You can enquire as to room availability, according to your preferred dates at the following email address: bookings@wayofmastery.com
Please let us know whether you would like a private occupancy or twin share arrangement, and we will respond to let you know about the possible options.
Should you wish to book a room at our ashram, we will then outline the steps for confirming a booking.
We collect a 10% deposit on the cost of the agreed room stay, in order to secure your room at the time of booking. This is undertaken through a PayPal transfer.
Once your booking is finalized, we will send you a ‘request funds’ message to facilitate this deposit.
The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable.
Please note that ashram bookings will only be confirmed, on receipt of the deposit.
You can settle the remainder of the cost of your room prior to departure, minus the deposit already collected.
However, for long-term bookings of 2 months or more, we request monthly payment installments during your stay after each month.
Ngurah Rai International Airport, is located in Denpasar (DPS), Bali, Indonesia, and is the only airport available in Bali.
Your travel agent is the best person to assist you with any questions regarding your travel arrangements, transfers, etc..
The ashram is located about 1 to 1 ½ hour’s drive from the airport in Bali’s cooler highlands of Ubud.
Our address is:
C/O Sunrise Villa’s
Jalan Raya
Sanggingan, Ubud
Having one of the local drivers collect you from the airport is definitely the most relaxing way of getting here. This means that as you walk out of the airport doors there will be a smiling face, your name on a board, and a driver who can assist you all the way into your room!
We can book this transfer for you. All that is required once you have made your booking is to provide your flight details (airline, flight number and arrival time).
Alternatively, you can email one of our recommended drivers directly:
Sujana – sujanasopir@yahoo.com
Sony – sonytours@live.com
Nyoman – ngentegnyoman@yahoo.com
The price for airport pick up is 250,000 rupiah (around $25 US) and an airport drop off is 200,000 rupiah (around $20 US). Note: Drop off is cheaper as there is no waiting required.
You must have a passport which is valid for at least six months after your departure and also have proof of onward journey, which means your return flight from Bali.
Then on arrival into the airport you can purchase a 30 day visa for $25 US. It is advisable to have US currency to purchase the visa.
Again we recommend that you check with your local travel agent to confirm that your passport is one of the countries able to obtain a visa on entry into Bali.
This visa would generally be enough for most people's 'first time' visit to the ashram. However, many people choose to either return or extend their stay at the ashram, therefore we have included some additional information about extended visas in the next question.
Please note: We are not visa agents, this information is provided as a guide only. Please contact your local Indonesian Embassy or visa agent with any questions that you may have.
I have landed with a 30 day visa
and would like to stay longer...
What can I do?
If you arrived with a 30 day visa, and then decide to extend your stay, there may be options for doing this within the country and obtaining a second 30 day visa, a visa agent can assist you with this form of extension.
Alternatively, a short, inexpensive return flight to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur will allow you, in under a day, to leave the country and return obtaining another 30 day visa on arrival.
I landed with a 30 day visa and now
would like to change to a longer term visa...
What can I do?
You can engage a visa agent within Ubud to assist you with this application process, then fly to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, collect your longer stay visa and return to Bali.
I know, prior to my arrival that
I would like to stay for longer than 30 days...
What are my visa options?
If, prior to your arrival, you are aware that you would like to stay 60 days or longer, it is better to apply for an extended visa within your own country and land in Bali with this in place. There are 2 main options that people select for this:
- A 2 month ‘social/cultural visa’ which can be extended 4 times within the country, thus making a total potential stay of 6 months
You can apply for this visa directly at your local Indonesian Embassy. Once your booking has been confirmed with us, we can provide a letter stating the dates of your intended stay as a letter of support for this application, if required. Once in Bali any visa extensions can be completed by yourself, or you can engage a visa agent at this time to assist with the extensions.
Alternatively, you can engage a visa agent to assist you with the entire application process - much easier and simpler, however, obviously more expensive. Using an agent means that you are only required to collect the visa from your local embassy, no need to complete forms as the agents do all of this for you.
