Ubud Art Market

The Ubud Art Market, also called “Pasar Seni Ubud”, is located opposite the royal palace Puri Saren and is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00. The market is divided into two main areas. In the western block is the art market, the eastern block is a traditional market where you can buy food and other daily necessities.
Insiders call it the best art market in Bali, where you can buy beautiful silk scarves, light shirts, hand-woven bags, baskets or hats, statues, kites and many other handmade goods. Haggling is common at the Ubud Art Market.
Most of the goods offered at the Ubud Art Market are made in the neighboring villages of Pengosekan, Tegallalang, Payangan and Peliatan. The location of the traditional art market amidst the handicraft villages and directly opposite the Royal Palace, which is the center of Ubud, makes it a strategic shopping place for Balinese handicrafts and souvenirs.
The Ubud Art Market also served as a backdrop for the Hollywood movie “Eat Pray Love”. Actress Julia Roberts strolls through the stalls, which in real life are visited by both locals and tourists.

Stroll and marvel
Art markets in Bali are on the bucket list of most tourists. For many of them, one of their favorite pastimes is simply strolling to the heart of the city, made possible by the footpaths that pass by virtually every aspect of Balinese culture and life. One of these relaxing walks takes you from the Monkey Forest, located about a kilometer south of the market, through the Ubud Art Market to the Royal Palace.
Strolling through Ubud’s art market is not always about an actual purchase. Viewing the various items passed from one stall to another is a highlight in itself and shows the craftsmanship and artistry of the locals.
Compared to art markets in other tourist centers of Bali, for example Kuta, Ubud Art Market offers higher quality and greater variety. Although beach towels and shirts with “Bali” printed on them, woven ikat skirts, Balinese-style paintings, wood carvings and woven baskets can be found almost everywhere on the island, items such as four-color satin bohemian skirts, Moroccan-style oil lamps, quilted batik camisoles and brass Buddha statuettes are more typical curiosities of the Ubud Art Market.

Unlike the merchandise in the various stores along Monkey Forest Road, most items at the Ubud Art Market do not have a bar code or a set price. In other words, haggling is expected.
But trade in Bali is very different from haggling in Arab bazaars. In the Orient, potential customers are often harassed by the merchants or even pulled into the stalls by force. Balinese people would never do such a thing. They politely wait for the customer to make the first move and do not force them to buy immediately.
Haggling is always polite and with a smile. For Balinese, haggling is simply part of the fun of shopping, often it’s not even about getting the best price or the maximum possible profit. Still, it’s helpful to think about the most you want to pay for an item before haggling
Start with about half the asking price and increase it until you find a compromise. Don’t buy anything if it’s the first day of your vacation. Get an overview while you enjoy your first day and get used to the prices.
To admire all the goods and stalls is impossible to create in one day. If you spot an item that interests you, it’s best to come back another day to haggle and close the deal.

Good to know
If you definitely plan to buy something, you should visit the Ubud Art Market as early as possible, before the tourist rush starts around 10 am. As one of the first buyers of the day, you can usually get better prices. Many of the traders believe that the first sale of the day brings them luck. For this reason alone, they are often willing to lower their prices.
The afternoon is much more hectic. Salespeople are much more persistent in trying to keep the customer interested for as long as possible. This behavior should not be confused with aggression. For retailers, this is simply a sales tactic, even though customers may see it differently.
In the evening it becomes more relaxed again. Merchants also like to offer their goods at lower prices around closing time to make a few sales at the end of the day before going home. Anyone planning a visit to the monkey forest should go there before shopping. The macaques living there are excellent thieves and have already stolen many a purchase.

Definitely worth a visit.
Ubud Art Market offers not only high quality Balinese items, but also a universal and international assortment. Compared to other art markets in Bali, the items offered here are usually of higher artistic value. The market’s location amidst the art producing villages and in the center of Ubud makes it a strategic shopping destination for Balinese handicrafts and unusual souvenirs.
The art market is definitely worth a visit, even for non-buyers and photographers looking for colorful subjects. Stay polite while haggling and watch your valuables, because pickpockets also like to pay a visit to the Ubud Art Market. If you stay overnight in Bali, it is best to visit the market early in the morning or late in the evening.
Because the market is very large and located in the center, it is not difficult to find. The official address is Jalan Raya Ubud No. 35. Walking from the Monkey Forest to the King’s Square, you will walk right through the market.

Ubud

Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. It forms a northern part of the Greater Denpasar metropolitan area (known as Sarbagita).

