ubud

Waking up in Ubud to a verdant green valley lined with banana palms starts the day in serenity. Outside a table overlooks the river Campuhan where a flask of hot tea and sugar bananas is placed every morning by a young girl padding silently past the simple single room cottages lining the hillside. A fifteen minute walk down the hill takes us to Ubud - the cultural and artistic heart of Bali- 5 minutes by rented motorbike- a great way to get around. This is an enchanted place with many laid back restaurants, galleries and markets to become absorbed in.  
A cooking class presented an opportunity to check out spices used in gado gado, my fave Indonesian dish and to meet travellers from distant parts of the world. Don't miss a chance to buy a ticket to see the Kecak Monkey Chant- a  dramatic battle sequence from the Hindu epic 'Ramayana'-  captured in the brilliant 1993 film 'Baraka'. Jalan Monkey Forest is a street (next to the monkey forest!) where there are several small textile shops. I spent a lot of time at one in particular, looking at vintage ikats from Timor and fell in love with this woven floral pattern runner.