The trip to Bali was suppose to be a solo trip on my own to find MYSELF and to do some yoga and check out their vegan cafes and restaurants but my friend, Xue Ying decided to embark on this spiritual journey. Why not? Some company is great.
I would say this was the best vacation so far because we had an awesome accommodation booked through AirBnb. It was a great idea to stay at a guest house while travelling because I didn’t really like staying in hotels. It’s so cool to stay at a villa or guesthouse where you can also interact with the locals. I spent lots of time browsing through the list of accomodations at Airbnb – comparing its location and prices just so I could see which one is the best value for money. I ended up choosing this place which serves free breakfast and transportation to and from central ubud. Perfect!
(Now, you can travel on Airbnb and get $33 in travel credit! Simply click this link to enjoy $33 off your first booking Airbnb. By the way, this is not a sponsored post!)
They also provide airport transfers for a fee of 28 USD one way. So when we touched down Bali, we had someone to pick us up!
The driver drove us to a Batik factory and we sort of walked around abit before heading back to the car. Not too sure if he would receive commission by dropping us off at the Batik factory but we didn’t mind since we get to take some photos of the locals doing batik painting.
After 45 mins of drive, we reached our accomodation! I never thought it was actually a resort-type of villa stay as I thought it was a homestay. Plus, the listing on Airbnb did not state it was called Indigo Tree. But whether it is a guesthouse or villa, this place was AWESOME!
Reception.
We waited at the reception area while they prepare our rooms. We were both given a fresh blended papaya juice as our welcome drink.
Dining area where we have our breakfast.
Love the Balinese decor.
The staff at Indigo tree were very friendly and one of the staff manager even come up to us and gave us a warm welcome.
There are two pools in the villa but this one is the biggest! It looks beautiful and enticing to swim in it but the water don’t look very clean. I went in for a dip the next morning and true indeed, the pool area was not very well-maintained as there were fallen leaves and flowers everywhere. It was relatively clean to swim but you need to bathe immediately!
The smaller pool which is closer to our villa.
We were there early so we manage to have some breakfast there. They serve breakfast from 8 am to 11 am and we can choose from the selection of breakfast items they offered. If you are really hungry, you can choose everything! Their breakfast is as good as those buffet breakfast!
I miss having their breakfast now! ( as I am typing this blog entry!)
The rooms were spectacular and I never knew I would have a full view of the ricefields.
I was practically screaming into the pillow when I entered the room. I think I must have seem this room in photos on other AirBnb listings but it was quoted as a higher price. So I guess it was a blessing to be given this room! I even questioned myself if I really deserve all of these. It was way better than any other luxurious hotel stays because of the closeness to nature!
The scent of Frangipani is really pleasant. As good as rose. Have you smelt it before?
It smells like Ubud, Bali.
During this whole trip, we only hang around Ubud instead of venturing out. I heard so many things about Kuta and had already foresee that I might prefer Ubud than anywhere else in Bali. I would definitely be back in Ubud next year again!
There’s even a view of the ricefield in the shower! Love it! My friend probably thinks that I am crazily in love with ricefields but hey, it’s so delightful to just look at the vast piece of green land dotted with some vegetation. So peaceful and calming.
This place was too perfect to be true and I even Whatsapp my parents images of this place to fire up their jealousy! How horrible I am!
Spacious living.
Need extra beds or a place to chill in silence? There’s this lounge area to chill out.
Loving the green scenery.
Having settling down, we went to Sedona Spa after Xue Ying read up some reviews on this spa. I would say it is rather okay. The place was big though.
I did the Bali Boreh spa because I was rather sick and I thought it might be able to relieve some of my cold and flu symptoms. It includes a one hour massage and 20 minutes of Boreh body mask and 10 minutes of hot shower. The mask which is concoction of traditional herbs and spices and when applied, my skin felt really hot but bearable. They even wrap my body with a towel and sarong to trap the heat. Although it’s even warm in there, I enjoy that warmth that envelopes my body. I felt like the heat was causing the toxins in me to purge out. I felt so much better after that as I was sick right after coming back from my Europe trip.
