[Bali 峇里島] Capella Ubud – Day 1

48 hours in Capella Ubud
Day 1

🌿3:30pm arrival

We arrived at Capella Ubud around 3:30pm in the afternoon, when the sunlight was just turning soft, casting a beautiful glow on everything it reaches.

抵達 Capella Ubud 時下午三點多，陽光正美，一切格外柔和。

Before check-in, a small welcome-ritual from the resort staff, announcing our arrival to the ground.

在 check-in 之前，熱情的接待人員先爲我們做了當地的歡迎儀式：

Welcome drinks, extra refreshing after our almost two-hour car ride.

經過近兩個小時的車程不禁有些疲累，坐下來喝杯清爽的 welcome drink，緩緩神。

Capella Ubud is nestled at the heart of lush green forests, about a 20-minute drive from the busy town center of Ubud. This pristine landscape inspired architect / interior designer Bill Bensley to create a jungle glamping retreat referencing back to the European explorers who first set foot in Bali during the 19th century. It’s worth noting that the main principle of the design was nature preservation, and there was not a single tree that was cut down during the building of Capella Ubud!

Capella Ubud 位于離熱鬧的烏布有車程20分鍾距離的山區，在一片人跡罕至的原始雨林裏。聽說建築設計師 Bill Bensley 一看到這樣的自然秘境，就聯想到了19世紀初峇里島第一代歐洲移民前來探索未知的冒險精神，于是以 “探險” 爲主題打造了這樣一座隱於山林的野奢營宿。非常值得一提的是，設計師以不破壞自然爲原則，在築造酒店的過程中未砍伐任何一棵樹，也讓入住的客人能充分感受這片祕境的原始美。

注：Bill Bensley 是著名的奢華度假村設計師，曾被時代周刊評爲 “全球五大酒店設計師之一”。

🌿4pm getting to know our tent

As the resort was developed to fit its surroundings, the 22 luxury tents were constructed up and down the natural landscape. Do wear comfortable shoes as you might even need to pass through mini suspension bridges to reach your tent.

Capella Ubud 有22座奢華帳篷棲築於雨林間，路上上下下的，請記得要穿舒適好走的鞋來。我們在服務人員的帶領下來到了這次入住的帳篷，還得先經過一座小吊橋才能抵達呢。

Before we entered our tent, we first reveled at the spacious outdoor deck, complete with daybeds, poolside sun loungers, and a private salt water massage pool facing right into the vast expanse of green rainforest.

帳篷外有寬敞的露台，一邊有座以石砌成的鹹水按摩池。在這裏泡澡，望出去就是一片令人舒心的郁郁蔥蔥。

The tent looks rather understated from the outside, but it’s a different world once we stepped in. Each tent at Capella Ubud is designed with a unique role in mind – the captain, the cartographer, the baker, the birdwatcher…reenacting the lives of those early settlers in Bali. We were to stay at “The Puppet Master’s Tent” – what is that supposed to look like?

營帳外部看似無奇，踏入裏面才發現別有洞天。每個帳篷都以當時的不同職業爲設計背景，演繹早期殖民者的野營生活：首領、船長、制圖者、面包師傅、觀察鳥的人…我們住的是 “The Puppet Master’s Tent“（玩偶大師的帳篷），裏面會長什麽樣子呢？

There are endless details within the tent, piecing together the charm of a bygone era. Many of the decorations are from the personal collection of Capella Ubud’s owner Mr. Suwito Gunawan – some of the puppets in our tent, for example, were artworks he brought back from auctions in The Netherlands.

帳篷裏有許多美麗的細節，堆疊出峇里島迷人的舊世界風情。聽說很多擺件是 Capella Ubud 老板 Suwito Gunawan 的私人收藏，包括我們帳篷裏面的一些玩偶，都是他從荷蘭競標得來的藝術品。

Of course, the tent comes with all the essentials of camping – outdoor light, bug spray, sunscreen, poncho, etc. Everything has been thoughtfully prepared for us.

當然也少不了野營需要的燈、手電筒、防蟲噴霧、防曬油、雨衣等等，Capella 都已經貼心地爲我們准備好了。

The tent’s modern amenities were more than sufficient – air conditioning, fans, safe, water kettle, coffee machine…and everything’s hidden so well! This generous drinks cabinet, for example, looked like an ordinary belted trunk before we popped it open.

雖然住的是帳篷，但提供的現代設施非常完善 – 冷氣、風扇、保險箱、電熱水壺等。而且都隱藏的很好，比如這個酒櫃在未打開時看起來就像個普通的木箱子。

There are also all the cups and saucers and toasters we’d ever need.

各種餐具應有盡有，連烤面包機都不缺。

A cool feature Capella provides is this handy phone pre-loaded with sight-seeing tips, internet, and free domestic and international calling plans. There’s even a button which you can press to call the resort directly, a very convenient feature when you are outside the resort and are in need of help. The picture on the right shows the bedside plugs which can be hidden when not in use, a small but thoughtful detail. Do note that TV & sound systems are only provided on request, but honestly, who needs these when surrounded by nature as beautiful as this?