- A 12 month ‘social business visa’ which allows for multiple entry and exit, or staying within the country for the duration of the 12 months.
You would be required to engage a visa agent to assist you with this application.
A visa agent that you can contact...
For anyone who is outside of the country and would like assistance with visas we recommend using Highway Bali. They are not the cheapest agent, however they are conveniently located in Ubud Central, offer a very professional service, and are open 24 hours a day. Contact details for Highway Bali are:
Website - http://www.baliconsultant.com
Email - email@baliconsultant.com click here to email them directly
A word or two about visa agents...
There are many, many, visa agents available to assist you with extensions and applications within Ubud. You may have a friend who has stayed at the ashram before and is recommending you to use a specific agent - please feel free to use whichever agent you would like! A little internet research, or a drive down town once you are here in Ubud will reveal many options for you.
However, please remember that sometimes what appears to be a 'great deal' pricewise ends up taking up more of your time and energy to focus on visas unnecessarily (not to mention possible trips to the Immigration Office in Denpasar).
At this time, Highway Bali is the only agent that we recommend for anyone who is located outside of the country as we have always experienced a professional service.
Bali is in the Central Indonesian Time Zone which is GMT + 8 hours.
The below link provides the local time as well as some handy conversion tools if you are unsure about the time zones:
Bali is definitely in the tropics, located about 6 degrees south of the equator. The sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm most of the year. The temperature variation is small.
Bali does not have four seasons, only a wet season, typically from September to February, and a dry season for the other half of the year. Remember though, as it is the tropics it can rain at any time!
But the difference is marginal; at the peak of the wet season you will see about a half an hour to an hour serious downpour in the afternoon, about perfect for a siesta. And the peak of the dry season it becomes very hot and humid in the afternoon, perfect for a siesta. The rest of the time? Nice, warm temperature. What do the statistics say? Here are the averages, just to give you an idea:
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/indonesia/denpasar
Ubud, being in the mountains can be a couple of degrees cooler than Denpasar, and it can also be wetter as well. But for those of us who live here, it truly is paradise, and when it rains we either ‘take a siesta’ or take our shoes off, roll our pants up and keep going!!
Living at the ashram we have nice afternoon breezes and at those times when it is hot, it is just the perfect time to sit on your balcony, enjoying the views and nature sounds while sipping your tea and listening to the Way of the Heart, or contemplating the mystery that supports you every moment!
We highly suggest that you keep it simple!
Light clothing is advisable due to the tropical, humid climate. A light sweater or jacket is sometimes necessary in the evenings. Shorts are permissible anywhere in Bali except at temples!
We do recommend that you bring along with you:
- Good pair of walking shoes
- Sun hat and sun glasses
- Travel umbrella or poncho
- Small flashlight (the sidewalks are not the best for evening walks without a torch)
- Purse calculator for money exchanges
- Camera with extra batteries
- Money belt
- Sunscreen
- Journal/pens
- Personal toiletries (although there is a great supermarket about 5 minutes walk from us that stock almost everything you will need we recommend that you bring along your own face creams, light moisturizers, etc. as the local product usually contains a whitening agent!)
Remember, shopping is great on Bali, the prices are low and in many cases the quality exquisite! Also, there are quite skilled and cheap tailors, so many people bring along things that they have always wanted to have made.
Bali is a very healthy land, no vaccinations are currently required for Bali. Please check with your own physician or local public health office for their recommendations in your particular case.
Be aware that requirements for certain areas of Indonesia do not apply to Bali (parts of Indonesia are some of the most primitive areas in the world – if you have never been to Ubud before you will be pleasantly surprised at how civilized the whole experience is).
There are health food stores (offering most of the basics) and chemists here, however, if there is any specific medications that you require we always recommend that you bring it along!
The local currency is called Rupiah (IDR – Indonesian Rupiah).
And if it is your first trip to Bali expect that it may take you a while to get accustomed to using the money here! As an example, exchanging less than $150 US will make you a rupiah millionaire! To check the current exchange rate please visit:
You can exchange money at the airport on arrival, and we normally recommend that people change a small amount at the airport, enough to get them through for a couple of days.
