‘The next Ubud’ in Bali is, thankfully, nothing like the actual Ubud

I’m at Green Kitchen Cooking School in Sidemen, a village inland of Candidasa in Karangasem on Bali’s east coast. I’m with six other travellers and we’re making sambal, the spicy Indonesian condiment that combines fiery chilli, aromatic garlic, zingy shallots and a variety of other ingredients to make almost any dish in the nation’s vast archipelagic cuisine taste enak sekali, very delicious. As I pummel ginger in a cobek with my ulekan (Indonesia’s version of a mortar and pestle), I also have an ear on the conversation of my cooking classmates.

Sidemen, free of traffic congestion and overdevelopment, offers a slower pace of travel.Credit: iStock

“We came to Sidemen because we read it was the next Ubud,” one says in a Dutch accent. “It is nothing like Ubud. Yes, it is nice, but it is nothing like Ubud”. Her boyfriend, American maybe, takes a break from peeling garlic, to chime in: “There are not even any restaurants here,” he says. “And what about yoga studios? There’s not much to do.”

My cooking companions are right. Sidemen is definitely not the next Ubud. Where Ubud is known as Bali’s cultural and spiritual hub, it also has a reputation for rampant overdevelopment, road congestion and infrastructure that can’t keep up. Sidemen offers a quieter, more immersive Bali for those who relish a slower mode of travel.

Nothing to do, or an incredible cooking school in an open-air pavilion surrounded by tropical gardens? Credit: Green Kitchen Cooking School

I continue meditatively macerating my aromatic mixture. Where they see nothing to do, I see this incredible cooking school in an open-air pavilion surrounded by tropical gardens, rice paddies and coconut trees. Where they see a lack of yoga studios, I see an absence of traffic. Where they are pining for restaurants, I see the simplicity of local warung cooking.

I scoop my mix from the mortar into a pan sizzling with fresh coconut oil, a clear sweet-smelling elixir typical in South-East Asian cooking. Made fresh, this magical ingredient is liquid gold in Bali. As our host tells us, there are coconut trees aplenty on Bali, but these days fewer people are willing to climb them to get the coconuts. Making oil is also labour-intensive, a process of grating the coconut, wringing it to produce coconut cream, then boiling the cream to extract minuscule amounts of oil. Once a daily household chore, it’s now something of a culinary craft.

The simplicity of local warung cooking.Credit: Green Kitchen Cooking School

Sidemen sits in the foothills of Bali’s highest point, Mount Agung, an active volcano whose triangular form comes and goes with the mist and the clouds. In its momentous shadow, Sidemen’s rice terraces zigzag across the valley, a checkerboard of emerald green.

The local government has mandated that this lush scenic countryside be retained rather than developed. For a small fee, visitors can enter via the little bamboo hut at Pucak Luah Santi to trek three kilometres past tethered cows and ploughing farmers to a viewpoint overlooking the town.

One of the pools at adult-only Samanvaya Sidemen Bali.

From up here, the swimming pools of Samanvaya resort and the bamboo rooftops of Wapa Di Ume Sidemen Resort can be seen amid the coconut trees and red-tiled rooftops of local houses.

For those seeking luxury, Samanvaya has a contemporary Western restaurant, excellent spa, and beautiful rooms and villas. Wapa Di Ume has a yoga pavilion and hosts retreats much like its sister resort in Ubud. But local guesthouses, and smaller stays like Subak Tabola Villa, whose 14 hillside villas are made in the typical red brick decorative Balinese style, remain the vibe.

There are activities to keep a slow traveller occupied too. Sidemen Silver runs a silversmithing class at an open-air workshop that sits beside a scenic yellow bridge spanning the Tukad Yeh Unda river. Another gem is Pelangi Traditional Weaving, a boutique and workshop where visitors can watch as local artisans use traditional wooden hand-looms to weave Balinese endek or nduk, a traditional fabric with unique patterns and symbolic motifs.

A quieter alternative to Ubud… Samanvaya Sidemen Bali.

In the countryside out of town, visitors can spend the day in this cooking class, take a four-hour white water rafting trip along the Telaga Waja River, or travel the winding road south of Sidemen to Gembleng Waterfall, a near-vertical drop interrupted by natural infinity edged swimming holes. Climbing all the way to the top rewards with spectacular views of a green, untouched landscape.

It isn’t Ubud, no, but like meditators and yoga practitioners everywhere, this little Bali village holds its own space at its own heavenly pace.

Gembleng Waterfall features a series of natural plunge pools.Credit: iStock

The details

Stay
Adults-only Samanvaya resort has rooms from IDR2,850,000 ($278). Its Asri restaurant, serving international and Indonesian cuisine, and Ananda Spa are open to resort guests and day visitors. See samanvaya-bali.com
Wapa di Ume has rooms from IDR3,402,000. See wapadiumesidemen.com
Subak Tabola Villa wellness retreat has villas from $US120 ($190). See subaktabolavilla.com

Play
Sidemen Silver has two-hour workshops from IDR300,000, including seven grams of silver. See sidemensilver.com
Gembleng Waterfall is free with an IDR20,000 recommended donation. See gemblengwaterfall.com
Pelangi Traditional Weaving, on Sidemen’s main street, is open to all.
Green Kitchen Cooking Class and Organic Farm has classes starting from IDR500,000 including pick-up in Sidemen and a visit to Klungkung market. It has a cafe and traditional bungalow accommodation. See greenkitchenbali.com

The writer was a guest of Samanvaya Resort.