Bali Art & Nature

It is Day 2 of our 3-generation of women/girls' trip to Bali. The sky was overcast which made the day cooler for us but I was worried about rain/ thunderstorm. We were very lucky that it didn't rain at all despite the overcast sky throughout the day. 

We had our buffet breakfast at the restaurant at 8am and most tables were Westerners except for one - Japanese. We were the only other Asian table. Guess Desamuda Village is more popular with Westerers lol. The buffet spread was quite limited but the Egg station was good. At 9am, we set off for our day trip with our driver and guide, Susila. 

First stop was the Ubud Art Villages of batik weaving, gold and silver, and woodcarving. The processes of making batik, silver and woodcarving were explained at the respective villages. We didn't buy anything from the villages as we felt they were much too commercialised and expensive. 

My mother and the girls at the silversmith village

Our monkey found her monkey friend lol

Second stop was Ubud Royal Palace and Ubud Market. We took a quick look around the palace before crossing the road to the Ubud Market. My mother bought a few pieces of batik and the girls bought souvenirs for their classmates. It was such a chore bargaining. :S Both my mother and I were really bad at it and we thought our father should be here instead. He is the bargain king in the family lol. I didn't get anything and I felt so empty lol :P 

Ubud Royal Palace

Ubud Royal Palace

Ubud Market - stall selling wood carvings

Pretty wooden plates at Ubud Market

Art pieces at Ubud Market

Third stop was Mount Batur and Lake Batur. We had our buffet lunch (pretty late at 2pm) at Suling Bali, Mt Batur. The restaurant faced Mt Batur which was pretty cool and the climate was also much cooler on Mt Batur. The buffet spread was not extensive or fantastic but served its purpose in filling hungry stomachs.  However, as it was overcast, Mt Batur and Lake Batur were not very clear. :( 

Lake Batur

Mt Batur and Lake Batur 

Us with Lake Batur in the background

Fourth stop was Alam Bali, a coffee plantation. The girls were both excited and disgusted to know how coffee luwak was produced lol. We were given a sampler of the different teas and coffee to taste and we were enticed to buy a 500g pack of lemon tea by its delicious taste from the shop lol. 

The making of coffee luwak

The sampler (from left to right) - cocoa, coffee ginseng, ginger tea, lemon tea and bali coffee

Marieann and I outside the shop (see the big bag of lemon tea in my hand?! lol) 

Fifth stop was Tegallalang Rice Terrace. The girls were amazed to see and know how rice is grown. I am really glad that the girls are learning new knowledge on this Bali trip. :) 

Sixth stop was our crispy duck dinner at Laka Leke. I wanted to try this restaurant which had quite a high rating on Tripadvisor. We arrived at the restaurant at 5.30pm. As we only had lunch at 2+pm, we ordered just two dishes to share. We shared a Famous Crispy Duck (IDR 83,500), a Spaghetti A La Funghi (IDR 45,000) and a Tom Yum Kun (IDR 43,500). The duck was really delicious, I thought it was better than Dirty Duck's lol. We took a couple of photos at the lovely green rice terrace which were in the restaurant's backyard. :)  

At the entrance of Laka Leke

At 6.30pm, our drive and guide sent us back to Seminyak which was 1.5 hours journey from Ubud. We arrived back at Desamuda Village at 8pm. We had a long tiring day and were really glad to be home lol. Tomorrow is another day, full of fun for the girls I hope lol.