There are money changers and ATM’s everywhere in Ubud. Both of which are located within walking distance of the ashram. There will be a local area map in your room on arrival that will show the location of both a money change and an ATM within walking distance.
Check-in time at the ashram is 2.00 pm.
Our office is open from 10:30 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Saturday, and until 7.00 pm on Sunday.
If your arrival is during office hours we will welcome you and show you directly to your room.
If your flight arrives late evening (as many of them do), the staff member on duty will assist with luggage and show you to your room.
Then, when you have settled in, we will invite you for an induction meeting to complete your registration process and provide more detailed information about our ashram services.
Check out time is midday.
If your flight is an evening flight and you would like to reserve your room until your departure from the ashram, we can offer you a half-day rate for the room, based on the agreed price for your stay.
However, you are also welcome to leave your bags in the office from 12pm onwards, and continue to enjoy the ashram grounds until your departure.
Your room rate is inclusive of breakfast. Menu options are provided on arrival.
For those who would like to join with ‘friends of the heart’ for breakfast, we have a communal kitchen which is used for this. Many of us who live here permanently have chosen to prepare our own breakfast, so this kitchen has all of the breakfast supplies.
Our friendly staff members are also available to prepare your breakfast for you, and can deliver it to either the communal kitchen area or directly to your room.
It is entirely your choice...
Each room at the ashram has a small mini bar fridge, and basic cutlery supplies for making tea, coffee and snacks.
Then, there are 2 communal kitchens, both of which have large fridges and are available for guests to prepare meals.
The local supermarket (Bintang) is about 5 minutes walk from the ashram, and you can purchase all that you would require for preparation of meals from here.
However, purchasing food from local restaurants and warungs (many within very short walking distance) is so cheap and so good, that most of us who live here do not cook, choosing to either go out for meals, or order delivery instead! As an example you can have an evening meal and juice drink for $5 to $10 US, or a full 3 course meal at one of our many favorite restaurants between $20 to $40.
Your taste buds are in for a real treat in Ubud...
Ubud is truly a place for some of the finest meals at wonderful prices! A local area map, and list of restaurants/warungs that we recommend are all included in your room, as well as some home delivery menus for those who would prefer to eat in!
We do not recommend drinking the tap water in Bali!
While the water at the ashram comes directly from a well, and is a clean water source (those of us who live here use this water for brushing our teeth and washing food supplies, etc), we do not recommend drinking it.
There is a dispenser within each of the communal kitchens for guest usage during breakfast. However, we do not provide all of your drinking water.
Rather than carting water from the local supermarket, we have put water dispensers into each room and have reverse osmoses water delivered in gallon bottles. The price for a re-fill is 15,000 Rupiah (around $1.5US), paid directly to the staff when you ask for a replacement bottle. We recommend that you buy one bottle of Aqua, or bring a drinking bottle with you and refill it from this dispenser.
Yes...
We have an amazing infinity edge swimming pool!
Our swimming pool area is clothing optional. We generally say to people, please feel free to wear your swimmers if you would like, however, don’t expect others to.
While it is open 24 hours for your enjoyment, and we would highly recommend a midnight dip and/or a dip in the rain we do encourage silence from 8pm onward through till 7am in the swimming pool area.
No, unfortuantely, we do not have a spa at the ashram...
However, there are a number of spas within a very short walking distance, and we will also provide you with the contact details for local massage therapists who will come and do an "in-room massage" for you.
We do have a massage table available to set up in your room for exactly this purpose...
We highly recommend taking advantage of the amazing spas and massage services on offer in Bali, where else in the world can you have a one hour massage for under $10 US?!
No...
Both bath towels and pool towels are provided within your room. As a policy your towels will be laundered every 3 days and fresh ones provided.
If you require a fresh towel before this time, please request this directly from the staff.
Due to the weather here in Bali hand washing and then hanging something for a couple of hours is a really popular way of cleaning clothes!!
