#missgoobinbali - Out of Ubud + Keramas Beach + Sukawati Market

Over here, breakfast is served between 8am to 11am daily, and we'd usually choose the 10am slot cos I am a late-riser lol. The staff would give us a call once the food is ready, and we'd head down to eat!

What a gorgeous setting for the most important meal of the day! Loved dining at this space cos we were literally surrounded by greenery; we could hear insect sounds and sometimes even a rooster from nearby!

Breakfast is included in the room rate here at The Nani, which was really great hehe. There are options for American, Continental, Asian, or the Nani breakfast, but we went with the American for most days! The menu looks something like this:

Fruit juice (choice of watermelon, pineapple, apple or orange) or fresh cut fruits or fruit bowl with yoghurt and honey
Mixed toasts with butter and homemade papaya jam
Two eggs (choice of poached, fried, omelette, scrambled, or boiled) served with bacon, potato, tomato & mushrooms
Coffee or tea

Ubud Art Market + Ubud Main Street

After breakfast, we rode the scooter out to the Ubud Art Market but to be honest​, I felt this place didn't warrant a second visit (we visited last May) if you didn't have anything to buy. Sorry I didn't even bother with taking pictures lol. It's basically a long stretch of stalls selling jewelry, straw bags, wooden bowls and board, sarongs, paintings, ornaments, fruits, hats, statues and what nots. Just google and you will see a bunch of pictures!

Be warned, the initial asking price is usually DAMN TOURISTY with room for negotiation -  like $20 for a wooden bowl so please remember to bargain (without being mean and unreasonable) unless you are feeling generous. Of course don't piss them off by asking to pay $1 for everything la, they're also trying to make a living. For reference, last year I managed to get 2 bowls for $10 lol. They are usually more willing to lower the price if you get more than one of each item! :)

So anyway this time, we quickly walked through the market and went searching for gelato cos it was simply too hot! We desperately needed a place to hide indoors for a while. Thankfully the whole of Ubud is dotted with gelato spots and you will see one every 10-15 minutes, no joke. 

We saw this one called Gourmet Gelato Ubud (you won't be able to miss their striking blue logo) & walked straight in. Single scoops are $3.5 and vegan options are $4! I got the Pistachio (vegan) and Ahlao had the Chocolate! They also make their own cones, which was nothing like the ones I've tried before! The waffle cone was really special and very very crispy! To the point it threatened to break every time I moved it. 

I really cannot trust my husband to take a picture of me eating.

Anyways! After we were done, we walked along the streets for a bit more but sad to say, the whole place is dotted with shops selling the same old things, restaurants, bars, cafes, and a gazillion drivers touting for business, which was rather meh. Every time we walked past, they'd go "Taxi? Need taxi?"

It was only our second day and I was like DONE with the main street of Ubud lol. It's a little too touristy for my liking and I desperately wanted to venture out, to do, eat, and see more local.

At this point seriously regretting catering 7 days in Ubud haha.

Since we didn't plan anything concrete for this trip, we always relied on Google for things to do and places to explore. A quick search on Google Maps showed us a few local beaches we could visit but since Ubud is kinda landlocked, the nearest beaches were at least 1.5 hours away! We went anyway lol.

Keramas Beach

LOOK AT THAT EMPTINESS.

Just the way I like it lol. No people, no beach chairs, no nothing, I was so happy we found this beach!! We got there around late afternoon (the journey was sooo long lol) and there were like less than 10 people?? Just perfect! The waves were amazing too hehe.

It was also our first time at a black sand beach! The sand was really fine, like black powder!

Since we didn't travel with a personal driver this time, we don't have much photos. We could use a tripod but sometimes I find that lugging around so much gear kills the joy of travelling. So I told Ahlao forget it, let's not take any photos and just fully fully absorb all the wonderful nature around us and be in the moment <3

AND BOY WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!

Just playing in the water, jumping and screaming every time a huge wave approached us hahaha. It was wonderful :)

The sun was starting to set when we finally came up to rest!

We sat on the beach and smothered ourselves with black sand..

And then waited for the next wave to wash it all off HAHAHA. So boliao but so fun! I think we did this like 50 over times lolol. 

A few friendly locals also came to the beach nearer to sunset time but the beach was still very much empty! We pretty much had the place all to ourselves :D 

Birthday boy looking so cute here hehe :D

These are just iPhone selfies but that's okay, the wonderful memories will last forever :) 

Beautiful sunset hues <3

Brb, looking for my thigh gap.

This low back one piece swim suit is from Cotton On, but I ordered via Zalora! I'm wearing size XL for this piece! Not all swimwear are returnable so please check carefully before you order, just fyi! ;) 

We both went into the water one last time to wash off all that ridiculous sand before leaving for dinner! A kind local surfer also showed us a secret place to take a shower with clean water, so thankful!!

As for dinner, we didn't really know where to find food so the plan was to ride out scooter and on the way home, stop as and when we saw something we wanted to try! And we made a total of 3 stops HAHAHA.

Assorted Gorengan

Just about 10-15 minutes away from the beach, we came across this man selling Gorengan (fritters)! There were an assortment of  bakwan (vegetables), tempe (fermented soybean), tahu (beancurd), ubi (sweet potato), and pisang (banana)! We tried everything! At first we bought 1 of each since it was 5 pieces for 2500 - that's 25 cents!!

We went back to our scooter, ate on the spot, and they were so gud! Went back and bought another 10 lolol. 75 cents is ridiculous la!! This is the real Balinese street fud price! Can't find this in Ubud for sure. 

Sate Ayam

After continuing on our journey for a couple minutes, we stopped at another roadside stall for Sate Ayam (chicken skewers)! They were barbecued over charcoal the traditional way! Smelt so damn good! The peanut sauce is slightly different from what we have in Singapore; it's smoother, and they add soy sauce instead of grated pineapples!

There weren't any seats so we just sat down on the steps beside the stall! 

Pasar Seni Sukawati

Our last stop for dinner was at this night market that we passed by along the way back from Keramas to Ubud. After checking with some locals, we realised we were in this place called Sukawati! It seemed like a night market that locals frequent cos we were the only tourists there lol! There wasn't even a single angmoh. 

We saw this stall right in the middle of the night market that had booming business - the fud must be gud! An elderly couple invited us to sit down with them and so we had dinner together! :D

All the dishes were fried  over a big flame! WOK HEI YES.

We didn't really know what to order since the locals can't really speak English here! Safe options are always Cap Cay (stir fried vegetables) and Fuyung Hai (fried omelette) haha you can't go wrong with these! Skipped ordering meat since we were quite full already! But had to get a plate of nasi to go with the veg and egg hehe. 

Spent some time walking around the small market after dinner and then left with a very happy belly and heart! I highly recommend venturing slightly further out of Ubud if you want to experience truly local vibes. Really glad we visited Keramas and Sukawati! And that was day two in Bali :)