Camping and Bali don’t sound quite right together. But, fortunately, I’m booked into an altogether different proposition: the first glamping site to open on Indonesia’s paradise island. I must admit I have never been a great fan of staying in tents, dating back to nightmarish memories of school holidays with the Scouts, but Emanuela Padoan and Federico Carrer, the fashionable Italian owners of Sandat Glamping, assure me my stay will rank alongside staying in one of Bali’s renowned lavish hotels or exclusive private villas. And they should know – they’re the brains behind the first luxury glamping project in Italy, in the splendid gardens of an 18th-century villa just outside Venice, which has been a runaway success.
Glamping – glamorous camping – is the latest travel vogue sweeping Europe. A far cry from old-fashioned camping sites, glamping encompasses everything from deluxe safari tents, sumptuous yurts and retro silver Airstream caravans to ecological but luxurious tree houses and wooden lodges. The other surprise is that Sandat isn't located in Bali's fashionable Jimbaran Bay or Seminyak areas – the site of the likes of the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Bvlgari – but is at the centre of the island in the bohemian colony of Ubud. While Seminyak may still be the exclusive celebrity bolthole that everyone wants to be seen in, not everyone is lining up to spend the night alongside thousands of partygoers crammed into beachside nightclubs, such as Ku De Ta, where international DJs such as David Guetta blast out booming beats until the early hours of the morning. A far more quintessential Balinese experience is spent sitting in one of Ubud's simple outdoor arenas, listening to the haunting chimes of the gamelan orchestra accompanying troupes who perform the island's traditional dances. And though shopping in Seminyak's air-conditioned boutiques displaying high-end brands, including Gucci, Versace, Hermès and Louis Vuitton, is obviously inviting, Ubud boasts some of the world's most creative and skilled artisans producing exquisite jewellery, which can be discovered on a private visit to unique locations, such as John Hardy's factory showroom, lost in the middle of rice fields. Ubud is also the new favourite area for restaurant openings, making it not only Bali's cultural capital, but also its gastronomic hub.
Getting to Sandat Glamping is an adventure in itself. The taxi turns off just outside Ubud along a quiet lane meandering through a lush jungle towards the village of Pejeng. After crossing a tiny bridge with families washing in the river below, a rough, muddy track zigzags for a couple of kilometres through a dreamy landscape of rice fields until we arrive at the most luxurious camping site I have seen. In keeping with their philosophy of respecting and blending in with the local environment, the whole compound is camouflaged behind tall grass. Inside, there’s a colourful tropical garden of fragrant frangipani, jasmine and bougainvillea, and a 15-metre-tall traditional Balinese pavilion. The five tents are hidden away at the end of dense jungle paths to ensure total privacy. Raised up on a wooden platform, these state-of-the-art African safari tents are as big as a hotel suite, with a vast four-poster bed swathed in mosquito nets, a separate bathroom and toilet facilities, and the choice of air conditioning or a whirring ceiling fan. A glittering Murano chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and there are comfortable rattan armchairs, petrified-wood furniture and a mix of chic Italian and artisan Balinese artworks. Each tent has its own plunge pool surrounded by coconut trees. Before settling down for some serious sunbathing, I ring a tiny bell, and one of the friendly staff magically appear with chilled mango juice and a plate of spicy satay. Although Sandat also has three “lumbung” houses – traditional wooden rice barns converted into comfy split-level suites for those too wary to sleep in a tent – I never regret my choice, even when a monsoon storm breaks out in the middle of the night lashing the canvas walls, which don’t let a single drop of rain through.
Glamping always guarantees a very different experience to staying in a normal hotel. In France, I once glamped in a mysterious Brittany forest at the top of a tree, sleeping in, of all things, an enormous wooden barrel, complete with a very comfortable double bed. In the centre of Brussels, just off the haute-couture boutiques of the fashionable Avenue Louise, I found myself in a vintage Airstream – a sleek, iconic, silver metal American caravan. All the decor was authentic 1950s, and the owners even made sure the magazine rack was filled with period copies of Life and Vogue. But Sandat is the most luxurious glamping I have experienced so far. Sitting outside the tent in the early evening, the only noise is the distinctive music played at a nearby temple ceremony. Although there’s air conditioning, I switch it off and sleep beneath the ceiling fan, serenaded by the croaking of frogs hidden in the surrounding jungle, a gossamer net protecting me from marauding mosquitos. In the morning, after pulling back the bathroom curtain, there’s a spectacular landscape of flooded paddy fields, the local villagers already hard at work planting the next rice harvest. Breakfast is a feast of tropical fruits, freshly cooked eggs and elaborate local curries, jams made by a Balinese lady in Ubud, and croissants delivered by hand that morning by a French baker. The feeling is of sitting down with friends and family, very different from joining the crowds around a hotel buffet.
