On Sunday we took the boat back from Nusa Lembongan to Sanur and then a driver took us to Ubud.
We are staying at Honeymoon Guesthouses, which is like staying in a temple: statues, carved doors and shrines everywhere... wow! But also: great room with a terrace, yummy breakfast, big pool, wonderful spa treatments! All we need :)
It's a bit of an oasis too, quiet and peaceful which are not the words I'd use for Ubud. It's known as the cultural capital of the island and it might be true for the arts and the spiritual happenings here but else it's more of the consum capital... the main streets are basically all about two things: eating and shopping ;-) which of course I totally do not mind, but the amount of beautiful and delicious lookings cafes, bars, warungs and restaurants and the shops full of clothes, jewellery and souvenirs is just overwhelming and hard too choose from!

Unluckily I wasn't feeling great for the first two days, so we kept things low, sleep, massage, short walks, pool and not much food. Done!

On Tuesday we had a wonderful tour north of Ubud: First to the rice terraces of Tegallalang which were so beautiful I had goosebumps when I saw them! That green and how artfully they were arranged into the valley. Amazing!! We wandered around for quite a while and admired the landscape!
Then to Gunung Kawi which are ten huge shrines carved into the rocks of a little valley, with a stream flowing through it.
The temple of Tirta Empul was next: it is special because of the holy spring and there are several ponds and baths where people do ritual washings, although not only spiritual locals are allowed to do so but also visitors, so I took the chance ;)
Back in Ubud we had a break and then went for a stroll downtown before having diner at Three Monkeys, yummy!

On Wednesday we spend the morning souvenir shopping our way through Ubud ;) then had lunch, followed by Spa for me and a sleep for Hailey and Stan!
In the evening we ate at Fair Warung Bale, where the food is excellent and with every meal you donate for healthcare. Spend a really nice evening chatting to the founder and his girlfriend. I enjoyed it very much because it's kinda difficult to really meet people here! I mean everyone speaks to us about Hailey, she's like an attention magnet, but we don't get to know people really. In the hotels we are staying there are no other parents and we cannot hang around in the bars at night...

On Thursday we joined a bike excursion which took us close to Mount Batur, a volcano that is still active, and Lake Batur and from there we biked 25km downhill through villages, forests and rice paddies. Really nice tour and Hailey enjoyed her first bikeride and did not fuss at all!

On Friday Stan had a cooking class in our hotel and learned to make Nasi Goreng, Sate Ayam and traditional Sate sauce, while Hailey and I walked around the market and splashed in the pool!
On our last evening here we went to a nice restaurant where (surprise! ;) there was a Salsa band playing! Being my girl, Hailey loved the music and kept running towards the band and bopping up and down! Finally she fell asleep in her stroller and I was able to enjoy a dance or two myself!