UBUD

Ubud lies 36 km from the resorts on the southern coast. The name for this royal village is derived from the Balinese word ubad (medicine), the moniker of a herb with healing properties which grows along the nearby Oos River. If you aren't interested in overpriced tourist hype but want comfortable accommodations at good prices, a central location, and all the facilities in a less hurried rural environment than the south, the Ubud area is for you. Despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic, too many loud motorcycles, and thousands of tourists during Bali's peak tourist seasons, when it's difficult to find a parking space, Ubud still shows glimpses of its basically rural character.
     However, this may not be your first impression. When you first arrive, you might get the feeling there are more visitors than Balinese. With its hundreds of art galleries, studios, and souvenir shops, and the flurry and congestion around the two-story market on the main road, Ubud looks like a big commercial scene—totally disenchanting. A monster, Sarinah-style department store, with crafts from all over Indonesia, has gone up on Monkey Forest Road. Development is so frenetic now that shops, homestays, hotels, and restaurants ring the soccer field. The Menara has been taken down—the end of an era—and a Kuta-style glitzy restaurant put up in its place.
     But not all development is bad. By spring of 1995, the paving of Monkey Forest Road was finally completed. A smooth blacktop road with sidewalks, which greatly reduces the dust, now leads from the center of Ubud all the way to Monkey Forest; new public trash cans dot the street and potted plants embellish the storefronts.
     The village now seems to be growing toward Padangtegal, with new busineses opening up every month. The newest area to develop is Jl. Sukma. Some years ago it was just a sleepy dirt road with homes, a few losmen, and shops, but now it's paved all the way from the main road to the junction with the highway to Gianyar, cluttered with scores of accommodations, shops, and new restaurants. A moratorium on building new hotels, decreed by the local government in 1995, will help the situation enormously.
     One of the most unpleasant things about Ubud is the pushy dance ticket hawkers. Those selling various modes of transportation are also rude and constantly hassle tourists. Also, try to avoid being in Ubud in August. After the first of September, the number of tourists crops dramatically.
     The town and its surrounding collection of villages offer the best value accommodations on Bali, and certainly the best food. In the immediate outskirts, as little as 100 meters from the main road, traditional culture and the demands of the tourist industry coexist to some degree. Culture goes on in spite of the influx of tourists and their dollars, and much of the town is touristy without being tacky. It's classier than Kuta, with upper middle-class tourists and young travelers in the majority. Even the mangy dogs of Ubud are now so used to tourists that they no longer bark and keep you awake at night.
     Although new tourist services are being added constantly, part of the Ubud area's charm is that these villages have a very spotty power supply, with electricity at a premium. A flashlight is definitely needed to wend your way safely at night along the rutted, muddy back lanes. Also make sure your door and windows are secure; thievery is worst on the Monkey Forest Road.      The air here is pungent—it smells of earth, river, and rainforest. Ubud is higher (300 meters) and cooler than the south, with delightful fresh air and fewer flies and mosquitoes. The stars over Ubud almost crowd out the sky they're so bright, and during the day the heavens are crowned with fluffy cumulus and wispy cirrus clouds. Wandering around in the crisp night air is pleasant and safe.
     Candidasa, Denpasar, and the airport are all only an hour's drive from Ubud, and beautiful landscapes and historical sites—Pujung, Gunung Kawi, Goa Gadjah, Tirta Empul, Yeh Pulu—are within easy reach. You can enjoy dozens of scenic nature walks around the village—pick any lane and just keep on walking. The best time is at dawn. Just east of Ubud is Bali's former capital, Pejeng, the center of the Balinese Holy Land and home to the highest concentration of antiquities on the island.
     Culturally speaking, Ubud is to Bali what Yogyakarta is to Java. Ever since the German painter Walter Spies made his home here in the 1930s, Ubud has been a haven for both native and European artists. In an area of 10 square km in and around this village live Bali's most accomplished dancers, musicians, painters, and carvers. Temple festivals, celebrations, and performing arts—baby's first haircut, dance rehearsals, even an occasional cremation—are offered somewhere in the area every day of the week. Ubud is also the expat capital of Bali. A permanent Western community resides here because cultural and natural attributes make it the ideal place for those who wish to stay for any length of time on Bali. It has the best restaurants and cafes on the island and long-term accommodations are plentiful, low-cost, and comfortable. From your losmen or homestay family you can learn how to make a bamboo mouth harp, study painting, maskmaking, and gamelan, or learn the art of the dalang.

History
The royal village of Ubud grew to prosperity in the fertile land between rivers in the 19th century, ruled by feudal lords who paid allegiance to the raja of Gianyar. Foremost among them were the greatly respected Sukawati family of the satriya caste, who at one time controlled most of the surrounding districts. The Sukawatis learned to successfully work within the Dutch colonial system through their membership in the Volksraad, the People's Council based in Batavia, and they became politically powerful on Bali by intermarrying with other aristocratic families of Mengwi and Gianyar. The eldest son of the king, Tjokorda Raka Sukawati (1910-1978) was an ultraconservative who worked closely with the Dutch.
     The prince was one of the earliest sponsors of such Western artists as Walter Spies, who arrived on Bali in 1925 with a letter of introduction from his former patron, the sultan of Yogyakarta. This influential European artist built a house in Campuan, attracting celebrities from around the world. Ubud thus established its reputation as the flourishing cultural center of Bali, an image virtually guaranteed with the arrival of the artistic genius I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (1860-1978) who fled Bedulu in 1890 to escape the wrath of an oppressive lord.
     In 1930s and '40s, Ubud's role as the epicenter of Balinese culture was further enhanced by the arrival of foreign painters (Bonnet), anthropologists (Mead, Bateson), and writers and musicologists (Covarrubias and McPhee), and the rise of Balinese painters and sculptures (Bagus Nyana, I Cokot), as well as architects, lontar experts, and literati. In the early days, when tourists in Ubud commissioned a dance troupe from another area, it made the locals so agitated they quickly learned the dance and music themselves. Mass tourism became, in effect, a new kind of patronage, a powerful incentive for performers to try out new ideas. The tiny village received electricity in 1976 and a telephone system in 1987.

SIGHTS

Ubud's main palace, Puri Saren, lies on the northeast corner of the town's main crossroads facing the two-story pasar, and at Jl. Hanoman 47 there's a beautiful temple. But Ubud's best-known landmark is busy, newly paved Monkey Forest Road, a tacky one-way thoroughfare recalling the hippie era. You can reach it either from the road beside Ubud's market or from Peliatan via Pengosekan. Because of congestion, the walk down Monkey Forest Road is only pleasant at night; in the daytime it's buzzing with automobiles, motorbikes, and small trucks. All the bale are giving way to souvenir stalls, and the road is giving way to the blight of mass tourism.

The Monkey Forest
At the south end of Monkey Forest Road is the Monkey Forest, with a beautiful small, cavelike pura dalem embraced by roots and a holy spring inhabited by a band of irascible gray monkeys. The pura dalem on a hill around the corner (right fork) contains well-executed statues of Rangda devouring children. The temple has been given a face-lift—new entrance, an explanation in Balinese and English, more attractive walkways. It's fairly small and peaceful with no persistent hawkers. Give a donation.
     Vendors sell bags of kacang (Rp500) for the monkeys, but if you carry no food they'll leave you alone. The simians are definitely habituated to people. The tour buses from the south tend to arrive in the early afternoons, a time to avoid. On the other hand, tourist-watching can be more fascinating than monkey-watching. Refresh yourself at the cold-water springs just before the forest or in warung beyond (Rp500 for an iced drink). A path beside the great banyan tree leads down to the bathing place inside a remnant of the dipterocarp forest that once covered all of Bali.
     The Monkey Forest Road loops around to a fork; the left branch leads to Pengosekan's many woodcarving and clothing stores while the right leads to the small village of Nyuhkuning, another center for woodcarving.

Puri Lukisan
Meaning "Palace of Paintings," this is Ubud's art museum in the middle of Ubud at the north end of Jalan Ubud Raya. The complex is situated in a garden with serene rice paddies and water buffaloes out the back windows. Spanning the years between the 1930s and the present, this museum houses one of the island's finest selections of modern paintings, drawings, and sculptures (Bali Museum in Denpasar specializes mainly in traditional art). The museum was founded in 1956 by Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati, the raja of Ubud and a patron of the arts, and Rudolph Bonnet (1895-1979), a Dutchman who devoted much of his life to studying and preserving the unique quality of Balinese painting.
     The mission of Puri Lukisan is to develop and set standards for local art, to educate and stimulate young artists, and to record for posterity unvulgarized Balinese art before the tourist industry finished it off for good. It's establishment was the first deliberate attempt to separate the arts from communal religious life. Thus Puri Lukisan is a monument or a tomb, whichever way you want to look at it.
     During the frenzied activity of the 1930s, young painters broke away from the traditional formalistic paintings of mythological scenes and Hindu epic stories. It was in Ubud where Balinese artists first started painting village scenes, markets, funerals, and landscapes. Some artists even incorporated Hondas and transistor radios in scenes along jungle paths. The old style was combined with a new realism, discarding many rigid rules, and setting natural figures against natural backgrounds. This naturalism is still the preferred style and is exemplified in the works in Puri Lukisan.
     The museum consists of three large buildings set in exquisite gardens of fountains, flowering shrubs, statues, and lotus ponds befitting a palace. Choose a nice place to sit and relax. Bring a pair of binoculars as the garden is a superb ornithological sanctuary; observe oriental white-eyes feeding on berries in the trees. At present the permanent collection is housed in two buildings containing hundreds of sculptures and paintings displayed in chronological order, covering the whole evolution into modern idiom (1930s through 1970s) with paintings of dances, temples, feasts, rice harvests, wayang stories, and Balinese folklore. Included are painters I Gusti Lempad, Ida Bagus Gelgel, Dewa Batuan, Ida Bagus Made, Ida Bagus Nadera, as well as sculptures of I Wayan Pendet, I Nyoman Cokot, I Bagus Nyana, I Mangku Tama, and I Ketut Tjedeng. The garden's many sculptures treat traditional subjects in modern style. The third building is operated by a local painters' cooperative. Here you'll get an overview of all the different stylistic trends in Balinese art, though the naive expressionist Young Artists School predominates. Some works in the cooperative are for sale and prices are negotiable; if you see an artist you like, note his name and village and visit his private gallery. Use the works in this museum as standards of excellence by which to judge the paintings in Ubud's hundreds of galleries and studios.
     Tragically, since Tjokorde Sukawati's and Bonnet's deaths, the works in Puri Lukisan's permanent exhibits have fallen into serious disrepair. Because of the lack of air-conditioning in this humid, tropical climate, the paintings are steadily and progressively deteriorating to the point where green fungus could be seen under the glass eating away at the canvases.
     By 1996 the laborious restoration of both paintings and buildings was still underway. Though much work remains ahead, the lighting has improved, some paintings have been tastefully reframed, and identifying labels are in the making. Meanwhile, the spacious, cool, and enchanting garden alone is worth the Rp1500 admission. Open daily 0800-1600. For more information, call (0361) 975136, fax 975137.

Pura Saraswati
The seat of Ubud's royal Sukawati family in central Ubud. Enter the complex from the main gateway on J1. Raya or through Cafe Lotus where you walk around the rear of a raksasa statue. Inside are numerous bale, some storing barong masks, some housing shrines. I Gusti Nyoman Lempad was invited here by the raja in 1898 and commissioned to build a water palace, ponds, and a garden to be dedicated to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of art and learning. Note the exquisitely carved sandstone naga, florals, wall panels, and cosmic turtles, some by the master himself.

Puri Saren Agung
Also known as the Ubud palace, it's in the exact center of Ubud, 200 meters east of Pura Saraswati and opposite the corner of J1. Raya Ubud and J1. Monkey Forest. This remarkably intact and elegant palace—now doubling as a hotel—was once the seat of the Sukawatis, the ruling family of Ubud, from the late 19th century to the end of the war for independence. Visitors are welcome in the ormate inner courtyards of the puri to see the ornate thatched bale furnished with Dutch-era armchairs and to inspect numerous colonial-era photographs of the extended royal clan. Each night high-quality dance performances are staged against a torchlit backdrop in the outer courtyard.

Lempad's Home and Studio
The great artisan, carver, painter, and traditional architect I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (1862-1978) lived in this house for most of his very long and productive life. The building, located on main street, still belongs to his family and is now open to the public (daily 0800-1800) as a gallery and showroom for painters working in the Lempad-style. Little remains of the great artist's personal possessions and only two of Lempad's ink drawings are displayed; go to Puri Lukisan and the Neka Museum to see some of his most important extant works.

ACCOMMODATIONS

The Ubud area offers the largest selection of inland accommodations on Bali, suiting everyone's tastes and budget. Even the upscale places are a bargain. There are over 300 homestays and losmen, most inside family compounds, so you'll have plenty of choice and plenty of bargaining power. The majority are "illegal" meaning they don't pay taxes and operate without a license. These inexpensive inns open and close practically overnight.
     The Ubud area now has six international-standard accommodations: Banyan Tree Hotel, Amandari, Kupu Kupu Barong, Ulun Ubud, Villa Cahaya Dewata, and Ubud Village. There are 80-odd places on the Monkey Forest Road alone. Jalan Hanoman, Jl. Kajeng, and Jl. Banjartegal are also full of homestays and upscale accommodations. And the frenzied building goes on everywhere. Jalan Tebesaya has exploded; 80% of this neighborhood has accommodations now.
     Walk along the back lanes—J1. Bisma, J1. Gautama, J1. Karna—off the main road in Ubud's various kampung to discover Ubud's cheapest, cleanest, quietest, and most picturesque losmen and homestays. You've got to look around; many places charge over Rp50,000 for terrible rooms. despite the multitude of tourists, it's still easy to find the perfect guesthouse—a lovely bungalow with gilded doors, shower, and porch facing a quiet, storybook garden, fresh sawah air, and far from the night howls of those dreaded Ubud dogs for only Rp8000-15,000. Because of the intense competition, in the off-season every accommodation gives a discount of at least 10% if you stay a week or more. Be sure to negotiate. Although you can find every class of accommodations all over the Ubud area, in July and August the village is flooded with French and German tourists and lodging is expensive and difficult to find.
     Local boys, on commission from various homestays, will try and entice you with business cards, maps, and lower prices. Even if you're already staying in a place, they'll try to entice you away by offering you a cheaper price. Don't be quick to reject these—they could be good. Another source of possible accommodations is the board by Lotus Cafe. If you're not sure, just take a place for a night and go searching for your ideal homestay the next day.
     Except for the higher priced hotels (Rp75,000 and up), breakfast is always included in the price, and the staff will bring you tea all day long. In the ritzier hotels, Western breakfasts cost at least Rp10,000. Most Rp8,000 to Rp15,000 places really knock themselves out serving you an extraordinary breakfast of fruit salad, banana pancakes, eggs, jaffles, tea or coffee—the best value in all of Bali. Only in the higher priced categories do Ubud accommodations offer pools, hot water, and air-conditioning. This class of hotel will invariably be able to arrange such recreational activities as transport to gamelan and cultural performances, whitewater rafting, pony-riding tours, birdwalks, trekking, volcano climbing, mountain bike riding. The following is only a sampling of Ubud's 300-plus accommodations—more are springing up in the rice paddies and in the hills north of town every week.

