Tag Archives: murni’s warung

Paon, An Insider Guide to the Balinese Food Scene with Tjok Maya Kerthyasa

Paon, An Insider Guide to the Balinese Food Scene with Tjok Maya Kerthyasa

Suitcase Magazine

Words by Lucy Kehoe and Georgina Groom

12 July, 2022

Indonesian-Australian chef and co-author of recently published cookbook Paon

Tjok Maya Kerthyasa takes us on a spice-packed adventure through Bali’s kitchens, sharing her favourite hotels, bars and go-to brunch spots along the way.

is home to a beguiling blend of cultures. Beyond the free-spirited surfers, clean-living nomads and style-conscious students, visitors will discover a tropical paradise rich in ancient traditions, many of which are centred around the gift of food. Intrigued to find out more about a cuisine that both honours its heritage and offers a feast for the senses, we spoke to Balinese-born chef Tjok Maya Kerthysasa. Her new cookbook, Paon, co-written with chef I Wayan Kresna Yasa, who was born on the Balinese island of Nusa Penida, is out now.

Having made it her mission to explore Bali’s kitchens and culinary history, there’s not much Maya doesn’t know about the local scene. Here, she shares her favourite way to spend a Sunday, the essential souvenirs to grab for foodie friends and her go-to restaurant for a low-key lunch.

What about a low-key lunch?

I love Murni’s Warung. It was the first restaurant of its kind in Ubud – my parents have been going there since the late-70s. Ibu Murni, its owner, is known across Bali and beyond for her contributions to traditional food, arts and crafts. Order her nasi campur, a dish of rice with spiced, slow-cooked chicken (known locally as betutu), tofu and tempeh in peanut sauce, and sambal matah, made with finely sliced shallots, garlic, chillies and house-made coconut oil.

See the whole article here: An Insider Guide to the Balinese Food Scene with Tjok Maya Kerthyasa.

More good news for the Island of the gods

More good news for the Island of the gods

Rob Goodfellow Wollongong, New South Wales, The Jakarta Post, October 25, 2021

Throughout the global pandemic, business figure Ni Wayan Murni has been an inspiration to fellow Balinese people. Her landmark restaurant, Murni’s Warung, in the island’s highland village of Ubud-Campuhan, has been one of only a dozen or so restaurants to remain open for business and retain staff.

Before COVID-19, the vast majority of Balinese adults were directly employed in the tourism sector with 60 percent of the Balinese gross domestic product attributed to tourism alone. The collapse of overseas visitors, in particular the number one visitor cohort, Australians, has hit the Island of the gods very hard.

Over the course of the last two years, foreign tourist arrivals plunged from over 6 million to less than a million, with nearly 105,000 Balinese losing their jobs in August 2021 alone. (Six in 10 Indonesians work in the informal sectors, so this figure is likely to be much higher than reported.) As a result, the island’s economy contracted by a staggering 9.3 percent.

As an essential public health measure, the island was largely closed to overseas visitors, instead relying on domestic tourism to keep the economic wheels turning. (This strategy resulted in a “life-saving” turnaround of 2.8 percent for the second quarter of this year.)

Often referred to as “the Ibu of Ubud” and “the mother of modern-day tourism in Bali”, Ibu (Mrs) Murni was one of the very first Balinese to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has credited Bali’s high vaccination rate now 76 percent of the population for the first dose and 65 percent for the second dose—for the decision to reopen.)

Ibu Murni said, “I wanted to be a good example and show my staff and my community that the vaccination was safe. And, of course, we all want to welcome back visitors. In Balinese culture we have a strong sense of ‘we’ and not just ‘me.’ We understand responsibilities and obligations very well. And now we are being rewarded for working together and trusting the experts and the science as we move towards opening up our beautiful island again.”

To survive, Murni’s Warung resized its menu and played to its strengths, the way it began in 1974, serving mainly popular local dishes at local prices. Deliveries became more frequent than they used to be. In the process, her restaurant won Restaurant Guru’s Award for the Best Food Delivery in Ubud! (Her restaurant had earlier won the prestigious Gourmand Award in 2019—just before COVID-19 hit —and her Tamarind Spa at Murni’s Houses was the winner of the 2021/22 Contemporary Spa of the Year award—Indonesia Prestige Awards.)