We also have a laundry and dry cleaning service available. Our staff will collect and return laundry directly to your room. The price for this service is set by the laundry, however, it is very inexpensive.
We do not have telephones in our guest rooms.
If you want to have the ability to make and receive calls whilst staying at the ashram the easiest way to achieve this is to bring your mobile phone with you and (for around $5 US) purchase a local sim card.
You will find more information about this in your room on arrival.
We do not have public computers at the ashram.
We have WIFI internet access for permanent residents only. From time to time, if a number of residents are out of the country this WIFI may be made available to guests for a monthly access fee. If you require internet access you can discuss any opportunities with the office on arrival - please note though that access may not be provided if the majority of permanent residents are at the ashram.
There is an internet cafe about 2 doors down from the ashram and some restaurants within walking distance that offer free WIFI if you have your laptop with you.
For anyone who is looking to come for an extended period of time, and feels that internet access to their laptop is essential, we can provide you on arrival with the contact details of a technician who can assist you in obtaining internet access if our WIFI service is full.
It is also important to note that internet services in Bali are not up to the Broadband services found in other locations throughout the world!
As you would have noticed we offer accommodation options where you can rent either the room for yourself, or you can select and take advantage of the "twin share option".
Please know that in our experience this sharing arrangement is always designed and orchestrated by the holy spirit – not us!! If you choose twin share then the next available guest who also selects twin share will be the person you are rooming with.
It is up to you and your room mate to discuss who will be sleeping in which bed within the room, as well as any other issues that may come up around wardrobe space, etc.
If you are here on the "twin share rate" and you are occupying the room alone, then please be aware that while we endeavor to provide as much notice as possible of a new arrival, you could go out, and have someone in the room when you return. Again, this is the nature of ‘twin share’!
Everyone is welcome to invite friends that they meet in the local community along to the ashram. There are however, a couple of things that we do like to remind people about this:
- If you are staying on the "twin share rate", then please communicate your intention to invite a friend over with the person you are sharing with, so there is a clear agreement about when and for how long the person will remain, and that this is OK with them.
- Please understand that breakfast is provided for ashram guests only, and remember that our ‘omlets for the soul’ gatherings are also for our guests only, please do not invite anyone to join you at the table for this gathering.
- Our swimming pool, is also only available for use by our guests and residents.
- Outside visitors are welcome to attend the normal ashram schedule of activities, when this is on offer. However, we ask that your visitors respect the ashram space and keep the communal areas of the ashram quiet for our guests and residents, returning to your room or leaving the site once events are complete.
- We welcome heartfelt donations from attending visitors in support of our events and our work.
- Please understand that outside visitors are not to stay overnight at the ashram without prior notification (we are required by law to know who is staying within the ashram), and that having an additional person in the room may adjust the rate that you are paying.
We have a post office box specifically for ashram residents and guests to enable personal mail to be received. This address is:
PO Box 144,
Ubud, Bali,
Indonesia, 80571
Please note: there may be an import tax payable on some goods sent to Indonesia, so you might want to confirm these details direct with the post office prior to having items sent.
More details are provided in your room on collecting mail from this post office box.
No, we are not in a position to offer any form of "work exchange program".
We do not own the location, rather we have been blessed with the opportunity to "rent" some of the rooms and "manage" the remainder of rooms on this beautiful property.
We are truly blessed to have this opportunity, and to be able to base our ashram in such an amazing 'womb like' vortext in Ubud - the ashram is nestled between two 5 star hotels each offering accommodation at $250 US per night, with only a small reduction for longer term accommodation. With that in mind you can perhaps gain an understanding of exactly what sort of deal we are offering for accommodation.
What this means though is that every time a guest stays at the ashram, we return the rental income directly to the owner, or in some cases directly to the lease holder.
The Way of Mastery team receive only a % from the income generated which is used to cover the daily running costs for the villas (breakfast, electricity, maintainence, security, etc).
Please understand that asking for any form of "work exchange program" is in essence asking us to pay for your accommodation, and we are not in a position to do this.