Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

It’s about 45 minutes from Bandara Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali and where we’ll be staying for the next six days. We’re staying in a private bungalow – known in the area as “Dr. Mike’s House.” It’s owned by an American doctor and sits on a hill overlooking rice paddies and a river gorge. It’s beautiful at sunset. The house is built in Balinese style, meaning nearly everything is open. Two bedrooms are enclosed, but there’s one open room upstairs and open bathrooms and kitchen. It’s an amazing setting, but there are some downsides. 1. There’s not parking directly behind the house. You have to park at the top of the hill and walk down a beat up concrete pathway about .25 mile. It’s steep on the way up and is really bad when it rains. 2. There’s a stream that runs along the pathway, and it is cluttered with trash. There are many bungalows with Balinese residents and even a hotel along the pathway and they must dump their trash in the water. It smells awful and is unsightly. 3. The house itself is not such a great location to stay if you have kids or it’s your first time in Ubud. I’d say it’s about 1.5 mile walk to the art galleries, restaurants, and shops in “downtown” Ubud. My advice: It’s convenient to be close to the action here, especially when you’re with travelers of differing levels of experience. Stay close to the main streets (Jl. Raya Ubud, Jl. Monkey Forest and Jl. Hanoman).