Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Bali Honeymoon, p3 - Pertiwi Resort & Spa, Ubud


We arrived at Pertiwi Resort at Ubud.  We originally had booked in Warwick Ibah, which we cancelled because Ubud itself was removed from our itinerary. Because of my toothache, we were forced to stay in Ubud and we chose Pertiwi over Cendana, mostly because of the location and the price. Pertiwi was fine, but not without faults.

Reception/foyer

The reception seemed busy, as there were quite a few people waiting to be checked in. The waiting lounge had some tourist brochures, and we browsed there for nearly 15 minutes before some one was free to check us in. An assistant helped us with our luggage and we walked for a couple of minutes to the back of the resort to our room. 

The stairs that took us down to our cottage


Our room turned out to be the ground floor of a cottage. It was a basic hotel-style layout - one room with an attached bathroom. Size was adequate but the window opened to the stairs in the above picture... everyone who had their rooms in this part of the resort will be walking by our window, and it was not soundproof! I would have been seriously annoyed if I was planning to stay inside the room but since I was in Ubud mainly for treating my toothache and, as a side, to find some artwork for hubby's work (he is an architect), I let it go.

Our cottage


The room had all the necessary amenities like TV, airconditioned, a full equipped fridge etc etc., but it did not have a lock on the door! OMG... we were expected to trust the hotel and just close the door... a serious leap of faith! Luckily the costliest item in our luggage was my hubby's MacAir so we just carried it when we went outself... since we stayed in Ubud for only a night, we were not too bothered by this, but people staying longer at Pertiwi should make sure they don't get this room.

Also, the wifi did not work... or rather, the wifi from the main lounge was too far to be accessed by those staying in the back. I think most Balinese resorts have this problem.

All said, the view from the room was restfull... a chair in the front porch and a book in the hand is the way to go! 



Before going out to find a dentist, we decided to have a short stroll around the resort. The whole resort has been beautifully landscaped. We found this pretty creek, down our cottage. 



We then left the resort and strolled down the football field. We found Gayathri cafe just after the field, and decided to have our tea there. It was okay for the prices and the ambience was nice, but the dessert - banana and cocnut mousse - seriously spoiled the experience.


Cafe Gayathri

Arak Attack!

Pizza for Mahendra

Nasi Campur for me!

Ewwww, do not EVER order this!


Our hunger killed, we walked past Cafe Gayathri and lo behold! I saw a board in english "SriLakshmini Dentistry - upstairs". God has answered my prayers! Up we went to find... a makeshift tent. Inside was the good doctor. I explained my toothache, all the while wondering about a ramshackle clinic on the open terrace. I looked at my my husband, asking for his opinion, and he who googles the credentials of a doctor before going to him, shrugged - it was clear we should just get help from this doctor, whom we found by providence. 

The dentist made me recline on the chair, prodded around (thank god for the arak attack!) which made me emit muffled screams, and after a cursed minute, took out a chicken piece which was the culprit. I was the victim of the classic food particle-lodged-inside-the-cavity tooth poisoning. She wrote me some painkillers and charged me 350,000 rupiah. We thanked her and continued our walk in the opposite direction (towards Pertiwi)




Very near to our resort, we found this store called Ubud music which sold DVDs and gift items. I picked up several inexpensive gift for family and friends. For all my girlfriends, I picked up travel size soaps and mini-size spa baskets (30,000 rupiah each). And of course, lots of DVDs for hubby and his friends.

We then walked a bit more, generally soaking in the night-time mellowness of the town. Most shops were open but you can see that it is not a happening place after 10pm! Feeling tired, we returned back to the room.

No lock!
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant (included in the room rate). The food was a buffet with lots of variety but not really that tasty. I guess my tastebuds are spoiled after the customized service at Villa Patal and the organic fare at Como Shambala :(. Still, it was okay.


In-house restaurant

View to the pool

Late arrival means fewer options!



Fruits and juices

Sausage station



My plate

Eying my hubby's plate

We then went for a walk around Ubud town, this time we took the direction opposite of the football field (towards the monkey forest). It was slightly drizzling, yet humid. We passed through many small cafes, shops and art galleries. I am scared of monkeys, so did not go inside Monkey Forest, but just hung around, looking at the paintings and artifacts on sale.


Roads of Ubud


I wanted to buy this Buddha painting but couldn't because we were travelling light on budget airways...


Buddha




We also took a look at a few guesthouses and villas on Monkey Forest, to see if we can stay one more day in Ubud. By now, we had realised that Ubud is special and we wanted to stay longer...  There were so many things I wanted to do.... go for a cooking class... see a dance performance... do a walking tour... alas, none of them was possible in a single day, and also because our next day stay was already booked (our entire honeymoon was pre-planned with little flexibility) so ultimately we returned to Pertiwi to start packing.


We packed and got ready to check out. Before that, we went around the resort once again and took some pictures. I did feel a bit sorry for myself. I had read so much about Ubud on the Bali TA forums that I knew I would not be satisfied with just a day - this is why I had planned to stay in Gianyar and never planned to visit Ubud. But my toothache forced me to visit Ubud and now I was feeling short-changed. My sweet husband assures me that we will stay longer in Ubud the next time when we visit Bali :)



Our next destination was Sanur, where we will duplicate a Safari experience!

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:34 AM

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    With warm regards
    Sanah

    I've written a poem titled "academic pressure". I hope you like it. :)

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