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Rice and Shine
CREDIT: SANDRA DESAUTELS
A full day of workouts, wellness and even white-water rafting in Bali’s cultural capital. By Ric Stockfis
Lontong at Sari Organik
CREDIT: MATT OLDFIELD
CREDIT: SANDRA DESAUTELS
View from the Campuhan Ridge
The Yoga Barn
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Uma by COMO Ubud
Campuhan Ridge
JALAN RAYA SANGING AN
t’s not immediately apparent why people rave about before your next physical activity: it’s on-site at the The Ubud. The alleged tourist highlight—the Monkey Yoga Barn (Jalan Raya Pengosekan, +62 3 6197-1236, www. Forest—is underwhelming. The main streets through theyogabarn.com). You’ll hear this five-studio center talked town are terribly tacky. What with the crowds of holier-thanabout in hushed, reverential tones by the type of folk who thou yoga devotees and earnest Eat Pray Love pilgrims, it’s come to Ubud to find themselves—but it really is among tempting to write the place off as yet another spoiled stop on the best places in town to practice your downward dog (see the tourist trail. But step away from the center and Ubud’s our interview with founder Charley Patton, right). Classes charms become more apparent, especially if you treat your start from 7am and all run for 90 minutes, but those in the stay there as a chance to get fit and healthy rather than simply middle of the afternoon (3pm) are typically pitched at an sight-see. introductory level and run the gamut from meditation and 7am. It’s worth getting out of bed early to beat the heat Vinyasa flow to acro-yoga and even Capoeira. and run the Campuhan Ridge. The hilly 7.5km circuit is by 5:30pm. There are few places better to watch the no means easy, but it affords stunning views into the lush sun go down (and catch your breath after the day you’ve valleys on either side and the path beyond takes just had) than Pomegranate you through neon green rice fields, past faded old (+62 878 6080-3632, www. temples and quiet villages; it’s a shame, though, cafepomegranate.org), a canvasUma by COMO Ubud that to complete the loop you have to run a roofed, open-to-the-elements Naughty Nuri’s Warung couple of clicks on the road. The starting point café and bar perched right in Sari Organik is hidden away to the left as you enter the Ibah the middle of the rice fields, with Resort (see map). mountains looming on the horizon. Artists Villages & rice terraces 8:30am. Time for a well-earned breakfast! It’s a delightful 15-minute walk up Pomegranate Start with the healthy dishes on the menu a single-track (and somewhat secret) at Kemiri, one of the on-site restaurants at pathway from the main road. Drinks Uma by COMO Ubud (see STAY next page). are far from fancy, but with views like Recent offerings include an egg white tortilla this you don’t need them to be. Get there and a tropical fruit salad with bee pollen (both early to grab a seat on the edge—and bring IDR200,000) as well as juice blends like the Lean a flashlight if you’re planning to walk back Ibah Resort and Clean Greens (apple, fennel, cucumber, down in the dark. spinach, green pepper, celery, sunflower 8pm. If you want to end the JL . R AYA seeds, macadamia nuts and spirulina powder; day on a healthy high then walk UBU D IDR65,000); but the menu changes regularly. just a minute further uphill for 10am. Straight back into the fray. Join a dinner at Sari Organik (+62 3 white-water rafting expedition (US$50 ($63)) 6197-2087, www.sari-organik. organized by the Ubud-based Bali Bike com), which serves up dishes BaikTours (Banjar Laplapan, Petulu, +62 03 like lontong (rice cooked in 6197-8052, www.balibike.com). The 14km banana leaves with vegetables, route along the Ayung River (half an hour tofu and tempeh in curry sauce) drive from Ubud) involves some Class III and raw Thai soup (a mishrapids, so be prepared to get wet. They also offer The Yoga mash of cashew nut, cucumber, Barn full-day bike tours, which see you freewheeling mushrooms, turmeric, pepper (most of) the 20-something kilometers downhill and coriander) made from Monkey Pomegranate Forest from Mount Kintamani. produce grown in their own 2pm. Ubud’s first raw food restaurant, the vegegarden right next door. vegan Garden Kafe, is a great spot to grab a quick bite JL . RAYA
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If, on the other hand, all this talk of wellness is getting a bit too much and you just want to have fun, it’s time to head back down to the main road and grab a seat at Naughty Nuri’s Warung (Jalan Raya Sanggingan, +62 3 6197-7547). This ribs and grill specialist is packed most nights, with clientele spilling out onto the streets. Anthony Bourdain reckons they serve the best martinis outside of New York, so odds are you’ll need to run through the whole cycle again tomorrow just to undo the damage. n
Q&A Charley Patton Co-founder of The Yoga Barn Why a barn? A barn is a rustic, unpretentious, come-dressedas-you-are kind of place. And our buildings are all traditional, craftsman-style, created with reclaimed structures and recycled wood, all Charley Patton within the cultural and local aesthetic of Bali. So we truly resemble an Indonesian version of a barn. How common is this kind of place in Bali now? We opened the Barn in 2007. But in the last five years in particular, the wellness industry in Bali has grown exponentially. Yoga studios, retreat centers, eco-villages, organic farming operatives, fair trade clothing manufacturers and health-conscious restaurants have popped up everywhere to meet the demand. I see Bali becoming the spiritual epicenter of Southeast Asia. Who might we find at The Yoga Barn? People from all countries and all cultures. On a typical day we have anywhere from 250-350 people coming through our open doors. We offer the ultimate “Yogic Buffet” for the spiritually inclined tourist. Whether a complete beginner, an experienced practitioner or somewhere in between, we have something on offer. Everyone who has a body can do yoga. Ric Stockfis