Ubud: The Village of Painters

While Ubud has long been known as the village of painters, the modern era of the village began in the 1930s when international artists made Ubud their base with encouragement from the local royal family. Ubud caught the attention of intrepid travellers in the 60s and since then local tourism has exploded. The village has grown into a town and a first class international travel destination. The success of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love contributed to Ubud’s recent popularity and continues to attract people in search of inner peace and the real Bali. While the borders of Ubud may be a bit blurry today, it hasn’t lost any of its serene atmosphere and still prides itself as the arts and cultural centre of Bali. We couldn’t wait to explore this town and felt like we had saved the best for last.

Pura Taman Saraswati or the Lotus Pond Temple

The Lotus Cafe 

Peeking into the temple

The Lotus flower, a symbol of purity and beauty in Hinduism 

The bridge near Murni's Warung on the western edge of Jalan Raya Ubud

We wrapped up a relaxing week in Lombok with a last long early morning walk on the beach before heading off to catch a fast boat back to Padang Bai and a transfer to Ubud. We had come to expect some chaos and confusion as to where we should be and when and were not disappointed. Add in some crazy traffic approaching Ubud and a 30 minute walk to our hotel carrying our backpacks because the driver gave up and just dropped us all off on the edge of town and we were well ready for tea time and a refreshing swim in the pool! The calming atmosphere of our hotel and the pleasant staff soon had us feeling back to normal and ready to start exploring.

Our beautiful and comfortable room with its own private courtyard at the Sungu Resort

Right outside our room was the less used and therefore semi-private second pool of the hotel where we enjoyed many cool down swims. We were lucky to see this fellow looking for a drink on the first afternoon. 

The ever popular outdoor bathroom

Scenes around the hotel

A very cool bench outside a tour operator 

Very cool street art scenes en route to our hotel on Jalan Raya Penestanan

Fill up your scooter on the go with these convenient pit stops scattered around town 

We found the yeti! He's crossing roads in Indonesia.

We had 5 nights and 4 full days in Ubud and divided our exploring into 3 parts: a day just south, a day a bit north, and 2 days in central Ubud. Four days in Ubud would be our minimum recommendation, any less and you won’t get a real feeling for the town, but we could easily have filled a few more. Day tour operators and private drivers are a dime a dozen in central Ubud so we were surprised when almost all the staff at our hotel offered us their services as well. And they all tried to be the first to speak to new guests. But respectfully of course, we were in Ubud after all. We realised life in Bali is hard even when you have steady employment. People typically live in family groups, have full time jobs and tend the rice field together as a family. But you don’t own the rice field so you only earn a small percentage from all your hard work. And growing rice is hard work.

Our first full day was spent around central Ubud and started with a walk around the nearby rice paddies provided by the hotel. At 07:00. On New Year’s Eve. (What were we thinking.) The walk was led by the kind, gentle and genuine Ketut who would also become our guide and his brother our driver for our day trips north and south. Although we had been in Bali for almost 2 weeks, this was our first real close-up with the ubiquitous rice paddies and our first chance to learn how it is grown and understand what hard work it really is.

Early morning rice paddy walk with Ketut

Ketut pointing out Lucky Boy, the only male duck between about 15 females 

Decorations from a wedding celebration 

After a swim and breakfast we walked into town and enjoyed our first real experience of Ubud as we ambled along Jalan Raya Ubud and Monkey Forest Road to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The Sacred Monkey Forest sanctuary is a nature reserve and temple complex on the edge of town where groups of Macaque monkeys are fed by park staff and live undisturbed by humans. It is a popular tourist attraction in Ubud and we enjoyed the temples and watching the antics of the monkeys.

In the afternoon we enjoyed a complimentary massage from the hotel (since we were staying for 5 nights), a swim and tea time. We found our daily ritual of afternoon tea and some chill time by the hotel pool helped to recharge us after a busy day out in the heat and humidity. Afterwards we were ready for an evening in town.

Typical view of Monkey Forest Road

Offerings adorn every entrance on the streets

Beautiful small Lotus pond on Monkey Forest Road

Macaque monkeys in the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Temples and statues in the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary 

Ice cream break! 

The cooler evenings are the best time to explore Central Ubud and there are some great spots to enjoy the sunset, sunset lane was a particular favourite. A popular evening activity is to enjoy a traditional Balinese dance. Dances are held every day at the Puri Saren Palace and several times a week at Pura Taman Saraswati, or the Lotus Pond temple, and possibly other locations. We were told that the dances at the palace are of a good quality so we bought tickets for the Thursday evening which also happened to be New Year’s Eve. The traditional dances typically tell a story and while we found the dance beautiful and enjoyable, it takes a while for the story to get going and we would have been completely lost if it were not for the handout we received revealing the story. Also, one traditional dance per holiday is enough as we would discover the next day.

