Saturday morning was my departure to Ubud. I’d hired a driver named Gede, who I’d met when getting a tattoo a few years ago at Demon Tattoo on Double Six Road. You can contact him through Mr. Rasta Transportation (62-831-1803-985). We’re friends on Facebook, too, so that helps as far as my getting in touch with him. He picked me up at the appointed time and took me to Honeymoon Guesthouse in Ubud.
Ubud is my favorite place in Bali, as well as being one of my favorite places in the world. It has a very calming effect on me, even with the ever increasing traffic. There’s no beach for sunset, no big fancy clubs and limited nightlife, but there IS a horrible Starbucks on Jalan Raya Ubud. If only people would quit patronizing the place so that it would go away…
Honeymoon Guesthouse is also my favorite place to stay. Although I was staying in AirBnB apartments for the rest of my vacation, the ones in Ubud were too far from the center of town for me and would require a driver several times daily, beings I myself don’t drive. Honeymoon Guesthouse is owned by an Australian woman who fell in love with Bali and married a Balinese man. They’ve built it to resemble a somewhat traditional compound. Many of the rooms have ornately carved doors, huge terraces and four poster beds with mosquito netting, all arranged around a lovely pool area. The owners of Honeymoon Guesthouse also own two restaurants, Casa Luna and Indus. Casa Luna is the more casual of the two and is within walking distance of the hotel. Indus is further out and has a stunning view over the river , but free transportation is provided to/from their restaurants. I had asked for the Krishna room when reserving (there may be two of them) and was given the same room that my Italian ex-boyfriend and I had stayed in back in 2009. The room has A/C, as well as a separate bathtub and shower. Of course, while we were there, the ex never let me turn on the A/C; you know, many Italians are strange about A/C – afraid they’ll catch a cold or something. Thus, I was doubly thrilled to have the room to myself. Another male Italian friend of mine, A., had also stayed with me at Honeymoon Guesthouse in 2012. In fact, he ended up moving to Bali on that trip and now resides in Ubud (as it was always his favorite place, too). He lives close to Honeymoon Guesthouse, but wouldn’t be in Ubud when I arrived, since he had immigration things to take care of in Italy. Even so, he knew that my birthday is at the end of October, beings his is as well! He’d told me right before I left on my trip that he had left a package for me with the staff at Honeymoon Guesthouse; it would be my birthday present. Upon checking in, I asked if there was a package for me, but they said “No.”
By this time, it was well past noon and I was starving. I walked to Casa Luna and chowed down on some Vietnamese Chicken Salad. Then I desperately needed to exchange some currency. I found a BMC Money Changer not far from the Ubud Market. After one bad money changing experience in Seminyak, I ONLY go to the BMC Money Changer across the street from Bintang Supermarket. You can watch them count the money with the machines and on the counter, unlike other places which are very secretive.
The cash was necessary for my aromatherapy massage at Lily Spa, which is a nice, yet inexpensive spa on Jalan Bisma directly across from Honeymoon Guesthouse. I’ve been going there for years and one or more of their employees always recognizes me. A basic traditional Balinese massage there is only 70,000IDR. Now you can even book appointments in advance on-line.
Afterwards I went back to my room to organize a few things, then went for a walk. I managed to find CarameL Patisserie and Café on Jalan Hanoman. They had a nice selection of cakes and macarons in interesting flavors. I bought a small Dome cake (Bailey’s, chocolate mousse, cashew butter, salted caramel) and assorted macarons such as Black Sesame, Chili Chocolate and Java Tea Chocolate.
Dinner was at Bunute – cecalon siap soup, mie goreng and strawberry basil soda. This nice restaurant serves up tasty food and often has live music, but has INCREDIBLY slow service. Then again, what’s the rush when in Ubud? My only rush in getting out of there was that the mosquitos were beginning to eat me alive. I stopped in a little store to buy a can of Off spray and promptly doused myself with it.
One of the most popular places for nightlife in Ubud is CP Lounge. The huge space has live bands, pool tables, a movie area and another area for DJs. I was there early enough to secure a seating area relatively close to the stage. The local band was grinding out Led Zeppelin, Stray Cats, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bob Marley, among other things, all done quite well, too. As the evening progressed and the place filled up, two Austrian guys asked if they could sit in my area, which was fine with me. I struck up a conversation with the one nearest me, T. The other guy was too far away and the music too loud for us to be able to hear each other. Eventually, the other guy simply went back to his hotel, but T. and I kept drinking. When the place closed down, we realized that both of us were staying on Jalan Bisma, so he obviously walked me to Honeymoon Guesthouse. Once we were there, he didn’t make any attempt to say “goodbye” or leave. I awkwardly said “I’d invite you up, but I don’t have anything to drink.” “That’s ok!” he responded. There was nothing to do then, but invite him up. He was both impressed with my room and the grounds, so I gave him a little tour around the hotel property. When we were done, we sat outside on my huge terrace sharing some macarons. Conversation was going well until he felt compelled to kiss me. I had to shut him down after that, though he kept saying that he was very attracted to me. Actually, T. was an attractive man, but a one night stand was not on my agenda for this trip. When I politely suggested that it was time for him to go, he said “Sad face.” I walked him to the door and he disappeared into the night.
The Pool at Honeymoon Guesthouse
Terrace of a Room at Honeymoon Guesthouse
Grounds of Honeymoon Guesthouse
Chair at Honeymoon Guesthouse