Ubud: Learning to Slow Down

The morning after our East Java trip, we had one more long drive before Ubud. After breakfast we climbed back into the Toyota Alphard for the several-hour ride to Surabaya’s airport. Karaoke and a film made the road go faster. We flew Batik Air to Bali; despite some reviews that had made us nervous, check-in, boarding and the flight were smooth.

A driver arranged through our hotel met us on arrival. Ubud was another three hours away, so we stopped at a coffee plantation on his suggestion. Staff poured sample after sample of flavored coffee and tea—avocado, vanilla, coconut and ginger among them. The famous kopi luwak cost extra. It comes from beans that have passed through a civet, and concerns about caged animals, as well as the process itself, put us off buying it. We did buy other local products after enjoying the generous tasting.

A villa among rice fields

Luxe Ubud was tucked between bright green rice fields rather than on a street a car could reach. At the parking area, four young staff members arrived on motorbikes. One bike carried our luggage on a large rack; the other three carried us along a narrow path through the fields. They handed us raincoats against the light drizzle. At the hotel, staff welcomed us with drinks and seated check-in instead of a line at a counter.

Our three-story villa had a living room, kitchen and pool on the first level, a main bedroom and another sitting area above, and a second bedroom with a massage and relaxation space on the top floor. Woodwork, stone carving and handcrafted furniture gave it a distinctly Balinese character. Near the entrance was a koi pond with food set out for the fish. I could have spent an entire morning sitting there watching them move through the water.

We had mentioned our wedding anniversary when booking. The staff had arranged flower petals in a large heart, and at dinner they brought us complimentary chocolate and a celebratory dessert. In the fine-dining restaurant, the server even offered a choice of several steak knives, each with a different feel. The gesture was theatrical, but affectionate rather than stiff.

A day around Ubud

The next day we hired the hotel’s car. At Tegallalang, terraces stepped down the hillsides in brilliant green. Other visitors were posing in long dresses on swings above the fields. We skipped the staged pictures and walked instead. In the Sacred Monkey Forest, long-tailed macaques moved between old stonework and dense trees. Some lounged on carvings; others came close enough to make us guard our bottles and fruit. It was busy, but the shade made it pleasant to explore slowly.

Near the palace, we bought tickets for an evening performance and visited Saraswati Temple while we waited. We wrapped the required purple sarongs around ourselves before entering. Lotus ponds and carved walls caught the late light. Dinner was at a garden restaurant nearby—the one meal of our Indonesia trip that we ate outside a hotel. The food and service were good, despite a fly finding its way into my drink. Then we browsed Ubud Market, where wood carvings, woven bags and souvenirs made bargaining part of the fun.

We reached the Kecak performance half an hour early, only to find that most of the best seats were already taken. Once it began, we forgot about seating. Dozens of men formed a circle and built the rhythm with repeated calls of “cak,” without instruments. Dance, gesture and voices carried a story from the Ramayana, including Rama’s search for Sita and Hanuman’s help. For the fire dance at the end, burning coconut husks lit the square as a performer moved barefoot through the sparks. It was one of the most vivid evenings of the trip.

On our final morning we stayed at the villa. From the balcony we could see rice fields stretching away; birds and wind were almost the only sounds. I flew my drone above the fields and took a few photographs, but there was no itinerary to keep. I also began to recognize the tall, curved penjor bamboo decorations along Bali’s streets. They are part of the island’s Hindu ceremonial life, and their woven leaves made even an ordinary drive feel festive.

At midday the motorbikes carried us and our luggage back through the fields. Ubud was the first stop on this journey where we had truly slowed down. Next came the opposite sort of experience: three days and two nights aboard a boat in Komodo National Park.

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