Ubud was our last stop on the Bali itinerary. After Canggu and a few stops in Seminyak, we were to spend four days in Bali’s cultural heart. Situated an hour’s drive north from the airport, Ubud was definitely a different view and feel to the island I’ve grown to love.
Cooler than Canggu because of it’s location a little higher up in the mountains, I’d describe Ubud as a traditional town filled with lots of history, amazing crafts, arts, and a whole lot of shopping. “Take my money!” seemed to be the theme when I got to Ubud Market but I’ll talk about that later.
Asking our driver, Mura, he mentioned that around Ubud, there are the nearby villages of Campuhan, Penestanan, Peliatan, and Batuan. These local communities specialize in crafts and woodcarving which are sold all over the island. There are hundreds of shops selling antiques, woodcarvings, crafts, textiles, paintings, and jewelry in Ubud.
Kenny, one of the most cultured people I’ve ever known also told us that we’d find some of the best art museums in the country here. Sadly, we didn’t have enough time to visit them all and prioritized watching traditional dances at the Ubud Royal Palace which literally blew me away.
Also, what’s important to note that Ubud was like a town/outdoor shopping mall where along Ubud’s main street are dozens of art studios, an excellent local craft market, and galleries.
Local Planet calls Ubud “the most cultured of all Balinese towns” and I’d have to agree with that. I wanted to share what was written about Ubud too because this greatly sums up my quick trip here:
“This is a place where traditional Balinese culture imbues every waking moment, where colorful offerings adorn the streets and where the hypnotic strains of gamelan are an ever-present soundtrack to everyday life. It’s also somewhere that is relentlessly on trend – a showcase of sustainable design, mindfulness, culinary inventiveness and the very best that global tourism has to offer. Come here for relaxation, for rejuvenation and to have what may well be the most magical holiday of your life.”
Magical, spiritual—whatever you call it, Ubud easily captivated me. I wonder at how carefully religion has shaped the culture of the place. Temples were found left, and right, canang sari (the daily offerings you see on the sidewalks) are more prominent here compared to Canggu. Despite not having waves here, I enjoyed just soaking in all the sights, sounds and smells of this place.
I haven’t even started with food! Top place to visit was definitely Kafe, it’s a long walk from the Ubud Market and from the Ubud National Palace, but it’s a vegan’s haven—actually all of Bali is! Majority of the restaurants cater to almost every appetite and food preferences, if you’re trying to eat clean and healthy, you won’t have a hard time finding a place to eat in Bali. You’ll just have difficulty choosing where because of the options!
Stay tuned next week for more Bali stories and don’t forget to drop by my Instagram (@ferina.millennialmermaid) for more view of the place.
