Walk on by. Not.

Things have been a little quiet on the blog front, if not in the real world. Having now taken on some voluntary work for Ubud Writers and Readers Festival*, along with the language study, the hours are flying past. And of course the social life continues to expand. To all those people who asked 'What are you going to do for six months?'. Answer: 'Plenty'.

Most nights we eat out, sometimes with other people, sometimes just us. We have a budget and it is not hard to eat (and drink) extremely well within our purse strings. Which leads me to Murni's.

I could not tell you how many times we have walked past Murni's Warung over the years. Oh, we knew about Murni - she is one of the original Ubud business women**, opening her warung twenty years before Janet de Neefe transformed the Ubud restaurant scene with Casa Luna.*** So why had we never eaten at Murni's before? Probably a combination of factors, including the ridiculous notion that 'if it's famous, it can't be any good.' So we have walked past many times, always headed elsewhere. Then, we thought. Why not? So we did.

Stop reading now if you have known and loved it for all the years we have been in denial, because as well as a delicious meal, we also ate humble pie. Murni's is located on the Ubud side of the Campuan Bridge. On the other side is the famous Bridges Bali and above is the new restaurant belonging to the Blanco Museum. So it is in distinguished company****. From the road, it is appears to be an attractive enough space, but gives no hint of the delights to come. Being located on the river, there is also a gorge. There is a glimpse from the entrance, but it tells nothing of the three, yes three, levels below. The room to request is on the bottom floor where you eat to the sound of rushing water surrounded by such lushness of vegetation that the Bali cliche of 'paradise' no longer seems a cliche. With an extensive menu, good prices, charming staff and this setting, what fools we had been to walk past. If you don't need to eat, the bar is situated on the road level, and it would be a great place to catch up with friends. Ah well, we know all this now and fortunately it's not too late.

Murni is a remarkable woman. As well as running her successful restaurant, she has travelled the world collecting antiquities, many of museum quality. Some are on display in the beautifully appointed spaces. You can read more about her and her guidebook to Ubud here. Don't be as foolish as were were and walk right past her warung.

As far as the language study goes, are we making headway? Maybe. We are trying our baby talk out on people and they remain polite. I think that the effort is appreciated. Friday's lesson was horrendous. All about numbers, which are my nemeses at the best of times. Trying to think out loud and say things like

Tiga ratus tiga puluh tiga juta tiga ratus tiga puluh tiga ribu tiga ratus tiga puluh tiga (I think). Meh, maths on Friday afternoon.

But really, it's no worse than saying 333,333,333 out loud and the grammar is easier.

* Early bird tickets are now available. Check the website.
**Another is Ibu Rai
***We were there on opening night. Such a long time ago.
**** On reflection, it is these restaurants that are in Murni's distinguished company.