I mop the sweat on my forehead and continue chopping the chayote; from the corner of my eye, I can see my Airbnb mates Aiden and Maddie (a travel creator couple from North Queensland), Belinda (a travel writer from Australia), and about 20 others doing the same. Chop, pound, hiss, sizzle—I try to find a rhythm to this cooking orchestra. We, a group of journalists and content creators from around the world, are in Bali with Airbnb. First stop: Ubad Ubud, a traditional Balinese cooking class, hosted by a very sweet woman named Made, in her house in Tengkulak Village near Ubud. The kitchen is open on three sides and is set in a traditional Balinese compound, next to the family temple and four to five other structures that function as meeting places and living chambers—in Bali, the house is not divided into rooms but structures according to their functions. The meandering stone pathways are populated with plants and flowers of diverse colours.
Made is a jovial woman, she sometimes jokes about how spoiled Balinese men are, and at others sings Bollywood songs through her loudspeaker to keep us motivated. There are around eight dishes on the menu for lunch—all of them are being cooked by us. Some of us give up due to the sweltering heat, the ceiling fans in Made’s kitchen don’t seem to be helping. I take a break to chug cold water and come back to the stove where I blanch cabbage and bean sprouts for gado gado—mix vegetables in peanut sauce.
A Taste of Bali
Go for a Balinese coffee tasting experience at Bali Pulina plantation.
Guests work with native Indonesian ingredients in the cooking class.
The writer uses the traditional wooden pestle to grind spices as Made looks on.
Pasar Yadnya Blahbatuh is a traditional market in Bali.
Goa Gajah temple, also known as the Elephant Cave.
This trip with Airbnb is all about getting a taste of Bali’s local life and culture, and discovering some hidden gems. As I fasten two sides of a banana leaf which holds in place a mixture of tuna, tomatoes, shallots, and garlic, I hear Made telling my travel companions, “We offer bananas and cigarettes to the spirits.” And while I watch the black and white sticky rice boil in a vessel along with palm sugar and pandan leaf, I hear her voice again, this time laced with mild sarcasm, “The inheritance of parents in a family in Bali is generally held by the eldest son or the youngest son, women are left out.” Finally, the spread is ready, and we move to the dining area to relish the fruits of our labour. There’s sup jamur (clear mushroom soup), sate ayam lilit (minced chicken grilled on bamboo stick), pepes be tuna (steam tuna wrap in banana leaves), tahu tempe goreng basamanis (deep fried tofu and tempe in sweet soy sauce), gerangasem (stew chicken and chayote with Balinese yellow sauce), gado gado, jukut urab (vegetable salad), and bubuh injin (black and white sticky rice pudding) to end the meal. We sit together—Indians, Japanese, Indonesians, Australians, and many more nationalities—and compare notes. “This one is very similar to an Indian preparation”, “We have this in Korea too” goes the conversation.
Made serves cups of dark black Indonesian coffee to save us from the tropical languor that is slowly hitting each one of us irrespective of ethnicity. Post lunch, Belinda wants to go back to her villa to shake off the jet lag, some want to visit Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave known for its entrance resembling a demon mouth. It is one of the oldest temples in Ubud and is said to be the site of many mysteries. A few, who believe it is bad luck for singles and unmarried couples to visit the site, hesitate. In the end, we split into three groups—the third group, including me, decides to make the trek to Kanto Lampo Waterfall, located in a rainforest in Gianyar, just 20 minutes from Ubud. A cold shower sounds the most enticing to all of us. So, we part, promising to regroup for dinner. A descending wooded trail with several 100 steps leads one to Kanto Lampo Waterfall which, after navigating rugged rocks, falls into a pool below. There is a line of visitors in the pool, awaiting their turn for a photo op under the thundering fall. I do too, and the cold water washes away all signs of fatigue. The way back from the waterfall seems more daunting owing to the ascent, and dinner seems like a really good idea by the end of it. Ely’s Kitchen is a rustic restaurant serving Asian cuisine, located along Jalan Suweta, a walking street in Ubud. We are seated upstairs in the semi-outdoor dining area. All three tables are abuzz with stories of valour and adventure from the evening. Amid all the banter, plates of pad thai, grilled Asian chicken, and beef goreng come and go. Before I know it, the night is over. It is true what they say—time flies when you are having a good time. On the second day in Ubud, I don my straw hat, slather sunscreen, and get into my linen pants for a batik-making workshop. We—Belinda, Aiden, Maddie, Sahiba (our fourth roommate from Delhi), and I—strut out of the villa as if on a mission. Villa Leove, our home in Ubud, is a modest listing—a nondescript jungle retreat in the Peliatan village. On the way, our discussion topics range from Chris Hemsworth to an Australian luggage brand called July.
