Ubud – The Medicine Town

Ubud has been a place of meditation and medicine for centuries, and the tradition of healing continues to this day. Ubud actually means medicine in Indonesian. A walk down any street will reveal yoga centres, spas, healers, counsellors, practitioners of Reiki, vibration healing and herbal medicine. The many small restaurants on every street showcase menus of whole foods, plant based delicacies, and healthy choices. It is no wonder why people come here to heal.

Ubud is also a bustling city full of temples, markets, art galleries, and oh so many shops. I particularly love the wood carving shops full of wood bowls, spoons, and plates. Wood carving is a big part of Balinese culture and religion.

Balinese wood carvings are made from hard woods with a coarse grain such as teak, chempaka wood and sandalwood using simple tools like the machete. It is incredible to watch the detailed figures of gods and demons emerge.

The Balinese people are deeply religious – Hindus – and they worship many different “gods.” Balinese carving is an ancient art that is steeped in traditions, often mixing magic with skill. Even the tree from which carvings are made is felled according to tradition—with a blessing ceremony preceding cutting.

As I strolled down the skinny side streets of Ubud, every house and temple is protected by carvings – large animals or idols designed to keep away evil spirits. The intersections have statues, and the forests have statues. It is an art lovers delight to see the craftsmanship literally everywhere!

I am visiting Ubud in the monsoon season. Each day is predictable: warm and sunny in the morning, hot and humid mid-day until the rain starts. Then it cools down significantly. It’s perfect really, allowing you to walk about in the morning, lay by the pool in the afternoon, and head out again in the early evening. Visiting now also allows me to avoid the huge crowds of tourists and traffic in the high season.

The first few days here in the medicine city was to gauge the weather and mosquito situation – both of which are fine – to help me decide if I should come back for a longer stay, and I absolutely plan on returning to Ubud for at least another week.

In the past three days I have visited the monkey sanctuary, where I enjoyed the trees and statues more than the monkies, and also hiked to the Ridge Walk made famous by Julia Roberts in the movie Eat Pray Love. I went to an art gallery too. Mostly, I walked the streets. Street strolling was my favourite. They are quiet and full of the scent of lotus blossom and incence - a welcome respite from the bustle of the main streets.

Today I will head out with a private driver to see all the sights in the vicinity that I could not walk to. I am on my way to Cadi Dasa where I will stay at a resort on the ocean. Each time I change locations I will hire a driver for the day and see all the area sights between the two locations. It kills two birds with one stone and saves money of course. A driver here is relatively inexpensive: I am paying 700,000 IDR for 10 hours. That is about $7 CAD an hour. Well worth it to have an English-speaking driver to explain what I am seeing. He will pick me up at 9am and we will head north to walk the rice terraces. Then we will head to a waterfall for a short hike, then off to an ancient village where people still live as they did centuries ago. We will also go to Amed, so I can scout a homestay to stay in for a week later next month.

Selamat tinggal.