Ubud Day Trip

By Ed on April 9th, 2008 - Credibility Check

If you don't actually stay in Ubud, then you must make a day trip to this area of Bali because this is the 'real Bali' On our last trip we hired a car and driver for the day and stopped at the Alila Hotel for lunch - their outdoor restaurant is perched right over the river gorge and the views are simply astounding. Historically Ubud has been the cultural centre of Bali and in the town you can find dozens of small shops selling hand-crafted jewelry, clothing and artwork - you can easily spend the better part of an afternoon window shopping. I'd also recommend that you take in a Gamelin performance - this is traditional Balinese music and dance (highly recommend the book A House in Bali written in the early 1900's by Colin Mcphee which centres around the Gamelan music scene) Also worth seeing in Ubud is a Wayan performance (those are the shadow puppets that you may recall from the movie The Year of Living Dangerously).