Beyond its impressive physical attrib utes – rice paddies, thundering surf, volcanoes, monsoon forests – Bali is famed for its multi-hued kaleidoscope of arts, culture and religion.
The Balinese use the catchall term adat (in fact a word with Arabic roots) to describe their densely layered religio-cultural life. It means something like tradition, but better captures the sinuous, celebratory interplay between sacred and secular that is the island’s social motor. If Bali’s a kaleidoscope, then Ubud is geographically and metaphorically its central prism – the much touted “artistic and cultural hub” where Art (capital intended) collides with craft and all manner of bohemians, eccentrics, autocrats, altruists, hippies and creatives form a cosmopolitan patchwork that’s a little more stitched to local culture than in resort enclaves elsewhere in Bali.
But then Ubud isn’t really a resort enclave. The town itself is strewn prettily across an undulating landscape of valleys, ridges and rolling hills. The main thoroughfare is a broad boulevard lined with markets stalls, ornate buildings and temples where accomplished dancers and gamelan orchestras perform for tourists each evening. Head west towards Campuhan and you approach not only one of the most beautiful parts of Ubud, but also the place of its origin.
The official history (based on ancient Lontar manuscripts) states that when the mighty Hindu Empire of Majapahit succumbed to Islam at the turn of the 16th century, 2000 members of its cultural elite – artisans, priests, royalty – fled eastward to Bali. A fertile valley at the confluence of two rivers – campuhan in Balinese – was deemed the perfect spot for a settlement and Ubud’s course was set. With the bohemian influx of the 20th century, key artists like Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet and I. Gusti Lempad guided the transition from art as a purely religious form into the freer secular realm it occupies today.
Ubud’s artistic legacy is manifested in the numberless galleries to be found in its vicinity – from tiny hole-in-the-walls, to grandiose museums like the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), which houses a standing exhibition of works by Balinese, Indonesian and foreign artists. Irreverent sensualist Antonio Blanco’s paintings are housed in an ornate renaissance style palace in Campuhan – lascivious nudes jostling with ingenuous portraits of Bali’s people. Outside, peacocks patrol the tropical gardens and cockatoos and toucans stand sentry.
Held each year in early October, The Ubud Writer’s Festival has grown into one of the foremost in the world attracting some of the world’s literary heavyweights including Booker Prize Winners Michael Ondaatje (2005) and Kiran Desai (2007) amongst a host of other wordsmiths.
Parallel to the artistic influx was that of tourism. With its cooler climate and artsy leanings, Ubud is the perfect foil to the humid southern resorts and its rolling, rainforest clad topography makes for some truly Jurassic locations. The Four Seasons is amongst the most spectacular, featuring an iconic spherical structure suspended like a flying saucer on the edge of a deep gully known as the Sayan ridge, with suites fanning off on each side as well as private villas deep in the valley.
Indeed Sayan is home to a host of villa resorts – The paradisiacal Begawan Giri spa resort, now owned by the Como Shambhala group, has long been a favourite with celebrities including Sting and Donna Karan; other notables include the high-end Amandari Boutique resort favoured by Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Claudia Schiffer, owned by Aman Resorts and not so far away the Alila and quirky Taman Bebek which mixes classical Balinese style with irreverent artsy elements.
Private villa rentals are far less abundant than in the south, but there are some winners – Villa Vajra close to the village of Sebali is a beautiful property spilling down a steep hillside; The 5 bedroom Villa Kirana in Sayan sets palatial pavilions with antique interiors in landscaped gardens overlooking the ridge. For the most part, new developments in the area have been confined to secluded – and often remarkable – private homes as opposed to the investment minded projects that exist in other parts of the island.
Still, freehold land is abundantly available and often attractively priced so future resort development seems likely as other areas become saturated. Ubud’s character and reputation will play a part in mitigating a real estate gold rush however – the lifestyle is not suited to everyone, after all. Just as as the clubs of Kuta and Seminyak are beginning to wind up, Ubud gently resonates to the hum of cicadas as a village enforced midnight curfew kicks in.
There are nightspots of course – live music venues like the Jazz Café and cafes like Deli Cat and Flava Lounge are popular. And the eating is excellent. Mozaic Restaurant in Campuhan is South East Asia’s only member of the revered Grand Tables Du Monde – chef Chris Salans turns out everevolving a la minute creations – his degustation menu comes highly recommended.
Naughty Nuri’s restaurant is an Ubud institution – famed in equal part for its enormous rib racks and obfuscating martinis while just off Ubud’s main drag, a simple street side eatery named after its founder Ibu Oka serves some of the best Babi Guling (traditional Balinese roast suckling pig) on the island. And in the quaint jumble of lanes, amongst the boutiques, yoga studios, galleries and crafts shops, you’ll find other quality cafes and restaurants like Batan Waru, Terazo, Ari’s Warung, Tutmak and Lamak.
Ubud sustains a rich community life, with an emphasis on holistic, eco-friendly lifestyle. It has a well-stocked community library (where you can also learn gamelan), the Bali Spirit Center which focuses on yoga, meditation and healing practices and of course a host of indulgent spas.
People don’t go to Ubud for the nightlife – but then that’s really the point. What with such a vibrant cultural, artistic and community life during daylight hours, Ubud needs its rest.
By RUFUS JOHNSTON
Photos: Jack Wylie
