Owning your own business can be challenging, but we love the freedom to work remotely and set our own schedules. We travel often and frequently have the privilege of working with businesses or brands when we're on the go. On our recent trip to Bali, we partnered with The Origin Collection. We visited two of their properties, Origin Ubud and Origin Seminyak, and spent time documenting our stay and photographing their villas.
Ubud Travel - Bali, Indonesia
We arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport at 1 AM after a long travel day. The property had arranged for their driver to pick us up and we were relieved to see his smiling face after a 13 hour plane ride. The staff greeted us upon arrival and served tea as they explained the amenities and our schedule for the following day. We cooled off in our private pool, overlooking the jungle before bed.
Breakfast was scheduled for 10 AM the following morning. We woke up early, so we decided to walk through town, towards the art market. The villa is about a 10 minute walk from Ubud center and we loved waving to the neighbors as we wandered. Our friends had recommended we stop in at Seniman Coffee Studio and we were glad we did! We ordered iced lattes picked up three bags of coffee beans from Seniman Roaster.
Breakfast was served poolside when we returned from our walk. The Origin Ubud menu changes daily and is accompanied by fresh fruit juice and smoothies. Our favorite dish was nasi goreng, Indonesian fried rice. I had a client call scheduled, so we spent some time answering emails and preparing social media reports as we ate. Our villa had a wonderful wifi connection, which made it easy to work remotely! We spent some time photographing the villa interior and had our work wrapped before lunch. When we work while traveling, we like to schedule in "office hours," so we can cross off our to-do list without spending a full day stuck in front of a laptop.
We spent the next few days in Ubud exploring. We visited a coffee plantation, took a Balinese cooking class, walked through the Sacred Monkey Forrest Sanctuary, visited temples, took in the Tegalalang Rice Terrace, and strolled along the Campuhan Ridge Walk. We kept busy, but started every morning with an in-room massage or facial and spent lots of time lounging by the pool.
We love trying new restaurants when we travel and Ubud has a thriving culinary scene - From cafes and coffee shops to fine dining, there are so many wonderful restaurants in Ubud! It's hard to compile a list of our favorites (but we'll try!)
For coffee or a quick bite to eat: Full Circle
For brunch or a casual dinner: Milk & Madu
For wonderful food and a great atmosphere: Locavore
The weather in Ubud is hot and humid. If you're planning a trip, pack long pants in light fabrics to combat the sun and bugs while keeping cool. Our friends at Kepola Design House sent us to Bali with a few pieces from their Core Collection. The light, linen fabric was perfect for the climate.
After spending four days in Ubud, we drove south to Seminyak to visit another property by The Origin Collection. Read about things to do in Seminyak in our Seminyak Travel Guide.
Have you been to Ubud? What were a few highlights from your trip?