Ubud is an administrative district (kecamatan) with a population of 74,800 (as of the 2020 Census)[1] in an area of 42.38 km2. The central area of Ubud desa (village) has a population of 11,971 and an area of 6.76 km2, and receives more than three million foreign tourists each year. The area surrounding the town is made up of farms, rice paddies, agroforestry plantations, and tourist accommodations. As of 2018, more tourists visited Ubud than Denpasar to the south.

Streets
The main street is Jalan Raya Ubud (Jalan Raya means main road), which runs east–west through the center of town. Two long roads, Jalan Monkey Forest and Jalan Hanoman, extend south from Jalan Raya Ubud.

Buildings
Puri Saren Agung is a large palace located at the intersection of Monkey Forest and Raya Ubud roads. The residence of Tjokorda Gede Agung Sukawati (1910–1978), the last ruling monarch of Ubud, is still owned by the royal family. Dance performances and ceremonies are held in its courtyard. The palace was also one of Ubud’s first hotels, opening its doors back in the 1930s.
Some Hindu temples exist, such as Pura Desa Ubud, which is the main temple, Pura Taman Saraswati, and Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal, the temple of death. The Gunung Kawi temple is the site of the royal tombs. Goa Gajah, also known as the Elephant Cave, is located in a steep valley just outside Ubud near the town of Bedulu.
The Moon of Pejeng, in nearby Pejeng, is the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world, dating from circa 300BC. It is a popular destination for tourists interested in local culture.

Transportation
Like other towns popular with tourists in Bali, it is not permitted to order a metered taxi or ride-sharing service for pickup within Ubud. Instead, a taxi and price must be negotiated with a member of the local taxi cooperative. This protectionist system ensures the driver is from the local area, and also keeps the fares inflated to up to 10 times the rates available elsewhere.

Economy
The economy of Ubud is highly reliant on tourism which focuses on shopping, resorts, museums, yoga, and zoos. There is a strong focus on sustainable economy regarding the retail industry in Ubud, with many Bali-grown brands favoring materials and ingredients that would not cause much waste to the environment. From home and living amenities to tropical clothing brands, Ubud has quite a unique array of retail selections that have proven attractive to tourists from around the world.

One of the initiatives that have boosted Ubud as another popular tourist destination in recent years is the Ubud Food Festival (UFF). Happening in less than a week every April, this festival brings fellow restaurateurs and restaurants in Ubud together to create either special menus or particular promotions that may not be available in other months.

In contrast to the tourist area in southern Bali, the Ubud area is less densely populated by locals. However, tourists far outnumber locals, with the Gianyar regency seeing 3,842,663 tourist arrivals in 2017 – 1.3 million alone visiting Ubud Monkey Forest.

Culture
The town and area have some art museums, such as the Blanco Renaissance Museum, the Puri Lukisan Museum, the Neka Art Museum, and the Agung Rai Museum of Art. The Museum Rudana in Peliatan is nearby. Galleries promoting local and overseas crafts are abound, too, in Ubud. Some often hold exhibitions focused on stimulating a dialogue between both local and international artists, and less about selling artworks. One of the primary examples is BIASA ArtSpace, founded by art enthusiast and fashion designer Susanna Perini.

The Tek Tok is a traditional Balinese dance that is accompanied by the musical sound of mouth ‘Tek Tok’ altogether with various combinations of body movement and other sounds. The story Draupadi Parwa told in the Tek Tok Dance tells a moral message, when a woman who embodies the values of patience, sacrifice, compassion, devotion, and holy sincerity is disrespected, then disasters and calamities will befall a kingdom or state. This story also conveys the message that truth, virtue, devotion, and genuine compassion will always be protected by God. The Tek Tok dance performance is held regularly at the Bali Culture Center (BCC) in Ubud four times a week. Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) is held every year, which is participated by writers and readers from all over the world.

Many Balinese dances are performed around Ubud including the Legong by the Peliatan Dance Group, the first troupe to travel abroad.

Nature
The Mandala Suci Wenara Wana is known to Westerners as the Ubud Monkey Forest. The grounds contain an active temple and are located near the southern end of Monkey Forest Street. This protected area houses the Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal, and as of June 2017, approximately 750 crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys live there.

The Campuhan Ridge Walk is a hill in nearby Campuhan, from where one can see two rivers, Tukad Yeh Wos Kiwa, and Tukad Yeh Wos Tengen, merge. A one-meter wide paved-block track runs about two kilometers to the top of the hill which is a popular spot to watch the sunset.

Goa Gajah: Also known as the Elephant Cave, Goa Gajah is an archaeological site with intricate carvings and a tranquil meditation cave.