Indonesian Experience V - The cultural highlights of Ubud and surroundings

English Version

Hi Everyone,

as all of us are currently very restricted in our travels because of the pandemic or in our case also because of our new family member, my wife and I decided to write up one of our last big trips to Indonesia. So all of you can at least experience some of the beauty of our world at home while we enjoy the memories of our trips doing this. 😀

This is post five of the series. Please refer to my profile to check out the older entries.

Feel free to "Follow" us if you like this post and want to read about our later adventures in the following posts.

In our second post about Ubud and the surrounding area we deal with the cultural and artistic highlights.

Due to the long time we spent there, the description within only post of all we experienced around Ubud just wouldn't do justice to anything.

If you are looking for unusual art, you will definitely find it at the Ubud Market. 😅😉

The Ubud Market is centrally located in the heart of the city. In addition to clothing, food stalls and souvenirs, you will find handmade wood carvings, baskets and paintings here. Here you can get everything what you want especially bamboo art and utensils are sold on every corner. It is worth strolling through the market and just let yourself be carried away by the atmosphere there. For the foodies among you, there are also countless extremely tasty stops in Ubud to eat and drink from all cultural heritages.

There are also small craft shops in the side streets, as well as unusual cafes and restaurants and temples.

Across from Ubud Market there are stalls for admission to a traditional Kecak dance in the evening. This nocturnal fire dance is based on the Indian national epic Ramayana and lasts about an hour. This performance tells the story of Prince Rama from the kingdom of Kosala, who was banished from the court of his father Dasharatha to the forest and later defeated Ravana, the prince of demons. This story is told with different interpretations across different countries but if you are in it for the show its recommended to watch.

It starts with 50-100 men (women were only allowed to take part as actors in these performances from ~2006 onwards, as they were prohibited from performing before, the proportion of women is correspondingly low) with bare chests and a sarong around their hips light a fire, form a circle around the fire and Sing "Kechak-kechak" in various intonations while moving with your hands up. And all without any musical instruments. There are also the main characters in great costumes and tell the story of Rama. This is an impressive performance and highly recommended to take a look. You also need a night adjusted camera to film.

Click hear to view a video of Manfred Koppensteiner of this performance in high quality video

We recommend that you read the plot beforehand in a language you understand, otherwise it is rather difficult to follow the great performance. 😅

In general, there are many temple complexes around Ubud.

On the trip to Bali we visited the Goa Gajah elephant cave, the water temple Pura Tirta Empul and the royal tombs Pura Gunung Kawi. Well we also visited Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu but that was more or less on accident as we took the wrong turn somewhere and ended up there on accident 😅

A sarong must be worn in all temples. If you don't have one yourself, you can usually borrow a sarong for free. Tip: You can buy a sarong at the Ubud Market at a reasonable price if you are looking for a typical souvenir as a memory for yourself. The borrowed sarongs can be quite colorfoul.

We visited all the temples on our own by scooter.

The Goa Gajah Elephant Cave and the park behind it are located in the middle of the green lung of Ubud. According to the information board at the entrance, the temple complex was opened in the eleventh century and combines Hinduism and Buddhism temples.

There are several temples here, but the best known and the best picture opportunity is the elephant cave. This cave got its name from the discoverer of the cave, as the impressive rocks wall around the entrance to the cave reminded him of an elephant. To enter the cave, you go through the elephant's mouth, so to speak. The inside of the cave, however, is less worth seeing. There are two pools in front of the cave. You need a bit of fantasy too agree with the naming.

If you follow the path to the Buddha Temple, you will cross the beautiful park. There is also a river on one side and a lily pond on the other side. A total of around an hour is enough to visit this facility.

If you want to clean yourself in holy spring water, you absolutely have to go to the Temple Tirta Empul. Here you can find a lot of locals who go from one spring jug to the next in the two bathing pools to protect themselves from illness, anger and worries. Because only those who clean themselves under all 20 jugs receive the full healing power. Each source stands for a different healing. There are offerings everywhere along the jars to thank the gods.

Even as a tourist you can wash yourself in the holy water. The sarong can also be worn there. The actual temple is located behind the bathing pool and is even partially decorated with gold. At the exit of the temple is another large water basin with lots of carp. It´s recommended to bring your own food and water.

Please note that wearing a sarong even in the water is compulsory, women are not allowed to enter the temple during their period and long hair must be tied in a braid.

If you are looking for a lonely, beautiful and colorful water temple, you should not miss Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu. It was more by chance that we discovered this temple on our way to another destination as we kept driving the wrong way and had a bit of chaotic navigation with our rental scooter. The temple is located in a beautiful green valley and was built in honor of the god Vishnu the keeper.

In the temple there are many pools of holy crystal clear water in which you can watch huge carps swim. A shrine with a stone throne protrudes from the largest water basin and the pavilions in the temple are decorated with great colorful wood carvings. If you catch the son from the right angle you get quite a picture.

The temple exudes an incredible calm and the typical Balinese flair, presumably because there are hardly any tourists there. Definitely a place to stay and relax.

The Gunung Kawi Royal Tombs are located very close to the Tirta Empul. It is therefore advisable to visit both temples in one day to safe time on the road.

Here, too, you get a sarong free of charge at the entrance. Then you descend almost 300 steps into a deep gorge to the royal tombs and the temple, which are surrounded by rice fields. Do not arrive only in slippers or these steps will not be friendly to you 😉

The nine royal tombs carved into the rock are very impressive and somehow seem mystical. The temple complex was probably built in the 11th century and is one of Bali's largest and oldest monuments. This complex is very impressive both in terms of landscape and art history and we liked the most of the temples we visited.

We really loved Ubud. We still miss the city and its rich surroundings and the great food sometimes today.

In the next post of the series we will tell you, how the story continues on the island of Nusa Penida. Stay tuned 👍