march-2010

open verandas, and the main salon is an ancient joglo – a
200-year-old, Javanese-style house saved from demolition, and
decorated with intricately carved teak panels. It gives the merest
hint of the relaxation that the island has to offer.
But for a more complete sense of slowing down, away from
the excesses of Kuta and Seminyak, it is necessary to head north,
to an interior of mountains and volcanoes, forests and rice fi elds.
Here the mountains rear up in a gentle incline of deep green
vegetation dotted with temples and villages. For most visitors, it
is a fi rst chance to experience a little of the more traditional Bali,
where faith and spirituality are constantly on show, as every
temple on the island takes its turn at entertaining the gods. And
these gods are a demanding audience, because there appears to
be a ceremony every day. Watching one, with devotees dressed in
their ceremonial best, it’s impossible not to feel yourself slow
down. They tend to be conducted at a contemplative pace,
perhaps to ensure that the gods can appreciate the dazzling
costumes of the participants. And during the full moon, or
Purnama, they happen everywhere, and the sweet smell of
incense and the chiming of symbols fi ll the air.
In the 1930s, Cokorda Raka Sukawati, an
enlightened prince of the village of Ubud, actively sought out
and welcomed Western visitors.
At fi rst came the artists, like the German Walter Spies, who
made his home here and charmed the world with his stylised
paintings of Bali and its people. Then there was Mexican
FAR LEFT: A cover
for a temple
offering
LEFT: A walk in the
rain near the
volcanic
mountains of
Kintamani
TRAVEL BALI
“Ubud is a little town of local princes,
lost hippies, and foreign artists, and
still retains its creative fl air”
anthropologist Miguel Covarrubias, who recorded movies of
exotic dances and unforgettable local faces, encouraging a steady
stream of enthralled Western visitors to investigate. Luminaries
like Charlie Chaplin and Barbara Hutton also came, and more
recently the writer Elizabeth Gilbert.
And it was Gilbert’s arrival that has had the most signifi cant
impact. Her best-selling book, Eat, Pray, Love, is partly set on the
island and has brought an infl ux of female, Western visitors, who
come in search of a little spiritual enlightenment, some romantic
fulfi lment, or just a change from the daily grind. When the fi lm,
starring Julia Roberts, is released in late 2010, Ubud can expect
its visitor numbers to swell even further.
Long-time resident Karen Waddell is married to a
local prince, and the American catered to cast and crew while
Eat, Pray, Love was being fi lmed. “The book has already singlehandedly
put Ubud on the world spiritual map,” she says, “so I
can imagine the fi lm will only amplify that, particularly given
the fact that Bob Richardson, the director of photography, has
already won two Oscars [for JFK and The Aviator].” With the
colour palette that Bali offers, it’s unlikely that he has ever had
better raw materials to work with.
Those inspired to visit by Gilbert (or by Roberts) will fi nd
that Ubud has inspired many before them. And this little town of
local princes, lost hippies, and foreign artists still retains its
creative fl air. Galleries line the streets of the main village, as do
cute little boutiques and restaurants. Opposite Ubud Palace,
FAST Holland Herald 53