North to Ubud

What a pleasant place!  Only one hour north of Kuta Beach, Ubud immediately evokes a more laid back, sophisticated realm.  It’s the artistic and cultural heart of Bali.  Walking along Monkey Forest Road’s art galleries, craft stores, antique shops, and inviting restaurants, you’re not so much bothered by every idle person asking you if you need transport.  

Many of the eateries, guesthouses, and lodges are in traditional Balinese style, heavy on carved wood, greenery, and ambiance.  Off the main streets or just around the corner, you can walk right into a bright green terraced rice field and be transported to a simpler time with geese running about and makeshift scarecrows standing watch. 

Most of the residences in the town remain according to a traditional Balinese plan.  The extended family lives in the same compound and they all have a private Hindu temple built in.  Tradition and religion remain strong, despite the evident tourism.  Many have simply added rooms for lodging and also run very nice restaurants on site.  We stayed at Ketut’s Place – nice room overlooking a swimming pool and alongside a verdant river valley.  Breakfast is served on your very own private veranda.

You cannot find any food stalls here, nor any KFC or Dunkin’ Donuts.  Inexplicably, donuts and fried chicken are all the rage in the major Indonesian cities.  In Ubud there are so many nice-looking venues, your choice of terraces, gardens, and lounges.  The food is amazing, at prices, quality, and presentation that would put the average San Francisco restaurateur to shame.  Sate’s, fish, rijsttafel, all sorts of rice plates – complete with drinks and dessert for anywhere between 6-15 dollars for two.  One of the more satisfying meals is from Warung Ibu Oka where, for lunch, people cram into the several large communal tables to eat the only dish served – Babi Guling, roast suckling pig over a plate of rice for $2,50.    

The artwork is beautiful, but not inexpensive.  The more interesting objects are the puppets, masks, and carved artwork.  You can find classic Indonesian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Timorese woodwork, priced optimistically high… The central palace is graceful, as are the many temples. 

We spent the days walking and eating our way through (maybe this ought to be a food blog). Of course, where there is a monkey forest road, there is a monkey forest to be visited.  Lonely Planet had a few suggested hikes through scenic terrain.  The landmarks were not clear (we thought), so both times the 6 mile walks took almost 4 hours, rather than 2-3, courtesy of a wrong turn here or missed turn there.  The extra distance wasn’t so much fun under a hot sun and humid atmosphere.  Did not know I could sweat so profusely…

The last day we rented a motorbike to venture further.  We took in a few more cool terraced rice fields and then visited the requisite temples of Gunung Kawi and Tirtu Empul in Tampaksiring.  It was a time of religious ceremony, so it was particularly beautiful to see the devotees dressed up to pray and leave offerings.  With a few hours remaining, we raced up to see Guning Batur, one of the two towering volcanoes.  We did not 

hike it, but from the road you can appreciate the new cone forming inside the giant crater, rising out of the blue crater lake.  Add the bonus view of Gunung Agung, the taller volcano.  Guess it was worth the fee you have to shell out to the parking mafia for having to leave your bike anywhere…

That night we attended a Ramayana performance, an enactment of Hindu mythology, which concluded with a trance dance where a man performed a painful-looking bare feet ritual dance over coconut husks that had been lit afire.