After having a row with the taxi because the driver wanted 250 000 rupiahs for Ubud (a scandalous £14) and getting it down to 180 000 ( which the hotel reception confirmed was the official price) we set off for the Waka Namya in the village of Penestanan in Ubud. The driver had no idea where it was so we almost drove past it. It has a small unassuming entrance and immediately before I entered I did wonder if I had made a mistake. How wrong could I be!
I had done a lot of research before booking this and had to get travelbag to get me a price as I didn't want any of the hotels they were offering. Not that there was anything wrong with them- I just wanted a more Balinese hotel( but still with some luxury!) The reception was filled with Balinese artefacts and furniture and the staff made us feel very welcome right from the start. We were given a welcome drink and an ice cold towel. I have to say that the staff help make the hotel as good as it is. Very helpful and friendly and eager to tell you all about Bali and make suggestions about how to spend your time in Ubud. Immediately out of the reception there is a stunning water feature. I'll have to upload photos of the hotel so you can see what I'm talking about but their website shows you exactly what the hotel looks like- no airbrushing out the bad bits. We were led down a few steps, past the pool area to the ornate gate to our walled"compound". Our villa was surrounded by a wall to keep out bad spirits and had a lovely courtyard and small garden, packed with greenery and statues and well placed lighting amongst the greenery.. It had a daybed downstairs and plenty storage space and wardrobes. It also had a large fridge. We had our first every experience of an outdoor bathroom. The sunken bath, toilet and sink area are covered and you walk over smooth pebbles to your shower. Have to say it was a bit strange the first time I did the pebble walk! They have lovely touches like a set of glass cork topped bottles with their own shampoo, bubble bath and lotion in. They also had mossie coils in the bathroom, patio set and bedroom. Upstairs there was the huge double bed with the mossie net and the villa had lovely local art work. One thing it does not have is a tv- I think this is deliberate though.
The hotel comprises of only 15 rooms or villas which was in stark contrast to Sanur!
It has a shuttle service into the centre of Ubud which takes 5 mins. It is "on demand" and you can also phone from Ubud and they will come in to pick you up. This is free.
We unpacked and got the shuttle into Ubud.

Waka Namya. The home page shows the reception area and if you click on photos at the bottom right of the page you will see why we liked it so much

It looks beautiful Fiona

and so it should be Judith. The villa, private garden, breakfast, afternoon tea and Balinese cake, shuttle service cost a massive £70 a day

What an absolute bargain Fiona, the one thing I do agree with is no TV - I go away to get away from everything and when we are in a hotel with tv you do tend to switch on to keep up with world news.

