My home in Ubud is alive with nature

It’s nestled away from the busy Ubud center and surrounded by the sounds of birds chirping, crickets playing their songs, trees rustling in the wind, and rain pit-pit-pattering on the rooftop.

I stayed up all night inspired by this place to work on my travel journal, edit photos, and work on my blog.

What paradise

At 6am the roosters were crowing.

At 7am Ian was frying eggs and making smoothies.

By 8am, we’re skinny dipping in our private pool and rinsing off in the outdoor shower.

Market visits

There’s a bit of rain but it doesn’t stop us from walking around our little town towards the Ubud Art Market. I’m determined to not to buy anything, except for a rattan roundie bag.

There are a bunch of shops that have them, but I’m looking for one that fits my DSLR camera with 24mm lens. I walked into a shop with the cutest old man who helps me to find a bag that’s wide enough to fit my bag.

We found one, and I’ve haggled a price that’s reasonable for the both of us. But I completely forgot that the only cash I brought with me was for my batik master class which I was headed to after lunch. I promise him I’ll be back to purchase it.

Lunch at Yoga Bali Cafe

We stop for lunch at this cute cafe hidden away from the busy streets.

Learning Batik

We walked back to Penestenan Street to Wayanna Batik shop.

Anna and Wayan are standing by the door ready for my arrival, and I jump on a scooter with Wayan (the artist) to his uncle’s studio. This is where he creates his batik paintings, along with his cousin who is also a batik artist.

Because this wasn’t a scheduled class, and I requested so last minute, we delved straight into the painting process. I was a bit bummed that we didn’t have time to go into the initial wax drawings, but after 3 hours of painting, I still felt I had the full immersive experience.

We talked stories and Wayan watched while I painted, telling me how I could get a better result by using water to make the colors more muted, and mixing colors for vibrance.

I felt in my element, and 3 hours whizzed by.

By the time I was done, it was nearly evening.

The canvas needed to dry overnight so I had to come back tomorrow to see my final work.

Café Vespa and renting a scooter

I walked over to Café Vespa with a huge coconut in hand (courtesy of Wayan and his family), ordered a latte and waited for Ian to meet up with me.

While I spent my afternoon painting, Ian spent his day hiking the Campuhan Ridge and exploring the town solo.

We walked back home and not that we were complaining about the walk at all, but we really wanted to get a scooter. It was just so much more convenient.

Like serendipity, we got home and our host Wayan Budiana meets us to let us know he has an extra scooter that we can rent.

Vibes at La Pacha Mama

For dinner, we showed up to a very fancy restaurant called Bridges, but it was so fancy that we could not be seated unless we had a reservation—which we didn’t… so we drove up the hill and found an even better spot.

We walked into La Pacha Mama and were stoked to see a live band playing a mix of old school Spanish music and Cuban music. The cocina styled decor was super cute, the waitstaff was amazing, and the food was divine.

I love my days in Bali.