How to Create Your Own Yoga Retreat in Ubud Bali

Bali is one of those places that I can never get bored of visiting, simply because it has such a good vibe about it. My favorite places near the coast would be Seminyak, with all its hip designer boutiques, and then Canggu, which is more laid back.

But going into central Bali, and you'd come across Ubud, which is an amazing congregation of both locals and expats, many of which are very into yoga and green, organic food, or even raw food. You'd also find beautiful layered rice paddy fields, sacred temples and lots of good vibes. Lots of people come to Bali for Yoga and Spa retreats, which can easily cost up to USD2300, but actually you can just easily DIY the trip yourself for a fraction of the cost.

Rolling Green Fields

When I packed for Bali, I made a conscious choice in packing this floral print maxi dress, that looked slightly like the traditional sarongs that local Balinese people wear. My boyfriend shot me at our wonderful villa, Lodtunduh Sari, and this dress went beautifully with the rich green rice paddy fields that were found everywhere in Ubud. 

As I've said in my last post, Ubud is my favourite place in Bali because of the arts and the more laid back lifestyle that you can find there. Ubud is home to two famous Bali art galleries - Museum Blanco, a small museum of Antonio Blanco's works, and ARMA, a museum exhibiting local Balinese artists. Besides these two official museums, you can find small photography and art galleries about, as well as numerous shops along the roads specializing in wood carving, painting, silver-making, batik, glass, stone and many more. While you're there, you can also get yourself pampered in the many massage and beauty parlours about, or you can sign up for yoga classes just right next to the rice paddy fields.

Jalan Monkey Forest and Jalan Haloman are the two main roads you should definitely explore - the roadside shops sell handmade clothes and accessories of good quality and the cafes are also really really good. You should definitely try the vegetarian food at Clear Cafe at Jalan Haloman when you're there. After days of eating oily Indonesia food, the oil-free vegetarian meal at Clear Cafe was a great reprieve and I felt so happy and refreshed after eating it.


I enjoyed my stay at Lodtunduh Sari immensely, even though its compounds were rather small, but it was very comfortable and cosy. Lodtunduh Sari was built just in 2011 and houses 5 small villas and 2 big villas, complete with a pool and that breathtaking view of the rice paddy fields. Each villa is fenced in and comes with a small pool and outdoors showering. The best part was that the location of the villas were away from the hustle and bustle of the central of Ubud, where there's a lot of people, so at night it was really really very quiet. Not to mention the hotel staff cook up the best banana pancakes ever, served with freshly cut fruits and coffee/tea.

Boutiques of Seminyak

Images above all taken in boutique Somewhere along Jalan Raya in Seminyak.

Seminyak is really good for shopping, especially for swimwear and 'Cruise' summer collections. The whole area around Jalan Raya and its surrounding roads are lined with independent boutiques of both local and international designers. As this is my first time in Seminyak and I didn't really get much time to walk around the shopping district (I only walked along the stretch of Jalan Raya), I can't really offer specific recommendations of shops.

I suggest you walk around and wander about on your own because there are treasures to be found! I went into quite a few Australian boutiques selling really gorgeous and comfortable crochet dresses and beautiful accessories, but the price points are generally quite high.

 
However, one thing I would recommend you to buy is the authentic snakeskin accessories. The snakeskin is generally obtained from Sumatra (another part of Indonesia) and are made into beautiful handbags, wallets and even boots. I regretted not buying a new wallet when I was there!

Above: An Instagram account of my trip

For food, here's a brief list of places that I went to:

• Pavone, Legian Jalan Padma Utara No 4, for Australian styled breakfast cooked to perfection and with really generous portions and affordable price tags
• Pak Malen, Seminyak Sunset Road cross junction, for Babi Guling (BBQ suckling pig). Lots of locals come here to buy a lot for takeaway!
• Malioboro Restaurant, Kuta Jl Kediri No 50 I-J Tuban, for really really delicious soft bone chicken. Cooked so soft, the texture of the bones of the chicken feels like mashed potatoes!
• Jimbaran Bay seafood restaurants. A whole row of restaurants lights up at night along Jimbaran Bay, selling fresh seafood brought in by the fishermen during the day. Enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner of grilled seafood with the waves in the background and the sand between your toes.
• Clear Cafe, Ubud Jalan Haloman, specializes in healthy, vegetarian meals that will make you leave the dining estate like a cleansed man.
• Bebek Tepi Sawah, Ubud Jalan Goa Gajah, for their signature grilled or fried duck paired with super spicy Indonesia chili
• Naughty Nuri's, Ubud Jl. Raya Sanggingan, famous for its delicious BBQ pork ribs. Really really the ultimate!
• Street food - don't be afraid to try small roadside stalls/pushcarts selling streetfood! I recommend Bakso Soup ('fake' meatball soup) and Teglang Bulang (giant pancake), which are my favourites.

Bali Photodiary & Itinerary

I promised that I will share my travel adventures in Bali, so here they are in chronological order! I was in Bali for 6 days and everyday I woke up feeling very excited to discover yet another part of this amazing island. I first stayed in Seminyak and Legian, then moved to Ubud to see the gorgeous rice paddy fields, and then ended with a day trip to Kintamani and finally, Kuta just before we flew back to Singapore.

Some highlights of my trip includes parasailing, standing at the edge of a rock cliff with no bars fencing me in, visiting numerous famous Bali Hindu temples that had hundred years of history, witnessing the sun being swallowed by the ocean twice, eating the most amazing food at great prices...I can go on and on.

Bali has a good number of bars and clubs (especially in the Kuta region), but the one that I would really recommend you to go is Rock Bar at Ayana Resort and Spa. From the photo, you can see that the bar is built entirely on the edge of the cliff, where you can smell and even feel the saltiness of sea water crash against the rocks. The drinks are slightly on the expensive side - one drink costs around SGD21 - but for the whole experience, it was definitely worth it. Plus, I got to witness the most amazing sunset ever! It was the first time in my life that I had got to see the sun as a ball of fire, just disappearing slowly down the edge of the sea and then out of sight.

I would also recommend you to go to Kintamani to see the active Volano Kintamani and its adjacent lake. If you have time, I think you should give mountain-climbing a try with Bali's tallest mountain, Mt Batur. I didn't get to try it this time round and would definitely be back next time to do it!

Out of all the different regions of Bali I went to, I enjoyed Ubud the most. Ubud is located in the central part of Bali and houses miles and miles of rice paddy fields and small villages with a stronger traditional Javanese culture. It was very much unlike the commercialized Kuta region (filled with malls and roadside clubs) and the increasingly crowded Seminyak. I will be talking more about Ubud in my next post on Bali, so check back here in a few days! :)