Bird Nest
Ubud, Bali
ECO STAY IN UBUD WITH A VIEW
At Firefly Eco Lodge in Bali, you can sleep among the tree tops surrounded by endless rice fields.
Their "bird nests" stacked on top of each other in a tall narrow bamboo structure have their names because of their weird structure. It is basically 4 bamboo nests stacked on top of each other, with a ladder in the form of two big bamboo logs with holes in them, which you must use to climb up to your nest. This is both exhilarating and really scary, since we had the top nest which hangs about 8 meters up in the air. The bamboo ladder is almost vertical and has no safety, so you are completely reliant on your own grip.
SLEEP 8 METERS UP IN THE SKY
Even through the ladder might seem dangerous, the climb to your little bird nest is absolutely worth it. You will have the most breathtaking view over the beautiful Balinese rice fields of Ubud.
The nest is very true to nature and has no door, nor closed walls (it's braided with tons of small holes in the walls) and bugs might get inside, but thank god for the mosquito net. It is all a part of the nature experience. It feels like camping on the top of the world. There is not much space for anything in the nest other than the double bed, but the view when you lie down and look out of the door-hole is breathtaking, and you are at the same altitude as the chirping birds and the sound of wind in the trees is so calming.
The hotel has 4 nests, each in different altitudes, as well as several other cabins and houses. The grounds has two really clean shared bathrooms with nice out-door showers with free-flowing water. There is also a really cozy chilling area with lockers (so you don't have to carry your luggage to the 4th floor on a bamboo ladder). It has really good facilities even through it's cheap, and you can watch hundreds of fireflies floating around in the rice fields at night. Surprisingly we did not have a single bug or mosquito in our room during our stay, but whether or not you are lucky as well the mosquito net will protect you.
WATCH FIREFLIES AT NIGHT
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HIDDEN FROM THE BUSY STREETS OF UBUD
It's hard to find the hotel. You have to walk through a random small path from the road (which has no signs), which leads to endless ricefields, with a muddy path leading down to the backpackers oasis. It is recommended that you hire a local driver, and make him call the hotel so they can give him directions and tell him where to drop you off.
CHEAP AND DIFFERENT
If you want to try something different in Bali we will recommend this stay. They serve amazing breakfast and we opted for a homemade omelet with the freshest local garlic, tomato, herbs, cheese and spices. The bird nest is incredibly cheap.
We visited during high season in August, and we only paid $15 for a night! You can find them on AirBnB.