Budget
The average price for a small, tidy room in a family lodging is around Rp8000 s, Rp15,000 d. You share clean, Balinese-style bathrooms with the family or with other travelers. These low-end places don't normally have telephones, but you may store your baggage and souvenirs for free. An excellent example is Alinda, Jl. Hanoman 64 (opposite Dewi Sri Bungalows), with clean, new rooms with toilet, cold shower, and mandi for Rp12,000 d in the off-season, Rp15,000 d in the high season, including above average breakfast. The people are friendly. At Jl. Hanoman 55, near the end and opposite Three Brothers Restaurant, is Rice Paddy Bungalows with nice rooms, big beds, and hot water, making this an incredible deal for the price of Rp10,000 s, Rp20,000 d. Adi Pension, tel. (0361) 262853 or 975231, with only four rooms which have shower and fan, is very reasonably priced at Rp10,000 s, Rp15,000 d (breakfast included). An unusual homestay is Arimurti & Sukadana Homestay, Jl. Jembawan in Banjar Padantegal Kaja, Lorong Rinjani 4. Take the road beside the post office south, then turn left and follow a long, bamboo-shaded lane to this quiet and secluded cottage-like accommodation—like a treehouse in the jungle. The owner, Sukadana, is a primary school teacher and wayang puppeteer who teaches tourists the Balinese and Indonesian languages on the side. Doesn't get many guests because it's too far a walk from Ubud's bemo stop. Only Rp15,000 d with attached shower, toilet, and breakfast of pisang goreng, omelette, black rice pudding, hardboiled egg, tea or coffee all day.
     On Jl. Sri Wedari you'll find several very reasonable and relatively quiet homestays. Taman Cottages, tel. (0361) 96477, after the bend in the road at the top of the hill, has four bungalows facing a lily pond, Rp20,000-30,000 s or d. Toward town, at no. 20, just before Taman Bunga Homestay, is Ngurah Homestay with three rooms at Rp15,000 d. Only 300 meters from Jl. Raya Ubud, Taman Bunga Homestay is near the rice fields and costs only Rp10,000 s, Rp15,000 d.
     At Arja Inn, Jl. Kajeng 9, tel. (0361) 974425, you have your own open-air mandi, mosquito net, and comfy bed. Lovely family, very private—all for only Rp10,000 s, Rp15,000 d.
     Dewi Putri House, Jl. Lapangan Bola (Soccer Field St.), Maruti Lane 8 (tel. 0361-96304), Ubud Kelod, has well-furnished bungalows, a beautiful garden, good breakfast. Owned by a painter. Frog Pond Inn gets consistently wonderful reviews. The owner is friendly and the rooms have billowy beds, clean white sheets, private mandi and toilet, and bottled water; surrounded by a tropical garden.
     Gandra Accommodations, Jl. Karna 88, Ubud Kelod, 100 meters from Yuni's, charges only Rp8000-10,000 s, Rp10,000-13,000 d. Beautiful gardens, basic but clean rooms, great breakfast of fresh fruit and jaffles, free storage service, helpful family, nice garden. Dip into some of the old novels. One of the best accommodations for the price in Indonesia, yet only five minutes from Ubud's center. Walk down Monkey Forest Road 100 meters and turn left at the sign. A small shop sells blankets, clothes, and film at reasonable prices. Go out back entrance and take a right to Warung Seroni, a great budget place to eat.
     Ibunda Inn, tel. (0361) 96252, central Monkey Forest Road in front of Yudit Restaurant has clean two-story bungalows, private bath downstairs, veranda, fan, screens, hot water, a garden, and breakfast—all for Rp15,000-25,000. Indra Homestay, Jl. Hanoman 26, Padangtegal 26, is quiet and cheap with mandi and shower in every room. Friendly atmosphere and just one km from Ubud's center.
     One of the many small accommodations on Monkey Forest Road is Jati's III Bungalows, which lie down a small lane. Two-story rooms (Rp20,000-25,000) with hot water and ceiling fan overlook rice fields. Check out the others; Pondok Alamanda, Putih Accommodations, and Sari Artha.
     Quiet Kerta Accommodation, tel. (0361) 96188, on Monkey Forest Road across from the soccer field, boasts beautiful sunsets. All rooms Rp20,000 (non-a/c) and Rp40,000 (a/c) with breakfast. Reduced rate for longer stays. The proprietor is very helpful in knowing local resources, guides, tours, and people. Lecuk Inn on Jl. Kajeng is a friendly place—nice bungalows, very quiet, storage, good security, facing a beautiful garden. It's run by Wayan and his younger sister Nyoman, who brings breakfast. Lower rates available for longer stays.
     Matahari Cottage (Rp30,000 s, Rp40,000 d) is far from places to eat and there may be no other guests there at the time, but so what? It's eight Bali-style rooms have modern toilet, shower, tub, hot water, and it is close to a river. A quiet and safe place to stay. Merta House, Jl. Karna 96 (parallel with Monkey Forest Road), charges Rp8000-12,000 (all rooms the same). The smiling woman who runs this place is a real character; bargain with her.
     Mimpi's Bungalows, Jl. Hanoman 60, Padangtegal (see the sign Friendly Place to Stay), is owned by an elegant man, Made Suarta, a dancer and painter of miniatures. The front looks really rustic but in the back are several spotless bungalows (Rp15,000 d).
     At the bottom of the road on the right-hand side just before the Monkey Forest is the charming, peaceful, and secluded Monkey Forest Hideaway, tel. (0361) 975354, with spacious, airy rooms dramatically positioned over the river and forest, with romantic, old-fashioned beds. Rp25,000 without fan, Rp30,000 d with fan, and Rp50,000 d for a bigger room with fan, balcony, and hot water. Breakfast included in all prices, but add 10% for tax and service. Rooms in front are better than the shabby rooms in back. Friendly management. The small, cozy adjoining restaurant serves good food. Join the local children in the spring-fed swimming hole for a dip in the afternoons. The worst part about staying here is dodging traffic on the long, hectic walk up from the very bottom of Monkey Forest Road each day.
     Mumbul Inn, tel. (0361) 975364, on Jl. Raya Ubud near Lotus Cafe has rooms upstairs with mosquito nets and hot water but no fans. Rooms downstairs have fans but no hot water for Rp25,000 d. Really airy, looking out over ravine, swarms of fireflies, and an amazing frog chorus at night. Nice people. The restaurant serves whole-wheat bread and inventive, nutritious meals. Pay just Rp2500 per day to swim in Puri Suraswati's pool next door.
     Nick's Pension, tel. (0361) 975636, on Monkey Forest Road, 15 meters from Oka Wati's, is only Rp15,000 s or d for quite comfortable fan-cooled rooms, or Rp35,000 for a/c rooms with hot water and beautiful views over rice fields and the jungle-covered ravine. Good service, and considering its proximity to the town's center, it doesn't get much better than this.
     Nyoman Warta Accommodations, Banjar Tebesaya 25, tel. (0361) 96220, offers some of the finest bungalows in the Ubud area for only Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d. You get coffee and tea all day long, as well as a nice breakfast of fruit salad, pancakes, and coffee. This is a clean, quiet, family business, run by very kind people. It lies about 200 meters from the center of Ubud down a small road near the cemetery.
     Oka Homestay is tucked behind Pura Saren at Jl. Bingung 18. It's quiet, secure, small—just four rooms, each with mandi, shower, toilet. It's first and foremost a traditional family home. Oka speaks excellent English but he will patiently and cheerfully encourage your Bahasa. His wife is charming, speaks little English. The son is shy; the grandfather goes about his daily business save his gentle knowing smile. You feel like you're staying with friends—they always make time to chat, answer your questions, loan and help you dress up in adat clothing, and include you in family and community life and ceremonies. Breakfasts are sensational and often extra treats appear.
     Pande Permai, on Jl. Monkey Forest, tel. (0361) 975436, is recommended highly. Built in 1990, it has clean rooms with hot showers overlooking a gorge and sawah with all the garden anyone could want. Quiet and peaceful with a pool. Rather than hearing dogs and roosters, it's birds and the river. Very nice people. The owner is the principal of a high school. A disadvantage is that the delicious breakfasts are served late (be sure to request an early breakfast if you want it). It's also on top of the hill on Monkey Forest Road so it's a bit of a walk to downtown Ubud. High season prices: Rp25,000 s, Rp30,000 d; in the low season they bargain easily to Rp20,000 s.
     Panca Mustika, just opposite the night market, has five bungalows for Rp15,000 d. Perks include towels, soaps, and free tea. A central, friendly place and a good value for the money. Pandawa, tel. (0361) 975698, on Monkey Forest Road by the record shop offers very clean, nice double rooms with mandi, full breakfast, and free tea.
     Pelangi Bungalows on Jl. Arjuna (a lane running west of the Monkey Forest Road) rents bungalows for Rp20,000. Very quiet, in a beautiful garden, nice people, and breakfast is outstanding. Quiet Puri Mertha Sari Bungalows, Jl. Suweto 12 in Banjar Ubud Tengah, tel. (0361) 975183, has clean, spacious, comfortable (but no fan) rooms with private bath and breakfast for Rp20,000—it's only 200 meters from the tourist information office. The architecture is superb—intricate wall and pillar carvings under thatched roofs.
     Putu's, Jl. Tebesaya 39, has four large bungalows in a family compound surrounded by nice gardens. Rooms are clean, safe, quiet, and airy with comfortable chairs on the outside. Very good breakfast includes homemade cakes. Ketut, Setia, and Putu treat you like royalty.
     Rona's Accommodations & Book Exchange, Jl. Tebesaya 23, tel./fax (0361) 96229, is the ideal place to acclimate. Rona's is hardly ever empty, but when it is call for a free pickup in the Ubud area. The rooms, though basic, are excellent—comfortable, cleaned daily, and cheap at Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d. Price includes mosquito net, fan, towels, soap, toilet paper, spring beds, bamboo furniture, lamps, and private bath. Rona's also has Rp20,000 bungalows with showers (no hot water) and deluxe rooms for Rp30,000 with double bed, wardrobe, shower, flush toilet, and sink. Hosts Rona and Tracie make you feel really welcome. A wonderful crew helps out. The Indonesian food served in the restaurant is high quality and cheap, with a large and varied two-course breakfast and free tea or coffee all day. Luggage storage, security box, use of multilingual library are free. Also available: laundry service, moneychanger, dance and shuttle bus tickets, tour service.
     I Made Sadia, tel. (0361) 975718, in Kampung Sari runs a homestay with views over rice fields; Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d. I Made is also the leader of the Ubud legong troupe. There are many nice homestays on Jl. Karna such as Sania's Bungalows, No. 7, tel. (0361) 975535, which is on the end nearest the market.
     For a good breakfast and humble yet comfortable accommodations, head to Seroni's Place; follow the road just behind the marketplace for about 300 meters and you'll find it on the right. Painter I Wayan Serathi has a clean, quiet house at Jl. Jembawan 69; room with sitting area rents for Rp20,000.
     Sudana Homestay, Jl. Goutama 11, tel. (0361) 975176, run by one of the friendliest families in Ubud, is in a traditional Ubud neighborhood not far from the town's center, just down from the Nomad Office on a small street between Jl. Hanoman and Monkey Forest Road. The homestay is basic (Rp8000 s, Rp12,000 d) with only two rooms carved out of an old banana garden. Very clean, inside mandi, no fans, but an airy shared porch; fruit salad and jaffle breakfast, endless tea and coffee. A good place to learn and practice Indonesian and gain insight into local festivals.
     Safe and relaxing Taman Indah Homestay is about 800 meters north of the main road on Jl. Sandat, just east of Jl. Hanoman and close to the main post office. Nice garden and beautiful view of rice fields. Three large, clean rooms are equipped with two beds, batik sheets, open-air bathrooms, toilet, shower, mosquito net, fan, cool tile floor, and a furnished private patio. All this and breakfast with unlimited coffee or tea for only Rp10,000 s, Rp15,000 d. Bapak Tantra is funny, kind, open-minded, open-hearted, and informative of Balinese life and specific needs of travelers. Laundry service, bike and motorbikes for rent.
     At the start of Monkey Forest Road, on the left, is Tjanderi's, tel. (0361) 975054, a central, lively, long-established losmen with only five rooms with fan, bath, and toilet (Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d) or high bungalow rooms in the back for Rp12,000 s or d with inside mandi. Banana sweets in the morning and you can arrange for motorbike rental here. With her pleasant, easygoing manner, Tjanderi is liked by all—and she always remembers a face. Ask her about her two beautiful, secluded, sometimes-empty bungalows up in the rice paddies (Rp15,000 s, Rp25,000 d) with electricity, plumbing, hot water, a nice breeze, surrounded by a goldfish pond, and accessible by motorbike.
     Villa Rasa Sayang on Monkey Forest Road boasts eight bungalows, two of which are suites (no. 1 is the best). A comfortable place with king-size bed, full bathroom, living room, and outdoor veranda. The hotel has an upstairs, open-air restaurant and pool with swim-up bar. The staff is most friendly. Use the on-site washing machine or have the staff do your laundry for a small fee.
     Warsa Cafe & Bungalow at Jl. Jembangan 70, tel. (0361) 975590, is centrally located just 50 meters before Ubud Inn and across from the Meditation Shop. Rates: Rp8000-20,000. Large, new bungalows with private baths for Rp15,000 (talked down from Rp25,000); price includes an excellent breakfast but not the 10% tax. Tour, rental, and shuttle service available.
     Warsi's House, tel. (0361) 975311, on Monkey Forest Road, has upstairs rooms for Rp35,000 overlooking the family compound and beautiful gardens. Rooms have fans, two double beds, Western toilet, hot shower with ventilator, inside tub with hot water, towels, and good security. Upstairs rooms have possibly the best view of the Monkey Forest. The room rate includes a large breakfast of banana pancakes, fresh fruit salad, tea or coffee; toast and eggs also available. Warsi is a sharp businesswoman who also owns a boutique. She likes to dress her guests up in traditional attire and take them to temple festivals. Tickets also available for dance performances.
     Widiana's House, Jl. Karna 87, down a small alley behind Ubud's market at J1. Karna 87, has large, airy, clean bungalows with inside mandi nestled in a dense, shady, cool array of trees—very private yet extremely centrally located; Rp8000 s with breakfast. Recommended.
     Yuni's House, tel. (0361) 975701, at Jl. Karna 84, offers really nice, quiet, private bungalows with clean mandi, tile floors, and showers for only Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d. Free pancake and bowl of fruit for breakfast. A good deal.