I’m more than happy to swap the amenities of a classic hotel room – the television, the telephone – and switch back to a more simple life of a glamping tent. And with the luxury of high-speed broadband, it’s easy to open my laptop and reconnect with what’s going on in the rest of the world.
I have been returning to Bali for many years, and I always find it a unique, almost spiritual island, regardless of the surge in tourism in recent years. I have been fortunate to stay in many of its sumptuous hotels; magical venues, such as the Four Seasons at Sayan, Como’s Shambhala Estate, the Legian and the Oberoi. Sandat Glamping doesn’t even try to compete with these luxury resorts, but I discover a tranquil simplicity, instead, which brings you back to the essentials that make Bali stand out from other Asian destinations.
The only problem with glamping here is that it’s almost too relaxing to make the effort to leave the campsite. The chef is on call all day to prepare tasty Balinese and Italian dishes; massage, yoga and Pilates sessions can be organised in the privacy of your tent; and without any television in sight, guests chill out by playing backgammon, reading and listening to music. But the Aussie chef Will Meyrick tempts me to drive into Ubud to sample the fare at his new restaurant, Hujan Locale. Meyrick is known as the King of Street Food in Bali, and his funky new diner produces innovative street-inspired dishes. All vegetables are sourced from local farms, and the menu spans juicy grilled octopus with tangy green mango, coriander and a sour nuoc cham fish sauce; a 12-hour slow-cooked pho bo beef and noodle soup; and stir-fry swordfish smothered with chilli jam, cashews and crunchy long beans. Until now, Meyrick’s restaurants have all been located in the chic Seminyak area, so I ask why he has now chosen to open in Ubud. “I think that people are getting tired of Seminyak, fed up with the hedonism and non-stop partying,” he says. “They are looking more for a cultural, well-being experience, and that is what Ubud has always been about. What I like is that Ubud is a melting pot, so my customers may be curious university students on a budget gap year or wealthy travellers who arrive in a chauffeur-driven limo from the Four Seasons.”
It’s the same story when I talk to the celebrity French-American chef Chris Salans. His gourmet Mozaic restaurant has always been based in Ubud, but the last few years have seen him concentrating on a much bigger beach locale at Seminyak. Today, though, his latest project, the casual gastrobar Spice by Chris Salans, is on Ubud’s main shopping drag. “Because the essence of Bali has always been Ubud,” Salans tells me, “and that is what a new generation of visitors is coming here to discover.” He suggests I visit two other new ventures in Ubud. Room4Dessert is the highly original concept of the American pastry maestro Will Goldfarb, who worked at Ferran Adrià’s legendary elBulli. Open from 6pm for sundowner drinks, the serious business starts when Goldfarb prepares his unbelievable desserts, available until well past midnight. Don’t miss his exquisite crème brûlée with cocoa paste, mangosteen bitters and Bali’s distinctive sea salt. Another restaurant that all of Bali is buzzing about is Locavore, run by two young chefs, the Indonesian Ray Adriansyah and Eelke Plasmeijer, from Holland. Presuming you book a table early enough, be prepared for an unforgettable experience as the two direct their team in an open kitchen, not unlike orchestra conductors. Following the trend in Europe, there’s a no-choice seven-course tasting menu, although vegetarians and vegans can have separate, equally creative dishes prepared without meat and fish. Locavore means “eating local”, and the chefs stress “we only use local, organic ingredients – from organically farmed vegetables to cows and sheep bred just outside Ubud, and scallops, seaweed and seagrapes harvested by fishermen off Lombok. No imported produce – that is our rule.” Each dish seems better than the last, but two highlights have to be the thinly sliced squid with a hot fennel consommé, fresh seaweed and squid ink vinaigrette, followed by poached tiger prawns, creamy goat’s cheese and citrus-infused popcorn.
Apart from the creative new dining scene, Ubud now boasts hip barista coffee bars, such as Anomali Coffee, while new fashion boutiques, contemporary silver and gold jewellery stores and art galleries are appearing along Jalan Hanoman. Padoan, of Sandat Glamping, lets me in on a secret: although the decor in her resort partly comes from antique stores in Italy, she discovered the rest in an interior designer’s paradise just outside Ubud. Jalan Raya Tegallalang could claim to be the world’s longest arts-and-crafts shopping street, with more than five kilometres lined with tempting stores. For sure, many stock kitschy tourist souvenirs, but you can also come upon fabulous retro advertising signs, designer furniture created from recycled metal and wood, table lamps made from pumice stones and vintage mirrors – all at bargain prices and ready to be shipped anywhere in the world. Tegallalang also boasts the most dramatic panorama of rice terraces in Bali, but the peaceful Zen atmosphere of this unforgettable spot has been forever altered by dozens of cafes hustling tourists for their custom. So I head straight back to Sandat, where I can watch the sun setting over the criss-cross patches of rice paddies from the privileged privacy of my own luxurious glamping tent.
Look out for this and more stories in the Ultratravel magazine, out with The National on Thursday, November 26.
