Devi's Place, Jun 2015

We stayed at Devi's place in Penestanan. It is located at Jalan Penestanan Kelod Sayan in Ubud which is a very popular village for expats. 

The place is owned by a New Zealander lady, Janny who retires in Bali.  There were few cottages, bungalows and private villas in the big property that she owned.  We booked "Lotus cottage" 3 months ahead with payment and transport arrangement made but a week before our arrival,  we were told by Janny that if it is alright for us to stay at "Jaracanda" instead & she kept telling us that it is bigger and it has been used for family only, bla..bla..bla without even mentioning why we cannot take the Lotus cottage.   How do you say no to that?

On our arrival at the airport, we could not find the driver.  We waited for about half hour, even make announcement on the speaker at the information counter.  Later he approached us and gave all the grandmother excuses that he couldn't find us and my wife flatly told him that he was actually late because if not, we would have seen him loitering around the area as he was wearing a bright red shirt!! He sheepishly smiled. That was not a good sign.  We later learned that he was the son-in-law of the guy who was in charge running Devi's Place.

Devi's Place is at the end of Penestanan Village.  Simply beautiful. All the negativity happened hours before all gone.  Janny, a lady in her mid 60s greeted us & gave us a brief explanation of the area, giving us maps etc.

The property is taken care of by a Balinese family who lived in the vicinity. The father, wife, the daughter and his son-in-law, the driver.

Jacaranda Cottage is situated at end of Devi's Place so we actually have this amazing view of the rice field. You have to pass to a lush green garden nicely kept by the workers to reach our cottage. Ours is a one bedroom with an outdoor shower in a big garden. The outdoor living/dining area with kitchenette faced a luxurious full view of the rice fields. Simply breathtaking especially during the early morning when we were having our breakfast or having tea/coffee during the evening.  A few steps from our cottage is a beautiful infinity pool also with a view of the rice field too.

It is great if you can drive a scooter but if you dont, its quite a hassle as the road going down to Ubud Centre is very uneven with highs and low very steep hills. But you can have a lovely morning walk around the Penestanan area towards Sayan.  Theres a lot to see.. art and craft, warungs and the view of the famous ridge where tourists go for their water rafting.

Breakfast was preordered. It's eggs however you want it or Nasi Goring.  The staff will set up the breakfast area and clean it up later.

This visit was quite sombre.  The first night we arrived, my sister-in-law sent a message to my wife that her brother's wife had passed away at the hospital.