Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 255

Twenty-five kilometres further west,
Medewi beach (about 2hr by bemo from
Ubung) is known for its light current and
fairly benign waves, making it a popular
spot for novice surfers. Mai Malu ( T 0361
43897; Rp150,000) is a popular place near
the highway; it has eight plain, fan-cooled
rooms, plus a restaurant serving pizza. hey
can also organize surf trips (around $50 per
day), and car and motorbike rental. About
600m east of Mai Malu is CSB Beach Inn
( T 0813 3866 7288; Rp150,000) which
has large, well-kept fan and a/c rooms
overlooking the shorefront rice fields.

on Jalan Raya (daily 9am-6pm;
Rp50,000; T 0361 971159,
W

museumpurilukisan.com), which,
though set in prettily landscaped
grounds, suffers from poor labelling and
is outshone by the Neka Art Museum in
nearby Sanggingan (see p.260).
A water garden fronts central Ubud's
most atmospheric temple, Pura Taman
Saraswati (generally sunrise-sunset; free).
hrough the red-brick temple gate, you'll
find various shrines dotted around the
temple courtyards, including a towering
lotus throne sculpted with a riot of
carvings and resting on the cosmic turtle
and sacred naga serpents.

UBUD AND AROUND
UBUD is Bali's cultural hub, a seductive
town set amid terraced rice paddies and
known for its talented classical dancers
and musicians, and for its prolific
painters and artisans. Tradition is
particularly important here and temple
festivals happen almost daily. However,
although it's fashionable to characterize
Ubud as the real Bali, especially in
contrast with Kuta, it's a major tourist
destination and bears little resemblance
to a typical Balinese town - there's even
a Starbucks here now.

Campuhan and Penestanan
Extending west from central Ubud, the
hamlet of CAMPUHAN is famous as the
home of several charismatic expatriate
painters, including the late Antonio
Blanco, a flamboyant Catalan (“the Bali
Dalí”) whose house and gallery on Jalan
Raya Campuhan has been turned into
the enjoyably camp Museum Blanco
(daily 9am-5pm; Rp50,000;
W blancomuseum.com).
Across the road from here, the track
that runs north along the grassy spine
behind Pura Gunung Lebah forms part of
the very pleasant ninety-minute circular
Campuhan Ridge walk , taking you around
the rural outskirts of Campuhan via the
elevated spur between the Wos Barat and
Wos Timor river valleys. You leave the
ridge at the northern end of the village of
Bangkiang Sidem, taking a sealed road
that forks left and continues through
Payogan and Lungsiakan before hitting
the main road about 1.5km northwest of
the Neka Art Museum.
he side road that turns off southwest
beside Museum Blanco leads to the
charmingly old-fashioned village of
PENESTANAN , a centre for beadwork. he
more scenic approach to the village is via
the steep flight of steps 400m further
north along Jalan Raya Campuhan. he
steps climb the hillside to a westbound
track that passes several arterial paths to
panoramic hilltop accommodation before
dropping down into the next valley and
reaching a crossroads with Penestanan's

4

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Arty, high-minded Ubud has Bali's best
art museums and commercial galleries,
and is also a recognized centre for
spiritual tourism , with many
opportunities to try out indigenous and
imported healing therapies. Organic
cafés, riverside bungalows and craft shops
crowd its central marketplace, while the
surrounding countryside is ideal for walks
and cycle rides, and there's easy access to
the northern volcanoes.
here is major (mostly tasteful)
development along the central Jalan
Monkey Forest, and Ubud's peripheries
encompass the neighbouring hamlets of
Campuhan, Sanggingan, Penestanan,
Nyuhkuning, Peliatan, Pengosekan and
Padang Tegal.

Central Ubud
Ubud's oldest and most central art
collection is the Museum Puri Lukisan