Ubud And The Monkeys

There was just time for a last couple of hours on the beach before we were picked up at midday to be taken to our next hotel. It was about an hours journey to Ubud where we would be staying at the Ubud Village Resort & Spa.

As this would have been the place I was to spend my birthday before last-minute changes to our itinerary meant a re-shuffle of dates, The Wife had actually booked a suite villa complete with it’s very own pool. Pure luxury!

After a quick dip in the pool to cool off after the journey we took the hotel’s shuttle service to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary, which is a reserve that is home to more than 600 macaque monkeys. We wandered around the forest trying not to be attacked by the curious little buggers for a couple of hours and escaped unharmed.

We walked up the main road to 3 Monkeys, one of the local restaurants that has good reviews in the guide books, and had some dinner (more nasi goreng) sat among the paddy fields. After dinner we walked up to the Palace to buy tickets for that evening’s dance show.

It was a traditional Balinese dance telling the story of two giants who wanted to take over heaven but were thwarted by an angel and her nymphs. I was glad we had a written translation otherwise I wouldn’t have had a clue as to what was going on!

After the dance show we got the shuttle bus back to the hotel and enjoyed a moonlit swim in our own pool before hitting the sack for the night.