A full days guide to Ubud, Bali

As part two of my Bali recap, I’m diving right in to our full day in Ubud. Ubud, located in central Bali, is known for its lush jungles, bustling markets, Hindu temples and rice paddy fields. We began our journey at a bird and reptile park in Batubulan village, where I got to hold a parrot and pray it didn't bite me. But the best part about this exploration was seeing a komodo dragon for the first time.

Following the bird sanctuary, we made a brief stop at a silver and gold jewelry shop, where they gave us a tour of the facilities and showed us how they make the jewelry.

Much of the afternoon was then spent touring several Hindu temples. Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable on the history of each temple that we visited, some, that even dated back to the 11th century. The most interesting temple of the day was, the sanctuary of Goa Gojah, also known as Elephant Cave, which was created in the 9th century. Goa Gojah is a spectacle of plush wilderness and stone structures that are mainly used for meditation today. Getting to venture within the cave itself to see additional shrines that are preserved within the stone was one of the many highlights of our visit.

Just before lunch we trekked through the bustling street market in downtown Ubud. This market puts all of the ones in Hong Kong to shame. And my negotiating skills were tested yet again. I came home with two hand painted wooden carvings – an elephant and a giraffe – that I think bring the perfect touch to our living room décor.

The final stop of the day, and one of my favorite experiences of Bali overall, was touring and tasting at a coffee and tea plantation. It was really interesting listening to how they make the coffee by hand, and infuse each unique flavor into their nearly 20 offerings of tea and coffee.

Have you heard of Kopi Luwak coffee? Apparently, it’s all the rage worldwide, and its made right here in Bali. It’s also the most expensive coffee in the world, selling in London and New York for nearly $100 USD a cup. Why is it so expensive, you ask? Well, it’s all in the poop. Cat poop.

Let me explain: Luwak coffee is produced when a civet cat, a nocturnal tree cat in Indonesisa, snacks on the ripest coffee beans in the field. The cat can only digest the coffee berries, but not the hard shell, which is excreted in its poop. The poop is then collected, the beans are washed, roasted and then ground up. This process (as I’m told) lowers the bitterness of the coffee, which creates a musky smooth taste. At our plantation, they used mongoose, rather than civet cats.

When it came to sampling time, we were giving 17 coffee and teas to try and the Luwak coffee we could sample for a fee. I was honestly so overwhelmed with all of the choices set before us, that I completely forgot about the Luwak. I regret not trying it, if nothing else, just to see what all the hype is about.

Once we had a good caffeinated buzz from all the coffee and tea, we started our nearly two-hour drive back to the southern tip of Bali, where we were staying in Nusa Dua.

Overall, our time spent in Ubud was everything I wanted to get out of our whirlwind trip. I know Ubud is a huge tourist area, but if you’re only going to be in Bali for a few days, I can say with confidence that there is something for everyone of all ages to see and enjoy. Just don’t forget the bug spray.