Moderate
Adi Cottages, tel. (0361) 262853, 975231, or 975459, fax 975231, on Monkey Forest Road near Ubud's center, has 12 rooms with modern toilet, hot water, bathtub, fan, and swimming pool. Rates are Rp50,000 s, Rp60,000 d. The owner, Ketut Koei, also owns three other accommodations. One of them, Villa Tertanadi Guesthouse, has much the same facilities as Adi Cottages but with beautiful views. In Desa Laplapan, a quiet area two km from Ubud, it has seven rooms big enough for small families (Rp80,000 s, Rp100,000 d, Rp200,000 for a family).
     Artini II Guesthouse, tel. (0361) 975348, on Jl. Hanoman in Padangtegal Kelod, is in a beautiful, peaceful walled compound with 18 rooms and bungalows (Rp25,000-35,000) lined with bamboo matting. It features inside baths, hot/cold water, fans, bamboo frame beds, and porch facing a nice garden. Artini I has cheaper rooms at Rp17,000-22,000, but their breakfast is small and so-so.
     Bali Ubud, not far from the Kubu Ku Restaurant on the road to Penestanan offers a crisp clean view from the middle of the rice paddies. Ten two-story bungalows rent for Rp80,000 apiece. Clean, new, tasteful, very comfortable, tightly run, nice environment, hot water. Walk into Penestanan easily; excellent for groups.
     Dewi Sri Bungalows, Jl. Hanoman in Padangtegal, Box 23, Ubud 80571, tel. (0361) 975300, fax 975777, is a haven in the rice fields with three different classes of self-contained bungalows: standard Rp65,000s or d, second story Rp85,000, and suite Rp105,000. American or continental breakfast included. The duplexes are really nice, with private bedroom upstairs, relaxing open-air living area below, walled open-air bath, views of rice fields. Hot water, pool, attentive staff, coffee shop serving jaffles, fruit juices, lassies. A 10-minute walk from Jl. Raya, it's main draw is the antique exterior and interior. The Fibra Inn on Monkey Forest Road near the Ubud Palace, tel./fax (0361) 975451, has flowers, birds, nice breeze, and a pool. Standard Rp70,000 s, Rp85,000 d, deluxe Rp85,000 s, Rp95,000 d (including tax). All rooms built in traditional style with hot and cold water, fans, shower, bathtub, small garden. No charge for local calls. The staff is friendly and treats you like family. The Grand Ubud is a small hotel of about 30 rooms with private facilities and choice of fan or a/c for Rp40,000, including huge breakfast. Friendly staff, ideal location and lovely garden with pool. Indraprastra Homestay, Jl. Hanoman 40, Padangtegal, tel. (0361) 975599, offers four large guest rooms (Rp35,000 d) overlooking rice fields and gardens. The owner/proprietor, Mr. Rai Ardika, is a warm and gracious host who speaks excellent English and will make your stay pleasant. The homestay is in a quiet location, a short walk from the center of Ubud.
     Sunset Bungalows, tel. (0361) 975345, fax 975120, in front of Kubu Ku's Restaurant, has two beautiful airy rooms right on the rice paddies, complete with Western bathrooms, hot water, and large beds. Tariff starts at only Rp38,000 d including breakfast. Indulge in the restaurant's magical environment where guests lounge on platforms watching the sun set over rice paddies while listening to a whole collection of elegant windchimes. The artist who runs it speaks English well. He serves vegetarian and Indian food prepared by a French meditation teacher.
     Among the quietest places is Masih Bungalows, tel. (0361) 975062, on the Monkey Forest Rd. with bed, breakfast, fan, private bathroom and shower for Rp20,000-50,000. A newer place with the same proprietor is Masih Accommodations, about 20 meters beyond the football pitch off Monkey Forest Road. Prices for the six bungalows range from Rp15,000 s to Rp25,000 d; enormous upstairs rooms have pyramidal ceilings and magnificent bathrooms and verandas. Ibu Masih is a marvelous lady who will teach you dancing, talk to you about art, and make a royal tour of her guests each morning. Ibu Masih's personable homestay is just a 10-minute walk from Ubud's "downtown."
     Oka Kartini's, tel. (0361) 975193, fax 975759, on Jl. Raya in Padangtegal on the left about 150 meters before the post office, as you're entering Ubud from Peliatan. Out of the busy center of Ubud with all its traffic and sellers, Oka's restful, Balinese-style bungalows, with intricately carved reliefs, and palm thatched roofs, surrounded by pool and gardens, are in the Rp65,000-85,000 range with hot showers; other rooms go for as little as Rp20,000. Oka worked for six years as a guide in the Puri Lukisan and is well informed about painting. She'll store your luggage while you travel around, find you a dance teacher, and is inclined to give out free treats to patrons whom she—and her small army of handsome sons—treat like honored guests. Public transport close at hand, or ask for airport transfer by private car (Rp42,000 for two). But the best part of staying here is the charm, grace, and liveliness of Oka's company.
     Near the start of Monkey Forest Road is Oka Wati's Sunset Bungalows, Jl. Karna 1, P.O. Box 158, Ubud, tel. (0361) 96386, fax 975063 a superbly run, well-kept family operation. Three classes of accommodations: standard Rp52,500 s, Rp65,000 d, a suite Rp95,000 s, Rp115,000 d; plus 10% service charge. Newer Balinese-style rooms upstairs look over beautiful sawah and lily ponds with ceiling fans, big oval bathrooms, nice furnishings, bedside lights, balcony, and the restaurant only 30 meters away. All units have hot water. Oka Wati's knowledge of Ubud is an excellent resource. Her restaurant and new kitchen are very good; try the yummy chocolate cake served warm. Peaceful surroundings. Oka Wati's is down a gang off the top of Monkey Forest Road only a three-minute walk from Jl. Ubud Raya, the main road. You can arrange adventure rafting trips and tours to Kintamani and Besakih here. Bikes rent for Rp4500 per day. In June, July, or August, make reservations a month in advance for this popular place.
     Pertiwi Bungalows, Monkey Forest Rd., tel. (0361) 975236, fax 975559, has eight standard rooms for Rp65,000 s, Rp75,000 d, 22 superior rooms for Rp75,000 s, Rp85,000 d, and eight deluxe rooms for Rp125,000 s, Rp175,000 d. Meals are extra: Rp6500 for continental breakfast, Rp7500 for American breakfast, Rp12,600 for lunch, Rp15,000 for dinner. All rates subject to 15.5% service and tax. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Rooms are very large in typical Balinese decor with peaked thatched roofs, bamboo wall matting, ceiling fans, ceramic tiles, and private baths with hot and cold water. Facilities include a fantastic pool, poolside bar, open-air pavilion restaurant, and parking lot. Staff is very helpful. If you want to be in the middle of the action, this is one of the best hotels on Monkey Forest Road.
     The classy Pringga Juwita Water Garden Cottages, Jl. Bisma, tel. (0361) 95734, fax 975734, has 25 rooms in two different classes: standard for Rp80,000 s, Rp85,000 d; deluxe Rp105,000 s, Rp115,000 d (plus 15.5% tax and service). You get the service, decor, and comfort of any of Ubud's six international-standard hotels at half the price. All rooms have hot water, private verandas, fans, Balinese-style furniture, woodwork finishing. The generous, high-quality breakfast (0700-1000) comes with endless whole-grain bread and homemade jam. The bungalows for Rp115,000, offering indoor-outdoor living, are the best deal, with luxuriant gardens, lotus ponds, jungle-enveloped swimming pool, and restaurant on leafy pavilion, plus conveniences including laundry and postal service, safety desposit box, bar service, car rental, airport transport, and IDD telephone and fax at reception desk. Credit cards accepted. Only about an eight-minute walk from Ubud's center, yet very quiet with only the sound of birds in the mornings. Ideal for small groups. Puri Padi Hotel, Box 55, Ubud, tel. (0361) 975010 or 975075, fax 975740, on Jl. Hanoman near Pengosekan, bills itself as an elite resort. Surrounded by rice fields, it features standard and deluxe bungalows with a/c, hot water, TV, minibar, pool, but no telephones in rooms. A lovely and quiet hotel for Rp180,000 d per night.
     Ubud's oldest hotel, the Puri Saren Agung (tel. 0361-975057, fax 975137) was the former palace of Tjokorde Sukawati, the late raja of Ubud. When this puri burnt down in the 1950s, the raja had small guesthouses constructed and outfitted with Balinese antiques and Western conveniences—one of the first of Bali's accommodations to combine traditional and Western features. At one time the best paintings of Ubud could be seen in this puri, and it was once the custom for painters to bring their works to Tjokorde for approval before selling them. Peek in to see the fantastic carved wood panels and four-poster beds. Unfortunately, the fan-cooled, traditional bungalows have quite small rooms, impossible to secure (some windows have screens only, no bars), with atrocious plumbing. The best pavilion is Number Four as it shares a courtyard with the household of the current head of the family, Cokorda Putra Sukawati, and the family goes out of their way to be nice. Facilities-wise, you can probably do better for the US$40 (plus 15% tax and service) they ask. Very central.
     Puri Saraswati Bungalows, Jl. Raya, tel./fax (0361) 975164, is next door to the Lotus Cafe and 250 meters from the Ubud market. Rates for the four standard rooms with cold water and fans are Rp45,000 s, Rp60,000 d. Thirteen superior rooms with hot and cold bath/shower, ceiling fan, go for Rp85,000 s, Rp110,000 d; breakfast included. All prices are subject to 10% tax. Though it's on the main road, the rooms are situated back in a peaceful, secluded garden of many trees and flowering plants, laid out in the manner of a nobleman's house. A majestic temple and big beautiful lotus pond now serve as the spectacular backdrop for the Lotus Cafe next to the hotel. Puri Saraswati i patroled through the night, and someone is in the office 24 hours a day. Front office phone or fax can be used by guests. Manager Anoushka Thompson confirms tickets, books performances, and arranges tours.
     Han Snel's Siti Bungalows, Jl. Kajeng 3, tel. (0361) 975699, fax 975643, 150 meters up the lane next to the Lotus Cafe (Rp85,000-105,000, plus 15% tax and service) offers all the modern conveniences in the garden of the artist's home. One of Ubud's best-kept secrets, Snel offers one of the best rooms around for the price—solar-heated showers, away from traffic noise, nice garden, stylish verandas, and privacy. Just seven bungalows, so you'll be lucky to find one empty (reservations recommended). Meet the locals in the hotel bar where the eccentric, larger-than-life artist holds court every evening. Elegant restaurant.
     Tebesari Homestay, Banjar Tebesaya 29, is about 500 meters south of Jl. Raya Ubud. Each room has private bath, Rp10,000 s, Rp12,000 d. Nice garden. The owner, Nyoman Sujana, is a high school teacher and producer of a weekly dance show at the Puri Dalem—he speaks excellent English. His wife Warti is a clothing designer whose shop sells beautiful patchwork clothes at good prices. Luxurious Ubud Inn on Monkey Forest Road, tel./fax (0361) 975188, has standard rooms for Rp70,000 s, Rp100,000 d, and Rp120,000 for family rooms with veranda. Paintings, carvings, and flowers adorn every room. Hot water, a/c, room service, high standard of cleanliness, nicely landscaped gardens, and good pool.
     Ubud Village Hotel, south Monkey Forest Road, tel. (0361) 95571, fax 95069, is next to Cafe Wayan. Standard rooms are Rp100,000 s, Rp105,000 d; superior Rp115,000 s, Rp125,000 d; deluxe Rp150,000 s, Rp175,000 d. Breakfast is Rp5000-10,000 extra. Spacious rooms have separate garden entrance, full western-style bathroom with hot and cold water, ceiling fan, and views over rice fields. Friendly staff, pool with wet bar, entertainment, laundry service, IDD, restaurant with full Western menu, parking lot, airport transfers, and a multitude of art shops and other restaurants right outside your door. A brochure describing hotel-sponsored tours around Bali is available at the front desk.

Long-Term Stays
If it's real peace you require, consider staying in one of the villages around Ubud—Campuan, Penestanan, Kedewetan, Sayan, Peliatan, or Pengosekan—where you're almost assured of finding a secluded place out in the rice fields or over a jungle-filled ravine, as quiet as a convent and with the smell of fresh sawah. Work out a special per-day rate for a long-term stay in a hotel or with a family.
     Whereas Europeans prefer Seminyak and other places along Bali's south coast for its marine recreation, North Americans prefer the Ubud area for its culture. Avail yourself of one of the real estate offices that have begun sprouting up (one is on Jl. Raya Ubud near Lempad Gallery, opposite Nomad's) which advertise fully furnished luxury homes for as much as Rp3 million per month. Expat business people build their fantasy castles in the surrounding hills for Rp10-20 million including permits and other legalities. There are no building codes on Bali. Prime Ubud land looking out over a gorge can cost up to Rp46 million per acre, though most just lease the land for 25 years.

FOOD

Half the fun of Ubud is finding new places to eat. Most of the best warung and restaurants are concentrated along Monkey Forest Road or the various other tracks and roads running adjacent to it. On request, almost any family-style homestay or losmen will cook up a wonderful Balinese dinner of smoked duck, fish cooked in leaves, steamed jackfruit with special sauce, plus other vegetable side dishes for around Rp20,000. In the morning you can buy huge portions of nasi campur (Rp1000) and black rice pudding (Rp500) to the side of Ubud's market. The best babi guling is served on market day every three days. In the late afternoons and evenings, treat yourself to pisang goreng from market vendors.

Budget Eateries
Warung Dewa on Jl. Sugriwa, one street to the east and parallel with Jl. Hanoman, is a superb eatery for the money, a real traveler's hangout with good food at rock-bottom prices. Rp1000 for a well-done nasi goreng. If heading down Jl. Hanoman look to the left just before reaching J1. Raya to find Warung Padang. One of the few nasi padang restaurants in Ubud, it serves generous portions of spicy, no-fooling-around Padang-style food. Choose from a number of chicken, beef, pork, vegetable, tempeh, and tofu dishes in the window, all Rp2000-3000. Open daily 0800-2100. If you're in a hurry, try Warung Seroni, Jl. Karna in front of Seroni's Bungalows, for great well-priced, home-cooked portions of food like traditional yellow rice for Rp2500, and tomato soup for Rp1000. Another find is Three Brothers, tel. (0361) 975525, near the end of Jl. Hanoman, on the left where it meets the end of the post office. This multilevel restaurant features Japanese-style tables and delicious food served in baskets. The grilled chicken pepes bali with rice and coconut wrapped in a banana leaf (Rp2500) beckons travelers fom afar.

Restaurants
Ubud's restaurants are clean and decent, but even in the best restaurants the food quality can be erratic. One nice service provided by many restaurants in Ubud is transport. Just ask and they'll send a car or some guy on a motorbike to fetch you and/or your group.
     Pick your restaurant by its specialty. For Mexican food, go to Kura Kura, though their prices have gone up dramatically and their portions have shrunk. For barbecue go to Griya; for Japanese food, Mumbul's; Balinese village food aficionados should go to Bendi's; for Indian food Bumbu. For the best sandwiches go to the Coffee Shop (behind the Crackpot) with prices varying from Rp2600 to Rp3500 for a club sandwich with the works. For vegetarian food, Shadana's on Jl. Raya Ubud is one of the best.
     The best restaurants have a good balance of food from east and west. Catering as they do to French and Italian tourists, restaurants have featured more international fare of late—Thai, vegetarian, pasta. The Cappuccino Italian Restaurant on Monkey Forest Road serves up pizza and homemade fettucine. Another restaurant with real Italian taste is Apakabar Restaurant Bistro on Jl. Dewi Sita (if going down Jl. Monkey Forest, take the first left just before the soccer field).
     The best pizza in Ubud, prepared in a real pizza oven, is made by Cafe Roma on Jl. Sukma, about 300 meters from Jl. Raya—good spaghetti too. Bridge Cafe in Campuan also has great wood-oven pizzas (20 kinds). Ubud is so far from the sea that seafood is not the town's forte. Murni's (by the bridge) and Lotus Cafe have fresh grilled seafood specials two or three times weekly, but you never know when or for how long.
    There are also lots more families traveling to Ubud now. At the Gayatri Restaurant a children's play area is provided upstairs so parents can enjoy a meal in peace. Oka Wati's and Miro's boasts Ubud's most romantic dinner setting. A few monstrosities have cropped up—like the Menara Restaurant on Jl. Raya—you wonder why the banjar ever let them build it. A great number of restaurants advertise their daily and evening specials on big sandwich boards set up on the sidewalk or street outside.

