After an extremely busy year it was difficult to find time to get away for a well earned break.  Eventually I decided that we needed to take some time off so we headed to Ubud in Bali. 

Ubud is away from the more popular coastal parts of Bali and is noted for its artisans and rural surroundings - just the peacefull break required.  Reading, laying around and drinking Bintangs was high on the agenda.

Decided to go back to the same place visited two years ago - Sayan Terraces - run by an extended Balinise family and located in the hills with some breathtaking views.

Yes, the view from the bed, onto the terrace, plunge pool and out to the rainforrest!

Over the next few days I was able to catch up on some reading (5 books) which is something I am never able to do when at home.  Vines do dictate your life.

My interest in food prompted me to attend a half day cooking class run by the very good restaurant in Ubud, the Casa Luna. It involved an early morning visit to the local markets to buy the ingredients. This was both a cultural and olfactory experience. 

On return, fellow aspiring cooks helped prepare the many dishes we were to eat for lunch.

 Yes, I couldn’t help myself getting involved grinding away preparing the various spices.  The five dishes prepared were coconut & anchovy sambal, wok-fried eggplant, chicken curry and a bean-coconut salad.

I can assure you it did taste as good as it looks and I must say that after being somewhat reluctant to go and do a group thing, I did enjoy myself. I would recommend it to anyone if you get the chance.

Vineman

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.