At the beginning of the 1930s, a lot of tourists from other countries came to Bali, especially to the Ubud area. Why is it only in Ubud? It’s because Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati, who ruled Ubud (and was King Sukawati’s brother, Tjokorde Gede Raka Sukawati), could speak English and Dutch. Besides that, a guest house for tourists to stay in Ubud was built thanks to the king of Ubud’s business skills. Raja Sukawati, the older brother of the King of Ubud, asked painter Walter Spiers to live and work in Ubud. This is an important part of the history of Ubud tourism.
Many foreign painters came to Ubud to work after Walter Spiers stayed there. Paintings by foreign artists showed how people lived in Ubud, and these artists held art shows in other countries. This made Ubud popular around the world.
The king of Ubud, Tjokorde Gede Agung, Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet, and a group of local artists called Pita Maha started an organization for painted arts. This group for painting arts wants to bring together Balinese artists and teach art to kids in the Ubud area. As a result, Ubud has become the center of museums in Bali up to this point. The Ubud Palace Painting Museum and the Arma Museum Ubud are two museums in Ubud.
King of Ubud (Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati) lives in Puri Saren Agung, which is also known as Puri Ubud. Ubud castle is right in the middle of Ubud. Click this link to see a picture of where Ubud castle is.
The castle in Ubud is now one of the most popular places for tourists to visit in Bali. There are dance shows almost every night at the Ubud palace, like the Ubud Barong dance. There is a place across from the Ubud palace called the Babi Guling Ibu Oka stall where you can eat delicious Balinese food.