Candidasa to Ubud

It wasn't raining yesterday morning in Candidasa so we had some time in the pool and got some clearer views of the small beaches around this shoreline.

Some fishermen were casting nets in the shallow waters of low tide, quite close to the edge of our hotel's infinity edge pool.

..... but then the rain started ... and fell ... and fell .... and fell .... loudly and heavily for HOURS and HOURS. At one stage we talked ourselves into imagining the rain had eased a bit and we went out to find a late lunch spot ...... but it was impossible to walk around town in this - it was drenching rain and walking was really unpleasant and a bit unsafe - and very WET!

Both levels of our hotel's open air dining rooms were drenched. The ground level had centimetres of water all over the floor - from the rain driving in. Staff were serving meals in rooms but we found a relatively dry spot in the far corner around the bar and enjoyed a few happy hour drinks and some yummy hotel food while we chatted to the barmen. It filled in an hour or two and it meant we didn't go hungry.

This morning at breakfast I was so excited to see a few patches of blue sky (and no rain) I took a picture of the blue patches!

It was check out day for us from the Sagara Candidasa. This lovely lady on reception had gone out of her way to help us this visit and she asked us to pose with her for this photo. The staff at Sagara are its key asset, especially this lovely lady.

We took the scenic route back to Ubud today up through the hairpin bends of the mountains behind Candidasa to Sidemen, a less developed area in east Bali that's known for its lush green landscapes and stunning views of rice terraces and farming land. The lovely lady at Sagara had suggested we try Subak Tabolo Villa in Sidemen for lunch. We found the hotel in its quiet rural setting with its beautiful views and exquisite gardens but the restaurant was very quiet today - we were the only guests at this time ........

.. and our nasi campur took quite a while to prepare .... giving us lots of time to admire the views ........

... and watch this staff member collecting young hibiscus leaves and buds for making Teh Pucuk (hibiscus tea)

When the nasi campur did arrive it was delicious .......

I love the exuberance, and inclusivity, of the Balinese approach to Christmas....... 

The gardens at Subak Tabolo Villa were filled wth pots of white orchids in full bloom

...and beautiful vistas from every aspect of the property....

Once we were out of the small village of Sideman we got great views of the lush farming landscapes for which this area is famous from the roadway. Our driver Ketut told us these were crops of peanuts, chillies and onions.

Twenty minutes or so out of Sideman we were in the regency of Klungkung and the busy township of Semarapura. We asked Ketut to stop here so I could take a look at the famous Klungkung textiles market. Rob walked around with me in the very clean well organised, completely modernised version of the market I used to walk around in the company of our friend John Penrose (and darllng Maxie a few times). It looks so different to those days now. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the huge array of stuff on display and just did some window shopping this visit.  

Semarapura is about 40 minutes from Ubud but the traffic made it a slow trip and there were very few lush landscapes on view with all the small shops and businesses lining the road.

We finally arrived at our Cendana Resort a bit before 4.00pm to a warm welcome from the reception staff and the talking bird that is a fixture at the entrance to the hotel grounds.  We're in room 305 this time - for the next 10 days - heaven!! 

I had a completely different feeling about Ubud arriving today, compared to a year ago. The town (and our little hotel) looks like its had a "glow up". Everything looks well cared for, prosperous, busy and very lush being the wet season. Reconstruction and repair projects are finished and half of the football field has even returned to its original grass for the kids to play on (instead of the dusty carpark we found last visit). 

Our first Bintang in Ubud - at Three Monkeys, an old fave of ours for many years. It felt so good to be back!

Me with fresh out of the pool hair looking happy to be back at Three Monkeys.......

Three Monkeys does everything with such style and flair.

Lunch at Bali Asli

Today is "Purnama" the day of the full moon in Bali - a special day in Bali's Hindu culture that is celebrated twelve times a year. Temple ceremonies for Purnama are "believed to harness increased spiritual energy from the full moon, allowing participants to connect with the divine and seek blessings for themselves and their loved ones". We knew it was a special day when we came down for breakfast and saw all the staff in their beautiful traditional ceremony outfits.They were very happy to explain to us what the day was all about.

Later, on our morning walk we saw lots of locals dressed in their best too and all the preparations underway at the local temple.

We chose to photograph these scenes along the way instead (neither of which had anything to do with Purnama)........

Rob has a thing about ladders in Bali!

Today we had a lunch date at beautiful Bali Asli, a restaurant located about 30 minutes north of Candidasa on the road to Amlapura. Australian Chef Penny Williams (formerly Ex. Chef at Alila Manggis) conceived of Bali Asli over a decade ago - a special place that "celebrates authentic Balinese culture and cuisine", using local food grown organically and prepared in the traditional way. The restaurant was constructed in a commanding position overlooking the foothills of Bali's sacred mountain - Mt Agung. Unfortunately, today, in the midst of the rainy season, the view of Mt Agung was completely obscured by heavy cloud.

