Ah, Ubud. Here is a place in Bali that various people have told me would be perfect for me. Since the last time I was in Bali—back in December—everyone has been egging me on to go. Back then, however, I didn’t have enough time to visit the area since it was technically an office outing. When I returned to Bali a few months after—namely for Joyland, as you well know—Agung, Mimin and I decided we definitely had to go.
My impression of Ubud before I made the trip was that it was the place for environmentally-conscious people. It’s where all the vegans and yoga-nuts come to gather, where you’ll most likely find the most zero-waste shops on the island. Do you see why it appeals to me so much?
For this trip, we were staying in Nusa Dua to be closer to the festival ground—which means it is at least 40km away from Ubud. As the local resident, Mimin became our guide to figure out the best departure time. According to her, Ubud on the weekends would be hella crowded, so she advised us to get going pretty early in the morning. After checking Google Maps a few times, we decided to leave at around 7AM.
The trip took us around 1 hour and 10 minutes—and that was without traffic. Agung and I went by way of a rented motorcycle, which is fine in the morning but unforgiving at around noon. We arrived and sat down for breakfast at around 9AM. Since we planned to catch a concert at 3PM, Mimin advised us to leave at either 12 or 1PM. This left us with pretty limited time.
Ah, Ubud. Here is a place in Bali that various people have told me would be perfect for me. Since the last time I was in Bali—back in December—everyone has been egging me on to go. Back then, however, I didn’t have enough time to visit the area since it was technically an office outing. When I returned to Bali a few months after—namely for Joyland, as you well know—Agung, Mimin and I decided we definitely had to go.
My impression of Ubud before I made the trip was that it was the place for environmentally-conscious people. It’s where all the vegans and yoga-nuts come to gather, where you’ll most likely find the most zero-waste shops on the island. Do you see why it appeals to me so much?
For this trip, we were staying in Nusa Dua to be closer to the festival ground—which means it is at least 40km away from Ubud. As the local resident, Mimin became our guide to figure out the best departure time. According to her, Ubud on the weekends would be hella crowded, so she advised us to get going pretty early in the morning. After checking Google Maps a few times, we decided to leave at around 7AM.
The trip took us around 1 hour and 10 minutes—and that was without traffic. Agung and I went by way of a rented motorcycle, which is fine in the morning but unforgiving at around noon. We arrived and sat down for breakfast at around 9AM. Since we planned to catch a concert at 3PM, Mimin advised us to leave at either 12 or 1PM. This left us with pretty limited time.
📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens
Ubud in Restropect
If I were being honest, I would say our time in Ubud wasn’t really optimal. We didn’t even get to see a lot of the key places. A lot of things factored into it, although it is mostly due to lack of research and the limited amount of time. Everyone who recommended me to go to Ubud has always said that I needed to spend an entire day there to get the full essence of the place—and we certainly didn’t get that. Aside from that, one of the places I wanted to visit was temporarily closed, so I kind of lost my way afterwards. To top it all of, there’s also the merciless weather that made it very hard for us to roam around the place—it was just too damn hot!
That being said, we did have a pretty splendid time together in Ubud for a little bit. The place was a bit more gentrified than I would have liked—which I suppose shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. The streets were lined with tourist-trap shops, filled with foreigners. In this array of white-washed establishment, however, we found some beautiful gems. There was a shop that serves desserts and drinks made mainly of coconuts and there was another shop that strictly sells homemade jams—our friends have bought from this place before, now it was my turn.
If I were being honest, I would say our time in Ubud wasn’t really optimal. We didn’t even get to see a lot of the key places. A lot of things factored into it, although it is mostly due to lack of research and the limited amount of time. Everyone who recommended me to go to Ubud has always said that I needed to spend an entire day there to get the full essence of the place—and we certainly didn’t get that. Aside from that, one of the places I wanted to visit was temporarily closed, so I kind of lost my way afterwards. To top it all of, there’s also the merciless weather that made it very hard for us to roam around the place—it was just too damn hot!
That being said, we did have a pretty splendid time together in Ubud for a little bit. The place was a bit more gentrified than I would have liked—which I suppose shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. The streets were lined with tourist-trap shops, filled with foreigners. In this array of white-washed establishment, however, we found some beautiful gems. There was a shop that serves desserts and drinks made mainly of coconuts and there was another shop that strictly sells homemade jams—our friends have bought from this place before, now it was my turn.
Tukies Coconut Shop
Ongol-Ongol
It was Agung who first laid eyes on this quaint little shop on the side of the street. There was a cute signage of a coconut on top of an ice cream cone—quite literally a coconut ice cream—and it captured our attention straight away. Since the weather was hot, we thought an ice cream would be quite a nice treat—although, in the end only Mimin tried out the ice cream. I was more attracted to the ongol-ongol (pictured above), which is apparently a traditional Sundanese sagoo cake sprinkled with coconut flakes. I also ordered a Coconut Juice (coconut water and flesh with lime juice) to wash that down with. Agung opted for Daluman, which is a refreshing Balinese coconut and grass jelly drink. Everything they serve is never too sweet since they use palm sugar as sweetener.
