Saren Indah Hotel

... shabby at all.  For the convenience factor, it's truly a bargain.  We're staying at a breathtakingly beautiful (no exaggeration here!) hotel on the outskirts of Ubud - we're in our own little jungle.  It's a very small hotel (maybe 15 ...

... that it isn’t dangerous :) As Steve wasn’t feeling well today we mostly rested and enjoyed the room. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was quite good. One highlight for me was that as I was laying in the tub (big, but the drain has ...

We are loving the more relaxed pace of Ubud - that is for certain!  No more hotel buffet breakfasts, rather we get served (mmmm banana pancakes and pineapple juice!) our breakfast poolside every morning.  We also get to enjoy a beautiful ...

... like aloe in taste in texture. A little toasted from all the time spent in the sun, we caught a taxi (some random guy with a car) toward our hotel. After a couple detours we finally made it and spent the evening enjoying the breeze and ...

... while we are in Ubud. As we head out on our walk to town we check out the sign at the restaurant next to our hotel because they are advertising cultural dance performances four times a week. It looks like tonight is the fire dance so we figure ...

... the zen carrot munching people come and go (and the chocolate mousse wasn't too shabby either :-)) We have dinner reservations at our hotel (free dinner with our stay!) so I must skiddaddle for now. Stay tuned for our most excellent Friday (today!) - ...

... day of pampering and more kinds of lotions than I ever knew existed. After dropping off our laundry, we were picked up at our hotel and whisked off to Jaen's Spa in Ubud. There are many such spas but this one came highly recommended. Maki signed us up ...

... from many of the more "modern" Balinese stone sculptures we had seen around. Exhausted but very satisfied Agung took us back to our hotel. A little apprehensive at first as to whether or not he would be a good guide and whether or not we would get to ...

... real excitement was trying 4 ATM machines before one would give me cash. We found our ride pretty quickly and made it to our hotel without too much trouble. The most interesting part of the ride was the 5 people packed onto one scooter sharing one poncho. ...

... first place on our tour was a rice terrace. Actually, it was just a rice field just like we see out the back of our hotel everyday… but we did find out some information about how rice grows (pretty much like wheat!). On to the next stop which was ...

... of the day… the Balinese Cooking Lesson. We took the lesson at Laka Leke, which is the restaurant beside our hotel. There were two Balinese people teaching the class. The students were Steve, me and another lady from Australia named Dianne. It was ...

... en we genieten van het overweldigende kikkerkoor. Wat een verschil met Kuta/Legian! Vlak achter het monkey forest, tussen de sawa's, is ons hotel een oase van rust.   Dat we hier midden in de natuur zitten blijkt ook weer de volgende ochtend als we ...

... streets (and airport) are closed with police roaming the streets to make sure the rules are followed. Tourists are asked to stay at their hotel, but are allowed to watch TV or listen to their iPod.  The hotels do have staff as well as food at their ...

After Lombok we made our way back to Bali to spend three days up in the town of Ubud. It's a stark contrast to the beach party atmosphere of Kuta, and it's the place to really experience the culture of Bali. I had been looking forward to coming here ever ...

Through all our travels we have found that most times the best memories come from visiting the homes and families of the people that live and work in the places we visit. This has certainly been the case in Japan visiting Maki's relatives as was today ...

This morning we were spent. After all the sightseeing we finally needed a day to catch up on trip planning, blogging, Skyping family, and just napping. This is not always a possible luxury given our busy itinerary but after having accomplished so much ...

Senne's Summary Oct. 14: Had a nice walk through town, a foot massage, a tasty lunch and saw the children’s dance in the evening. Senne’s Summary Oct.15: Steve and I made silver rings today. October 14, 2010 Today we had a pretty relaxing ...