Rob took this pic (minus the view of the mountain) as we climbed the stairs to a warm welcome at Bali Asli.

Despite the cloud cover the view was breathtaking - not a building in sight, just extensive gardens, plants and rice fields, and those mountains in the distance and endless sky (clouds today!).

Our welcome drink was a Spicy Salek (based on snake fruit, soda and lots of spices) - non alcoholic but a drink with a lot of punch! 

Crackers and delicious sambals to start the meal .......

The menu was presented like this, as a bamboo scroll..... We chose the Bali Asli Megibung option - a tasting platter of dishes unique to Karangasem - 8 dishes to try, based on what is in season, organically grown and available in the area around the restaurant.

There was soup to start the meal: sweet corn, young coconut and leaves of the kelor tree - all picked from the restaurant's own garden - and delicious.

Then our main dish - mackeral satays, tuna and coconut cooked in leaves, smoky chicken, spicy tempe, and 3 delicious vegetable dishes - divine! we stayed non alcoholic and drank chilled Wedang Jahe (tamarind, ginger and a hint of chile) with our mains, another punchy combination!

We ended up having a front row table at a most dramatic storm event this afternoon: crashing thunder, lightning bolts and then driving rain. It was an amazing show of force to accompany a wonderful meal!

Dessert was fresh and perfectly light - a beautiful balance to all that had come before it. Together with coffee and drinks this meal cost about $35 a head!!

I loved the stunning architecture and decor of the restaurant too ........

And the toilets are something else!

Productive gardens surround the building .....

And another ladder pic from Rob .......

We loved our Bali Asli experience!

Our driver had us back to the hotel safely by around 2.45 - quite an achievement given the state of the narrow winding roads up to Amlapura - in heavy rain. Our plans for spending the afternoon around the pool came to nothing as the heavy rain continued - all afternoon into .... evening.

A distraction came when the hotel's cat found Rob. They both appeared to enjoy some bonding time on the balcony watching the rain fall as dusk came - and no sign of that magic full moon the day was meant to celebrate.  Not that the cat seemed to care!

Candidasa East Bali

We flew into Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport on Thursday night, having prepared ourselves well for all the QR code requirements on entry to Bali these days. We prepared so well we got through all the entry processes in record time and were on our way up the coast to Candidasa Beach barely an hour after landing.

Rob captured this fabulous sunset over Western Australia on the flight over.

 

It was nice to wake up on our first morning to see this lovely view of our hotel's pool and dining area. It's the rainy season in this part of the world so grey cloudy skies and frequent rain storms will be highly likely throughout our stay. We're prepared for that!

Everywhere you stay in Bali the gardens are always beautiful. The Sagara Candidasa is a small boutique hotel with just 20 rooms. We are on the upper floor and our room is spacious and beautifully decorated. It's on a narrow block facing out to the sea but its tiny garden spaces are a delight!

Breakfasts by the pool with bottomless cups of Bali Kopi are nice to wake up to too.

We've been to Candidasa many times before so we don't intend to do much sightseeing. We're just going to relax and enjoy hotel life by the sea for a few days. 

Floating in the pool view .............

The hotel staff mix lovely cocktails for guests - and the prices are very generous over happy hour. Rob was pleased to get a whiskey lemongrass mix. I like my G & Ts Sagara Mule style (with lots of lime).

And no matter how modern the hotel - we can never forget we are in Bali and the significance of the daily offerings. We love the constant smell of smoke and incense in the air that goes along with it.

We've enjoyed our morning walks around the village....... the Lotus Lagoon is just as we remembered it ......

It's been a long time since guests would have paid 5k IDR (about 50c) to use these toilets.

We were out walking this morning as all the village kids were heading to school, so things were lively all along the main street.

This family looked so photogenic as they walked around the lagoon towards us (on the way to morning temple offerings), but it would have been so rude to infringe on their privacy. I did sneak this back view though as they crossed the street on their way to the temple........

Both days now we've had lunch at our old fave Puri Pandan. We love the way the same people have been running it as long as (if not longer than) we've been coming here. They didn't remember us (of course) but still gave us a lovely welcome ....... A Bintang and Nasi Campur (by the sea) for our first lunch back in Bali was pretty special.

We've slowed down enough already to enjoy watching the local lads fishing off the groyne in front of Puri Pandan while eating lunch..... exciting enough.

We could see the beach area in front of the Ashyana Hotel from here (about a 5 minute walk up the road) where we stayed last time we were in Candidasa in 2016.

Lunch today was delayed by a heavy rainstorm which we sat out, on our balcony (with a post swim Bintang).

It was drenching rain - great to watch from our protected balcony. There is a cow that grazes under the palm trees of the property next door but he(?) was taken under cover when the heavy rain started.