New Year’s Day was our day trip on the southern outskirts of Ubud with the lovely Ketut as our guide and his brother as our driver. Ketut kindly asked if we would like to start the day with the Barong and Kris dance to which we enthusiastically replied yes thinking it would be a 10 minute affair. We didn’t realise it would be a repeat of the 90 minutes of jangling bells and confusing story of the night before. If you find yourself in Ubud, go to one evening dance at the palace and skip the rest!

Geckos, or tchuk tchuks as they are locally called for the sound they make, are a common sight. This little guy fell onto us from the beams above at the Barong and Kris dance and found refuge in a satchel. Fortunately we saw him scurry away before the end of the dance so he didn't become an unknown hitchhiker. 

Dragon at the Barong and Kris dance

A Rangda or witch

The musicians

From the dance we went to the village of Celuk in search of silver, but in the end only spent 5 minutes in one shop before realising it was a tourist trap. Bali is well known for its fine silver craftsmanship and we were hoping to find some well-priced pieces. Unfortunately, if you say Celuk or silver to your driver, they will take you to the place where they have a deal and get a cut from any purchases you make. Ditto for any art, wooden articles, stone items etc. In our experience it was hard to find somewhere making quality modern pieces. But persevere, you may be lucky.

Most of the rest of the day was spent at the Bali Bird Park. The park has 1000 birds from 250 species mostly in open walk through aviaries. The park is well laid out and arranged in regions the birds hail from, including Indonesia, Australia, Africa and South America. We enjoyed exploring the park seeing new birds we otherwise wouldn’t get to see and also some we have already had the privilege to see from our time in South America. We also saw a Komodo dragon for the first time at the park, it is an impressively large reptile! It was a great opportunity to see and learn about Komodo dragons but this one looked unhappy and we felt sad for him all alone in his relatively small enclosure.

Cassowary at the Bali Bird Park 

Owl

Komodo Dragon at the Bali Bird Park

From the bird park we made our way back to Ubud via Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave. There are no elephants here, instead it is a complex with a cave, a temple and a holy spring turned into a bathing pool. The cave itself is quite small with only two small niches for statues and meditation spaces. The rock-wall carvings at the entrance of the cave and the bathing pool with its angelic statues and crystal water were particular favourites but the whole site is special and interesting to visit.

Our last stop for the day was Yeh Pulu. Our Bali guide book says one can walk through beautiful rice paddies from Goa Gajah to Yeh Pulu since the two are very close. Believe your local guide when he says this is not the case and it’s better to drive the few minutes there, he is absolutely correct. The initial few minutes are through beautiful fields but soon you are back on the road for the rest of the way. Unlike most of the sites, the attraction here isn’t a temple but a simple holy spring and a two metre high relief of ancient Balinese rock carving all along the surface of natural rock. Legend is that a giant carved it and while it is not believed to tell a specific story, it shows traditional scenes of daily life. Yeh means water or spring and Pulu is a specific stage in the growth of rice. Thus Yeh Pulu refers to the relationship between rice and water and the evidence is all around you as you walk down to the site surrounded by beautiful watery rice paddies. Even though the two are very close, Yeh Pulu is much less visited than Goa Gajah but definitely worth the few extra minutes.

The ornately carved entrance to the cave at Goa Gajah

Bron and Ketut at Goa Gajah

The stone carved wall at Yeh Pulu

Bron and Ketut having an interesting chat

The next day was another full day trip exploring the area just north of Ubud with Ketut’s brother as our able driver. The day started with a short visit to the beautiful Tegenungen waterfall in in lush green surroundings on the sacred Petanu River. The next stop was Pura Genung Kawi, an ancient temple and funerary complex straddling the Pakerisan river. This complex is much larger than any other we visited in Bali. Set in the beautiful lush and green river valley, there are 10 rock-cut candi or memorial shrines that stand in 8 m high sheltered niches carved out of the sheer cliff face. These are believed to be dedicated to King Anak Wungsu and his favourite wives and concubines. There are also 5 temples dedicated to various other royal family members of the same period. You are requested to remove your shoes before entering the central temple complex and one can’t help but feel an air of ancient reverence and respect when wandering around the complex. Perhaps also because it was still early and quiet before the main tourist rush; that would catch up with us at Tirta Empul. Pura Genung Kawi was really beautiful and awe-inspiring and one of our favourite temple visits in Bali.

Tegenungen Waterfall

The candi or memorial shrines at Pura Genung Kawi 

A kind of yellow striped skink?

Bron doing her best mushroom impression! 

Staying covered in the hot sun.