We were dropped off beside the tourist information which is opposite the Ubud Palace. I had been told that if you only had one chance to see a dance to pick the Ubud Palace. We had a wander inside the temple complex and noted that there was indeed a performance there that night. We hesitated about tickets there and then but then went ahead anyway- about £5 each. It was getting on in the afternoon so we decided to have lunch. We went down Monkey Forest Road and found a delightful place just outside a temple- can't remember the name of the place but look for the place with the steps which practically need mountaineering skills to negotiate.
If you want to look around during your walk round Ubud it is often better to stand still. When walking you need your eyes on the pavements all the time as there are missing slabs, very wobbly ones and holes all over the place. The drain covers are best not walked over too I did manage to fall down a hole once but thankfully it was small! Many of the roads are one way but still look both ways when crossing as a lot of drivers don't bother with the system!
We walked back up the road to the corner where the market is. It is a bit chaotic as the passages are really narrow - but really interesting. At one end of the market is a shrine with the most offerings I have seen. Interesting enough it is the only time I have seen a man going the rounds with the offerings. The main roads are very busy due to daytrippers but there are some lovely little streets just off of it- that are more like pathways and are so peaceful. We decided to walk back to our hotel, stopping along the way for a drink. Well- all I can say is that you only do that walk once!! It involves at one point mountaineering up a very steep, windy and narrow road. When its humid this is more difficult than you would think. We arrived back at the hotel looking like drowned rats with the hotel staff a bit bemused that we hadn't phoned for a pick up! We had a drink at the poolside and a chat to a couple of the staff. Then it was time for a chapter on our patio in our private garden before getting ready for night. Having a bath in the open air is something else! By the time it came to drying my hair it was getting dark. This is where I had my heartattack. A bat flew right up to me!! Can anyone else say that they have been attacked by a bat while drying their hair in the bathroom???! (ok- attacked is a bit dramatic- I think it got a bigger fright than me!)
Our dance performance was at 7.30 but we knew we should get there for about 7pm so we got the shuttle at 6.50 and arrived outside the Ubud Palace to find it deserted.
Our driver stopped and asked a local what had happened and it turned out that they had changed the venue. It may have been that the temple across the road from it was the focus of the beginning of a 3 day festival. The town was certainly seething with locals. You had to see it- this is when I realised I loved Ubud! However, at that moment in time we had to get the new location in one of the temples further back where we had come from. But there is a one way system and it took us about 20 minutes to get to the temple. We did ask if we should just walk there but he didn't think we would find it on our own. The temple was the Pura Dalem and up quite a few steps set way back from the road. The performance we had booked was the Legong. All I can say is thst it was one of the highlights of the whole holiday. We sat mesmerised in the stunning setting of the temple and watched the story unfold infront of us. The precision of the movements is something else- even their eye movements are co-ordinated. The costumes are beautiful and you had the gamelan with the players obviously really enjoying performing. We had been to a dance performance at the Puri Santrian our first stay- the Ramayana ballet and that was spectacular but there is nothing to beat the temple setting. I would advise anyone to hire a driver for an evening to take you for a night in Ubud. An hour and a half flew past and we are out at 9pm for something to eat.

thanks for all the comments by the way- glad to know I'm not boring everyone to death
Walking towards the centre we found Lotus Garden. It had a great menu and looked very busy but we managed to get the last table. Ubud goes to sleep very early and at just after 9pm some the specials had finished. We had a glass of wine with our meal. Hatten is the local wine. There is a good dry white- the red is not so good! The restaurant does not serve beef as it is in close proximity to a temple ie overlooking it. To be honest everything is in close proximity to a temple in Ubud! When we came out of the restaurant we came across what looked like a sea of Carmen Mirandas. Except these ladies had bowls with about 7 or 8 layers of fruit piled neatly on top. We found out later that they were secured by cocktail sticks. ( I will upload photos) The ceremony at the Desa Temple had just finished and they were off with their offerings. Everything was organised chaos and great! We stopped off for a drink then decided to make our way back to our hotel about 11pm( the bar we were at was closing and everything round about had closed already.) Our shuttle stops about 10.15 so we haggled for a taxi and spent £1.20 ( actually that was the starting price but OH got it down to just over half- he still gave him £1.20 though and the driver couldn't believe his luck!) We had a couple of drinks on our patio before bed, We were soon to discover why everyone went to their bed early in Ubud!