Jalan Raya Ubud
After the style of Made's Warung in Kuta, Ary's Warung has tables set up near the street. Incredible wine list, liqueurs, cocktails, and cappuccinos at pretty good prices, plus nutritious snacks and whole-wheat sandwiches such as hummus, BLTs, and granola. Delicious food including quite tasty vegetarian dishes. Great bathroom. Check out the old black-and-white photos of Bali and Java on the wall. Open until 0100. Ary's has now expanded upstairs next door and added a bar—nicer atmosphere, quieter. Garden Roof Restaurant, next to I Made Sadia Homestay and more or less opposite Griya, offers a wide variety of Indonesian and Western dishes. It's not cheap, but the food and service are good. Try the roasted chicken with fried potatoes and salad with a nice dressing (Rp4500). Also fruit juice and brem.
     Some readers swear by it, others consider it overrated, but eating at Lotus Cafe, tel. (0361) 975660, on Jl. Raya near the tourist office is, unquestionably, an elegant experience. Recline on pillows and sip coffee in a gazebo on the edge of a breathtaking lotus pond with jazz music in the background. The homemade baked goods are excellent, but some readers report that the other dishes—daily specials, red pepper fettucine, vegetarian Indian dishes, smoked salmon—are expensive, mediocre, and skimpy. The winners are fresh carrot juice, rich cheesecakes, cheese samosas, high tea and cakes, chocolate brownies, and the Greek salad with feta cheese. Count on about Rp25,000 for dinner for three. For a place to hang out, Lotus Cafe is clean and friendly, with snappy service. Wander the gardens of Pura Saraswati which were developed by Rodolfo Giusti, the present owner; the pond was originally established by noted photographer Rio Helmi. Open 0800-2300; call for free pickup.
     Casa Luna, tel. (0361) 975364, fax 96282, is a big three-story riverside restaurant (formerly Lilies) with a wonderful and refined (but a little expensive) selection of food. Really inventive dishes include black rice pudding with nutmeg ice cream (Rp3000), magnificent salads (around Rp3000), herb fettucine in fresh tomato-basil sauce (Rp4000), Moroccan chicken (Rp7500), and the best pumpkin soup and salads. Casa Luna is situated in an elevated wantilan with colonial-style antique furniture—pure tempoe doeloe. Videos downstairs every night and live music Saturday night (sitar, flute, drums). The bakery in the foyer of the restaurant sells lovely croissants, whole-wheat bread (Rp4000 for large loaf, Rp2500 small), multi-grain and raisin muffins, scones (Rp1500), brownies, cookies, cheese, freshly made yogurt, and more. Also has a gallery and a bar with an inimitable multicultural atmosphere.
     Mumbul's Garden Terrace Cafe, tel. (0361) 975364, just up from Lotus Cafe on the same side of street, features high-quality food at excellent prices. Definitely one of the most varied menus in town—an oasis in the desert of repetitive fare. Beautiful table settings, comfy chairs, very good service, with an airy view over a deep gulley. The menu has evolved from what people craved, resulting in an international array including Japanese and Thai dishes. Try the pork fillet in mustard sauce—delicious! Smoked duck available every Saturday night.
     From Ubud's center, toward Padangtegal on the right, Nomad Restaurant stays open late and offers very good, expensive food and snacks like spicy guacamole with krupuk (Rp2000), seafood salad, and mango juice (lassi). A gamelan plays in the background; food is served by waiters and waitresses in traditional dress. Chic atmosphere, and the bar has the largest selection of beer, wine, and cocktails in Ubud—a perfect place for a nightcap.
     A real sleeper is Shadana Vegetarian Restaurant, Jl. Raya Ubud, tel. (0361) 975630, specializing in superb and inexpensive home-cooked vegetarian dishes like tahu burgers (Rp2500), vegetarian sate kebab (Rp2500), cheese, egg, and avocado jaffles (Rp2000), vegetable curries, artful nasi campur, and brown rice with tempe and fresh vegetables with a subtle sauce. Ask for the sambal bali hot sauce. Most people miss this small restaurant in central Ubud just opposite Jl. Hanoman east of Ubud's town center. And, unfortunately, it's shrinking, the tables gradually giving way to more lucrative clothes and souvenirs. Please patronize it. Open daily 0800-2100.
     Ubud Restaurant is the place for Balinese food—sate, lawar, and sometimes babi guling. Try the very good vegetable omelette (Rp2000) and smoked duck dinner for two (Rp20,000). Lastly, Ryoshi's (tel. 0361-976362), just west of Ary's, is moderately priced, accepts credit cards, and offers a huge variety of delicious Japanese food: soba noodles, robata grill, sushi, etc.

Monkey Forest Road
Opposite the soccer field on the Monkey Forest Road is open-air Bendi's, never a disappointment. The staff prepares simple and delicious Balinese village food such as ferns and grated coconut, chicken, vegetarian dishes, and an admirable nasi campur for only Rp2000. Close to Western-size portions are served. Count on dinner for two costing around Rp15,000. Yogyakarta, near the soccer field, has a special way of cooking grilled chicken—delicious. Half a chicken, french fries, and salad costs only Rp5000.
     For backpackers, the Monkey Forest Cafe has cheap but excellent vegetarian food and a great nasi campur (Rp2000). If coming down Monkey Forest Road, turn left right after the soccer field and walk 20 meters through a corridor of shops—look for the menu board out front. Slow service, but nice view over rice paddies.
     Cafe Bali, across from Warsi's on the far side of the football pitch, is an up-and-coming small restaurant with a variety of food at decent prices. The management is gentle, friendly, and kind, the premises clean and charming, and the Indonesian food and pizzas good. Try the corn pacora, veggie lasagna, or special duck. Three entrees and three sodas will set you back Rp10,000. Watch the fireflies at night.
     Tjanderi's at the top of Monkey Forest Road is still going strong, laying out delicious, cheap, and generous meals—pizzas, scones, yogurt, coconut pie, and gecok. The cheese and vegetable tacos and banana-coconut tacos are acclaimed, and the vegetable soups are just as hearty as they were 20 years ago. Expect gregarious gatherings in the evenings as it's right on the main drag.
     Ibu Rai's on Monkey Forest Road has a complete menu with pepper steak (Rp5000), chicken Cacciatore (Rp4000), pasta dishes (Rp3500), Balinese food (Bali Karangasem for Rp3500), Indonesian food, and special drinks like Tequila Mariachi (Rp3500). A good value and a pleasant atmosphere.
     Ubud Dancer Restaurant, across from the soccer field, boasts a "watergarden" atmosphere with lots of unique touches such as Javanese buffalo-leather hanging lanterns, and a pollution-free environment with individual tables inside separate bale. Chinese and Balinese cuisine is served as well as seafood and steak. Waitresses wear traditional dress, and free Balinese dance performances are put on every Sunday night. Prices somewhat expensive, but worth it. Yudit Restaurant, Bar & Bakery is a pretty good restaurant with friendly and well-trained staff and free salad bar every night. During the busy season, five or six different salads are offered; they don't seem to mind if you just order soup and fill up on salads. German dishes such as kaseshnitte (Rp5000), sirloin steak with fries and veggies (Rp6500), and American hamburgers with coleslaw and fried potatoes (Rp5000) are other specialties. Not an extensive menu so it's easy to choose. The Black Forest Cake, and fresh croissants every morning are not to be missed. The management speaks English and is very helpful.

Elsewhere
The Dirty Duck, tel. (0361) 975489, also in Padangtegal at the end of Jl. Hanoman just before the fork to the Monkey Forest, has a nice atmosphere, uniformed staff, good music, gourmet menu, and looks out over rice fields and lily ponds. Sit on the floor or at tables. The vegetarian sandwiches are excellent (Rp7500 and up). Entrees, including bratwurst and pasta dishes, are Rp7000-10,000, and the crispy duck is expensive at Rp111,000. Open 1000-2230.
     Bamboo Restaurant, on J1. Dewi Shinta just off Monkey Forest Road at the north end of the soccer field, has friendly service, cushions on bamboo chairs, and reasonably priced, tasty food. The owner seems solicitous about her customer's satisifaction, the cleanliness of the establishment, and the quality of the food. Best for Balinese food and superb soups. The vegetarian platter (Rp3500) is a favorite.
     Tutmak (tel. 0361-975754), Jl. Denisita (Jl. Shinta), west of Jl. Maruti, has the best organic salads, Middle Eastern plate, sandwiches, pasta, good veggie dishes, juices, desserts, assorted breads, and the best coffee in Ubud. Great music, local modern artists exhibited. A little secret place is Balina, on Jl. Kajeng on the opposite side of Gusti's (west); cheap, big portions, good food. Very good value. The Blue Marlin Fish Special is tops.
     Kubu Ku Restaurant, 600 meters to the east of the Monkey Forest, serves Indian vegetarian food (dahl, curry, nice walnut tarts, salads) for about Rp5000 per entree. Also home-baked bread. With the soft musical clatter of its windchimes, this is a deliciously relaxing and romantic spot in the afternoon. Meet up here, sit crosslegged on big cushions at low tables, and sip coffee while looking out over expansive rice fields, lily ponds, gently swaying palms, and fluffy clouds in the distance. Located on connecting road between the end of J1. Monkey Forest and J1. Hanoman.
     Miro's, tel. (0361) 96314, just off Jl. Raya Ubud and under new management, has a very romantic ambience (like dining in the middle of a temple) beautiful garden, waterfall, and an imaginative menu. Deserves more business than it gets (half empty on Saturday night!). Only lit by candles at night. Great breakfast menu includes Earl Grey tea in a pot (Rp2000), tropical fruit salad with yogurt (Rp4000), muesli with yogurt (Rp4000), "morning magic" of stewed prunes, yogurt, and muesli (Rp4500), whole meal or fresh bread with butter and jam (Rp1500), and jaffles (Rp3000). Tuna fish curry (Rp6500) is a sure bet, and the vegetable mie goreng (Rp4000) is well prepared. Outrageous desserts. Excellent iced watermelon juice (Rp2000). Open 0900-2000. To get there, do down Ubud's main street toward Campuan, then take a left at the sign after the SMP school.
     Griya Barbecue & Restaurant, tel. (0361) 975428, opposite the lane next to the SMP school, specializes in barbecued chicken, pork, and beef. Check out the daily specials. If on, tuna with potatoes and mixed salad (Rp5000) is a winner. The restaurant in the Monkey Forest Hideaway at the bottom end of Monkey Forest Road does smoked chicken and nasi kunyit to perfection. A classy place to dine is Han Snel's Garden Restaurant with its Asian-Indonesian menu. Everyone raves about the dazzling mini-rijstaffel (Rp10,500 per person for seven dishes). The specialty of the house is steamed bebek tutu prepared with all the spices and served in sumptuous garden surroundings.
     Oka Wati's, a little out of the town center off Monkey Forest Rd., has evolved into a delightful, full-fledged restaurant in the emerald paddies. The establishment offers a winning combination of friendliness, reasonable prices, and excellent Western food including tuna sandwiches (Rp2500), scrambled eggs (Rp3000), famous red bean soup (Rp2000), and pasta dishes (Rp3750-4000). Or try exotics like beef mango (Rp6500) and cashew chicken (Rp6500), or the vegetarian swiss cheese rosti (Rp3500). Balinese ceremonial banquet dishes like bebek tutu (Rp25,000) or a whole suckling pig (Rp50,000) must be ordered 24 hours in advance. Just like she did in the early 1970s, Oka still makes excellent yogurt and banana sweets in the mornings.
     Wayan's Cafe & Bakery is a hugely popular place to eat—perhaps Ubud's consistently best food. Nice atmosphere with low tables set under bale at different levels in a leafy garden. Recently interviewed and photographed for Bon Apetit magazine, Wayan herself is a nice, modest, hospitable, and generous woman. On top of the restaurant, she also caters lunch for 100-150 river rafters a day. Everyone raves about the cafe's homemade baked goods (whole-wheat bread) and the ayam sate (Rp2500) with a superb peanut sauce; also wonderful salads, pizza, "prawns a la ketut" (lots of garlic); the chicken curry and excellent daily specials (Rp10,000-12,000) are without peers. Scrumptious and genuine Balinese buffets are laid on every Saturday night for Rp17,000. Also great carrot juice and amazing desserts. Always crowded in the peak season, make reservations for the evening. The menu is so good, it's no problem dropping Rp30,000 for two.

Drinks
For pure entertainment, a mellow evening of brem-sipping is a real bargain. Don't pay the Rp2000 a glass at Cafe Lotus (view only; overpriced average food), Nomad's, or Murni's. Instead, buy a whole bottle for Rp2000 and order a big bowl of ice at a restaurant or warung, then just sit and watch the world go by. Some restaurants stay open until the wee hours on Saturday night if people are still drinking. You can sample fresh tuak early in the morning a few days a week at Pasar Ubud's market; look for the tuak vendors around the sate. The brilliant sculptor Wayan Cemul, whose workshop is on Hans Snel's lane (Jl. Kajeng), makes some of the best rice wine on the island and sells it to restaurants such as Murni's in Campuan and TJs in Kuta. The best bar in the Ubud area is Beggar's Bus in Campuan.

Desserts and Baked Goods
Cafe Wayan and Casa Luna are the last word in desserts. The Casa Luna is the only place in town with frozen yogurt. Cafe Lotus is said to have the best chocolate cake on Bali. Cafe Wayan's Death by Chocolate cake is renowned; Wayan also serves an inimitable coconut pie. Nomad's serves near perfect apple strudel plus gulek, a Balinese concoction of boiled bananas and pineapples. At Mumbul's ice cream parlor, don't pass up the thick passion fruit shake with jackfruit ice cream and other delicious desserts. For a winning coconut pie (Rp1000), head for Dewa Warung, on Jl. Sugriwa (parallel and east of Jl. Hanoman).
     Not that many restaurants are open for breakfast because most accommodations serve it as part of the price of a room, but street vendors do business long before most restaurants open at 0800. In the market early in the morning, get an ample serving of black rice pudding sprinkled with coconut and brown sugar syrup for Rp500—a healthy, filling breakfast. Every three days is the big market when there are lots of fruit stands selling crisp juicy apples from Java.
     Many of Ubud's eating establishments now offer whole wheat bread (known as "brown bread"), Danish, and French bread. The bakery at Casa Luna offers very good brown bread. Tino Drug Store, tel. (0361) 975020, sells all kinds of baked goods at good prices (brown bread Rp1500, apple cake Rp1000). The ticket for a breakfast on the run, it's open 0800-2000.

