Santi Mandala Villa & Spa, Bali Ubud Review

I'm doing this review at Santi Mandala's restaurant now. Thought I better write whenever I can as I'm traveling faster than I can spare the time to blog these days. And it's so good that it's raining in hot Bali now. :P

Well, you see, my best friend signed up for a yoga retreat and since her hubby didn't come along this round, she invited me to stay with her in Bali, Ubud. I've always wanted to visit Bali Ubud and preferably stay at a villa facing the padi fields, so I grabbed the chance and accepted the invitation with less than 2 week's notice. As it's a free stay, I'm not complaining even though this villa isn't surrounded by the  padi fields! ;)

At least I have this bunch of padi keeping me company at my table now. Haha..

Santi Mandala Villa & Spa is situated about 25 mins away from Ubud Town Centre by car. Hence, it's a quiet and relaxing place that's away from the crowd. It's also rustic and surrounded by lush greenery.

We arrived late at night with the hotel transfer arranged by Santi Mandala at 250,000IDR one way.

You'll come through this bridge before arriving at the hotel lobby below.

Some days, the locals will come by here to catch fishes in the late afternoon.

And here are some pictures of the hotel grounds.

Full of greenery and peacefulness, it's definitely a place to come for rejuvenation. They also conduct biking, hiking, cooking and yoga classes for those interested.

View Of Pool From Across The Bridge

It's a quiet villa without many guests and much noise in the daytime. Probably it's because of the distance from Ubud Centre and everyone is out and about during the day or chilling in the comfort of their rooms.

Infinity Pool

View From The Pool

The room is comfortable and well worth the money. It's rather private and integrate nature into its design.

The villas each come with a main door to a small garden leading to the room. We stayed in the Garden Villa which was the most basic one available at less than 150SGD per villa per night. My friend paid only 130SGD per night for this stay.

The Romantic Bed

The balcony opens up to the view of the pool and faces the east so that you'd be able to catch the beautiful sunrise.

Welcome Fruit Basket

The washroom was great with an open air shower and a bathtub overlooks the hills down to the pool. People may actually see you when you get out of the bathtub or when you're using the loo if they look hard enough. Just draw the curtain and all problems solved.

Although I really love the open concept of this bathroom, this place does have a lot of insects and even mosquitoes! The sink itself will  have at least 7-8 insects unlucky enough to be trapped by water droplets and drowned when we get back every evening.

And the worst thing is geckos do climb in!! Eeekks!!! It gave my friend a hard time falling asleep every night.

Breakfast is available at the restaurant daily and it's a good thing they change the menu everyday.

Now, there's 3 things I really don't like about Santi Manda Villa. One is the lack of wifi in their basic rooms and it's only available daily from 7.30am to 10.30pm at the restaurant. I know this would help in giving you no choice but to disconnect and relax. But hey, I don't need to disconnect to relax and enjoy nature. And even so, they should at least leave it on the whole day because the restaurant area is open and people who need to hook up to the net can still drop by at night.

The second thing is the transport to Ubud Centre. It can be quite a pain in the ass. They only have shuttle services out at 10am, 2pm, 4pm,8pm  and 10pm. The return service is half an hour later. So, if we need to get out or get back at a different timing, we'd have to pay 80,000IDR. And if you're located just a short walk of 15 mins away from the town centre, you'll need to pay a total of 100,000IDR which I found ridiculous. We almost had to do that for our massage appointments every night in the town centre as Santi Manda; Villa Spa closes at 6pm!! But some spas offer transport at a much better rates. Some spas and day tours even do pick up and drop off for free!

I'll review the different spas and day tours I went to in Ubud in my other posts.

Lastly, the food isn't fantastic. And Balinese food can be really tasty. The first time we ordered Soto Ayam and Tom Yam Goong, we almost died from overdosage of salt!!

This afternoon, I was craving Yum Woon Sen from my Bangkok trip a few days back and just had to order this.

It was oily and bland but after asking for some lime and soya sauce with chilli padis, it tasted better. Maybe it was because I asked them to make it less salty...just in case.

I then asked the waitress to recommend a Balinese dish that is good. So Ayam Bakaka so it was and it was delicious! Once again, I highlighted that I didn't want a salty dish.

Overall, Santi Mandal Villa and Spa is really a value for money place to stay in Ubud. Especially so if you don't intend to go to the town centre much. But then again, I wouldn't want to eat at the villa every night.  I'd rather venture out for some good Balinese food.

Oh and regarding the geckos, my friend spotted a huge one crawling across the wall the first night and freaked out after that. After that, we saw another 2 and had to get the staff to remove 1 last night 'coz it took over our bathroom. :|

At night, little frogs come out to play and mosquitoes are present even with the insect repellent available in every room.

So, if you ain't afraid of these creepy crawlies, insects included, and love nature, this place will be ideal as a value for money and peaceful villa in Ubud, Bali. As for myself, I rather try a new hotel the next round.

I Believe... It's Important To Dream

I believe it's important to dream, for dreams to spring alive!

On Familiar Grounds

Ever felt that you're back on familiar grounds? Where the only thing that has changed is time that inevitably brings with it, experience and hopefully wisdom.

Only this time around, it's bittersweet. 

To know what you've lost and what could be gone. For everything like time, is fleeting...

Let It Go...

It's so easy to say let it go. But I've come to realise an easier way to let it go.

Do the right thing and not worry about what may come. Do the right thing and you'll be able to live with your life choices. The only thing left now is how to not worry. Hhhmmm...

Taroko National Park, Taroko Gorge, Leader Village Hotel - Highlight Of My Taiwan Trip

It was my first trip to Taiwan, and also my first trip with my hunny. We tried sheep innards and Chou Tofu aka Smelly Tofu for the first time. 

