Panorama of the Week: Balinese Family Garden – Ubud, Bali
Filed Under: Keep your eyes open as you walk down the streets of Ubud, Bali. Tucked in between all those trendy cafes and shops, you’ll find wooden doorways — sometimes plain, sometimes intricately carved — built into brick and stone archway gates.
Take a peek and you’ll find these doorways serve as portals to other worlds of green and tranquility. Walk inside and you’ll find altars dotted with offerings or perhaps a carved Ganesh adorned with flowers (my favorite Ganesh statues are those where his feet come together in a yoga pose).
At first glance, you might find yourself wondering if you’ve stepped into a Balinese Hindu temple complex.
In fact, these peaceful garden sanctuaries are often just family courtyards. As the father of our homestay explained, they usually feature a temple for the gods (where daily offerings and prayers take place), a temple for the people (where birth, marriage, and death ceremonies take place) and a home where multiple generations of family live.
Spirit and life, side by side.
Open up the panorama below for your own peek inside.
Panorama: Inside a Balinese Family Courtyard in Ubud, Bali
For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.
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May 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 am
Yes, this brings back amazing memories of Ubud. I love that place.
May 2nd, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Beautiful family garden and love the panorama viewing your post portrays!
Have never been to Ubud but close friends who have describe it as a gorgeous place. Believe it’s several villages, not just one small town, each run by a village committee and all focused on preservation of the local architecture and gardens.
Really enjoyed your post, reminded us of many nice things we have heard about Bali.
May 3rd, 2011 at 2:35 am
Wow, I need to get to Bali soon
May 3rd, 2011 at 10:48 am
@Jeff: Glad this panorama brought back good memories! Beautiful place.
@Tim: You are right – Ubud is actually several villages each with its own community rulers. Fortunately, many of the guest houses have been able to offer tourist services while still keeping the traditional style and feel of the gardens and family compounds.
@Roy: Ha! Glad this panorama offered some inspiration!
May 6th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Great panorama! I was going to say that this looked like the place I stayed at, but then so many of them look the same. If the internet was a bit more reliable and the Indonesian visas not so troublesome, I would easily spend an extended time in Ubud.
May 6th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@James: The fact that there are so many peaceful and beautiful places like this throughout Ubud are what make this place so nice. I hear you about staying longer if internet were a bit more reliable and visas a bit easier to handle. Apparently, there is a new internet company in Ubud offering high speed – have to pay extra for it, but it’s supposed to be much better. So, maybe reconsider…