Rice Fields – Travels with Ali

Over breakfast on Sunday, we chatted about what the itinerary would be for that day. Graham had been told there were some wineries in the area. I looked a few up and asked the receptionist to ring around to check which ones were open. I was surprised to find out there was only one open, being a Sunday. We booked a tour and lunch and off we went.

As we were approaching Comporta we saw huge birds sitting atop chimneys, lampposts and buildings. Moving closer we realised they were storks. A real treat seeing a stork in the wild.

I tried to get closer, but you can guess what happened.

Before we arrived we stopped and admired the ricefields. At the time not realising they were ricefields.

Flocks of glossy ibis feasting on the rice
with water water everywhere

The winery was called Adega da Herdade da Comporta. It lies with the sea on one side and rice fields on the other. The views around are absolutely stunning. We had arrived at the perfect place for our Sunday lunch. We were given a fascinating tour, visiting the wine cellars and learning about the history. The wine tasting was at our table and the measures were more than generous. We were served lunch with all the wine thankfully.

I was definitely looking forward to tasting this wine.

The view from our guide’s office window

**Enjoying a delicious charcuterie board with a variety of wines**

We all agreed that this place went above our expectations, although I think our lunch played a big part.

Our guide had mentioned a fishing village not far from the winery, she said we must go. So we did and what a fun find it was.

Cais Palafítico da Carrasqueira is a unique fishing village that sits on a multitude of wooden jetties on stilts. They zigzag along the muddy marshes with weathered huts standing on top. The huts are decorated in a myriad of ways all different. It is still a working village which was surprising, considering how rickety the small plankways looked. We spent quite a while here, all of us walking in different directions, daring each other to walk along the piers.

There was no-one around when we were here and I was wondering how the fisherman actually got to their boats.

A faded mural and some random numbers.

Let’s Pull Up a Seat and enjoy the view

Leaving just before sunset with the golden rays spreading slowly across the sea.

Before returning to our hotel we had another brief stop at an equestrian centre. It was just closing but the manager said we could still walk around. Being a horse lover Colleen was in her element. I’m happy there was fences between us.

I would have liked longer to long around as there were some fantastic memorabilia on display.

A fitting end to a perfect day. Back to the hotel for our last night in Porto Covo.

First Night

Setting off from Perth to Ubud, we caught an afternoon flight to Denpasar on Batik Air at 2.15 pm. We arrived at 6 pm but didn’t reach our destination until 9.30 pm. I had booked a driver with Booking.Com who had waited for over an hour for our appearance. There was an extremely long wait to disembark before boarding a bus to the terminal, then the wait for visas and our luggage to arrive, so we didn’t meet June, a very lovely man, until 7.30 pm. The traffic in Bali is notorious and doesn’t seem to get better over the years. I’m sure the drive to Ubud would have been even longer if it wasn’t for June’s incredible prowess in driving, formula one style. I closed my eyes many times as he overtook cars and trucks, I’m not sure how this would have helped in any way!

Finally arriving at 9.30 pm, we told the reception staff that we would have dinner immediately. They were extremely helpful and we did our check in while eating a most delicious dinner overlooking one of the beautiful pools and under the magnificent “Strawberry Moon”. We were staying in the middle of rice fields in Ubud, something I have wanted to do for a while, for four nights at The Plataran Ubud Hotel and Spa.

Slipped behind a cloud, the second I pulled out the camera

After dinner we were shown to our villa, which we had been told was a free upgrade!

On first appearance our room seemed incredible, but after an almost sleepless night due to noisy people staying in a house overlooking our villa but not connected to the hotel, we decided otherwise. First thing the next morning we asked the reception staff if we could move to our original room. Just after breakfast we packed up and moved on.

Day Two – Exploring the hotel grounds

The Plataran Hotel is surrounded by beautiful lush gardens, situated minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Ubud streets. The rooms look out onto bright green paddy fields of rice, where you can watch the women harvesting and whacking the rice.

You can walk through the paddy fields by following a path of stepping stones. We continued our walk around the rest of the grounds and found fish ponds and waterfalls and sheep, rabbits, chickens and ducks.

It was such a peaceful setting with only the noise of the birds and and the water gurgling along the little gullies.

We followed the route through to a small village just outside the hotel.

Breakfast is served at the same place we had dinner overlooking the pool.

Ubud’s Main Streets

Today we were just going to be tramping the busy streets of Ubud. Soaking up the atmosphere and trying to keep dry.

Ubud is a town in the uplands of Bali, surrounded by rice paddies and steep ravines. It’s also a popular destination for arts and crafts and made famous after the film and book “Eat, Love, Pray”. Home to shrines, temples, yoga barns and warungs (small cafes and restaurants). Also nearby is the famous Monkey Forest, which we would not be visiting!

It’s hard to work up any pace walking along these pavements, the paving stones are generally sticking up at odd angles and then there are the ubiquitous motor bikes and scooters parked haphazardly. Anthony was constantly telling me to “be careful” as he knows my predicament of footcidents over the years.

I had time to have a pedicure and foot massage in one of the many spas along the roads and have to say it was most relaxing, although she could have gone easier with the pressure!

We eventually headed back to the hotel to have a shower before dinner, but disaster was awaiting us. After having a rain shower I noticed that the bath was black! I ran the water again and sure enough there was black silt coming through. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice, maybe because I had my eyes shut. Anyway a long story short, we had to move rooms once more until the problem was fixed.