Artistic Endeavors
Go for a Balinese coffee tasting experience at Bali Pulina plantation.
Guests work with native Indonesian ingredients in the cooking class.
The writer uses the traditional wooden pestle to grind spices as Made looks on.
Pasar Yadnya Blahbatuh is a traditional market in Bali.
Goa Gajah temple, also known as the Elephant Cave.
By 10 am, we are in our aprons by our designated table at host I Wayan’s Five Art Studio , located in his house compound in Keliki village. Batik is an art form said to have originated in Java in the 13th century. It uses wax and dye to create patterns on a piece of fabric such as cotton, silk, linen, or hemp. Wayan shows us how to work with the pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax—the process is called canting. Each of us gets a piece of cloth with a design; he asks us to trace the outline with the wax. It protects the selected, waxed areas of the fabric from being coloured in the dyeing process. I stare at my fabric; there is a flower accompanied by two fish seemingly engaged in a delicate dance around it. “One step at a time,” says Wayan, dressed in the traditional sarong and a batik shirt. Soon, I am seated by the burner, dipping my canting tool in hot wax and following the outline. A gentle breeze wafts in from the nearby paddy fields, and the hall falls into a hush as everyone shifts their attention to the task. It is therapeutic. When it is time to paint, Wayan and I engage in a friendly argument about the choice of colours—I don’t want pink, but he says my fabric needs that pop of colour. The fabric will be washed later, and the colours tend to get a shade lighter, he says. I finally settle on a gradient of maroon and yellow. And he concedes. By the end of noon, all our ‘artworks’ are hung out to dry after soaking in a bath of colour-fixing agent. I leave the studio with a not-so-bad batik painting that is perhaps worthy of one of my walls.
For the remaining hours of the day, we walk around Ubud like “annoying tourists” as Aiden puts it. After a lunch of steaks, burgers, pasta, and more at Watercress , we stroll along the Monkey Forest Road to Ubud Palace, stopping for souvenirs on the way. Ubud Palace was the official residence of the royal family of Ubud, and most of its structures were built after the 1917 earthquake. Its main pavilion often hosts evening dance performances. We don’t stay for one though. Instead, we admire its architecture, click pictures, and huddle over phones to laugh at our poses. In the evening, nine of us gather at one of the Airbnb villas where we light the firepit, play music, and go for a swim. Later, as we get cosy on one of the giant couches in the villa, sipping beer and sharing dinner, one of us tags this as the best night in Bali. In the wee hours of the night, we stumble back into our villa. I stack the bags of noodles and coffee that were picked from a nearby AlfaMart, in a corner. There is packing to be done for the flight back. But before that, I wish Aiden and Maddie good luck with their new home in Australia, make a promise to catch up with Sahiba in Delhi, and wish Belinda a night of restful sleep.
Quick Notes
Getting There
Thai Airways and VietJet Air operate various connecting flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Bali.
Stay in Bali
Villa Leove is a five-bedroom haven nestled in the heart of a jungle in Ubud. INR 86,287 for five guests for a minimum of two nights.
Experiences
The Ubad Ubud Bali cooking class is priced at INR 1,978 per person, and the batik-making class is priced at INR 2,374 per person.
Related: Indigo Launches Direct Flights From Bangalore To Denpasar, Bali
