8 must do activities in Ubud, Bali

I was all ready to dislike Ubud. I knew it was one of the locations from Eat, Pray, Love, and that just sounded like a terrible, cliche, movie. 

But, I loved Ubud. It's just so green! And the people are lovely. Here are some activities you shouldn't miss.

#1 - The Campuhan Ridge Walk

I've already blogged about how this walk was from favourite activity in Ubud. It's free, it's peaceful and it's fun. Just do it.

#2 - Monkey Forest

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is right in town. It's a popular tourist attraction and Hindu temple complex. The sanctuary is home to over 600 extremely friendly (or hungry?) macaque monkeys. 

We spent an hour here and had a great time watching the monkeys. The clambered all over us! Be careful though, they'll try to steal your sunglasses, or bags, or anything. I got one stuck on my head. It was slightly scary. One of the workers yelled at me to calmly stand up and walk away. I did, and the monkey got off. 

Also make sure you check out the Hindu temples.

#3 - Try durian from a roadside trailer

This fruit is famous for its pungent smell. You'll always see it before you smell it. But you gotta try it! It tastes better than it smells...just. 

Yes the boys are eating it on the side of the road. And yes we had consumed quite a few drinks beforehand.

#4 - Get a massage or a mani/pedi

These are constantly offered to you in Ubud, so you may as well get one! It's really cheap too. I'm not a fan of being touched by strangers, so I decided on a lower leg massage and a manicure (half price bitches! The perks of having one hand). It was more relaxing than we realised, and ended up asleep in bed not longer after! 

#5 - Cocktails, beers, cocktails, beers

There are loads of cool bars in Ubud. Jazz Cafe was a cool place to end the evening. It's a nice place to chill and listen to some tunes.

Try to find a place overlooking a rice field in the early evening. Grab a mojito and listen to the frogs! 

#6 - Visit Jatiluwih rice terrace

Technically the next few places are some hours away from Ubud...but we did a day tour and fit them all in, Bali is actually quite small! These rice terraces were stunning. We just wandered around and took photos. The Tegalalang rice terraces are probably more well known, but I'm sure Jatiluwih is just as good. You can arrange a day tour to these places from any of  the tour operators lining the streets in Ubud. I think we paid $15 NZ each for the whole day, and that included a driver and a van.

#7 - Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

This is the iconic Hindu temple that graces the cover of the Lonely Planet. It is situated on Lake Bratan up in the mountains, 1200 metres above sea level. The drive itself is pretty spectacular, but if you get carsick take some anti-nausea pills. The temple has an air of mystique about it, and is well worth a visit.

#8 - Experience sunset at Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot is another iconic Bali temple. My photos don't do it justice. Be prepared for crowds - it's a popular sunset destination. 

Instead of standing down on the rocks with the thousands of people, we sought out the peace and quiet of the little restaurants up the top. This was a much more relaxing way to watch the sunset, I really don't know why they're all down there!

To get to the restaurants, you walk through lots of little souvenir shops. There are also two luwaks you can look at...little animals who are famous in Bali for the coffee made from their poop. Though I don't think they are treated very well...

Tanah Lot was the perfect way to end our Ubud sightseeing.

​Surreal is the best word to describe. Whenever I feel tired of travelling, I just remind myself that places like this exist in the world.