SHOPPING

Ubud is a pleasant, enjoyable place to shop. Shopkeepers are easier to deal with than those in southern Bali; they give you more space, are more willing to haggle, and they don't jump all over you when you come into their shop. Prices are also cheaper than in the south. Ubud used to be known just for its galleries but now you can come here and buy all of your clothes, souvenirs, and crafts as well. There are belt shops, pop-art shops, earrings shops, even scarf shops!
     Ubud's main street and lanes are lined with a great variety of shops and kiosks, filled to bursting with woodcarvings, basketry, toy gamelan sets, originally designed jewelry, antiques, clothes, batik, bamboo windmills, and paintings. Purchase a good quality ikat at Ibu Rai's on Monkey Forest Road. Large round tablecloths with handpainted flowers can be bargained for as little as Rp40,000.
     A picture framer, I Gusti Made Gati—old-fashioned, competent, cheap, and agreeable—is 50 meters up the street which runs left off Jl. Ubud Raya (if coming from Ubud's center), just short of the Neka Gallery. Look for the sign. I Gusti speaks some English and his son speaks a little more. His asking price for his most elaborate frames is Rp7500 per meter. His framing is not austere, but it goes well with the somewhat busy contemporary painting styles.
     Because of recurring waves of free-spending visitors, the sellers can be a bit pushy at times, with extravagant first offers. In the market, especially, you have to bargain like a fishwife. The best time to shop is in the cool of the evenings. The majority of shops are open from 0900 to 2030 or 2100. A tip: for standard souvenirs go to Gianyar or Sukawati's pasat seni to shop. These towns are closer than Denpasar and have bigger art markets than Ubud's.
     Ubud lies in the middle of the surrounding villages of Campuan, Penestanan, Peliatan, and Pengosekan, which have all more or less grown together. In these thriving craft villages live and work hundreds of painters, carvers, and weavers who create a surprising percentage of the wares sold in the island's galleries, art shops, and boutiques.

Pasar Ubud
Two-story Pasar Ubud, on the Jl. Raya in the middle of town, houses several hundred shops and stalls. This central market offers real low-end tourist clothes in booths upstairs as well as mostly tawdry handicrafts, fans, batik bags, fabrics, baskets, jewelry. Look in on I Nymoan Latin's shop behind the market with excellent batik, lengths of cloth, machine-woven ikat, and scarves at very affordable prices.
     A quarter of these booths target the Balinese themselves with sandals, cheap belts, jackets, and white shirts—some nice things at reasonable prices. One woman spent Rp80,000 for four batik sarung and two tablecloths. You can buy produce and vegetables on the grounds and out back. Vanilla pods (Rp2500 for 20 sticks). A big lively crowded public market (pasar) takes place every three days, spilling over into the street as women come in from nearby and mountain villages to sell and buy livestock, hardware, fruit, vegetables, and other goods.

Bookshops
The largest selection of maps, guidebooks, new books, and expensive large format picture and culture books on Bali and Indonesia, as well as current issues of European, Asian, Australian, and American magazines and newspapers can be found at Ary's Bookshop opposite Puri Sakenan on J1. Raya. The International Herald Tribune (Rp3600) arrives after 1100. Open 0830-2030.
     A few minutes away, at Monkey Forest Road 68, tel. (0361) 975359, is Dewa House Book Shop. Open 0800-2130, Dewa sells a fair selection of new and used books at the usual high prices. Books are bought back at half price. Also on Monkey Forest Road behind the soccer field is Pondok Pekak, a privately run lending library which stocks a good number of volumes on Bali and Indonesia and offers cheap lending fees and a 60-80% buy back rate. In Campuan, check out the small and tasteful selection of Oxford in Asia paperbacks in Murni's; the Herald Tribune (Rp3500) is also for sale.
     Ganesha Bookshop, tel (0361) 976339, fax 96359, also on the main road (opposite the post office), is more user-friendly than Ary's Bookshop. Here you can buy a used book for Rp10,000, then sell it back for Rp5000. Anita, the Australian proprietor and her Balinese husband Ketut, are well-read and know their stock of new or used books which is categorized. Open 0830-1800 seven days a week. Anita is almost always there in the mornings. The closest thing to a metaphysical bookshop on Bali is the Meditation Shop (tel. 0361-976206) on Monkey Forest Rd., which sells multilingual spiritual and self-help literature and tapes. Rona Bookshop, part of Rona Losmen at J1. Tebasaya 23 in Padangtegal, is another high-quality and well-stocked lending library and second-hand book shop with a buy back policy.

Clothes
Have a tailor make a shirt that you design, or have a seamstress make a kebaya to fit, Rp15,000 for the material, Rp5000 for the labor. A seamstresss works upstairs in the Ubud market. There are many stores on the main drag that sell unexceptional, touristy clothing and trinkets, but Made Lastri's produces clothing of good quality and design in unusual batik fabric. Lastri will make clothing to order if provided with a sample or pattern to work from. She needs only one day to create a simple skirt, a week for a jacket or full-length kimono robe. Buy fabric from the market and have a beautiful, lined robe made for about Rp35,000. Also check out Tailor Astiti, tel. (0361) 975061; the employees aren't fluent in English, but the shop's been in business for years. They will sew a suit, pair of slacks, batik pants, and vest for Rp35,000. Best dressmaker in Ubud.      Another very good shop, though relatively expensive, is Bali Rosa, fax (0361) 975162, Jl. Raya Ubud (opposite the start of the road up to Pringga Juwita), with a fine collection of Western fashion clothing designed by Nadine Thompson. Hand-painted silk and rayon print outfits with shoes to match are sold at fixed prices. They also sell small painted wooden jewelery and beadwork.
     Kama Sutra, tel. (0361) 975315 on Monkey Forest Road next to Cafe Wayan, stands apart from the usual tourist schlock offered in many of Ubud's shops. Originals of above-average quality—silk scarves, sarongs, crepe and chiffon fabrics, and shirts—are sold at Western prices, but the garments are so unusual that somehow you don't mind paying (men's long-sleeved batik shirts are Rp200,000). Open 0900-1400. Browse awhile in Mr. Bali on Jl. Raya Ubud, for fairly well-made, trendy, and overpriced men's clothing.
     On Monkey Forest Rd. is a women's clothing shop, Balinka, that makes high-quality, colorful clothes in cotton and rayon. The styles are simple, elegant, and very different from what's sold nearby. Some of the most original and fashionable clothes are found at Neo Primitive on Monkey Forest Rd. (left side, coming from town, right after Dian's Restaurant). Far superior to the ever-present batik and tie-dye.
     PJ Collection, Banjar Tegallangtang, fax (0361) 975120, has a nice line of batik and contemporary hand-painted designs and cuts on cotton knit material. This retail, wholesale, and export business has fixed but reasonable prices: sleeveless tops for Rp5000 and lined pants for Rp25,000. Puspa Shop at the corner of the soccer field will make something for you, or do alterations on the spot. Good prices. Excellent selection of men's shirts and pants and women's dresses, blouses, and shorts for Rp12,000-40,000 first price. For an attractive made-to-order T-shirt collection, go to Sama Sama Shop III on Jl. Hanoman, tel. (0361) 975072, Padangtegal. Original hand-painted designs. Buy a nice quality batik-lined jacket at Warsi's for Rp35,000. Handsome cotton batik sarung cost around Rp12,000-15,000. Elsewhere, expect to pay Rp6000 for a machine-printed batik sarung and Rp15,000 for a batik outfit.

Miscellaneous
An excellent music shop, Ubud Music and Photo Color Service Centre, tel. (0361) 975362 is opposite Cafe Lotus on Jl. Raya Ubud, offering the most extensive tape collection in Ubud, including a very decent Indo-Javanese pop and classical music section. There's also a good choice of guidebooks, ice cream, perfume, toiletries, and film processing. Open 0900-2000. A branch, Ubud Music II (tel. 0361-975341), is on Monkey Forest Road. Another tape shop, Remaja II, is on Jl. Hanoman where you may also buy film. Baliku has an above-average selection of all types of music at reasonable prices, plus photo services. Located about halfway down Monkey Forest Rd. on the eastern side opposite Ubud Village Hotel. You'll pay about Rp12,000 for processing and printing a 36-exposure roll of film, and about Rp8000 for a prerecorded tape of fair quality.
     Three hundred meters east of the Monkey Forest is Kubu Ku Windchimes for unusual and elegant tinkling, clapping, whirling noisemakers. Odds and ends like kitchen stools and clay figurines also for sale. Genesha Bookshop, Jl. Raya, tel. (0361) 96359, sells musical instruments, beads, jewelry, and other tasteful collectibles. Across the street on J1. Raya you'll find Pejaten Keramik, an outlet for decorated greenware ceramics, ashtrays, candlesticks, small bowls, etc.
     Maori, Jl. Raya Ubud 4, also specializes in music instruments and accessories. The owner Arif Hendrasto can be contacted by writing Box 173, Ubud, Bali 80571. Upscale Murni's in Campuan is one of the most fashionable antique shops in the Ubud area. Visit the village of Nyuhkuning southwest of Ubud, a woodcarving center since the 1930s. Other woodcarving villages north of Ubud are Pujung, Sebatu, Taro, and Jati. An outlet for unique Pejaten wheelthrown and decorated greenware ceramics is at Pejaten Keramik in Br. Taman (opposite Genesha Bookshop).

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Handicrafts
Artful and attractive carved and painted picture frames (around Rp20,000 for two) are found in a number of Ubud's shops and are a real good buy. Also unusual are big fish mobiles (about Rp50,000 for four). It's not hard to find shops with large collections of carvings and sculptures of all sizes, motifs, shapes, and ages. But if you're interested in woodcarvings, they sell for much cheaper in the little stalls behind the monkey temple. Bali Bagus (art studio), on Monkey Forest Road, is operated by a family of woodcarvers. They sell mirrors, picture frames, toy boxes, jewelry boxes, etc. The painter I Wayan Suka on Jl. Jembawan (the post office street) in Padangtegal sells baskets, mobiles, old Sanskrit calendars and chopsticks in boxes (19 pairs for Rp45,000).
     PT Mondirama Bali (tel. 0361-96202, fax 96203) is a workshop producing some of Bali's finest iron and stained-glass creations for interior and garden decoration. Handmade by skilled Balinese craftsmen, their exclusive glass designs are handpainted, then fired in a kiln at 600<\#161> Centigrade. These unique works of art cannot be duplicated. Mondirama also customizes according to your specific design, color, and size and organizes packing, handling, and shipping. Visit their retail outlet in Andong daily from 0800 to 1900. Their wholesale factory is in Peliatan (Br. Tebesaya 72) where you can see the iron-making process firsthand. Open 0800-1200 and 1300-1600.
     One of Indonesia's largest and most complete stores for bronze decorative objects is the Golden Buffalo House of Bronze on Monkey Forest Road (tel. 0361-96328, fax 752013) where artisans can create any kind of motif by designing a piece after one in their catalog or by creating a sample for your approval. Wora, Jl. Monkey Forest, has a stunning collection of ikat clothes from Nusatenggara (Rp35,000-1 million).

Jewelry
Unique items are earrings, bracelets, hair clips, brooches. Buy as many as three pairs of medium quality wooden earrings for Rp5000. Walk south from Warsi's and there's a shop (before the Frog Pond Inn) that has a great selection. Mirah Silver on Jl. Raya displays some beautifully designed rings, earrings, pendants, and necklaces, or try Putra Silver on the Monkey Forest Rd. which sells qualities of silver jewelry at good prices (no bargaining). Putra's wholesale office is in the Puri Agung in Peliatan. Also recommended is Purpa Silver Gallery on Monkey Forest Rd., tel. (0361) 975068, fax 975016. More than just a silver shop, Purpa has a very fine selection of contemporary and abstract art. Art Gecko, beside Rona's Accommodations at Jl. Tebesaya 23, carries a fascinating selection of reasonably priced jewelry and artifacts. Suarti's on Monkey Forest Road sells modern innovative jewelry at pretty good prices in spite of it being part of a chain.

Paintings
The Ubud area is noted for its painters. Signs point the way to studios all over town and there's also a massive array of galleries. It's more satisfying to buy directly from the painter and you may get a better price. Fame has not diminished the open nature, friendly demeanor, and hospitality of Ubud's painters, but you have to be dogged to find those working in a distinct style. The vast majority of paintings have a monotonous sameness to them—the same village and jungle scenes ad nauseam. Be prepared to look for days and not find anything original except for the colors and frame.
     There's a painting and arts supply store called Ud. Seni Warna nearly opposite Oka Kartini's in Padangtegal. See the Painting section of the Introduction for biographical sketches of the foremost artists of Ubud. Also refer to Perceptions of Paradise: Images of Bali in the Arts by Garrett Kam, an invaluable and handsome reference work published by Museum Neka (1993) and costing Rp80,000 at the museum or Neka Art Gallery. In it, two dozen paintings and drawings representing over 50 years of creativity by artists of different cultural backgrounds are examined in their fuller Balinese contexts, in many cases supported by photos of ethnographic sources.
     A commission is tacked onto the price if a painter puts his work in a gallery. Count on a good 50- by 70-cm painting costing around Rp500,000 minimum. Additionally, if you allow yourself to be led around to the art shops by locals, your driver will get 10% and your guide up to 15% of the price of a painting, so you could actually pay 25% more than you would if you negotiated directly with the painter. Don't forget the back-lane galleries. The same painting that would cost you Rp11 million in a high-class gallery may go for only Rp2 million in a lesser-known gallery.

Sanggar Seniwati
In Bali, women are not encouraged to be artists, as art is considered men's work. With all of their religious and family obligations, it's remarkable that Balinese women are able to produce art at all. To help publicize and support the efforts of women artists, the Sanggar Seniwati (Association of Women Artists) has been established.
     At these premises, just up the road from Seniwati Gallery, is exhibition space for one-woman shows, studios for visiting artists, and a large open area for workshops and practice sessions (available on request). No studio or exhibition fee is charged, but visiting artists are asked to contribute their expertise to the organization. In this space also are held art lessons for talented Balinese schoolgirls aged from five to 12 years old, where they learn from senior Balinese women teachers the traditional Balinese painting styles.
      Various other classes and workshops are held for visitors. Such luminous artists as Kartika, Affandi's daughter, have exhibited their work (she uses her palm as a palette!) here in 1992, followed by Judith Shelly, Yanuar Ernawati, Annie Ogie, Linda Kaun, Suzanne Vermaat. Topics covered in workshops have included art from trash, maskmaking, papermaking, portrait and self-portrait. For more information, contact Mary Northmore at Jl. Sriwedari 2 B (tel. 0361-975485, fax 975453), Banjar Taman, in the center of Ubud almost opposite Nomad's.

