For our honeymoon, weather ultimately determined exactly which places we chose to visit. Because autumn is monsoon season in parts of Asia, we chose Bali and Hong Kong as our honeymoon locations, because they were amongst the few places in Asia where it wouldn’t be raining. In my last post, I told you exactly how we used credit card points to travel for free to Asia—so read up on how you can enjoy the same trip we did! In this post, I want to tell you about where we stayed the first few days of our honeymoon: Ubud, Bali.

WATCH MY VLOG ABOUT UBUD, BALI:

WHY I LOVE UBUD

I first visited Ubud in 2015 with two of my friends and it was hands down, my favorite town we visited during the trip. Ubud is the cultural and spiritual heartbeat of Bali. It kinda has this eclectic hippie vibe where you can find traditional Balinese culture mixed in with warm-spirited travelers and expats trying to find their zen. But it’s also a place filled with natural gems—where you can find those jungle-like Instagrammable spots with lush rice paddies, palm trees, and rivers.

Ubud has this weird ability to calm your spirit the moment you arrive. That’s the Ubud effect. The Eat, Pray, Love feeling that people long for when they go to Bali. And it’s exactly why we chose to kick off our honeymoon there. Karl was adamant about wanting to relax on our honeymoon. I have a tendency to crave wild adventures, so I tried to curb that natural desire during our time in Bali. Ubud was the perfect place to do just that. It allowed us to totally relax and center ourselves.

WHERE TO STAY IN UBUD FOR TOTAL RELAXATION

We turned to The Asia Collective to help us find the best place to stay in Ubud to help us relax the first few days. They pointed us to COMO Uma Ubud, a luxury hotel with a specific focus on holistic wellness.

After flying from Atlanta to LA to Tokyo to Singapore to Bali, we then took a 1.5-hour Uber ride from the airport to our hotel in Ubud. That car ride may sound like a long drive after all that flying, but it was worth it (and the ride only cost us $11 USD).

From the moment we checked in to COMO Uma Ubud, we knew the service would be wonderful. We were warmly greeted with a refreshing Balinese drink that was blended together with orange juice, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and various herbs and spices. Afterwards, we were given a small tour of the property and then escorted to our very beautiful room, which you can see in the video.

HOW WE SPENT OUR TIME IN UBUD

1. We lounged in our lavish room.

Our room was so relaxing, that I pretty much zoned out after we checked in that afternoon, and I didn’t wake up until the next day (#thanksjetlag). The bed was super comfy, we had an outdoor patio and private garden with a koi pond, and the bathroom blew my mind away. It’s probably one of my favorite bathrooms I’ve ever experienced in a hotel.

2. We ate good food.

One thing that I loved about Ubud both times I visited is that there are so many amazing restaurants in the area, both walking distance and a short drive away from wherever you’re staying. This hotel had a car service, which made it super convenient to go out to eat. COMO Uma Ubud also has some great restaurants on site. Each morning, we enjoyed breakfast next to their giant koi pond.

3. We took a yoga class.

I’m not into yoga back home, but when I travel to certain places, I seem to find myself suddenly interested in getting my yoga on. The class took place outdoors in a very secluded section of the property. Our instructor guided us into total zen-mode and at some point, I found myself in positions I never thought I had the flexibility to pull off. We zenfully floated through our lesson in total peace, hearing nothing but the soft sounds of our instructor’s voice and the wind blowing across the nearby palm trees.

4. We got a couple’s massage.

Right after our session of deep breathing and awkward poses, we retreated deeper into bliss with an hour-long full body couples massage. It was totally necessary after a long day and a half of flying. I loved that we were able to experience it together.

5. We explored a rice field.

Last time I went to Bali, I explored the Tegalalang Rice Terrace. This time, Karl and I walked to a lesser-known rice field known as Subak Keliki. The hotel provides local guides that lead complimentary daily walks in Ubud, so we woke up one morning and participated in one of these walks. After the walk ended, Karl and I stayed behind to capture some aerial views of the rice terrace with my drone.

6. We went for a dip.

We spent our final hours in Ubud swimming around the infinity pool. We even met and chatted with another newlywed couple who were on the tail end of their own honeymoon adventure. The pool is beautiful and surrounded by greenery, which made us feel like we were in a little tropical jungle.

Subscribe to my YouTube page, Ashley Renne: Travel Lushes, to keep up with the rest of my honeymoon adventures! To watch all the honeymoon vlogs, you can follow this playlist.

When you travel, what are some things you do to relax? Let me know in the comment section below!

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