Cowbright: Ubud or Bust!

early morning from Bandung - flight time 6:05 am

Since we had to move out of our apartment during September 15-18 (it had been rented for those dates before we signed our contract) we decided to spend 3 days in Bali as a belated 43^rd anniversary celebration. Bali is only maybe a 1.5 hour flight from Bandung, with a stopover in Surabaya. I still haven’t figured that one out, as all we did was get off the plane, pass through security and wait until we could re-board the same plane. Btw, dirty plane, dirtier airport. Supposedly they were servicing it?? Anyway, it is not so far from Bandung (relatively speaking) and it was definitely on our “to do” list while here. Unbeknownst to us, it turned out to be the perfect time to visit.


Merpati Airlines

A musholla is an Islamic prayer room found in public places (malls, airports) or as stand alone buildings. They are used to perform Salat (the five-times-daily Islamic prayer) and include facilities for wudu (formal washing before prayer). Shoes are seen outside these rooms since Muslims are required to remove them before praying.


entrance to our courtyard area

pool villa - means our own private pool!

Happy Anniversary!


grounds at Kamandalu Resort


our room had many detailed floral touches

One of the things we have sorely missed here is our Mexican food! I had read about this place online - owned by a local but great reviews for his Mexican food - everything prepared fresh! For someone who has never been to Mexico, I'd say the owner Eddie did a darn good job! So much so that we had to go back the next day for enchiladas and would have gone the last day had their been time! YUM! My drink was a lime/lemon/ginger/mint concoction. Every restaurant offers a wide menu of fruity drinks - delicious and cheap, I might add!

I say YES!

Guacamole, salsa and chips all freshly made!

Naughty Nuris known for their ribs.

Indonesians are proud

We rejected the beach idea early on, as we had been warned it was more of a party atmosphere with traffic jams and people everywhere. We have already been experiencing the crowded/trafficy part so we decided to visit Ubud (pronoune oo-bood with long "u"). Ubud is in central Bali and there are no beaches in sight. It is regarded as the cultural center of Bali and is famous for its arts and crafts. Rather than being one town, it is actually a collection of 14 different villages, each known for a particular craft. For example, one town might primarily work with silver, another with wood, another stone, etc. Indonesia is famous for its batik, so that is pretty much everywhere.

Actually, there is so much to tell that I’ve decided to break this into several different posts in order to share more photos. Forthcoming, bicycling through villages of Ubud, village school, religion everywhere and last but not least witnessing a Hindu cremation ceremony.