Noted Ubud Area Artists
I Bagus Made Poleng, in Tebasaya near Padangtegal, doesn't paint for the money. This eccentric Brahman only sells paintings when his village needs money for a religious festival. He deliberately starts with a high price—Rp6 million—so his paintings won't sell, then gets angry when they do.
     A.A. Gd. Sobart, in Padangtegal, specializes in market scenes. He's more business-minded than I.B. Made Poleng. Gusti Ketut Kobot lives and works in Pengosekan and does paintings of harvests and paddy fields.
     I Nyoman Meja is one of Bali's most successful artists. You'll see only a few of his works in Ubud's local galleries. His studio is in Taman near the Nomad Restaurant. He asks Rp5 million for an average painting and recently sold one of his works to a Japanese museum for the unheard-of price of Rp26 milion. Murjawan, in Kuto village near Ubud, is an experienced artist who paints in extreme detail. The quality of his work compares favorably with I.B. Made Poleng's, who is old and has a solid reputation.
     I Bagus Nadra, in Tegallinggah, is a senior painter who enjoys painting barong dances, preferring larger paintings. Guru Mirsa and Gugul, both in Tebesaya, also do very good work (barong dances). Sadia in Penestanan paints in the Bonnet style. Pengosekan's "Community of Artists" includes Barwo and Tujuh; though still young men, they are already producing high-quality work.

Noted European Artists
Ubud hosts a small European and Australian artist's colony: Australian Donald Friend, Dutch-born Han Snel, and the Catalan artist Antonio Blanco, whose specialty is erotic art and illustrated poetry. The paintings of these expat artists, who've devoted most of their professional lives to depicting Balinese life and culture, can be seen in the Neka or Agung Rai galleries, or in their home studios. One km through the rice fields beyond Campuan is Penestanan village where the Young Artists School developed under the influence of Balinese artist Cakra, and where Arie Smit, a Dutch-born artist who came to live in Ubud in 1956, lives. These compelling paintings, rendered in a naive, exuberant style and using strong primary chemical colors, often depict scenes from daily village life. The original "Young Artists" are now in their 50s, having been succeeded by a new generation of truly young "young artists" in their teens. Their paintings are much cheaper than those of the masters.

Galleries
In most of Ubud's art galleries at least five different contemporary styles are represented, with works by old veterans as well as brash young artists. Also on exhibit are modern forms such as Japanese-influenced screens. In many of the galleries—even the big ones like Agung Rai in Peliatan and Neka Gallery in Ubud—you get a personal tour guide. Sometimes there are special exhibits or collections on loan from museums. Always ask to see the dealer's private collections, usually hidden away behind a locked door. Most galleries charge Rp500 to enter the showrooms; in some you may watch artists at work in the back.
     The first and only one of its kind in Asia, the Seniwati Gallery is devoted to collecting, promoting, and encouraging the work of women artists who live and work in Bali, regardless of professional/educational level. Among the women artists the organization actively promotes is Putu Suriati. Early in life stricken by polio, Suriati has struggled against great odds, painting in painstaking detail in a dazzling range of colors. Other women artists involved here are Tjok Istri Mas Astiti, Dewa Biang Raka, Ni Made Suciarmi—the latter has over fifty years experience creating Kamasan paintings, the original Balinese works from which all others derive.
     The Gallery now shows and sells works by over 40 women artists from Bali, Java, Sumatra, and overseas, of whom just over half are of Balinese origin. Information sheets are available on each artist. Only Western women married to Indonesian men may display their work here, in this way getting around the restriction against non-Indonesians working in Indonesia. The gallery recently held its first group show in the capital, Jakarta. The response was so favorable that a number of the organization's artists now have waiting lists for their work. Having already exhibited in London and Washington, a major one-year exhibition was put on in Australia in 1995/96.
     For further information on Bali's nascent women's art movement, contact assistant director Mary Northmore, an Indonesian citizen of English origin, herself a noted patchwork artist and wife of Javanese artist Abdul Aziz. The Gallery and office are open daily 1000-1700, located just off Jl. Raya in Ubud at Jl. Sriwedari 2 B, Banjar Taman, Ubud, Gianyar (tel. 0361-975485, fax 975453). The Gallery publishes attractive full-color calendars, greeting cards, and prints picturing the works of women and girl painters, and sells these and other publications in its shop also at the above address.
     At I Gusti Nyoman Lempad's house on Jl. Raya, on the north side of the road in the center of Ubud, his grandchildren carry on the painter's tradition, turning out some excellent work. Lempad, who died in 1978 at the extraordinary age of 116, originally painted in the traditional wayang style, evolving eventually toward an expressionistic, exaggerated stylization of the wayang figures. Toward the end of his life he developed a very distinctive sketching style using only black Chinese ink on paper. A few of these remarkable sketches are on display in the gallery, which feels more like a private home than a public exhibition hall. A visit gives you an insight into the traditional home of an upper-caste Balinese family. Open daily 0800-1800.
     Han Snel's Gallery is back from the road, very quiet. A former Dutch soldier who deserted the colonial army after the War for Independence, Snel eventually married a Balinese woman and lives here today with his family. His style is abstract, with a stunning use of color. Han is now more a hobbyist painter; his most productive, provocative years are over. These days he turns out only three or four paintings a year. His gallery is well laid out, well lighted, and contains fine decorative works.
     A must is the Neka Gallery, established in 1966 in Peliatan. Whereas Puri Lukisan represents only Balinese artists, the Neka Gallery exhibits painters from all over Indonesia, as well as expatriate artists who have lived and worked on Bali. The Neka Gallery in eastern Ubud in Padangtegal consists of five different buildings. Paintings cost Rp35,000-25 million; you can get a discount of 10-25%. Wayan Suteja Neka, the founder and international ambassador of Balinese art, no longer pays commissions to agents for taking tourists around to his gallery—he's so famous he doesn't have to. In 1982, the Neka Museum north of Campuan (about 2.5 km from Ubud on the main road) was formally opened. Affandi, Sujono, Sobart, Kebot, Ida Bagus Made, Lempad, and other famous artists are exhibited here in the most comprehensive collection of traditional and modern Balinese paintings on Bali. The art students of Bali's Udayana University must study the works in the Neka Museum to graduate. The museum exhibits and sells some of the highest-quality contemporary paintings found anywhere in Bali. The several hundred paintings range from impressionism to abstract expressionism, and each is neatly and thoroughly labeled in English (the museum guidebook is redundant). Open daily 0900-1700. Rp2500 admission.
     Also visit the equally important Agung Rai Gallery in Peliatan and the Agung Raka Gallery just before Mas. These big commercial galleries, which feature Balinese, European, and Indonesian paintings, deal with international art connoisseurs and do a high-end, high-turnover trade in overseas markets. Acting as a virtual ambassador of the arts, Agung Rai even buys paintings in Europe and sells them here to Europeans (for more on this super gallery, see "Peliatan" under "Vicinity of Ubud").
     Rudana Gallery (tel. 0361-975091, fax 975091), south of Teges (which is just south of Peliatan) on the right side, is a marvelous private collection put together over 14 years, comprising a great variety of painting styles—contemporary works by local artists as well as masterpieces by famous painters. The staff and guides will give you a tour of the gallery's 16 sections, nothing short of a comprehensive survey of Indonesia's art history. The artwork of Blanco, Bonnet, Donald Friend, Gunarsa, Basuki Abdulla, Dullah, and Affandi, as well as Kamasan epics, Batuan miniatures, and an eclectic array of paintings from around the archipelago, also make up the collection. In the traditional art room hang works by I Gusti Lempad, Ida Made, Wayan Djudjul, Kasta, and I Gusti Kobot. Modern work includes pieces by Wianta, Nidjara, and Soeporno.

ENTERTAINMENT AND WORKSHOPS

From the early 1920s, the royal family ensured that the most talented teachers of dance, music, and drama were brought to Ubud, both to entertain the king and to impart their knowledge to local performers. The brilliant ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee based himself here, assiduously conducting groundbreaking research and writing his classic A House in Bali (1944) about his prewar experiences in Ubud. Even earlier, the Dutch musicologist Jaap Kunst published Music of Bali (1925), in which he lauded the gamelan of neighboring Peliatan. Ubud and its satellite villages are still major dance centers where every night of the week up to five performances, as well as music recitals and dance classes are happening simultaneously. Since new troupes are being formed and new venues are opening constantly, the best is to get the very latest info on cultural performances from the tourist office on Ubud's main street, or wait for one of the touts selling tickets around the town's main crossroads.
     There are no nightclubs to speak of—after you're expelled from Nomad's or the Bush, you're left alone on the streets with the howling dogs. The Beggar's Bush in Campuan is Ubud's only real bar. If you like the mature expat/Indonesian mix of clientele it offers, at Han Snel's Restaurant it's easy to meet people. His bar, next to elegant, overpriced Siti Restaurant, is unavoidably intimate, the drinks straight, and the off-color jokes mercifully short—a precious colonial bastion in today's Indonesia.

Dance and Music
The kecak and barong are the most spectacular and interesting—and most easily understood—of Balinese dances. People sell tickets in the streets—their commission is already included in the price, so helping them earn a living isn't costing you extra. Tickets are also available at the door. At only Rp5000, which sometimes includes transportation, the performances are a great value. These dance demonstrations are actually short demos of up to eight separate dances in one. Most start at 1930 or 2000 and last about 90 minutes. It's first come, first served, so get there early. Frequent camera flashes during the show are unnerving to both performers and spectators.
     Because of its temple surroundings, the dances put on almost every night at Puri Saren by the Dadha Budaya dance troupe are outstanding. The legong kraton is staged each Monday and the barong every Wednesday night. Package tour operators drive clients here from Denpasar. The dancers are extremely talented, but the street noise can be distracting.
     See children practice dance at the Ubud Palace on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons at 1500. It's free, fun, and fascinating to watch. Foreign kids can join in. At the Padangtegal stage every Thursday at 1900, a Ramayana ballet is staged by the Sekar Alit children's troupe. Performed on the same stage every Tuesday at 1930 are legong dance; every Saturday at 1930 see legong and barong dances. A children's barong dance is held every Sunday evening at 1030 in the Museum Puri Lukisan.
     The huge Gunung Sari dance and music pavilion, in the pura dalem between Padangtegal and Peliatan, stages legong every Thursday and Saturday nights at 1930-2045. The performances of the Ciwa Ratri Dance & Classical Gamelan Gebyug at 1930 at the dance venue on Jl. Tebesaya are very popular. Audiences marvel at the dancers wearing big cowbells.
     The Gamelan Semara Ratih ensemble in Banjar Kutuh, northeast of the post office, performs the best tourist gamelan every Tuesday night at 1930. The best tourist gamelan plays every Tuesday night at 1930 in Banjar Kutuh Kelod in north Ubud. Better than the Ubud Palace show, this gamelan is healthy, young, vibrant, and has a varied program. It is made up of dancers and musicians from all over, including many students, graduates, and teachers from STSI, the Bali Arts Academy in Denpasar. This group is new and still building a reputation with the show The Spirit of Bali. Semara Ratih also performs recent works by Nyoman Windha, a leading composer from the music and dance academy STSI, as well as other modern compositions and some classical dance pieces. Pak Windha was the founder of the group along with Agung Anom, the renowned baris dancer. This performance stands out from all the others for its freshly innovative, energetic, and extremely talented performers. wayang theater performance, The Sacrifice of Bima, takes place on Wednesday and Sunday from 2000 to 2100 (Rp5000) at Oka Kartini's on Jl. Raya in Padangtegal. This is an authentic shadow puppet show with a torch behind the screen; preceded by a short explanation. Upward of a third of the audience watches the skill of the dalang from behind the screen.

Courses and Workshops
Lots of courses—art, dance, music, healing, meditation—you see signs everywhere such as in restaurants along Jl. Raya Ubud. Also choose your family accommodations according to your interest, be it wayang theater, instrument-making, jewelry, or carving. The sign, Painter and Homestay, for example, means that the losmen is owned or managed by a painter. If you stay with a dancer, (like Ibu Masih's on Monkey Forest Road), you'll be able to watch private gabor, oleg, and tari tenun dance lessons in the flowered courtyard. Guests are sometimes treated to special demonstrations. Another possibility is to stay with Ketut Madra of Madra Homestay who is a traditional topeng dancer (see "Peliatan" under "Vicinity of Ubud").
     Infinitely patient I Nyoman Warsa at Pondok Bamboo (opposite Kubu Ku Windchimes) teaches the gender bamboo tingklik instrument for Rp5000 per hour. His son teaches music too. You'll find it's difficult to follow the rhythm and to count time, but don't despair. In the ikat shop next to Dian's Restaurant take lessons on the happy, galloping klintik for Rp5000 per hour. I Wayang Karta runs the Nataraja Dance and Music School and guesthouse at Jl. Sugriwa 20 in Padangtegal. Founded in 1987, this school specializes in teaching Balinese music and dance to non-Balinese. Informal methods have been developed which enable the student to progress quickly and efficiently, i.e., ear training, coordination excercises, learning the ornamentation, etc., so that they are able to master the basic dance, Pendet, in about 10 lessons at Rp7000 per lesson. Students of music are able to master particular songs within three lessons. There is no fixed timetable of classes. The school operates on the traditional sanggar system where the number and scheduling of classes are adapted to availability and what instruments or dance they want to learn. Inexpensive accommodations are available at a number of homestays near the school.      Balinese dance courses are also offered at Dewi Sekar Ayu on Jl. Hanoman. Walking away from Jl. Dewi Sita, where it intersects Jl. Hanoman, turn right and walk about 100 meters; Dewi Sekar Ayu will be on the left.
     The ancient Indonesian self-defense system, Daya Putih, is taught at the Daya Putih Study Centre, Jl. Andong 1. This martial art discipline, which dates from the 13th century, is said to rejuvenate vitality and well-being, reduce stress and tension, improve memory and concentration, and awaken intuition. You may entroll in the regular program of two classes per week (each class is two hours) for one month or sign up for their intensive four or eight day program. All students must start at beginner's level. Call (0361) 975467 and ask about their free one hour introductory class. Taught by the Javanese painter and writer Madi Kertonegoro, the Future Peace Art Gallery, J1. Tegalalang north of the J1. Raya Ubud and J1. Peliatan intersection (on the road to Petulu) is the venue for daily lessons in another traditional Indonesian self defense known as Daya Nurani Dewa Katon.
     At the Ganesha Bookshop (tel./fax 0361-96359) on Ubud's main street opposite the post office, sign up for an informal introductory workshop in traditional Balinese music. No previous musical knowledge is necessary. Participants are given a brief history of the gamelan and are then invited to choose an instrument (drums, flute, cymbals, rebab, gender wayang) on which to learn some basic music. Instruments are provided and the tutors speak English. The workshop costs Rp15,000 per person and runs every Tuesday evening 1800-1930. Alternate times and group bookings available on request.
     The Meditation Shop, on Monkey Forest Rd. (tel. 0361-976206), is the venue for silent meditation ("spiritual sharing") each day at 1800-1900. Short guided meditation also available. A free introductory course begins each Monday at 1900 (runs through Friday). The shop hosts lectures by spiritual teachers and sells metaphysical literature and tapes in English, French, German, Dutch, Cantonese, Japanese and Indonesian. Open daily 1700-2130. The Fibra Inn on Monkey Forest Rd. (tel. 0361-975451), offers meditation, dancing, gamelan, painting, and woodcarving courses.
     At the Maspahit or Crackpot (tel. 0361-976698) on Monkey Forest Rd., you can learn batik-making. Make your own batik T-shirt, painting, sarung, or postcard with help and instruction from batikers. Create your own designs or use the ready-made design templates (hundreds to choose from). You can get into as much detail as you want and come and go as you please, no time limits. Adult T-shirt costs Rp25,000, child T-shirt Rp15,000, cushions Rp20,000-25,000, paintings Rp15,000-25,000. Organic dyes that change with the light are used. The Crackpot also has a book exchange service and a coffee shop where you can relax, read magazines and newspapers, play games, and enjoy the best sandwiches in town in a friendly atmosphere. Great place to leave your kid for the day. If heading south, it's about 100 meters beyond the soccer field on your left.
     Learn Balinese cooking at Casa Luna on Wednesday morning. The course covers cooking techniques, Indonesian herbs and spices, alternative ingredients, and menu planning. Students try their hand at sate base genep, sate lembat, lawar buncis, sweet corn patties, peanut sauce (bumbu kacang), and gado gado. Each session costs Rp15,000, runs 2.5 hours (1100-1330), and includes a lunch and tea or coffee. Booking is essential as there's a five-person minimum. Classes can be arranged for the other days as well if minimum booking requirements are met.
     To immerse yourself in Indonesian culture, Sukadana, in the middle of Jl. Jembawan on the left if coming from the post office, offers Balinese and Indonesian language courses. Oka Wati's, off Monkey Forest Rd., also gives lessons in Balinese and Indonesian.

