Today's plan was drastically changed due to the driver's availability. Since we were okay with the driver yesterday, we decided to continue booking him. Initially, we just wanted to travel to the resort in Ubud and spend the rest of the day relaxing. Only on the second day in Ubud then we wanted to travel around. Unfortunately, the driver was only available today and not on the following day so we just had to switch the schedule. The hotel remembered to prepare the breakfast today and we departed after that.
The journey to Ubud reminds me of the journey from Jakarta to Puncak since Ubud is also in a mountainous region. The lack of tourist was a blessing since there was no traffic jam and we did not waste time on the road. We went to Kintamani which is the current 'in' thing with a street lined with instagrammable cafes. I knew this from a friend who recently visited Bali and posted some photos. I would be happy just to visit El Lago, which is the cafe that my friend visited. Too bad my sister trusted random recommendations online and decided to go to Akasa first.
It was a regret not because Akasa is bad but because El Lago is better. It was still rather quiet when we reached but by the time we went to El Lago after Akasa, it was already too crowded to take nice photos. Sian.. Anyway the mountain views from the various cafes are actually comparable since they are all lined along the same road. The main differentiation is the interior design from each cafe. Unfortunately, there is one thing that instagram pictures cannot tell: some views may be obstructed by other buildings. Basically with all the cafes are competing to provide unobstructed view, the newer buildings will be jutting out more and more from the slope. The views from other cafes may be blocked by these buildings. Ultimately, that is my main gripe with Akasa since the view on its left and right are obstructed by the nearby buildings. Another thing to take note is to pray hard for foggy weather to get nice photos. Otherwise, it is just boring like any other mountain :( Our plan to cafe-hop also failed because we were already full after 2 cafes although we only ordered the bare minimum so that it was not too obvious that we were visiting just for the views lol.
Another must-see destination in Ubud is the Tegalalang rice terrace. I learnt that there are more than one places where we can see the rice terrace. Similarly with the Bali Swing which I thought there was only one. Although there is only one place which is called Bali Swing, a swing over rice terrace is actually available in several places. The driver brought us to Uma Ceking Resto and Swing for our lunch and our rice terrace experience.
I was not enjoying myself initially because it was kinda late for lunch. I was feeling sleepy, the weather was sunny and my special Balinese fried rice was unexpectedly spicy. I was not looking forward to getting on the swings but my mood changed after the short rest while eating lunch. Hahaha... The lovely thing here is that there are several swings, not just the one most commonly found online when googling Bali Swing. This place is definitely meant more for couples as the other swings are heart-shaped, bed, ship, etc. Anyway since it is outdoor and there was no other tourist group, it was nice to be mask-less while getting on the swings. The staff helped with the photos and videos as well. Another thing to be grateful for since I doubt we would get that kind of attention and help under non-COVID situation.
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| The rice terrace was rather dry and not as pretty green as the google photos |
We still had plan to go for ATV adventure which the driver recommended to us. Last registration was supposed to be 430pm and we were late. Thus we checked in to Sankara Resort by Pramana first while the driver called the place if we still could go. Luckily he knew the owner and we still could play. Yay.. I knew about ATV from one Thai variety show which I watched last year. I find it really exciting since I cannot drive normal car hehe.. Usually I would stay away from anything that would get me dirty, I did not mind this time since I would throw away the pants with the holey pocket which caused my phone to drop at Tanah Lot the day before.
Driving ATV is easier than expected. I thought there would be some pedal control and coordination like driving a car but it actually only has start, speed and brake switches controlled by the fingers. So it is very easy. The downside is that body strength is required with the turning and the manouvering of the terrain, so it is not like just controlling the car steering wheel. At the end of the day, I felt very tired and my back aching.
I enjoyed that we had to drive through town area before reaching the ATV track. It gave a nice feel of driving a car. Haha.. I also enjoyed the touch with nature as we passed through rice fields. The ATV track itself was alright but was too mild for my expectations. Haha.. The thing that ruined the whole experience was that we caught up with a group of tourist ahead of us who sucked at controlling the ATV. They kept getting stuck and jammed and we wasted more time waiting for them instead of actually driving. Sigh.. It was a blessings that we went late and the sun was not as scorching anymore. Otherwise I definitely would feel more irritated. Anyway since overall the track was not that extreme, I did not get dirty as expected. There was no visible dirt on my clothes and I just had to rinse my leg. I paid around $30 but I saw on the paper at the counter that the usual price is $120+. Not sure if that is truthful or it is just a marketing ploy since $120+ for that experience is definitely not worth it.
I did not know that they would take photos along the way. If I knew, I would choose a top which at least looks better in photos. Anyway I always look ugly with a helmet on so it does not really matter. I did not think twice about paying $15 for the full set of the photos since I was too lazy to choose on the spot. After all $15 will only get me ONE piece of photo in Disneyland so $15 for a full set is a no brainer.
Since we planned to just rest in the hotel on the following day, I asked to stop at a mini mart to get bread for dinner and water. Since this is already a looong post, I will write about the hotel itself in the next post.
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