Whenever you touch down in another country, one of the first things to do is to immerse yourself into a body of water, be it a pool, lake or bath, or go to the nearest spa and have a massage. This will guarantee to ground you to the new environment and definitely help with jet lag.

Apart from the spa there are two restaurants in Ubud that have wowed me with their food and atmosphere. One, Bali Buddha, a well-known and much talked about café offers an incredibly creative menu.  It is worth checking out their website and reading their mission statement that focuses on their commitment to the environment. Also if you are too lazy to go to the café, they now offer a delivery service. Charmingly my pumpkin soup arrived in a recycled jam jar, hot and delicious.

All the food is homemade from the mayonnaise to the sunflower seed, walnut, cashew and almond milk. Beneath the café is the health food store that offers homemade breads and delectable local foods and products.

The other restaurant is one situated off the beaten track. Not marked in any discernible way and has gained a cult like reputation by word of mouth is the Sari Organic restaurant.

It serves the food that is grown organically in the fields next to it and nothing is above US $4. The food is so fresh you think it is still growing and guests are even invited to go and pick their own vegetables and have them cooked any way they like. Getting there is fairly simple. Hire a local motor scooter owner to take you there or simply get dropped off at the top of the street and walk about one kilometre through the rice paddies.

It is worth getting there around 5.30 – 6.00 pm to see the sunset.

These are just two of many fabulous eateries in Ubud and it is worth trying as many as possible. With yoga in the mornings only there is plenty of time to explore all there is to see and taste. After a day at the spa and some fabulous food I am definitely ready to put my body onto the mat and into the asanas.

Namaste

The Traveling Ashtangi