Ubud art village maintains its tranquility

Ubud art village maintains its tranquility

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP ): For visitors who want to hear the sound
of crickets and frogs while they sleep, the art village of Ubud,
18 kilometers south of Denpasar, maybe the best place to stay.

Each morning, hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists
eagerly hunt for distinctive art pieces at rows of famous
galleries and art shops along Jl. Raya Ubud.

As the sun goes down, these distinguished guests enjoy the
delights of Balinese dances such as Cak, Barong, and Legong as
well as wayang kulit (leather puppet) performances.

To entertain guests, cozy cafes like Casa Luna, Yogyakarta and
other places screen Hollywood movies, while diners digest
delicious meals.

By 9 p.m., the dynamic Ubud is transformed into a quiet and
serene village. Only a few people hang around the village's
alleys, others chat with their friends at various cafes.

At midnight, almost everyone is asleep. All businesses and art
activities have stopped.

Ubud, famous for its high-quality art, has attracted foreign
tourists since the l930s when the late artist Tjokorda Gde Agung
Sukawati, German painter Walter Spies and Dutch artist Rudolf
Bonnet established the Pita Maha art group.

Pita Maha was a well-known and dominant art community which
encouraged Ubud artists to experiment with various painting
styles.

When Kuta was flooded by "hippy" tourists in the l970s, Ubud
was almost untouched. The village successfully maintained its
originality and distinctiveness.

Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, the eldest son of the Sukawati
family, and who owns Tjampuhan Hotel and Pita Maha Hotel, said:
"We offer cultural and natural uniqueness instead of beaches and
other forms of modern entertainment."

Traditional art activities continue to blossom in the village,
which is now informally led by the descendants of Tjokorda Gde
Putra Sukawati.

He also manages Museum Puri Lukisan, home to many priceless
Balinese modernism paintings and numerous traditional artworks,
where the famous German painter Walter Spies established his art
studio.

Because Ubud has no discotheques or karaoke bars, visitors to
Ubud are mostly art lovers and middle-class tourists.

"Visitors to the village are mostly art aficionados," said
Anak Agung Rai, 44, owner of Agung Rai Museum and several cafes
and restaurants in Ubud.

Agung Rai explained that even now, a lot of community leaders
and as well as the entire community have refused to accept the
establishment of modern entertainment centers like discotheques,
karaoke bars or similar kind of places.

"We prefer to maintain and to preserve Ubud as Bali's art and
cultural center, while other places have been transformed into
international tourist arenas," said Agung Rai, who was once an
art vendor at the popular Kuta Beach.

The community leaders also rejected an idea to set up Pasar
Senggol (a folk market), on Jl. Raya Ubud, where street vendors
sell a large variety of local and international dishes at low
prices.

Reports said they are afraid many youths would get drunk at
the market. Their activities were frequently found to disturb
foreign visitors.

But other information claimed that it was the owners of the
restaurants who strongly pushed the leaders to stop Pasar Senggol
from happening for their business' sake.

The street vendors selling traditional cookies and dishes like
fried rice, martabak (pancakes), could actually become
interesting tourist attractions.

Visitors are often curious to taste these inexpensive dishes.

"I really don't mind seeing many vendors on Ubud's streets as
long as they sell healthy and clean food. They should not disturb
the traffic," said Agung Rai.

He added that he is not against modern forms of entertainment
like disco and karaoke bars but said they are not appropriate in
a small village like Ubud.

Most hotels and restaurants in Ubud are designed to blend in
with the surrounding environment.

Bebek Bengil restaurant, owned by Agung Raka, for instance, is
beautifully designed to face the stunning views of a river, ponds
and rice fields.

Agung Rai boasted, "In front of my cafe (Arma Cafe), one can
still view the beauty of Mount Agung and carpets of yellow
rice fields and hundred of stars in the sky."

Agung Rai said traditional performing arts such as the Legong
dance, Calon Arang play and other local shows are presented
frequently at Museum Agung Rai and in hotels and eating places.

Therefore, if you want to taste cosmopolitan Bali, where
people can enjoy hearing loud music and dancing all night long
surrounded by pretty girls, Ubud is certainly not for you. You
can probably find such an atmosphere at Lovina beach in
Singaraja, North Bali and Kuta.