5am and we were awoken to the sound of hundreds of cockerels crowing and birds having a party in the thatch of our roof. And I'm not exaggerating with the hundreds bit. We were to discover later that we were in the middle of cock fighting country. We saw cage upon cage when walking through our village. Every household must have had at least half a dozen. I knew the sound of frogs was supposed to wake you up but they were drowned out!!
Breakfast was good- there were a variety of options but we just had the continental. This consisted of your choice of fruit juice, a plate of fruit and a bread basket(each!) with a variety of bread and croissants and homemade butter and jam.
We decided to revisit the monkey forest. We had been the first time round but it was at the end of a day and near to closing time so we only had half an hour. The monkey forest is a sacred place- lots of temples and shrines and of course monkeys; This time one of the forest guides took us round and explained thehistory round it. He showed us areas we would never have found on our own.Some of the scenery there is just breathtaking. It was really humid that day and by the time we had clambered over bridges and hugged narrow paths along the bottom of valleys we were both soaking of sweat. We walked a bit up Monkey Road and then decided we had to stop for a fruit juice in a lovely openair cafe overlooking rice fields. We stayed there until we had dried out. We had a wander round a few of the quiet residential streets and then had a leisurely lunch and watched the world go by. We got the shuttle back to our hotel then decided to investigate our village. It is an artists village and very pretty. Had a look around a few of the small shops.
In the evening we went to another temple performance. We had been told that the Kecak was a "must do" and this one was combined with the fire dance. This was one of the tales from the epics of Rama and Sita. There is music, dance and drama but the most striking part of it is the chanting by the chorus of 100 men(who are the monkeys in the story). The cak, cak,cak is a bit eerie to begin with and this is the background throughout the unfolding drama. What a fabulous atmosphere. It is impossible to describe it I think there were as many in the chorus as there were spectators. They obviously do not get paid for this and they look as if they love it. As well as chanting there was well co-ordinated movement. I tried to follow the story but it was quite dark and I gave up trying to read what was happening and just enjoyed the story. The story is narrated by some of the more senior of the chorus and very expressive it was- whatever they were saying!! It ended with the trance dance(fire dance) A man on a hobby horse( the horse is associated with trance in Bali and Java) lulled into a trance by the chanting and gamelan walks over burning coconut husks. In fact, he kicks the stuff all over the place and I can tell you its not funny seeing lots of burning coconuts coming full speed towards you! OHs shirt was black with soot flecks at the end of it! He flops to the floor at the end and is helped out of his trance. His feet are definitely in a right state. We videoed bits of it but it was too dark to come out properly - we can however be reminded of the chanting.

That night we ate back at the hotel. We knew it had good reviews and it lived up to expectations. We had an early start the next day and knew we wouldn't have problems sleeping in. This time the birds surpassed themselves. Not only were hundreds of cockerels crowing at 5am and the party started up again on the roof, a few birds decided it would be fun to start tapping on the windows. I know how Tippi Hedren felt Yes- you cant beat a peaceful village atmosphere, far away from the roar of motorbikes and cars.
For our last full day we decided to splash out on the Waka Land Cruise. You travel by landrover along tiny roads to villages off the beaten track who don't see many tourists. At £70 a day it is way above what you pay for a driver and car for just the two of you for the day- that is £20. I have to say that I was not expecting for there to be 6 on the trip and also found that we learned more about the local culture from the guide we had 2 years ago. However, we would never had got to the places we went to- so it was worth it. I would advise anyone new to Bali to just go for your own guide/driver( get recommendations first though)
Waka have 3 landrovers and they do pick ups and then you all meet at a point just before the first main stop so that folks can be put with others who speak your language. The pick up was alongside some rice fields and OH and I made friends with a couple of local kids who were there to see their dad and have breakfast. They were determined to get their photos taken and were fascinated when they were shown the results. ( we hadn't wanted to take their photos to begin with as we were told the locals can be quite sensitive about that, but mum and dad were watching and laughing.
Throughout that day, every time we travelled through a village the local kids were run out to the road side and wave and shout hello. I felt like the Queen! Balinese are just lovely people.
Our first main stop was to a quarry. We walked down steep steps and down banks to get to it and across a bamboo bridge - at times you had to hold on to the bank when going down. This quarry is still worked as it would have been a hundred years ago. No health and safety there-not even a safety hat and there are a lot of deaths.We didn't go right down but watched from the bridge as women lifted heavy stone and carried two on thier heads up the steep hill. I tried holding just one in my hands and it was heavy! They use traditional methods to mine. This stone is used for the temples and shrines.

