Day 4 – Ubud
- Monkey Forest – Most shops in Bali are on a really busy road with a narrow pavement. Apart from the beach in Seminyak, there isn’t many places you can go for a nice walk. So it’s really nice walking in Monkey Forest for a change.
- Monkey Forest by its name is the sanctuary for monkeys. The driver had warned us not to bring any plastic bags with us. I did bring two pieces of toast left from breakfast and also a few pieces of fruit with me. At the entrance of the forest, there is a food stall sells small bananas. I hid my food safely and stepped into the forest timidly. At the entrance, there were a group hanging around and begged for food. Suddenly there was a little monkey snatched and ripped open a girl’s plastic bag from her behind and her guidebook and biscuits she just bought (probably come with the white plastic bag) were all over the floor. I know I wasn’t supposed to laugh but the whole incident just happened in a few seconds and it’s just so comical. I couldn’t help myself not to laugh out loud. While everyone including the girl was still in shock, the monkey just sat there with its little legs wide opened and started to shake the guidebook and open the packets of biscuits. The girl wanted to get her guidebook back but the forest ranger warned not to disturb the monkey until it’s gone. At the end, the monkey showed no interest with the biscuits - what a waste!
[ The little theft is in no rush to escape! ] 
[ A family is waiting to be fed at the entrance of the forest ] - Actually the monkeys weren’t hostile. They are only interested in you if they know you carry food with you but they are also cautious and tend to keep their distance. Basically there are lots of them all over the forest – both old ones and the baby ones. If you are afraid of them, do not bring any plastic bags or food with you. Generally they are friendly. Keep your distance if you want to feed them. I gave a young monkey an orange but it didn’t know how to open it. Whilst I was peeling the fruit, in a split second it was snatched from my hand by an older monkey.
[ I shared my breakfast with this monkey ] 
- It took us an hour to walk around and watched the monkeys. Some love to sit on people’s shoulders but be careful because they do bite even playfully sometimes.
[ This one looks pretty chill out ] - Shopping in Ubud – We did a loop around Monkey Forest Road, Raya Ubud, Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Dewisita. There were a few jewelry shops and some sell handicraft and homeware. I think the shop fronts look more interesting than their merchandise they sell instead.
- Spa at Nefatari – Our package with the hotel accommodation comes with an hour massage and a dinner for two. The setting of the spa is nice. The room opens up to a hillside with a stream running along. It was raining heavily on that day so the air was damp and a bit cooler when we didn’t have many clothes on. I must admit it wasn’t that comfortable lying on a damp cloth but the massage was good. I also had a head massage and hair mask. The headrest was the least comfortable in the world but the masseur was attentive. There was a massive gecko on the wall but things like that are common in Bali especially the spa is semi-open. I would say the spa was good but not great.
[ Our spa room at Nefatari ] - Dinner at Nefatari – As said our package came with a dinner set for two at our villa. We had fried beans, traditionally roast Balinese duck and rice. The duck was tender and cooked off the bones, it was delicious but I wish there was more meat on the duck.
[ Our villa Nefatari ] 
[ Dinner included in the package ] - Jazz Café (Jl Sukma 2) – The Jazz café has a jazz band performing live from 7:30pm onwards and they are also a restaurant although everyone seems to enjoy the music more. I was glad they served tea as I don’t drink.
[ Jazz Cafe ]
Day 5 – Ubud
- Ubud Market – the best thing you can get in this dilapidated market is the range of herbs available. We got a big packet of saffron and vanilla pods for Rp.50,000! This market makes great photographs but kind of dirty. We didn’t stay for long as there were kids begging for monies.
[ The dilapidated Ubud Market ] - Lunch at Sari Organik (800m down the Abangan/Water Way) – This restaurant sits on rice padding fields and it takes around 20-minute walk from where the car dropped us to reach the restaurant. The setting of the restaurant is beautiful. It did make me think that how dull my office looked. They do yummy fruit juice and really wholesome dishes with fresh produced farmed by them.
[ Healthy lunch at Sari Orgaik ] 
[ Sari Organik sits on rice paddling field ] 
[ Sign of the cafe ]
- Cooking class by Paon – we booked the cooking class the day before and it was around Rp.350,000 pp. It was a practical class and we had the food we made afterwards. Their morning class includes a visit to the market but not the afternoon one. We were picked up at our hotel around 3pm and were taken to a rice paddle fields. The host explained to us how the waterway worked and showed us the difference between organic and normal rice. Paon is a family-run business and there is a big kitchen at their home where the lesson undertakes. Before the lesson started, everyone had a welcome drink, there were six of us. While we sat in their ‘lounge area’, the host explained to us the layout of a typical Balinese home, how different rooms are built in a certain direction etc. Every Balinese home has their own temples where they have regular prayers and perform ceremonies such as worshipping their ancestors. I thought the introduction was interesting.
- The cooking class was taught by the wife. She’s very friendly. She showed us what we were going to make (I think there were six dishes and dessert) and then everyone did a bit of chopping and cooking. It was a practical class and we were showed how to make a basic yellow sauce which was the base of most of the dishes of the night. My favourite was the mushroom soup with a lemongrassy broth. The satay cooked on a traditional barbeque was also nice too. It was really fun and we really enjoyed knowing about the local culture, tasting the local cuisine which we made ourselves and saw a real Bali home.
[ The home kitchen ] 
[ Our instructor showing us the traditional Balinese stove ] 
[ Our cooking class in action ] 
[ The results ]
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