Cooking classes: Puri Saraswati organizes cooking classes with Cok Sri – a 50 year old Balinese lady who lives in a compound on Jalan Raya where the classes are held. She has been to Australia as a member of a Balinese dance tour and has fond memories of her visit. She is also connected by marriage to the Royal Family. Her cooking class starts with a visit to the markets – be prepared for the raw meat and poultry section!! And bear in mind that that’s where most of the food you’ll be eating anywhere in Ubud comes from . . . Around $A15 each, depending on numbers in class, with a visit to the market at 7am, return to your hotel for breakfast, then back to Cok Sri’s kitchen where she shows you how to prepare a number of dishes that you then sit down to eat for lunch.
Australian Janet de Neefe of the Honeymoon Guesthouse on Jalan Bisma, also runs cooking classes and takes some of these herself. They take place in the newly built upstairs pavilion of the architecturally traditional guesthouse reception/café area. Around $A45, but the price varies slightly depending on the class content. Janet is an excellent cook who, with her Balinese husband Ketut, runs the restaurants Casa Luna and Indus, and initiated the Ubud Writers Festival. Enquiries to Casa Luna on Jalan Raya.
Traditional dance: The setting of the garden of the Lotus Pond Restaurant on Jalan Raya is a beautiful environment in which to see dancing in Ubud. The Thursday night performance by children and teenagers is particularly charming. Around 50,000rp per person at 7.30pm for about 1 hr and 1/4 - only problem is in the rainy season when a sudden downpour may mean they dash up to perform in a hall at the back – but that’s interesting in itself. You can book at the Lotus Pond or Puri Saraswati. When the performance is in the garden, you sit just in front of the stage.
Spas : Highly recommened is Spa Hati , one of Bali Hati Foundation’s initiatives, at 14 Jalan Andong, Ubud - it’s in a beautiful setting and offers professional treatments that may not as cheap as you canl find at some other Ubud spas. However, they could not be considered expensive for the standard and setting and are well worth the extra for the experience - Under $A20 for an hour’s massage. When you book, and you need to, ask about being picked up from your hotel. Spa Hati is behind the Bali Hati offices, 2-minutes' drive to the left of the crossroads at the bank end of Jalan Raya. The proceeds from Spa Hati go to funding the Bali Hati School that caters for many of the area's poorer families. Bali Hati Foundation, nominated by the Indonesian government last year as the best yayasan (foundation) in Indonesia, does lots of good work - look them up on the internet. If it inspires you to help, you can become a sponsor of Bali Hati School, or make a one-off donation to the school, or on you return home from Bali convince your child’s school to become a sister school, as Sydney’s Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School has become. Bali Botanica Spa a new spa, formerly Passion, on Jalan Sanggingan, down a driveway just past Mozaic. Set in jungle and beside ricefields. Stylish environment and holistic approach. Herbal massage 125,000 75 mins, 2 1/2 hour Ayurvedic Chakra Dhara 450,000, herbal facial 125,000. Pick up/drop off available for Ubud area.
The Zen Spa at the end of Jalan Hanoman, just past the Dirty Duck and the junction of the road that the Monkey Forest is on, is good for massages and facials - phone 970976. Not as luxurious as Spa Hati and consequently cheaper. Tari, the lovely receptionist, likes you to book.
Visiting the Monkey Forest: If you go to the Monkey Forest, just be careful, particularly with regards to your children. The monkeys go for 'bright' - glasses, cameras, watches, jewellery and can rip bags of peanuts out of your or your child's hand. While this can just be amusing, it can also be distressing if the monkey escapes with your goods or, as happened to a friend, your arm is torn during a grabbing, and you end up needing stitches.
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