This post was written in 2007. Some information may be out of date.
Ubud in Bali is said to be an artists’ village. When I actually went, though, the main street had nothing but places catering to tourists, which was a bit disappointing. Well, the art is probably scattered here and there, so it’s hard to find if you’re only there for a short stay.
If you want to understand Balinese art, the best bet is a museum. Apparently the most famous museum in Bali is the Neka Art Museum in Ubud. If I’d been traveling alone I probably would have gone there, but since this was a group bus tour, we ended up at a place called the ARMA Museum. ARMA wasn’t bad at all. Traditional Balinese art is built around Hinduism and the everyday life of the locals, and a lot of the works had a feel similar to the Western painting that was popular in the early 20th century, or to Escher’s prints. My verdict: not all that original, but the quality of the work wasn’t bad.
Relief decorating the entrance
Could this be Rama and Sita? The Ramayana, the heart of Hindu mythology, could be called the Iliad of the East.
Relief at the exit
Even the fine details are nicely done. I guess that’s because it’s a museum.
Fountain at the exit
Photography wasn’t allowed inside, so I didn’t take any.
Tree at the exit
Something is hanging from it like snakes.
The place we went for a meal in Ubud.
The food was meh… The view was nice, though, maybe because it’s outdoors. It seems group tours tend to take people to places where the food is ordinary but the scenery is good. At a place serving unusual food, when there are lots of people, someone is bound to complain loudly, so they just go somewhere with something to look at and food that’s safe. This is exactly why I didn’t want to do a group tour…
Monkey 1
I took this at the Monkey Forest in Ubud. There were a whole lot of monkeys.
Monkey 2
Well… it’s not worth going out of your way for. They’re just monkeys, after all…
Monkey 3
Monkey Forest
We had about an hour to spare after the Monkey Forest, so I took a walk around Ubud.
A café in Ubud
Like Seminyak, Ubud has very narrow, poorly kept streets, but the cafés are great.
Temple
Having lots of temples seems similar to Japan. (In Japan they call them shrines, but it’s all the same thing, really.)
Dogs running around
The neighborhood dogs gathered on a vacant lot to play. A laid-back countryside scene.
I didn’t have time to see much this time, but with a good plan it should be a nice place to visit. Still, the streets are too narrow even to walk comfortably, and taking a taxi for every short hop gets a bit much. Thinking about it that way, it might be better to hire a taxi for the day locally.