion in traditional clothes. Sometime you find things like that just by luck so it is good not to have everything planned out to the second and leave some space for those moments.
Sharing a Grab to Canggu
It was time to move out to another part of the Island which is Canggu, the town is famous among expats for parties and digital nomad life, a few famous beach club call Canggu home and if that is your thing, you can look into spending the day there with friends.
How to move around Bali, well for me it was only with Grab, I have used the app for all my travels around, it is very convenient way of traveling and not expensive here, specially when there is less tourist. A 90 mins ride might cost $20 or so which is amazing.
I was ready to pay that cost but during the morning I saw a message from someone on Hostelworld looking to do a ride sharing and split the cost. We exchanged numbers and set a meeting point at her hostel in order to go to Canggu together.
She also happens to be French which was a nice bonus. The ride in itself was pretty fast and I got to my next place in Canggu probably around 6pm.
For the first time during the trip I stayed in a share room in a hostel, it was a way to get a different experience and meet some like minded travelers. I stayed at the Farm, lots of Australian over there, a few British also. The highlight was the pool and their breakfast bowl which I recommend.
Being there also meant my trip was coming towards the end and I would only have a week reminding on this beautiful island.
Bonus tip: If booking hostels, do so a bit in advance in order to have access to the chat on hostelworld, you can talk to people and maybe save money on rides or find someone do to an activity. In Bali it is actually used. I believe it is available 15 days before you go to your location.
Explore the Journey So Far:
- ☕ WaltInAsia 08 - Ubud - Waterfall, temple and coffee plantation
- 🐒 WaltInAsia 07 - Ubud Monkey forest and cancelled dance show
- 🚕 WaltInAsia 06 - Relocation to Ubud
- 🐪 WaltInAsia 05 - Day 10 Kuta, Sanur and camel ride
- 📍 WaltInAsia 04 - Pool and Sunset in Kuta, Bali
- ✈️ WaltInAsia 03 - Flight from Jakarta to Bali
- 🛍️ WaltInAsia 02 - Tour of markets and Malls in Jakarta
- 🗺️ WaltInAsia 01 - End of first week in Jakarta, Indonesia
- 🛫 WaltInAsia 00 - Preparation and flight review to Jakarta