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About Ubud
Only 40 kilometers from the airport,
Ubud lies at an altitude of 500 - 1000 meters. Ubud is a
picturesque village, situated right in the center of both rural
and cultural Bali. It is surrounded by rice fields, waving coconut
trees, waterfalls and lush ravines. This causes quite high
temperature during daytime, but at night it is cool, and even cold
at times, so that a blanket might be necessary. Mosquitoes are
practically not present. Nature is abundant and has not been
defiled yet, this is a tropical paradise. Beautiful for early
walks and cycling, we would discourage hiring motorbikes, because
of the high statistic of tourist accidents.
Regular markets ('pasar') are held
(ask locally). Many art galleries line along the main street of
Ubud. Go browse around, but wait with buying 'till you have
acquired Oka Kartini's advice on quality and price! Every night
there would be cultural performances such as Legong, Kecak, Barong
dances at different venues. Ubud is definitely a great place for
discovering the art of Bali.
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Central of Bali - Tourist Information
Ubud and Around
Gianyar is the second most densely
populated district of Bali, with the majority of its 320,000
people relying upon tourism for their income. This regency is the
center of arts. Most of the cultural activities related to tourism
on the island - from painting and woodcarving to dance and music -
are focused here, as is a broad range of agricultural activities.
Ubud
Some 25 km north of Denpasar, the
village was originally an important source of medical herbs and
plants. Ubud in fact was derived from the Balinese word of 'ubad'
(means: medicine). But in this village, not only you can find 'ubad',
but also every style of paintings. The settlement of foreign
artists such as Walter Spies, since the 1920's and 1930's,
transformed the village into flourishing center for the art.
Artists from all parts of Bali were invited to settle here by the
local prince. And Ubud palace and temples are now adorned by the
work of Bali's master artisans. There are so many ways to spend
your days here: visiting painting galleries and artists' studios,
sipping drink in garden cafes, and enjoying long stroll trough the
country side, or doing rafting.
Batubulan
Ten km north of Denpasar, Batubulan
is a village known for its ornate door-guardian statues, carved of
soft paras volcanic tuff. In this village you can also see the
typical Barong dance which performs every day at 9.30 - 10.30 AM,
and the Kecak dance in the evening at 18.30- 19.30.
Celuk
This village is the center for silver
and gold smiths. Almost every home in the village contains small
scale production facilities fulfilling orders placed by large
shops and exporters. Bracelets, rings, earrings and brooches, to
name a few of a wide range of products produced here, have started
to enter the export market.
Mas
This village has developed into a
flourishing center for wood carving craft. Indeed, it is difficult
to imagine what the village was like before dozens of tourist
buses started to drop in everyday. Yet Mas actually played an
important role in Balinese history during the 16th century, as it
was the place where a great priest from Java, Danghyang Nirarta,
had his hermitage. Based upon his instructions, many temples were
built, especially after his moksa (holy death). It is said that
the gods have bestowed talents on two of Mas houses: the skill of
the shadow puppet master to Griya Dauh, and the skill of wood
carving to Griya Danginan. At first, the wood carvers were all
brahmanas who worked only on ritual or courtly projects. Their
disciples learned the craft from them, and wood carving skills
were transmitted from father to son. During the 1930 's, a new
style of wood carving developed here. The motifs were more
realistic, and were inspired by everyday scenes featuring humans
and animals.
Goa Gajah
The famous elephant cave, which
served as a hermitage. It received its name from the archeologist
who discovered it in 1923, because there is a giant head with
floppy ears above the entrance, which at first glance was thought
to represent an elephant. The cave may date as far back as the
second half of the 11th century. The grotto inside is T-shaped,
containing 15 inches relief hewn out of the cave walls which may
have served as stone benches to sleep on. For this reasons it is
thought that the cave once served as a hermitage.
The Moon of Pejeng
The name of the temple is Pura
Penataran Sasih, which sasih means moon and refers to the moon of
Pejeng. A giant bronze cattle drum is kept high up in a shrine in
the temple. According to a story, it is the ear jewel of Kebo Iwa
(mythological giant), other says that it is the chariot wheel of
the moon god which fell on a tree in Pejeng and has been kept in
the temple ever since. At first it was bright and shining,
however, a thief tried to steal it and was disturbed by the
radiance of the wheel, so he urinated on the object. As a result,
it lost its brightness and turned green. The thief was punished
for this deed and died immediately. Cattle drum dated from the
bronze age. But it is difficult to determine how old the Pejeng
moon is.
Tirta Empul
A holy bathing place. Lies just north
of Tampak Siring, a long well marked road. The sanctuary consists
of an outer courtyard with a basin for public use and a central
courtyard with adjacent, rectangular pools containing clear,
transparent water. This holy spring is a major pilgrimage point.
Gunung Kawi
It is located on the banks of the
river Pakerisan. There, a group of monuments consisting of candis
is hewn on the rock hillside. Four candis are on one side of the
river and the other side has 5 candis. These monuments originated
from 11th century and were discovered in 1920. Gunung Kawi means
mountain of poetry or mountain of antiquity. In this impressive
historical site, the monuments function as royal memorials,
representing the kings and queens of the Udayana dynasty. The
tombs or candis are 7 meters high and each group of candi rests on
a common basis. From left to right: king Udayana, his queen
Gunapriya, his eldest son, his youngest son Anak Wungsu and
Marakata. The eldest son, Erlangga, ruled Eastern Java while the
youngest son Anak Wungsu ruled Bali after his father's death. The
candis on the other side were built for the four concubines of
Anak Wungsu. At the right side of the candi or monuments, there is
a cloister of monasteries for the Buddhist monks, consisting of
several cells carved out of rock. One can reach this location,
situated in a valley, by walking down about 200 steep steps from
the car park. Legend tells that the giant Kebo Iwa carved out
these monuments with his fingernails. Kebo Iwa was a giant of
supernatural power. He was said to be the minister of the last
king of Pejeng dynasty. In the past, this zone was the center of
meditation and devotion.
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