SERVICES

The police station (tel. 0361-975316) is on Jl. Raya Andong. Head out of town toward Peliatan, then at the T-junction turn on the road north to Petulu; it's opposite the telecommunication center. Ubud has at least 20 moneychangers, most open 0830-2000. On Ubud's main street and all the way down Monkey Forest Road are moneychangers, international freight forwarders, postal agents, film processing outlets, and travel agencies. A unique, locally managed, nongovernmental tourist information center (tel. 0361-96285), established by contributions from 12 banjar and the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, is on Ubud's main street across from the dance hall bale and only seconds from the main intersection in the exact center of Ubud. Staffed by at least three English-speaking Indonesians, this is a great place to find out what's going on. Dance schedules, shuttle bus costs and times, notices of ceremonies, emergency numbers, and trekking info is posted, and they also hand out a good map of Bali, sell tickets and organize transport to dance and music performances, plus provide a convenient message board for travelers. Open daily 1000-2000.
     Public bulletin/notice boards are found all around town, posting information about events happening around the island, details of transport costs, sightseeing tours, and other points of interests to tourists. It pays to check them each day. A useful one is at the Crackpot on Monkey Forest Road. Behind Ary's Book Store by Ary's Restaurant and diagonally across from Lotus Cafe, a printer will make you 100 single-color business cards for Rp12,000.
     Tino Drug Store, tel. (0361) 975020, on Jl. Raya next to Casa Luna, is Ubud's best-stocked supermarket for anything from film, sunblock, groceries, canned goods, and beer to Corn Flakes, frozen pork chops and steaks, open 0800-2000. Dewi Mas Market (tel. 0361-975300) on Jl. Hanoman (just before the fork to the Monkey Forest) is a newer and brighter version. Open 0730-2000. Want to get married on Bali? I Nyoman Sujana can help make the arrangements. Make inquiries at Tebesari Homestay and Dressmaker, Banjar Tebesaya 29, in Peliatan.
     There's now a Kodak photo processing shop called Era Drug Store and Photo Color Service Centre, tel. (0361) 975341 or 975362, at the start of Monkey Forest Rd.; a branch is down the road toward the Monkey Forest. Segara, near Nomad Restaurant, does photocopying and laminating, sells stationary, and offers binding service—the best service of it's kind in Ubud. A laundry service is advertised beside the sign to the Frog Pond Inn on Monkey Forest Road. Ubud's Children Club, Jl. Pengosekan 9, tel. (0361) 975320, is run by an Australian woman. Open 0800-1200, 1300-1600.
If your hotel doesn't have a swimming pool, for a small fee (Rp2000-3000) you can swim as a guest in a number of hotel pools—Puri Suaswati, Villa Rasa Sayang, Dewi Sri Bungalows, Fibra Inn, Grand Ubud, Oka Kartini's, Oka Wati's, Andong Inn, and Pertiwi's. The entrance to the pool at the Ubud Village Inn is Rp3000 but includes a drink, towel, and nice relaxing music.

Tourist Services
It's a harbinger of Ubud's maturity as a tourist center that agencies like CV Three Brothers Wisata on Monkey Forest Road have arrived. These people do everything: car, motorbike, and pushbike rentals; insurance; packing and shipping; postal service, stamps, and parcel delivery; coach tours; shuttle bus tickets; moneychanging; cash for credit cards; bus tickets for Java; international and domestic air ticketing; importing/exporting; document clearance; hotel reservations; and laundry. Another full-service agency is Surya International on Jl. Raya, tel. (0361) 975133, fax 975120; staff will make hotel reservations for you for a fee.

Banks and Moneychangers
The Ubud branch of Bank Duta—Indonesia's best bank—offers the most services. It's near the major T-junction in north Peliatan just before Ubud. You can get a cash advance on your credit cards (Rp3000) and change traveler's checks here. Air-conditioned Bank Danamon, on Jl. Raya in the center of Ubud a little east of the town's main crossroads on the north side of the street, also does cash advances against your Visa card (open Mon.-Fri. 0800-1300). Another good bank is BCI beside Nyoman Communication Service. At least a dozen money changers are found along Monkey Forest Road and Jl. Raya. You don't have to look far for a moneychanger—virtually every shop in Ubud will change money. Look for the best rate.

Postal Services
There are postal agents all over Ubud where you can buy postcards and stamps or mail letters and parcels. Rona's, Jl. Tebesaya 23, sells stamps and posts letters. The poste restante service at Ubud's post office in Padangtegal is free, though not too reliable; it's better to have letters sent to a hotel. Large envelopes and packages are filed separately from the regular mail, and newly arrived mail doesn't even get sorted for a full day or two. The post office also offers paket pos service; first have your parcel inspected, wrapped by a tukang bungkus in a shop outside for Rp400-10,000, depending upon the size and material (Rp10,000 for a wooden box filled with protective foam). The post office is open Mon.-Sat. 0800-2000, Sunday 0800-1200. The postal code is 80571.

Book Exchanges and Lending Libraries
Rona's Accommodations and Book Exchange, Jl. Tebesaya 23, tel. (0361) 975120, has a library of over 2,000 books in English, German, French, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Dutch. For guests, books are exchangeable one for one. For others, if you buy a book you get half its price refunded when you give it back, or you can trade two books for one. The Crackpot on Masapahit (tel. 0361-976698) also has a book exchange service. The Library and Research Center next to the football field rents books and has a reference library; tel. (0361) 976194, e-mail pondok@denpasar.wasantara.net.id. Run by a friendly American named Lori.

Telephone
From Ubud's center walk east to the T-intersection in north Peliatan, make a left, walk 200 meters north. On your left, just in front of the police station, you'll find the fully-computerized, efficient government telephone office Kantor Telcom. Here you can dial your home country direct by entering a booth and pressing the button marked with the country you want to call (choice of 20 countries). A call to the U.K., for example, can be made for Rp31,000 for three minutes, each additional minute Rp5000. Pay with Visa, an Indonesian telephone charge card, or call collect. Twenty-four hour Home Country Direct booths are also found at Ubud's main post office on Jl. Jembawan. Telephone cards can be bought at Kantor Telcom or at the tourist office on Jl. Raya. The telephone code for Ubud is 0361.
     Although more expensive, another good convenient place to make international (IDD) calls via satellite is Nomad's Telecommunications Center, Jl. Raya Ubud 33 X, tel. (0361) 975520, fax 975115, which takes up the whole top floor of Bank Central Asia on Ubud's main street. Most other telecommunications businesses charge you for a minimum of three minutes but at Nomad's you pay only for the actual time you're on the phone. Collect calls must go through Denpasar and it could take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on how busy they are. They also send and receive faxes. Open 24 hours. Nomad's runs another telephone office on Monkey Forest Road.
     Ary's Travel Service, next to the Ubud Bookshop and beside the restaurant of the same name, offers a fast, efficient fax service (Rp10,000 to the U.S.), reconfirms tickets, offers a poste restante service, and allows you to leave messages for people. Very handy and central for people who don't have telephones. Open 0900-2100.

Freight Forwarding and Shipping
Dozens of reliable international air and sea freight forwarding companies are based in Ubud. These companies also provide container service, packing, custom clearance, guaranteed parcel delivery with insurance, and handicraft and garment exporting services. Check out PT Sakura Citra Cargo, Jl. Suweta 9, Ubud 80571 Gianyar, tel. (0361) 975070 or 975634, fax 975581, and Ary's Travel Service, Jl. Raya, tel./fax (0361) 975162 or 975523. PT Purnama Cargo, Jl. Jembawan 1 X (near Ubud's post office), P.O. Box 119, tel. (0361) 975033, will ship one container to Europe for about Rp630,000, less to the West Coast of the United States. Will wrap and prepare an average size box for sea shipment for Rp5000, not including postage. See manager I Wayan Rarem.

Beauty and Health
An indulgent treat for both men and women can be found at Nur's Beauty Salon at Jl. Hanoman 28. A friendly and professionally run operation. They specialize in using traditional products and jamu and their massage rooms are set in a peaceful garden. A full range of beauty treatments. The herbal bath is not to be missed—an hour and a half of pure relaxation for Rp42,000. You can spend the better part of the day at Nur's getting a manicure, pedicure, facial, massage, herbal bath, shampoo, trim, and style—for Rp95,000. Nur also offers two-hour body massages for both men and women. Another good beauty salon, Marie's, tel. (0361) 975622, Monkey Forest Road, does manicures and pedicures for Rp7500, wash and cut for Rp15,000, and facials, baths, and massages. Very friendly. Salon Traditional Massage on Jl. Hanoman offers face masks, cream baths, waxing, braids, beard trimming, and jamu treatments.
     Ubud's best commercial masseuse is Dr. I Wayan Weda at Mentari's Massage Service Center, Jl. Hanoman 1 (tel. 0361-974001), right on the corner of Jl. Hanoman and Jl. Raya Ubud. Wayan offers relaxation massage, acupressure, and reflexology. If you have any doubts about the efficacy of the massage, read the dozens of testimonials on the bulletin board in front. The Bodywork Centre, Jl. Hanoman 25 (tel. 0361-975720), gives very deep massages for Rp20,000-40,000.
     AA Meetings are hosted by the Mumbul Inn on Jl. Raya each week. Call (0361) 975364 for information. Dr. Siada holds consultations in his office opposite the market from 1700 to 2000, including Sunday. The bulletin board outside the tourist information office on Jl. Raya posts the addresses of other doctors and dentists, and there's a small clinic on Jl. Dewi Shinta just east of the soccer field.
     Ubud has one small hospital, Darma Usadha on Jl. Abangan Tjampuhan (tel. 0361-975235), that's open 24 hours. It costs about Rp80,000 plus the price of drugs for a doctor to pay a house call to your bungalow or homestay. At Ubud Sari Health Resort, Jl. Kajeng 25 (200 meters from Jl. Raya Ubud), chiropractor Dr. James Taylor does excellent healing work. Beautiful environment—garden, ponds, jacuzzi, baths, massage, vegetarian restaurant, moderate, and takes credit cards. An extremely well-stocked drugstore, Apotik Ubud Farma (tel. 0361-974214), is located on the main road, Jl. Raya Ubud, just up from Genesha Bookstore on the right (if heading into Ubud's center). The pharmacist, Gidheo Winata, speaks good English (he worked in Germany), looks up all the medicines first, and even sends someone down to Denpasar to pick something up if he doesn't stock it. Nice guy. Open 0800-2100.

TRANSPORTATION

Getting There
From Kuta, get a public bemo first to Denpasar's Terminal Tegal (Rp600), then another bemo to Kereneng (Rp500), then another bemo to Batubulan (Rp500), then another bemo to Ubud (Rp1000). Getting to Ubud from Lovina Beach is awkward though tempting because the shuttle service is Rp12,000. If you take public transport, be sure to get off at Mengwi and change bemo instead of going all the way into Denpasar.
     Bemo arriving in Ubud turn left before the market on Jl. Hanoman, loop around by the soccer field, then turn right on Monkey Forest Road to finally stop in front of the market on Jl. Raya Ubud. If your accommodation lies in Padangtegal or the eastern edge of Ubud, ask the driver to drop you off before the central market. Shuttle buses usually drop you off near your accommodations, though Perama tends to unload its passengers at its office on the southern end of Jl. Hanoman, a full 10-minute walk from central Ubud. If heading to Campuan, Penestanan, Kedewetan, Saya, or any accommodation west of Ubud, take a bemo (Rp500) from the market.

Public Tansport from Ubud
Ubud's central location is ideal for tourists who visit Bali for only a week or so, as the town can be used as a handy base for trips around the island. You can reach almost any tourist site, get back the same day, and go to the theater that night. It's even possible in Ubud to arrange a seat on a bus from Denpasar to Yogyakarta. Book two days in advance; buses usually depart from the travel agency's office in Ubud.
     The bemo stand is in the middle of town by the market. It's easy to board public transport out from 0500 right up until evening. Fares: Mas Rp600, Blahbatuh Rp600 (brown bemo), Gianyar Rp800 (turquoise and orange), Klungkung Rp800, Denpasar Rp1000. Blue bemo head for Sukawati and Payangan, other brown bemo serve Kintamani (via Tegalalang and Pujung). The bemo to Denpasar goes straight to the big Batubulan Station from where you can catch another bemo to Denpasar's Kereneng station near the city center within walking distance of the market and Merpati and Garuda offices. When returning to Ubud from Denpasar, remember the last bemo for Ubud leaves Terminal Blahbatu around 1800.
     Going from Ubud to Kuta and Sanur is a bit complicated, taking four bemo and about two hours. First take one of the large brown vans from near Ubud's market to Batubulan (Rp800, 27 stops), then a cross-city microlet to Kereneng (Rp500), then another bemo to Tegal station, then another to Kuta. It's easier just to take the shuttle bus (Rp5000), which drops you off at your door. Or just grab a microlet all the way to Sanur for Rp20,000. For western Bali, go to Batubulan first, then catch another bemo.

The Sakah Connection
For many destinations, you first have to go to the crossroads village of Sakah, seven km south. Bemo leave all the time for Sakah (Rp500). From Sakah connect with other bemo heading for Singaraja, 102 km; Gianyar, 10 km via Bedulu; Tampaksiring, 19 km; and Amlapura, 60 km via Gianyar with a stop in Candidasa. Sakah to Candidasa is normally Rp2000 but bemo drivers try to charge tourists Rp3000. Remember, if you want to head east or north from Sakah, there's no need to go all the way into Denpasar and get another bemo out. Just take a bemo to Gianyar, the junction town for the eastern and northern halves of the island. To the villages bordering Ubud, like Peliatan and Campuan, bemo cost only Rp500 from Ubud's center.