For dinner, we head to Bali Buda – a well-known raw vegan/vegan/vegetarian restaurant located in central Ubud, right opposite Radiantly Alive Yoga.
I had vegetarian Nasi Campur which tasted great but not all dishes tasted as good. Some dishes are like the pasta were really delicious. I went there on our second night and had a raw vegan veggie platter dish. It tasted rather awful and too expensive for such a small portion.
It’s quite hard to spot Bali Buda because their signage is rather small but you can recognise it by their huge noticeboard that is pasted right outside their restaurant.
Selamat Pagi! By 6 am, I was already out of bed as the sky brightens up really early.
On the second day, I decided to do yoga at Radiantly Alive after some recommendations that the classes here are smaller in size and instructors are approachable. True indeed, I enjoyed all the yoga classes I’ve attended there so far! I bought the day pass for 170,000 RP which approximately equivalent to SGD 17. It’s so worth it if you can attend 2 or more classes a day like how some of them did. I attended 4 classes! I did Vinyasa and Hatha during the day and Restorative yoga and Flyhigh yoga in the evening.
There were changing rooms and showering facilities. In the studio itself, there were shelves to place your belongings. Towels are not provided though but you are able to rent the towels from them. 10,000 Rp for a small towel and 20,000 Rp for a big towel. Mats are available but they really stink! It’s best if you bring your own yoga mats or a towel to lay it over the mat. They had plenty of props – from wooden blocks, soft blocks, blankets to bolster. There might be some crawlies there as well but insect repellants are provided. I like to spray it all over my body before each yoga class.
Lunch @ Nomads.
It wasn’t a vegetarian-friendly restaurant but according to Xue Ying, who tried their vegetarian sandwich, the food was not too bad. I only had salads which tasted OK.
The next day, we went to do a rice field trek as I wanted to check out Sari Organic. The driver recommended this place as the food was really good and I am glad we went! I happen to google for spa and found Cantika Spa which is near Sari Organic. It is a spa that specializes in using natural herbs and plants to create their own in-house products.
We did a hair treatment for 150,000 RP. They use their own shampoos and conditioner that is made from 99 % natural organic ingredients and 1% chemicals.
Okay, we were wrong. Sari Organic is no where near Cantika Spa. It was quite a distance but it was along the rice field trek route. The sky was turning dark and we were thankful that we found the restaurant before it rains!
This was marinated kebab and it was really yummy!
They serve really good smoothies too!
We continued our trek after lunch and it took us about 2 hours to walk out of the fields and enter back into the city. But we did a one-hour foot reflexology spa along the way to the central.
Sweet potato chocolate cake
In the evening, we went to Warung Dayu to have some raw vegan desserts. The cakes were so yummy and there was this customer there who raved to us about their chocolates but we were too full to try anything else for dinner that evening. Warung Dayu is a smaller cafe, which more like a coffeeshop to speak. It may not be as nicely decorated as other cafes but the price of the food is somewhat cheaper and heard that it serve great vegan food too.
This cake was really yummy but I can’t remember what it was called!
On our last day, we had a long breakfast at our villa and started to explore Jalan Haloman by foot. We made our way to Pizza Bagus to visit the organic market there. I brought some fresh spices and a green tea hand cream from Nadis Herbal.
Then we stopped along a vegetarian cafe called Veggie Table and their food was unexpectedly good! Hidden find!
Then we made our way back to Nomad where the driver from Putri Bali Spa will pick us up. It was a Saturday and the traffic can get really bad. It took us quite some time before we reach there. Putri Bali Spa was the number 1 spa recommended on Trip Advisor then so we had to try it before we leave!
We were at Putri Bali Spa 2, the newer spa outlet. The both of us did the 1.5 hour massage where it was really a total bliss! The massage techniques were very thorough and they really press on those tight spots. They really deserve that number one spot!
We also get to meet the owner of Putri Bali spa. He’s an amicable business man I must say.
Oh! Before you leave the city for the airport do prepare to pay 200,000 RP of airport tax. I reckon the money is use to fund their new airport which is pretty awesome because it has cafes and restaurants. Before there, there was nothing in the airport. So I welcome that change.
