People love to celebrate Valentine’s day with their loved ones. Whether it being with their partner, lover, family or best friend. I really wanted to have a romantic candle light dinner like a normal couple would, but due to Jake and I not being a normal one, we couldn’t do that. Separated by continent is real challenging, but we know we can do it! Soon enough, we will write a post about our next vacation. That’s another story but right now I’m going to share about my staycation with my best friend in Ubud, Bali. The original plan was totally different. I had a plan for solo travelling to Singapore for 4 days but since the Corona virus has spread there, it was cancelled. I wish for the ones who have the disease to recover soon and the death cases to be minimized.

First thing’s first, when we had just arrived in Ubud, we had lunch in Seniman Coffee Studio. People usually just call it Seniman Coffee. Seniman means artist in Indonesia. I always wanted to visit this Coffee place since everyone was giving me recommendations. Yes, literally everyone! And after I tried it, I never regretted my decision to come here. Their coffee is great! I have gastric acid, so I need to be really careful on what I eat and drink, but the coffee from Seniman Coffee Studio wasn’t causing any reactions on my belly. They not only serve coffee, but also serve varieties of chocolate and tea from all around Indonesia. Don’t forget, if you are in the mood for a snack or proper food for your hungry belly, the Indonesian foods and the bread from their bakery are worth a try. It is located in central Ubud, only 500 meters from Ubud Palace. Adding this place into your Ubud itinerary is not at all a bad idea.

Right after our bellies were full, we went straight to Saraswati Temple. This temple is one of the most famous landmarks in Ubud. You can easily find the images of the place by the lotus pond and it’s water garden on the internet. This temple is dedicated for Saraswati Goddess, the Hindu deity of learning, literature and art. The temple itself, built in 1951, was initiated by the Prince of Ubud Cokorda Gede Agung Sukawati and designed by I Nyoman Lempad, the famous Balinese sculptor. Tourists are prohibited from entering the temple because it is only open for visitors who wish to pray. Most tourists are visiting Saraswati temple just to take photos. It is great for your instagram content because the background of the Balinese temple architecture with the lotus flower arrangements is very beautiful (although, it was not that great when I went there because the lotus flowers were not blooming at that time). Also, the combination of the temple gate and lotus pond architecture will make your pictures oh-so perfect. Oh, and don’t forget, you can see the Kecak Dance Performance at Saraswati Ubud Temple scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday, which starts at 19:30.

In the late afternoon, we checked into The Keraman Suites Ubud. I found this place from airbnb and everything about it was great! It was only $34/night in US dollars, so, not so expensive. The location is not too far from the Tegalalang rice terrace. Only 5 minutes away and around 10 minutes to the centre of Ubud by motorbike. You will get a super cozy wooden suite with a nice bathtub as a plus. Outside of your suite, you will see such an amazing view with a small gazebo for spending your day next to the swimming pool. From speaking to Pak Putu, a staff member, I learned that the Keraman Suites had just opened up a month ago.

Vacation isn’t complete without having a nice dinner with a nice view. (let’s call it an early dinner though, since we went there at 5 pm.) We were afraid of getting back to the place we were staying at too late because Ubud can be sooo dark at night. There is a cafe called Green Kubu that is only 5 minutes away from Keraman Suites and is famous for locals. It is common to see teenagers from all around Bali to be hanging out there. Price wasn’t expensive at all, only around IDR 100,000 for 2 pax. You can choose to sit on the bean bag chair, under the alang-alang roof or choose the seat surrounded by the vines. The food is fine and has a cheap price. There are many places with nice views there to take pictures for your instagram.

In the next morning we had our breakfast at 8.30 am, which was nice. It wasn’t too fancy but was yummy. There were only 3 breakfast options to choose from, the American breakfast, Indonesian breakfast and Continental Breakfast. We were in the mood for some fried rice so we chose the Indonesian breakfast. You can also choose between tea and coffee and also choose between juice and a fruit platter.

The last place we visited before we went back to Denpasar was The Cat Cafe Ubud which is located in Pengosekan. Don’t worry, it’s easy to find the location because you will see the big cat sign from faraway. They have about 15 cats that you can interact with and they are veeery cute and funny. They might look lazy but once you’re holding a cat snack, they will wake up and you will instantly be surrounded by them 😂. You only need to pay IDR 55,000 for 1 drink, which includes 1 cat snack. There are also some snacks for us humans as well 😂 but that is additional cost. This place is heaven on earth I must say 😍.

Love from Ubud,

XOXO