The third stop of the day was at the sacred spring temple of Pura Tirta Empul. One of the holiest temples in Bali, the complex is built around a hot spring that still bubbles in the central courtyard. The water from this holy spring feeds rectangular bathing pools in another courtyard where it pours from 13 elaborately carved spouts. The Balinese come here to make offerings and for ritual bathing and cleansing in the holy waters. It is possible for tourists to bathe as well, just be sure to follow the guidelines and be respectful at this holy place. There is also a central temple courtyard for prayers and offerings. Tirta Empul is a beautiful temple complex with many beautiful carvings and features and we enjoyed our visit there. It is also one of the main tourist stops in Bali and was completely crowded when we were there. Try to visit at a quieter time if possible.

The bathing pools at Pura Tirta Empul

The source of the hot spring

The inner temple

Ornate gate near the entrance 

From Tirta Empul we made our way to Kintamani for views of the mighty Mount Batur. Balinese believe that the mountains are the homes of the gods and are thus holy. The four primary sacred mountains are Agung (also the highest on Bali), Batur, Batukao and Abang. While not the largest, Mount Batur is the most active volcano on Bali. It is popular to do a pre-dawn hike up Mount Batur with a spectacular sunrise as a reward. Due to limited time we had to settle for just the views of the volcano from the village of Kintamani, which is also very popular. The spatter of rain shortly after we arrived meant limited views due to cloud cover but also fewer tourists and less haggling from hawkers. This whole area is just beautiful and definitely worth a visit.

Cloud covered Mount Batur at Kintamani

Our last stop for the day was the village of Tegallalang and its picture perfect rice terraces. The views here are just amazing, a whole winding valley of rice terrace filled slopes. Many tourists come here to experience the rice terraces so be prepared to be haggled by hawkers. However, once you step out into the fields that all falls away and peace prevails. One can freely walk through the fields, no guide is needed, but there are no strict paths so be careful where you walk so as not to damage any paddies or fall in. And be aware the way ahead, we found ourselves in more than one dead end. There is no charge to walk in the fields but take lots of small change with you because enterprising farmers require a not-so-voluntary donation before letting you cross their bridge/walkway each time you want to pass. Most people seemed to stick to the first valley directly in front of the road but it was definitely worth finding a path to the next valley behind; it was much quieter and the local farmers friendlier, we were even invited to share a coconut. While we had seen many rice fields by this stage of the trip, this was our first experience of terraced valleys. Ignore the crowd and go anyway, it’s worth it for the views and a different experience.

The beautiful rice terraces of Tegallalang 

And then suddenly it was our last full day in Bali. After two full days of exploring the surrounds of Ubud, we decided to keep it local in Central Ubud. One doesn’t have to go far to get off the main roads in Ubud, there are several marked places one can go to walk in the countryside and among the rice fields, no guide needed. One of these walks is the popular Campuhan Ridge walk. The start of the walk is just across the bridge from Murni’s Warung, next to the temple. It’s a beautiful lush and green walk on the ridge between two river valleys with a good path. We stopped at the Karsa Café for a drink and snack and then continued on to try find the Agung River Gorge. This was not the smartest move as the path ended soon after the café and we were stuck on windy roads with no verge and crazy Bali traffic (I mean, no Mom, it was totally fine. Awkard!). We didn’t find any good place to view the river gorge but we did find the Four Seasons hotel and were surprised when they let us in to enjoy the view and a smoothie in our grubby state. Lesson learnt: rather turn around at the end of the path and find another way to get to the river gorge. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and enjoying the markets and cafés of central Ubud.

The Campuhan Ridge walk

Rest break at Karsa Cafe

Rice paddies on the Campuhan Ridge walk

The bridge to the lookout point at the Four Seasons Hotel

Our final morning we were up early to squeeze in one last walk. We found the path to some local rice fields behind the Lotus Pond Café and enjoyed a few hours wandering through the fields and along some hidden alleys back to the hotel. The last few hours were spent at Murni’s Warung eating chocolate cake and writing postcards before the trip back to the airport.

A last walk among the rice fields starting from the Lotus Cafe

Typical Ubud streets and back alleys

All in all we had a great two weeks in Bali and Lombok and fitted a lot in but also managed a good balance with lots of R&R time. And we were really lucky with the weather, for the middle of the rainy season we had very little rain and it didn't disrupt any of our activities. As a first trip to South East Asia it was very enjoyable and comes highly recommended.

Justin unexpectedly had another week of leave when we got back. Since we had only been in our new little place for a month, the week was spent making it more cosy. We hung paintings, tackled the garden, enjoyed walks on the beach, picnicked in King’s Park, paid a visit to our favourite craft brewery in Fremantle one sunset, and invited our lovely neighbours to help us christen the Weber. Pics of our cosy place coming soon!

Coming soon: Bron’s fabulous time in London with the Finnemore Four!