Capella 還有提供含流量及國際國內通話的智能手機，外出時帶著可以一鍵撥打給酒店，請司機來接送。右圖是床旁邊的插座，不用時也可蓋上隱藏起來。哦，不過這裏沒有電視。聽說若有需要的話酒店可以幫忙准備，但來這裏誰還要看電視？！

The bathroom is also full of pleasant surprises, like the asymmetry of the double wash basins, and the intricate wood carvings of the drawers.

洗手間也有各種亮點，比如雙洗手台的不對稱設計，以及抽屜的精細木雕。

Bathrobes, towers, slippers…there’s also a large selection of local handmade soaps (do try the lavender one).

浴袍、毛巾、拖鞋樣樣不少，連香皂都有各種選擇（強推薰衣草那款）。

This flower-shaped shower head though, too cute.

這個花型的蓮蓬頭，也太可愛了吧。

And a throne-like toilet.

還有一個像寶座的馬桶…😂

My favorite item in the bathroom, without a doubt, is this gorgeous copper freestanding bath. The hammered patterns apparently took 100 hours to complete!

不過浴室裏我最最最愛的單品，是這個浴缸。聽說上面的紋路是匠人們一個個敲出來的，完成一個浴缸要花100個小時。

There are indoor and outdoor showers, the latter especially fitting for the balmy weather in Bali.

室內室外淋浴皆有。峇里島的天氣溫暖，在外面洗澡非常舒服，有種在大自然中完全解放的感覺。

The resort staff had also prepared a floral foot soak for us, just one of the million thoughtful details that we were to experience during our stay.

服務人員還幫我們准備了泡腳水。一切都是如此細致貼心！

🌿6pm cocktails at The Officer’s Tent

After ample rest in the tent, we strolled over to The Officer’s Tent for a pre-dinner cocktail. This extravagant living room is exclusive to guests staying at Capella Ubud, and serves morning coffee, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails in addition to offering a selection of books, magazines, and board games.

在房間充分休息之後，我們散步到 The Officer’s Tent。這個客廳營帳在度假村的中心，是給客人的休息區和圖書館，每日早晨和午後供應咖啡，傍晚則有雞尾酒以及小食。

We happened to run into the GM of Capella Ubud here and had a nice little chat. Though originally from Canada, he’s been living in Asia for over a decade, and was with Aman for quite a while (e.g. Amankora in Bhutan and Aman Summer Palace in Beijing) before joining Capella. He’s full of fun stories, do get hold of him if you see him on property.

在這裏我們還碰到了 Capella Ubud 的總經理先生，閑聊了一番。他是加拿大人，不過在亞洲已經住了十幾年了，加入 Capella 之前有很長一段時間在安缦工作，待過不丹的 Amankora，北京的 Aman Summer Palace 等等，是個很會說故事的人。若你也在 Capella Ubud 碰到他，可以抓住他聊個天喲。

While the bites at The Officer’s Tent looked quite tempting, we decided to skip these as we had an exciting dinner coming up…

雖然 The Officer’s Tent 的小食看起來也很不錯，不過我們決定 skip，因爲稍後還有很精彩的晚餐呢…

🌿6:30pm dinner at Api Jiwa

Though the original plan was to stroll about Ubud after checking-in, Capella was so charming that we simply didn’t want to leave once we got settled in, so it was naturally decided that we had dinner on site too. On this first night we got to try Api Jiwa, the Asian barbecue bar at the resort.

其實原本打算去烏布走走，不過 Capella Ubud 舒服到令人不想離開，于是決定晚餐也在這裡解決了。第一晚，先試試主打亞洲燒烤的 Api Jiwa。

Api Jiwa is the Sanskrit word meaning ‘fire to the soul’, and fire is indeed the central ingredient at Api Jiwa. We were seated at the C-shaped bar, where we could see Capella Ubud’s culinary director Matthew McCool and his team grill up the freshest ingredients of the day.

Api Jiwa 這名字源自梵文，意思是 “火焰到靈魂的轉變”，而 “火焰” 的確是餐廳的主題。我們坐在C字型的吧台，可以清楚地看見 Capella Ubud 的餐飲總監 Matthew McCool 和他的團隊巧妙地用烈火烤製著當日新鮮食材。

Originally from Australia, Matt had been cooking in metropolitan cities like Sydney, London, Shanghai before settling in Bali four years ago. What he put on our plates that evening were absolutely delicious – a mix of Asian flavors with imaginative creativity, all beautifully presented. Click here to see what we ate.

來自澳洲的 Matt 曾在雪梨、倫敦、上海等大城市工作多年，在巴厘島定居已四年了（羨慕啊，我也想搬過來）。他設計的料理非常混搭，有創意又美味，一道道都是驚喜！點擊這裡看看我們吃了什麼。

🌿8:30pm marshmallow by the bonfire

After a most satisfying dinner, we sat by the bonfire for some roasted marshmallows and hot chocolate, with a black-and-white film playing on the background. Not a bad way to spend the evening, wouldn’t you agree?

吃完美味的晚餐後我們沒急著回房間，先在坐營火邊烤個棉花糖、喝杯熱巧克力、看個黑白默劇…