Shuttle Buses from Ubud
Take advantage of the express services in vans from Ubud to: Kuta/Sanur/airport for Rp7500 (one hour), departure times 0800, 1000, 1300, and 1730; Candidasa/Padangbai Rp8000, departure times 0630, 0800, and 1100; Kintamani Rp7500, departure time 1100; Lovina Rp12,000, departure time 1100. Shuttle buses also depart for Lombok: Mataram for Rp16,500, departure times 0630 and 1100; Senggigi Rp17,000, departure times 0630 and 1100; Gili Trawangan Rp22,500, departure time 0630. Book the day before. Perama Tourist Service at the southern end of Jl. Hanoman in Pengosekan, picks up passengers at all the better known accommodations on Monkey Forest Road. You can also buy Perama bus tickets at Rona's (tel. 0361-975120) on Jl. Tebesaya or at Purnama on Jl. Raya Ubud. Nomad's, with an office next to Nomad Restaurant (tel. 0361-975520) on Jl. Raya, and another on Monkey Forest Road just south of the soccer field is also a major shuttle operator.
     The shuttle bus south usually drops people off at Sanur first, then drives on to the airport, then to Kuta. If you have something to do in Sanur, you may stop over there and take another shuttle bus later in the day on the same ticket. There are two shuttle buses a day (40-50 minutes) to Denpasar's Terminal Ubung, one in the morning that connects with the bus to Jakarta and one in the afternoon that connects with the bus to Yogyakarta.

Travel Agencies
There are dozens of good travel agencies all over Ubud. A good one is PT Cahaya Sakti Utama, Jl. Raya 33, tel. (0361) 975520, 975721, or 975131, fax 975115. PT Sapta Nugraha Kencana, Jl. Hanoman 17, also gives service and the staff is knowledgeable. Sells plane and shuttle bus tickets, reconfirms tickets, and has been known to change flight departure times on tickets, charging you Rp5000, but saving you a trip to Denpasar.
     Surya International on Jl. Raya, tel. (0361) 975133, fax 975120, opposite Puri Lukisan, confirms tickets on Garuda, Qantas, JAL, and MAS flights for Rp2500. Bus and shuttle tickets are available; also offers daily sightseeing tours to Bali, Lombok, and Java. Very handy location in Ubud's center.

Long-Distance Buses to Java
Although ultimately departing from Denpasar, in Ubud you can choose your seat and confirm your ticket. The bus to Surabaya leaves 1900, arrives 0700 the next day, Rp21,000; to Yogyakarta leaves 1530, arrives 0800, Rp24,000 non-a/c, Rp38,000 a/c; to Semarang leaves 1530, arrives 0800, Rp37,000; to Bandung leaves 0630, arrives 0800, Rp50,000; to Jakarta leaves 0630, arrives 0700 the next day, Rp56,500. Book two days in advance at any of Ubud's dozens of travel agencies, but you must cancel 24 hours in advance. Departure is from Denpasar's Ubung station. Get yourself there by bemo for Rp2000 via Batubulan or take a shuttle bus direct to Ubung for Rp12,000.

Vehicle Rental
If there are three or four of you, consider hiring a bemo for a day or two of leisurely sightseeing. Your hotel or losmen can almost always arrange car or motorcycle rentals. A decent four-wheel drive vehicle rents for about Rp50,000 per day including driver and insurance; a Suzuki jeep without driver is Rp40,000 per day including insurance if you take it a week or more.
     On Monkey Forest Road, I Nyoman Hertia Car Rental, tel. (0361) 975360, has a large fleet of cars to choose from. It costs about Rp30,000 to hire a taxi to the airport at 0430 or 0500 in the morning.

Pushbike and Motorcycle Rental
Pushbikes are one of the best ways to explore the Ubud area—you're able to cover more territory than if you walked. There are a number of bike rental places with big one-speed models that fit Western frames for Rp4000-5000 per day, or newer, fat-tired mountain bikes for Rp8000-10,000 per day. If you rent long-term (over a week), a bike costs only Rp3000-4000 per day. Alit's on Monkey Forest Rd., a little down from Tjanderi's on the right, has bicycles for Rp4000 per day; many mountain bikes to choose from. Near the Monkey Forest, I Kt. Sudarsana Shop rents new bikes with baskets for Rp4500 per day or Rp4000 per day for six to seven days.
      It is very easy to cycle around Ubud, though it's difficult to stay on the right track, even with a Pathfinder map. It's also difficult not to end up on one of the crowded main roads. One warm-up ride is through Campuan to Keliki, then west to the main road and back to Ubud. This tour will take a leisurely three to four hours for nonathletic types and offers some brilliant views. Another velo outing is to Tampaksiring and Goa Gajah.
     A good day tour is a ride from Ubud down the back roads via Kengetan to Denpasar, coasting almost the whole way. Watch those big lumbering tour buses. From Denpasar, put your bike on top of a bemo for the return trip to Ubud. Motorcycle rentals cost about Rp15,000 per day including insurance. Might as well go for a vehicle, which offers better protection and costs only Rp20,000-30,000 more. The nearest place to gas up is in Peliatan. It's not easy to find petrol in the Ubud area after 2000.

Tours
Many storefront travel agencies offer a comprehensive, well-priced range of organized or customized coach tours all over the island for Rp15,000-80,000, depending upon distance, carrier, and how many sights the tour takes in. The agencies vary little in price and provide air-conditioned buses seating eight to 12 people. Tours to cremations make a mockery of the most important day in the life of a Balinese and amount to cultural pollution. Sample tours: the "Kintamani Volcano Tour" (Rp15,000), which includes Goa Gajah, Pejeng, Tampaksiring, Penelokan, Bangli, Gianyar, runs 0900-1700. The full-day "Besakih Mother Temple Tour" (Rp30,000) visits in Celuk, Bukit Jambul, Kusamba, Gianyar, and Taman Gili. The "Bedugal Tour" (Rp20,000) includes Mengwi, Alas Kedaton, and the Lake Bratan area.
     Mutiara Tourist Service, Jl. Ubud Raya, tel. (0361) 975145, specializes in roundtrip sunrise tours of Mt. Batur, led by expert mountain trekker Jero Wijaya. You leave Ubud at 0230 for the base of the mountain. Don't forget good sneakers, T-shirt, long trousers, and camera. The price is about Rp75,000. If you're hale and hearty enough, Mutiara will also take you to climb Gunung Agung. Of great appeal to naturalists is Bali Nature Walks, tel. (0361) 975-678, opposite Paduna Indah Cottages in Penestanan. They specialize in overnight nature tours of the forests and hills of western Bali's Barat National Park.      Ibu Rai Trekking, Monkey Forest Road, Box 153, Ubud, 80571, tel. (0361) 975066 or 975579, fax 96472, organizes walking tours around Ubud every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. At 0800 meet at the Ibu Rai Restaurant, where a car will take you to Banjar Sala just outside Ubud, then you start walking through rice fields, river valleys, across bridges and streams, into tropical forest. At the end you visit the ancient temple of Pura Taman in the village of Umakuta where a traditional Balinese lunch awaits. Arrive back in Ubud around 1530. Cost: Rp25,000 per person.
     Nomad's, tel. (0361) 975520 or 975131, sells a snorkeling day trip to Turtle Island for Rp20,000, starting at 0800 and returning by 2000 every day. Price includes transport and equipment. Book one day ahead. A very popular tour is Sobek's eight-km whitewater rafting trip down the Ayung River gorge near Ubud. The price of Rp130,000 includes transport to and from your hotel, all equipment, world class guides, stunning scenery, hot and cold showers, changing rooms, and an excellent meal. Also ask about Sobek's Class IV whitewater rafting trip for Rp160,000 and the kayaking tour for Rp115,000. Call them at (0361) 287059.
     The Pony Day Tour includes a/c transport from your hotel to the stables in picturesque Tabanan Regency, instruction in the basics of riding, catered lunch, and a guided circular tour on ponies of rice terraces, woodlands, river courses, and the beach—a nine-hour ride for Rp127,000 per person. Book at many hotels in the Ubud area or call the Campuan Tourist Service, tel. (0361) 975298, on Jl. Raya. If walking from Ubud's center, their office is at the bottom of the hill on the right, about 150 meters before the bridge. From Ubud you can also arrange for accommodation and tours to other areas of Indonesia. Ask Perama Tourist Service in Pengosekan, tel. (0361) 975120, about the "Land-Sea Adventure to Komodo Island" (Rp525,000), "Lombok Countryside Tour" (Rp200,000), and "Trekking Mt. Rinjani" (Rp300,000). The per person price includes transport and ferry ticket with no extra charge for stopovers.
     If you want to do your own tour, a one-day tour taking in a wide cross section of Balinese country life and culture would be: Ubud-Pejeng (the Moon of Pejeng, bronze drum)-Gunung Kawi-Tampaksiring-Gunung Batur-Toyabungkah Hotsprings (on the lake)-through Jati to Sebatu-Gunung Kawi (another bath, cold)-Sebatu (better shopping than Tampaksiring)-Petulu (sunset and white herons)-Ubud.

Back Roads from Ubud
Ubud is a more convenient base than the south for exploring inland Bali. With your own bemo you can take the shortcut to Gianyar via Bedulu or travel north from Ubud via Campuan, Sayan, Kengetan to Sangeh—an infrequently traveled route with few public bemo. If heading south, take the quiet back road out of Ubud instead of the really busy main road via Mas. This country road, which starts at Banjar Tegal in Ubud, passes by a few art shops and through working agricultural villages, and emerges in Batuan. These narrow, paved back roads are ideal for mountain bikes. By the early-1990s, tour buses had begun to discover them and, although they're still a lot less traveled than the main roads, it's not as virgin an experience as it used to be.
     A variation on this route is the 40-km trip via Campuan, Kedewetan, Payangan, and Punggang to Gunung Batur's crater rim. This back road from Ubud is now paved for all but six or seven kilometers, but has thousands of potholes and ruts the whole way, making it an easier trip by motorcycle than car. The road intersects the main north-south road at Kalanganyar, the village between Kintamani and Penelokan. Another way up to Gunung Batur is Ubud-Peliatan-Goa Gajah-Bedulu-Pejeng-Tampaksiring-Penelokan.
     An even more adventurous route for a private vehicle is the one via Peliatan to Pujung and Jasan. The surfaced mountain road that passes through Pujung emerges onto the road along the crater rim northwest of Penelokan. Check out the woodcarving centers and art shops of Tegallalang, Pujung, Jati, and Sebatu on the way. Jati, where the great carver I Tjokot lived, is just off the road beyond Tegallalang. The Peliatan/Tegallalang/Pujung/Batur road is much nicer than the one passing through Pejeng and Tampaksiring.

Walks from Ubud
Go to Ubud to get close to the real Bali—a mystical land lying somewhere nearby. All around this sprawling village are scenic rice fields, forested gullies, deep river gorges, lush vegetation, half-overgrown shrines and grottos, beautiful and diversified landscapes, Tarzan pools, moss-covered temples carved from rock hillsides, even a Monkey Forest. Wake with the sun and set off on foot or bicycle down any of the village's many lanes. Indispensable companions to bring along are Victor Mason's volume of guided Bali Birdwalks (Insight Guides, 1992; Rp12,500), the Pathfinder's trail map Ubud and Environs (1992; Rp10,000), and bottled water.
     Any track leading off Ubud's main road, Jl. Raya, will do. The path will lead to pristine native kampung with a contingent of yapping dogs. You'll get an inside look at the enormously durable community life of the Balinese. A walk from Ubud to Kubuh, Tunjungun, Yeh Tengah, Keliki, Campuan, and back to Ubud will take only a day. Rest during the noonday heat, then set off again in the late afternoon. Or just walk straight to Keliki; the trail starts from beside the Pura Campuan Batu Lebah in front of Murni's in Campuan. This very nice two-hour walk up through a river valley takes you by rice paddies and jungle with no vehicles or shops and few people.
     Another, shorter walk north takes you over a ridge between two river valleys to the small community of Bangkiang Sidam, only a 15 minutes over open grassland from Ubud. Relax in Klub Kokos Cafe (tel. 0361-975001, fax 974731) which serves light food and drink in an unhurried, serene atmosphere. Have a chat with Kirshna and Cathy Sudharsana about the local area. Stay overnight in one of their bungalows or walk farther north and visit a half dozen painting galleries.
For total and instant immersion into Balinese rice culture—really beautiful and only minutes away—walk up through Ubud's pura dalem on the east side of town, or pay to get in to the Puri Lukisan. After taking in the exhibits, go around the back of the last building and start walking north along the gradually rising path between irrigation canals. This is as real as Bali gets, and you'll probably be completely alone. You'll see pond herons, rare Malay facewings, Javan mooniers, white-bellied swiftlets, Troides Helena butterflies, and Lucinea spiders. From the edge of the paddies, catch sight of the massive hotels of Nusa Dua. Lie down in the irrigation ditches to stay cool. Farther up is a pura pujunganan under a frangipani. It is built of tuft and is in perfect allignment with Ubud's pura dalem and Gunung Batur. A bit farther still is a lush ravine.
     To walk to Kintamani, leave Campuan at 0500 and walk steadily uphill through Sebali and Keliki—you'll reach Kintamani around 1700 or 1800 the same day. Most of the mountains of central Bali can be seen on this beautiful walk. If it starts to get dark, stay on one of the village platforms. It's a big event in the village when a car or motorcycle drives by, or a westerner arrives on foot.
On the walk to Pejeng, you'll take in surpassing views of rice fields. This is also a great cycling and jogging road. East of Ubud at the T-junction, go straight ahead instead of turning south to central Peliatan. This bituman road (Jl. Laplapan) heads straight east to Tatiani (30 minutes). Cross a river and ask the local boys in Tatiani to take you to the waterfall. Farther on, in Pejeng Timor east of the kepala desa's office, is a temple with two amazing reliefs with very deep dimensions and almost animated carvings of fish leaping from the panel. In Pejeng, see the Moon of Pejeng, then walk south via Bedulu to visit the Musium Purbakala (Archaeological Museum) in Bedulu.

Victor Mason's Bali Birdwalks
This three-hour guided tour is not just for those who love birds but for anyone who appreciates natural productions—butterflies, trees, brilliant scenery. It combines exercise, nature, and cultural observations. Meet at 0900 in Victor's Bali-style restaurant and pub, Beggar's Bush by the bridge in Campuan. After a drink, the group sets out, getting back at around 1300 for lunch. The cost is Rp76,000 (10% goes to the Bali Bird Club), which includes the birdwalk, binocular use, lunch, bottled water, coffee, and tea.
     The biggest draw is the inimitable humor, panache, and wit of Victor, your host, who has lived on Bali since 1970. With a torrent of excited exclamations in English, French, Balinese, and Indonesian, Victor really plays the part of the eccentric British ornithologists, a Sir Alread Russell Wallace clone. He's started his vastly entertaining nature rambles in 1990; as the years go by, it's getting harder and harder to find good paths into the countryside, but Victor seems to know them all. He'll lead you into the exquisite gardens of Puri Lukisan, demonstrate how to paste a cingke leaf on your forehead to cool you down, teach you how to suck sweet nectar from a Cardinal's Hat or whistle birds up. Of the 100 species of native birds found around Ubud, you're bound to see 30 or so, as well as some quite abrupt alterations of habitat. The best way to go is barefoot. Sharp-eyed Sumadi is his able assistant. To make a reservation, call (0361) 975009.