I love everything about this store. Everything here is vegan-friendly. And they are very committed to the coconut concept. Even the lampshades are made to look like it’s made out of giant coconut shells. Sadly, I didn’t take a picture of that. You can also tell how eco-conscious they are with their choice of cutlery, plates and straws—they’re mostly reusable and made out of stainless steel, wood or compostable materials. The place itself was also very cozy and cute, being rather small and squeezed in between other shops. There’s apparently a bigger branch, however, not to far from where we were—still in Ubud. Aside from the dine-in menu, they also sell an array of food products that you can bring home, such as coconut popcorn, coconut butter, choco coconut cookies and rusks.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // old boots // Goethe Institute tote bag //
photos of me by Agung
Kou Cuisine
Tukies Coconut Shop
Ongol-Ongol
It was Agung who first laid eyes on this quaint little shop on the side of the street. There was a cute signage of a coconut on top of an ice cream cone—quite literally a coconut ice cream—and it captured our attention straight away. Since the weather was hot, we thought an ice cream would be quite a nice treat—although, in the end only Mimin tried out the ice cream. I was more attracted to the ongol-ongol (pictured above), which is apparently a traditional Sundanese sagoo cake sprinkled with coconut flakes. I also ordered a Coconut Juice (coconut water and flesh with lime juice) to wash that down with. Agung opted for Daluman, which is a refreshing Balinese coconut and grass jelly drink. Everything they serve is never too sweet since they use palm sugar as sweetener.
I love everything about this store. Everything here is vegan-friendly. And they are very committed to the coconut concept. Even the lampshades are made to look like it’s made out of giant coconut shells. Sadly, I didn’t take a picture of that. You can also tell how eco-conscious they are with their choice of cutlery, plates and straws—they’re mostly reusable and made out of stainless steel, wood or compostable materials. The place itself was also very cozy and cute, being rather small and squeezed in between other shops. There’s apparently a bigger branch, however, not to far from where we were—still in Ubud. Aside from the dine-in menu, they also sell an array of food products that you can bring home, such as coconut popcorn, coconut butter, choco coconut cookies and rusks.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + plaid shirt // thrifted skirt // old boots // Goethe Institute tote bag //
photos of me by Agung
Kou Cuisine
This little store on the Monkey Forest St. is the most quaint place—it is so small you can almost miss it, if you’re not paying attention (we almost did!). It sells an array of homemade jams, honey, sea salts and soaps. They are all packaged in glass jars, fabrics and paper, which makes them the absolute cutest. When you first walk into the store, you’ll be met with a counter where you get to taste each variant of jams. There are also testers of the honey and sea salt on the shelves. Agung and I opted for the Grape & Buni jam, while Mimin chose the Apple Cinnamon—all in small sizes.
Several years ago someone from our group—mine and Mimin’s—came back from Bali with a jar of milk caramel jam. We all ended up having a taste of that jam and fell in love with it. Not long afterwards, someone else from our group also went to Bali and bought the same jam. Since then on, this jam store has become kind of a regular among our friends—except I’m pretty much the only one who has never set foot in it…until now.
Several years ago someone from our group—mine and Mimin’s—came back from Bali with a jar of milk caramel jam. We all ended up having a taste of that jam and fell in love with it. Not long afterwards, someone else from our group also went to Bali and bought the same jam. Since then on, this jam store has become kind of a regular among our friends—except I’m pretty much the only one who has never set foot in it…until now.
This little store on the Monkey Forest St. is the most quaint place—it is so small you can almost miss it, if you’re not paying attention (we almost did!). It sells an array of homemade jams, honey, sea salts and soaps. They are all packaged in glass jars, fabrics and paper, which makes them the absolute cutest. When you first walk into the store, you’ll be met with a counter where you get to taste each variant of jams. There are also testers of the honey and sea salt on the shelves. Agung and I opted for the Grape & Buni jam, while Mimin chose the Apple Cinnamon—all in small sizes.
Not going to lie: I used to hate the idea of Bali. Everyone always wants to go there, stay in resorts or villa and hit up the cafés or snazzy restaurants. They don’t eat the local food, meet the local people or engage with the local culture. It just seems like a Jakarta away from Jakarta—what is even the point? But, on this trip, I realised that Bali is a beautifully diverse island, where each region has its own personality. All I have to do is visit the places that will bring me closer to the local customs and reveal more of the real face of Bali to me—places like Gianyar and Kintamani—and avoid gentrified places lined with tourist traps—such as Canggu and Seminyak.
Truth be told, we didn’t see much of Ubud—probably only a tiny portion. After we all went back our separate ways, I mentioned to Mimin that I was hoping to see some rice fields. It would be one view in Bali that I’d love to witness. She was devastated. Had she known, she would’ve taken me to an eatery overlooking the rice fields in Ubud. I assured her it was fine, I didn’t really know what I wanted anyway. I thought I would arrive in Ubud and know what I would want to see. I’m pretty sure there are still a lot of things I haven’t seen in Ubud, which just means that I’d have to go back there—and beyond. To Kintamani too, perhaps? Agung and I sure are excited. Watch this space!
Have you ever been to Bali?
What do you think about when you think about the island?
Not going to lie: I used to hate the idea of Bali. Everyone always wants to go there, stay in resorts or villa and hit up the cafés or snazzy restaurants. They don’t eat the local food, meet the local people or engage with the local culture. It just seems like a Jakarta away from Jakarta—what is even the point? But, on this trip, I realised that Bali is a beautifully diverse island, where each region has its own personality. All I have to do is visit the places that will bring me closer to the local customs and reveal more of the real face of Bali to me—places like Gianyar and Kintamani—and avoid gentrified places lined with tourist traps—such as Canggu and Seminyak.
Truth be told, we didn’t see much of Ubud—probably only a tiny portion. After we all went back our separate ways, I mentioned to Mimin that I was hoping to see some rice fields. It would be one view in Bali that I’d love to witness. She was devastated. Had she known, she would’ve taken me to an eatery overlooking the rice fields in Ubud. I assured her it was fine, I didn’t really know what I wanted anyway. I thought I would arrive in Ubud and know what I would want to see. I’m pretty sure there are still a lot of things I haven’t seen in Ubud, which just means that I’d have to go back there—and beyond. To Kintamani too, perhaps? Agung and I sure are excited. Watch this space!
Have you ever been to Bali?
What do you think about when you think about the island?