Arrival and departure
It is important that your passport is valid for at least 6 months from your arrival date in Denpasar.
Don't take more than 100mls of liquid in your carry on bag on the plane or it will be confiscated. You can pack liquids in your checked in baggage. You can purchase duty free once you have arrived back in Australia, before you go through Immigration.
When we went the only airline choices were Garuda and Jetstar. Garuda does not have a good safety reputation and Jetstar flights are often late so neither is ideal. We flew Jetstar. Getting there was okay, but the flight was late with delays in Sydney and Melbourne and we ended up landing an hour late. The return flights with both airlines are overnight, and the flight is only 6 hours, so be prepared for a night without sleep!
Arriving in Denpasar you will need to pay for a 30 day visa, this costs $US25 and it's a good idea to have the cash ready. Immigration was really slow, it took an hour to get through. Customs was non-existent though. There are porters in the arrival hall who try and take your bags, they will expect a tip so don't use them if you don't need to.
Transport up to Ubud can be by taxi that you arrange on the spot, or your accommodation can arrange a driver to pick you up. To get a taxi on the spot, once you leave the terminal through the sliding doors, turn right and there is a Government run Taxi service, which will take you to Ubud. It is a set fee and will take around 45 mins.
If you are being collected there will be a friendly face with your name ... possibly misspelt ...waiting for you. We prearranged our transfers with Melati Cottage, this cost us Rp300,000 (exchange rate was Rp 7500 to the $AU1, so this was $40). Even though we were an hour late the driver was still waiting to our great relief.
There are several ways up and into the area where we are staying, but for ease for the first time, there is a Hotel called Hotel Tjampuhan, and across the road on the opposite side about 50 meters heading up the road are stairs .... A LOT OF STAIRS, which you climb and then from there walk straight ahead along the path through rice paddies and Santra Putra is on the right hand side (just past a little coffee shop/restaurant called Lily and Lala, which has been nicknamed 'Tilleys").
The flight back to Australia leaves at night, so it's a good idea to arrange late check out from your hotel. We spent the last night at a hotel in Seminyak to get a taste of a much more intensive shopping/tourist scene than in Ubud. Hiring a car from Ubud to Seminyak cost us Rp300,000. We then arranged an airport transfer with the hotel, which cost Rp100,000.
Taxi driver after taxi driver told us that they would have charged only Rp70,000 to take us to the airport, but we liked the idea of having transport all organised. There is a departure tax of Rp150,000 that needs to be paid in cash. The departure process is a long, slow one. We counted 12 different security checks before we actually got on the plane.
Accommodation
The yoga classes are held in the studio of artist Karja Wayan. This is a fan-cooled, white, tiled room overlooking a beautiful garden with a temple and lotus pond. There are some accommodation rooms there, and others nearby, also at Melati Cottages, which has a pool. They are all within walking distance of each other, along little lanes, through rice paddies and rain forest. Some of the accommodation has fan cooled rooms while others have aircon, which is not a necessity in cool Ubud. They all come with breakfast, usually fruit, eggs, pancakes, tea/coffee. All the rooms are different, but all are large and beautiful, with views/patios/comfortable furniture. The area where everything is located is called Campuan, and is about 15 minutes walk to the west of Ubud town centre, there are plenty of restaurants, spas, supermarkets close by so you don't have to go into town if you don't want to. You can either walk into town, or catch a taxi. Drivers call out 'Transport' all the time while you walk around, when you are tired of walking negotiate a price and hop in. From Campuan area to Ubud market the standard fare we paid was Rp20,000. You can also catch a pillion ride on a motorbike for Rp10,000.Daily timetable
On our first day (Sunday), Karen met us at our accommodation and took us on a orienting walk around the area, showing us the accommodation, yoga studio, supermarket, restaurants etc. In the evening we had our first, restorative, yoga class, and met the rest of the group. After class we all went out to dinner at one of the best known restaurants, Casa Luna. It only took a day to settle into a great routine, the pattern of the days we did yoga was very regular:
6.30am Wake up
7am to 9am First yoga class, a more active class
9am to 10am Breakfast, plan the day's activities
10am to 10.30am Shower, change
10.30am to 2.30pm Shopping, sightseeing, lunch, massage, pedicure
2.30pm to 4.30pm 'Quiet time' - reading, sunbathing, meditation, nap
4.30pm to 6.30pm Afternoon, restorative yoga class
6.30pm to 7pm Change, transport to dinner 7pm to 9pm Dinner (with whole group on some nights, smaller groups on others)
9pm Back to accommodation, sleep
As you can see, it was a packed schedule!
