Kecak Dance at Laka Leke Restaurant

Kecak Dance...live

Laka Leke Restaurant was thought to be near our hotel, Taman Harum but it was not. It was about some 15 or 20 minutes away. Luckily, we got there in time before the Kecak Dance performance began. We had booked our table two weeks before we left for Bali. It was no surprise they reserved a front table for us. Actually, it was not only a table but a gazebo. Wow! We were indeed surprised and pleased. We were also presented with a fragipani flower each. So, I guess guys in Bali wore flowers on their hair too?!

Lake Leke Restaurant's entrance

A quiet and serene ambience after the peformance

They had the ala-carte menu and also the buffet. We opted for the buffet. The buffet included a bowl of soup and cocktail per person. They would also grill pork ribs on request and send to the table. And the rest, we just picked from the buffet table.

The buffet table

Our table at the gazebo

What we ate...the taste was not bad

Pumpkin soup with bread

Grilled pork ribs

We came to dine at Laka Leke Restaurant mainly because of its Kecak Dance. It was a traditional dance performed at night with background music made up of chanting (of cak-cak-cak) by the group of dancers. It told the story of the great Hindu epic poem of Ramayana. The performance lasted about 30 minutes and followed by a photography session with the dancers. Oh yes! The photography session was free of charge (unlike some other places).

All lights out...It is time for Kecak chanting and dance

A photograph with the Kecak dancers

Details of the place:
Address                :  Nyuhkuning Village, P.O. Box 165, Ubud, Bali
Telephone number: (0361)977565
Email                    : info@lakaleke.com
Website                : http://www.lakaleke.com/ 

Kecak Dance is only performed on Monday night. Please refer to their website for further information.

Chanting cak-cak-cak away...

What we think about it:

- The Kecak Dance is a must watch. Yes, we enjoyed ourselves very much.
- The buffet dinner was 160,000 rupiah per person (excluding 21% tax). We paid a total of 387,200 rupiah. It sounded pricey but we thought it was worth it as we also got to watch the Kecak Dance too. Plus, the place was kind of private and romantic.

Traditional Balinese Massage at Sang Spa 1 - Must Do

One of the must-do thing in Bali that we heard about was going for a Balinese massage. So, we were going to do just that after strolling around Ubud town. After some research, we had chosen Sang Spa. There were Sang Spa 1, 2 and 3. We called Sang Spa1 from our pre-paid cellphone and asked them to pick us up since they provided free transportation around Ubud. We asked them to pick us from Ubud Tourist Information Centre and to drop us back at our hotel. 

Tourist Information Centre in the centre of Ubud town

The free shuttle came about 10 minutes past three. (our appointment was at 3 p.m.). Yup, we thought they had forgotten about us. The car bore the name of the spa, so it was relatively easy for us to identify it. We hopped on and the driver quickly apologised for being a little late as his schedule was pretty packed for that day. 

Our First Impression: 

When we first arrived, we did not expect the place to be so small and it looked like an extension of the main house (or maybe it was). The driver dropped us at the main road (which looked like an alley to me) and the staff from the spa walked us in using an even smaller lane. 

Sang Spa 1

This is the lane going to the spa.

Narrow, right?! Only for pedestrians and motorcycles.

About the Place:

The place was humble with beautiful decors. The lobby was small and furnished with some rattan furniture. The place was made up of half concrete wall and half bamboo. There were no air conditioner but fans were good enough to keep the place breezy. They had both masseur and masseuse. But we opted for masseuse. 

The massage room (after used) looks messy

The Massage:

This was our first time having a Balinese massage. We were both excited and at the same time feeling anxious. Both masseuse can speak English so communication was not a problem. I remember my masseuse, Purnama, was gentle, attentive and friendly. 

She would ask first whether I would want a light, medium or hard press / massage. Medium was good as it was not too bone-breaking (like our Thai massage at Hadyai). The massage was about one hour (if I remember correctly) and it was only 120,000 rupiah per person. I would say she was well-trained and her fingers really did wonder.

The massage was excellent. After the session, my whole body felt so light, no tight muscles anywhere and it was so relaxing. This is definitely a must-do in Bali. I would definitely come back again if I were in Ubud, Bali.

After we had bathed and got dressed, we were served some tea and fruits at their lobby. The refreshment was good too. Since they were no other customers, we chatted with the masseuse and another girl (who happened to be the owner's granddaughter) while waiting for our transport.

Tea and fruits for us

The fruits taste good (not sure of the name besides the watermelon)

The Oops:

They did not arrange transport for us to go back to our hotel (although not on purpose). The guy at the counter who took our order did not pass the message well. The girls (masseuse) offered to drop us back using their motorcycles but we politely declined due to safety reason. We then asked them to call our hotel free shuttle to pick us up. So, we eventually got back to our hotel feeling so relaxed in our entire life.

