A Heavenly Trip to Bali (Day 2)

We woke up early and went to the Anantara Hotel – Wild Orchid dining room for a breakfast buffet that was included in the room rate deal found on Gilt.  OK, confession- describing this breakfast without making my mouth water might be the hardest thing I will have to endure in my life.  The coffee is seriously the best coffee I have tasted…EVER, (this is a lot to say with me being Puerto Rican).  Also, the buffet included freshly squeezed orange and pineapple juice, and a variety of alluring carbohydrates, fruits, and cheeses.   I decided to order a-la-carte pancakes, which was also included.  Let me tell you about these pancakes, they were so soft and delicious, and had a creamy filling inside, that melted in my mouth.  Unfortunately, I was never able to figure out what it was, but tasted heavenly!

We had arranged with the charming concierge for someone to pick us up and drive us to Ubud to visit the rice fields and to see the temples.   Although personally, the only reason I wanted to go was because Ubud is where the Love/Bali part of the “Eat, Pray, Love” movie was filmed; and also I was secretly hoping that Ubud was the place where I would meet my Javier Bardem. We climbed into the taxi of a gracious Balinitian man, who was unusually taller than any of the others we had seen, and departed to Ubud.  The rice fields were about 90 minutes away and our food comas were taking their toll on us.  Needless to say, we were struggling to stay awake, but the scenery was so captivating with nature everywhere, Balinitian furniture stores, and many boutique stores, that we were going crazy making mental notes of all the ones we wanted to visit the next day and managed to enjoy the whole ride.

Once we arrived at Ubud and we were walking on the main road, it was a little difficult to find the rice fields.   We asked some locals and through hand gestures they directed us to the rice fields pathway.  We began the walk and it was all green as far as my eyes could see, very nice, though the heat was killing me. We continued walking and after approximately 20 minutes, we found “Warung Bodah Maliah” aka Sari Organic Farms.  The restaurant was an open space with couches all over; it felt super cozy.  The food was all-organic, mostly grown on the farm that was located right next to the restaurant.  My perspective of the view of the rice fields changed immediately.  From the restaurant it was really stunning; especially with the much needed cool breeze hitting my face.  We ordered one plate of a variety of organic food, one lemonade, and one tropical fruit frappe.  Everything was extremely delicious and so healthy.  I loved this place.  Our bill was approximately 65,000 rupiah which is equivalent to more or less $7.  Amazing, I know!  We continued our walk for about 35 more minutes frolicking through the rice fields with the sun hitting us hard.  We finally arrived to a paved path that had many stores on each side and at the end of the path we were led to the Ubud main road.

Afterward, while walking again on the main road, we saw some of the most breathtaking temples you can imagine.  You have to make an offering and put on a sash and a sarong to enter the sacred area.  We decided to not enter because after the walk, if we needed to put on another piece of clothing, we would have literally died of a heat stroke.  Also, note for future Bali Travelers- Woman who are menstruating are not allowed inside the temples in Bali.

We did not leave Ubud before visiting the famous Ubud market, which is a large area with vendors and their stands, full of all nicknacks that tourists love to buy, plus marvelous artifacts made by local artists, paintings, etc.  This is a must visit place!

On our way back to the hotel, the driver took us on a different route.  We drove through Kuta, in which we decided to stay, since it was close to the hotel and is really famous for the surfing beaches and shops.   First order of business, we went to a tiny local bar and ordered two Bintang’s -Bali beer- so refreshing!  Later, we went to the beach and waited to see the sunset, and then we continued to visit a bunch of shops.  All I can say is the US surf clothing brands must make a ton of money in Kuta because they were everywhere.  I was not overly impressed with the shopping in Kuta, but I still managed to buy a few souvenirs.

We returned to the hotel, chilled out for like one minute and started getting ready for the night.  All I said to Teri (aka wingwoman), after we were ready to hit the road looking fabulous, was “We are going to make it rain tonight!”  However, it is really hard to make it rain in Bali because everything is so inexpensive, but we wanted to have a RockStar worthy night.

First stop was KuDeTa , which is this incredible restaurant and lounge, nestled right in front of Seminyak beach.  If you are a foodie and really like nice places, KuDeTa needs to be at the top of your list when visiting Bali.  The cocktail menu list was top-notch, but we decided to have a few exquisite tapas and a jar of dreamy white sangria.  KuDeTa also offers bottle service, so we ended up ordering a bottle of champagne.  By the time the champagne came to our table, we were socializing with everyone that was sitting around us and enjoying the fantastic atmosphere the place provided.

Next we visited Cocoon Beach Club ; all I can say is: This place is smoking! Cocoon is a huge open space in front of the beach, with white and sky blue extra chic furniture, it has a huge pool, and a bunch of private cabanas located in front of the pool.  We ordered a table and asked the waiter to surprise us with his choice of drinks.  He was right on cue with his selection.  This venue was my favorite in Bali, I consider it a gem.  We ended up meeting a group of British people that was sitting in a table next to us.  By the end of the night, we were all playing a game with tequila shots and tomato juice involved.  Just in case you are wondering, yes, we did jump into the pool at 5:00am, and yes, it was awesome!

***Post and photos by Punch Passport Correspondent Loreana S. González Lazzarini, gonzalez.loreana@gmail.com, @lory_dc. By day Lori is a CPA at an international accounting firm and when she can, she continues to fill up her passport with her numerous globe trotting travels.***