There are 2 activities that I have enjoyed here that I want to share although one of them is more like a non-activity!
Cooking class
There are loads of people offering cooking classes with a visit to the large local market outside Ubud so it’s difficult to choose unless you have a recommendation. I went with one that AirBnb had as an experience. It certainly lived up to expectations. Ayu runs a Balinese cooking experience in her traditional family compound – her husband is a traditional healer. We were 11 people – a motley crew you might say although perhaps typical for the people here in Ubud – a French couple on honeymoon, 2 Aussie mid-40s gals, a young Chinese couple who spoke fluent American English – possibly from HK?, 3 American “students” (they refused to tell us which school they were at – vaguely indicating that it was in Northern California – they looked older than normal college students – no idea what that was all about), Matilde from Stavanger, Norway living in Crouch End, basically 10 minutes from my house in London ( a la travel the world to meet the boy next door, he was E, I was F, Liza Minnelli (Google it) in Bali with her Kiwi boyfriend and his parents) and me.
We were taught traditional Balinese dishes – quite a number – and then got to eat them at the end. Auy also gave us a great insight into family and village life in a traditional Balinese community and seemed really genuine. We got all the recipes and I will definitely have a go at home as living in London I’m actually able to get all the ingredients although Auy did offer us substitutes. I also gave me a good idea of what to order in a restaurant. I asked the Chinese man at the end if he was going to cook any of this and his was reply was: “No, I just enjoy eating!”
Ayu said that being on AirBnb had transformed her business and that she was building another kitchen so that she could accommodate larger groups. At the moment her maximum is 12. I’m glad I go there before it was finished as I appreciated the personal touch which I think she’s going to find hard keeping up with 2 kitchens.
Spa Day
I decided to go with a relaxing spa package at one of the most venerable hotels in Ubud – Hotel Tjampuhan. It’s where one of the most well-known artists in Bali, a German painter called Walter Spies who kick started a major upswing in the Balinese art scene from the 1930s onwards, lived. The hotel is set overlooking the Campuhan gorge with a rushing river at the bottom and the spa is outside just on the river bank. I had a traditional Balinese massage followed by a body scrub and flower bath all skilfully administered by Sari. I was then allowed to spend another 2 hours in their spa. The massage was bloody painful to say the least as my back has been playing up ever since I got here (too much walking around and not doing my exercises). I was also persuaded to buy something called Bora which is a traditional spice mixture to relieve pain that you smear on your body – who knows.
Anna's Travels 