The Details:

Sang Spa 1 

Address: Jembawan Street # 29B, Padang Tegal, Ubud

Emails: sangspainfo@gmail.com

Website: www.sangspa.blogpot.com

Ubud Palace and Town

After filling our stomachs at Ibu Oka Babi Guling, we crossed the road to visit the Ubud Palace. There was no entrance fee to enter the place. Like everyone else, we started snapping photos here and there. We had not much idea about the palace. I only knew that it was across the road from Ibu Oka's, so we thought of exploring the place after lunch and at the same time, giving ourselves some time to digest our lunch before heading for a Balinese massage.

The first spot (if you were to enter from the palace side door) that attracts tourists for photographs 

Ancient looking 

The palace ground was filled with different types of Balinese structures. Anyway, I just love all the Balinese architecture.

Towering structure / door

Capture this shot while waiting for the rain to stop

Since we learnt that March was the transition period from rainy to hot season, we brought along an umbrella. There were showers occasionally but they did not spoil the day.

Basically, no proper dress code to enter the palace ground. So, most people were in shorts and slippers.

Some sort of gazebos in the palace ground. Proved handy during heavy rain.

After sheltering at some of the gazebos in the palace ground, we headed across the road again as we saw a beautiful fountain. The fountain was in front of the Tourist Information Centre.

The beautiful fountain in front of Ubud Tourist Information Centre

Next, we walked to the Ubud Market area which was also across the road from Ubud Tourist Information Centre. We walked past rows of shops with colourful souvenirs. Yes, the whole of Bali is very touristy. 

Ubud Market surrounding

We were too lazy to explore the market, so we just walked past the market area and explored the town on foot. We were more interested to see their small alleys, houses and way of life (if we were lucky). However, Ubud town was packed with restaurants, bars, guesthouses and spas. We were disappointed indeed that we did not see real Balinese going about their daily lives. Or we may have overlooked? We only saw a bunch of young boys playing football at a playground.

A peek into somebody's residence? or guesthouse?

At the cross road of Karna Road

An eating outlet with a nice garden

See who's up the tree? A bunch of mischievous coconuts?!

We somehow got lost exploring the small roads or alleys. Luckily,with Google map, we found our way back to the Tourist Information Centre in Ubud town. 

To sum up:

Ubud Palace: A nice and serene place to see Balinese architecture. If you are fast, you would only need 10 minutes here. Free admission (as of March 2013).

Ubud Market place: Did not venture in as we were not interested to haggle for souvenirs.

Ubud town is somewhat a pleasurable place to walk around but it is touristy.

Location:

Ubud Palace, Market, Tourist Info Centre and Ibu Oka Babi Guling are all near to each other. (near = just across the road.) 

Coming up next: our Balinese Massage experience :)

Ibu Oka Babi Guling

Ibu Oka Babi Guling ~ the place for delicious roasted pork and rice

If you are excited about this post on Ibu Oka Babi Guling, I believe you should have also read tons of reviews from the Internet. 

This is the main branch at Jalan Sweta, Ubud ~ just opposite the Ubud Palace

We had read mixed reviews about Ibu Oka. Anyway, we wanted to try it out for ourselves. This is a must-try dish in Ubud. We went to its main branch, which is just opposite the Ubud Palace. So that, we could visit the palace after our lunch.

Yup, they are open at 11 a.m. so be there early to avoid disappointment

If you do not want to be disappointed, better be early. They are open at 11 a.m. and yes, we were there around that time. There were not many people there at that time but soon, the place was packed.

Babi Guling ~ look at the crispy skin.. mouthwatering

A set of Babi Guling and rice. The black thing (at the far right) is actually blood sausage...tastes good (if you don't think so much about it)

Their ABC soup is yummy too

Our lunch table (outdoor seating with proper table and chairs)

The verdict:

It is extremely good. The skin of the roasted pork is crispy and the meat is so tender like chicken. This is definitely better than any Hainanese chicken rice that we had ever eaten. It is spicy due to  its gravy and chilli. We really ate it mindfully, just to make sure we tasted it right and savoured every bite.

The crispy skin was peeled off effortlessly in split seconds.

Cutting up the pork slices before serving

The crispy skin ~ the much sought-after dish

# Babi Guling is pig stuffed with herbs and spices roasted over coconut husk fire for several hours.

This is their only menu.

How much we spent: 143,000 rupiah (inclusive 10% tax, 13,000 rupiah)

Nasi Babi Guling Special (Rice set) (30,000 rupiah  x 2) = 60,000 rupiah

Daging Babi Guling (Meat only) 40,000 rupiah

Iced Coffee (15,000 rupiah x 2) = 30,000 rupiah

Details about the place:

Jalan Sweta, Ubud, Bali. (It is just opposite the Ubud Palace and Tourist Information Centre in Ubud Town.)
- 2 types of seating at the place: sit on the floor with low tables and a few tables outside with chairs.

- Need to pay to use their washroom.

I have found this article to be very informative about Ibu Oka Babi Guling. Well, here is the link http://goseasia.about.com/od/ubud_bali/a/Warung-Ibu-Oka-An-Authentic-Balinese-Dining-Experience.htm