Our next stop was to an original Balinese house. The buildings are made of bamboo and have a covering of mud and rice husks. We were taken for a walk round the garden and shown the fruit and veg and spices which grew there. We then had tea and local biscuits. At this point we were shown the village crafts( as you are ) and bought table mats- which we had been going to buy anyway.
We then got back in the landrover and climbed up to over 900 metres to a stop where there were stunning rice terraces. There really is nothing quite like it. We were then on our way to the rainforest where our lunch was going to be. However, we had an unexpected stop in a village where the road was totally taken over by a funeral. For some reason they had to stand in the road - but then the villagers often have to build their own roads so maybe they were entitled to it!
This next stop explained the £70 price tag. Waka have a camp in the middle of the rainforest. It is built of bamboo and really is in the middle of nowhere, deep in the forest. Lunch was delicious - 3 courses, wine whenever you wanted it and cognac to finish with. They used local ingredients for the food and the fern stir fry was a revelation- very tasty! It really was a stunning setting. Mind you, I was a bit concerned when we were told to go down the track for the loo. Was imagining the one from "Celebrity" but it was a proper one - quite fancy actually!
Most locals wash in the local rivers and our last stop was to a sacred hot spring. And boy is the water hot. The villagers make the most of it and have shops beside it,,but these are geared to the Balinese as it is a popular place during the day for the kids to play in the pools and the terraces the water runs down make good showers for adults at night.
All to soon the day was over.
We ate at a lovely restaurant in Ubud that night( can't remember its name- but it was on Monkey Forest Road) We found a great bar with a fantastic group( reggae). I couldn't believe how few people were there. At 10.30 loads of people were walking past on their way back to their hotels. Ubud just is not for the late night revellers( but probably most of them had been there for a week or so and were knackered with the early starts! ) We took a bottle of wine back to our patio and enjoyed our last night sitting out looking up the stars.
We were leaving just before lunch the next day and so had kept the rice field trek till then. At 7.30 we went to the reception where one of the staff met us and took us on a tour of the rice fields immediately behind our hotel. He explained all about them and was interested in hearing about life in Scotland too. He also took us to a mini rainforest setting alongside the fields. We then walked back through our village to our hotel for breakfast. They didn't seem to mind the very muddy feet at breakfast! We sat out in the sun for a while and then it was time to leave
I really don't think I could possibly return to Bali without a stay in Ubud. And I think it could only be the Waka Namya( or another Waka)
The airport was ok- you get through check in quite quickly, go past customs who help themselves to 100 000 rupiahs and then you have duty free.......And that takes three quarters of an hour. And there was only one person infront of us. don't ask me why it would take that time for them to put it through the till and wrap it up- but it does and there is no air con in duty free. At one point I thought I was going to pass out!
We headed back to KL for one final day and this time we took the express- much better!
So- KL was enjoyable but I probably wouldn't return( after all you can't go back to every where can you? You'd never have time to visit new places.) Bali- we will def be returning. I really really hope that they can get back to the tourist numbers pre the bombings. They are such a lovely people.

I'll upload more photos soon but there are some of our Ubud hotel here

Great reports Fiona, sounds lovely (apart from the dawn chorus)

thanks Judith

Thanks Fiona , lovely report, the one thing that bothers me about Bali is the lack of tourists at the moment, not that I like everywhere packed but I do like some atmosphere, but I must admit I am a little tempted to give it a try

Shirley - it seemed busy to us but August is their best month. And I did have problems getting a sunlounger two years ago in July( unless OH got up at 7am!) so its not THAT quiet

Thanks for the report Fiona. I really enjoyed reading it. Can't wait to go now. It's less than 4 weeks and I'm counting the days. It's lovely to have a bit of an insight as to what it'll be like.
Regards
Gail.

you lucky thing- I'm jealous

Sounds like you had a fantastic trip Fiona, it's made me realise that instead of returning to the same place , it's time i started travelling around again!
Thanks for a really interesting read.

Thanks Fiona for your wonderful just back report.
I remember those Balinese cockerels very well when we stayed once at the Water Garden in Candi Dasa... there was no glass in the windows frames and those blessed cocks crowed all night and not a wink of sleep the whole time we were there. I felt like throwing them an alarm clock.
Where to next time?
Cheers Geri

We go in about 4 and a half weeks so good to get the low down