After a week of skyscrapers, we arrived in Bali and headed to the village of Puhu Ubud two hours away to be surrounded by a panoramic view of the fragrant tree plantations. According to our cheerful driver Gede (who drove us to different places in Bali later, so recommended), Padma is currently the only resort in the untouched tourist area, so when you finally find yourself in the village and go down a long road, you know that you are heading to a quiet corner of Bali away from all this. And that’s right. Even the center of Ubud is about 40 minutes away by shuttle. But all this is good, because there is a chance that you will not leave. Whether it’s sunset yoga overlooking the forest, relaxing by the endless pool, spa treatments, downhill on a treadmill or something else, there’s so much to keep you busy. Here are some photos from our stay here…

Buffet breakfast at Puhu Restaurant, serving freshly squeezed juices every day – I think it’s something like pineapple, honey dew and mango.

Breakfast overlooking the resort and its famous overflow pool. Wearing a beach dress “Giant Gorman squids”.

In the early morning from behind the forest you can see both Mount Batur (smaller left side) and Mount Agung (right side). It is magical.

Midday tea for two with sweet and spicy slices in Balinese style.

Small corridor leading to the pool! Wear Alice McCall dress while waiting for the sun.

The longest overflow pool in Bali (89 m long) from the Wine Lounge balcony. It is so long that, unfortunately, I can’t fit all this in one picture!

Lunch in the cafe “Pool”. In a pleated cameo “Love Bonito”.

Next to the main pool, at the bottom there is a treadmill, which is dotted with bales along the road and ends in a bamboo forest. On a clear day, you can see Sanur beach behind the hills towards the right side of the pool!

Bamboo forest and a small river, which is at the bottom of the treadmill. In the dress of Mr. Zimi Tina Lagoon.

Learn how to cook kanang sari with Sucri, a free activity that you can book in the resort. These Balinese Hindu blessings are scattered all over the place and play a big role in everyday life of the Balinese – it was so great to learn how to finally make them. Sucri let us know that she makes them every morning and night and places them in bedrooms, temples, on the street and much more. The base is made of young coconut leaves cut into strips and then swollen and fixed in the middle to create a flower similar in shape. Then you use the same coconut leaves to create a basket in which it sits. Then you put a slightly folded Durian leaf (which symbolizes God and is needed in every canang sari), and then you fill the flower tray with all sorts of colorful flowers to make it look beautiful. In the middle you put a lot of shredded pandan leaves. We used staplers instead of bamboo sticks (something that is usually used) to fix everything together to make things simple. Check out our ready-made kananga sari here!

Another activity we liked to subscribe to was a bike tour. Our guide was Vibava. He took us along a nearby bike path that I first accidentally heard him say it was “not hard for beginners,” when in fact he said it was “hard for beginners. It’s probably the hardest track I’ve ever done (since I usually only ride my bike by accident), but it’s still available for beginners. We rode our bikes through rice fields, visited a farm, passed banana, Durian, jackfruit, snake fruit and papaya and finally visited the Balinese complex of houses, which was owned by Vibava’s friend. It was so nice to learn about Bali from a local resident and it was so interesting to learn about Balinese life. Vibava told us that each residential complex has several buildings with a sleeping area, kitchen, temple and other rooms.

Evening cocktails (or, in our case, mocktails, because we do not drink alcohol) and snacks in the wine salon. So sweetly served for two!

Evening by the pool. On the top floor of the building there is a restaurant Puhu (where breakfast and dinner are served buffet) with a wine hall on the right side. On the floors below it are placed guests. One evening, when we were sitting in Puhu for dinner, we saw fireflies flying nearby. It was magical :’)

I hope you liked this travel diary! We were a little excited when we came to Padmu, as it was not yet officially open, and only a limited number of rooms were available for booking. The grand opening this month, so we congratulate the Padma team and thank Johannes, Ari, Aggew, Ari, Ellis, Vibavu, Sucri, Sudarya, Ketut and everyone who met us on the way, for making our stay so beautiful.