And so it was a trip of many firsts!!

To me, the highlight of this Taiwan trip is our visit to Taroko Gorge, a national park situated at the northern-eastern part of Taiwan. It was beautiful and we stayed at Leader Village Taroko Hotel for 3 days 2 nights. It really was the best part of my trip.

We took a train from Taipei to Hualien and rented a car from Hualien. Our initial plans were to stay at Taroko Gorge for 3 days before driving across westward to Taichung. However, due to the typhoon and the dangerous road conditions, we decided to head back to Hualien after our stay in the gorge. :| Nonetheless, it was still a fantastic stay.

Here's some pics on our way into Taroko National Park.

We first headed towards Qingshui Cliff before checking into the hotel.  The sight of the Pacific Ocean was gorgeous.

The water was crystal clear and I'm sure that's where its Chinese name 清水 (Qingshui) came from. It was a perfect drive with the azure blue sky above and crystal blue waters besides. 

In case you're wondering where Qingshui Cliff is, here's a map of Taroko Natinal Park taken from their official website.

Basically, we drove in from Hualien (bottom right of map) and headed straight all the way to Qingshui cliff before turning back to enter the National Park.

Our next stop was the Eternal Spring Shrine. It was break time for a cuppa of ice-cream!

To show you how bad the weather conditions were, here's a pic of the muddy river; a result of the heavy rainfall from the impending typhoon.

The last stop before checking into the hotel was the Swallow Grotto Trail. We had to drive past the Leader Village Hotel to reach it.

The Swallow Grotto Trail spot has one of the most amazing sights to me.

Look at that teeny weeny waterfall. ;)

It was drizzling and extremely windy by the time we reached Swallow Grotto Trail. But the weather was still good enough for us to walk around.

White helmets for protection are available for loan as you take a walk through the trail.

Gorge Erosion From Huge Boulders

It's my first visit to a gorge and somehow I really love it; much more than the ocean. It brings about a totally different set of emotions. 

When I was in the gorge surrounded by the mountains and mist, I was immersed in a sense of calm that I have never felt before when by the sea. I felt small as I was awed by the grandeur of nature...

As the rain pelted down, we headed to the hotel. It was a winding drive up to the Leader Village Hotel @ Buluowan.

Hotel Entrance & Driveway

How not to fall in love with this view and the thought of more relaxing days to come?

Hotel Entrance & Lobby

The rooms look simple but it was well designed and thoughtfully planned. It has everything you'll need for a comfortable stay. I really love how they integrated the natural look and feel with the stony flooring in the shower.

It was pure enjoyment with the rain and cool air at night; hugged by the mountains as, we slept our cares away.

My Morning View With Misty Mountains in Sight

After settling down with a short nap, we took a stroll around the hotel grounds.

And I'm thankful for times like these. It's when time slow down that you'll notice and enjoy the simple thing of life. Like this furry worm we spotted:

And the view of the river from a pavilion...

with a signage showing our exact thoughts!

"What a spectacle except for the dam."

So funny. Heh!

Breakfasts and dinners are all provided for in the Leader Village Hotel and we had bbq wild boar meat on the first night. Boy was it good! Another lasting impression this hotel left me was the delicious meals it serves. That night, we had a really gratifying dinner that warms both the heart and tummy in the cool and wet weather.

After dinner, we were told to gather at the activity room for some performances. However, we were too worn out and wanted to laze the night away in our room. So, we quietly sneaked off...

Our Delicious Breakkie With Local Food

We started the next day with a hearty breakfast. And I came to realised that it was a good decision to stay over at Taroko National Park as we could have a slow morning. Moreover, the area is quieter early in the morning with less tourists. At many attraction spots, we were the only one there to take in the sights as we drive around after breakfast.

We went to Cihmu Bridge, Tiangxiang and even this museum that explains the how the gorge is formed. Soaking in all the breath-taking sights and enjoying the serenity it brings.

When we got a little bored, we went to check out the grander looking hotel in Taroko National Park called Silks Place Hotel. Basically, there's only 2 options for hotel if you intend to stay in Taroko National Park.

Grand looking it was and it cost about 100SGD more per night.

 Rooftop Swimming Pool Surrounded by Misty Mountains

But I still prefer the humble looking Leader Village Hotel that gives a more indigenous feel.

With the rest of the day available, we just went back to the hotel to do some leisure reading until dinnertime. Once again, we were treated to a delectable dinner.

BF was impressed that they managed to serve some good steak.

Rice Wine In The Little Boar Cup

To drink the rice wine, we had to kiss the boar. So cute right??! Haha...

On this second night, the hotel had a smaller group of guest as it was a weekday night. This time around, we couldn't sneak off to our room before the night performance starts. And I'm glad we didn't. 

The hotel staff put up some interesting performances that showcase indigenous music. In fact, most of the hotel staff are Taroko aborigines. And the singer above is one of the few remaining Taroko aborigines that has kept the tradition of facial tattooing.

After this, we went on a discovery trail led by the hotel staff to show us the fauna and flora of the area. It was interesting but scary at the same time. 'Coz frogs and toads were hopping around! Argh!!

One thing I strongly remember was the glowing tree branches. The staff picked them up and when they switched off the torched, the tree branches actually glowed in the dark; in luminous yellow! It was so unusual... He explained that these glow-in-the-dark bacteria are very fragile and can only survive in places where the air quality is very clean. They're like living indicators of superb air quality. 0_0

The night ended with that educational nature tour before we went back to our cozy room. I'm impressed by how the hotel makes our stay so personal yet not intrusive. It's self-contained with simple comforts, adding to us the wonderful memories of Taroko National Park in Taiwan.

I strongly recommend a visit to this National Park and staying overnight if you can. I simply love this place!