Ubud is a small town about an hour north of the airport that’s known as the cultural capital of Bali. We’ve been to Ubud before and we liked it, so we decided to book the Honeymoon Cottages in central Ubud as our first stop. At first, we thought we’d rent a house here and settle down for a month or so. Ubud has lots of great restaurants and tons of culture, so we could easily spend some time here. But the owner of our Auroville guest house had highly recommended the Taman Sari resort up north, so we decided to check it out.
Taman Sari is located on a remote stretch of black volcanic sand beach in the little village of Pemuteran. There’s not much to do here, so we weren’t planning to stay too long. But a series of mishaps with broken air conditioners got us an upgrade from a cottage to a villa and that changed everything. Taman Sari’s villas are private units that come in clusters of three surrounding a private pool. Our unit was in the resort owner’s complex and had a salt water pool. A day after we moved in, the owner left on an extended trip and we had the entire complex to ourselves so we took advantage of the situation and always swam in the nude. Yes, there was a beach just a few hundred feet away, but why would one bother? No, the irony of flying halfway around the world to stay at a beach resort only to lounge by the pool was not lost on us.
Pemuteran’s beach has several resorts, each with its own restaurant. The main road also has several good local warungs with slightly cheaper menus (tip: it is assumed that foreigners don't like spicy dishes, so be sure to ask for "fresh sambal" or your food will taste very bland). Just a short boat ride away is Menjangan Island where the snorkeling is amazing. The coral reefs are stunningly beautiful and the fish are abundant. In fact, the snorkeling here is so good we went back for more two more times. All this combined with the comfort of our private villa forced us to extend our stay.
The entire island of Bali is a huge tourist destination with major developments still under way. The fact that Eat Pray Love (the best-selling book and movie) was set here is making Bali ever more popular. What’s different about Bali than any other tourist destination we’ve been to is the character of the people here. Balinese people are very gentle and seem happy and content by nature. Their culture is rich with art, music, dance and ritual. By Western standards, they may not have a lot of materials goods, but they seem to have a rich spiritual life. And they like to treat visitors like us as if we’re friends and family. For example, when a local boy approaches you to chat, he doesn't really want anything from you except a chance to practice his English. That’s what makes Bali special.
(See more pictures of Bali)
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