Last week, the Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Sandiaga Uno, sent a clear message to the Australian government that Indonesia has taken the necessary steps to welcome back tourists to Bali. On Friday, the Australian prime minister responded.

At an Oct. 22 press conference with the QANTAS boss Alan Joyce (reported in the national newspaper, The Australian), Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the words Ibu Murni and her nearly four million fellow Balinese have been waiting to hear. “I’ll be seeing President Widodo this weekend (at the COP26 United Nation’s sponsored Glasgow Climate Summit), and after at the G20. This [re-opening of Bali to Australian tourists] has been a regular matter that’s come up in our discussions over the course of the pandemic about when we can have travel to Indonesia going again.”

Confirmed in an ABC (the national broadcaster) news bulletin, Joyce reinforced the prime minister’s comments that discussions were underway with the Indonesian government about welcoming fully vaccinated Australians back to Bali with reduced or no quarantine requirements.

On hearing the news, Ibu Murni’s immediate comment was, “This is wonderful. It has really lifted our spirits. Not only does our President understand how difficult life has been in Bali during the pandemic, but now our neighbor Australia understands too and both leaders will meet and work together. This has made us all so happy and optimistic for the future.”

When Australians do return, however, there is a discussion about what positive changes can be made to improve the visitor experience. As Ibu Murni says, “Bapak Luhut (Luhut Panjaitan, the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister) says, that in the post-pandemic future, there should be a greater emphasis on low ecological impact/high value tourism. I know my friends who have suffered during the pandemic too—like my neighbors at Casa Luna, the extraordinary Blanco Museum across the river from my Warung, and Yanie and Nigel Mason’s multi-award-winning Elephant Safari Park and rescue facility in Taro would agree.”

The “Ibu of Ubud” has clearly been inspired by the prospect of the Indonesian president and the Australian prime minister meeting on the sidelines in Glasgow: to help Bali. She said, “Because Australians are loved and appreciated by the Balinese, and because generations of Australians have fallen in love with Bali, these ‘man-to-man’ discussions can only bring our two neighboring peoples closer together.”

But more than this, Bali is the world’s most recognized tourism brand. And when Bali is doing well—the world is doing well too.

The writer is the co-author of the book, So Many Delicious Years: Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali

 

Five Legendary Local Eateries in Bali

Five Legendary Local Eateries in Bali

 Andri Setya

Bali News

6 February 2021

Five Legendary Local Eateries in Bali

Located next to the old Campuhan Bridge, a five-minute ride from Ubud Central, Murni’s Warung sits peacefully on a river’s hillside, boasting the view of River Wos flowing water. Built from the ground up, the restaurant first opened in 1974 and has been serving food and hospitality for 47 years now.

Owned and run by a Balinese woman, Ni Wayan Murni, the warung has expanded to four open-air levels, complete with shop and lounge bar. However the atmosphere remains the same. Each guest will be immersed in its traditional interior design carefully decorated with exquisite antiques and artworks.

Similarly, the menu has also been expanded to cater to both local and international tastes where guests can find pasta, steak and a hot dog, for example. But you cannot miss the time tested signature dishes, such as Bebek Betutu (Balinese Duck), Murni’s Tutu Ayam, and Nasi Campur.

Five Legendary Local Eateries in Bali

The Secrets of Ubud – Eat, Paint, Laugh

The Secrets of Ubud - Eat, Paint, LaughThe Secrets of Ubud – Eat, Paint, Laugh

Peter Stephenson

Hello Bali, February 2011

“It’s hard to imagine that present-day Ubud holds any secrets, given how well trodden it’s become. But like everywhere, the hidden is often right under your nose.

The tiny cocktail bar downstairs at Murni’s Warung is like a lost world, an artefact from another era, haunted by the strains of crooners and the crackle of torch songs; a hint of the 1930s all cast against the dark green ferny precipice of the primordial Wos river ravine. When I approach the bar, I feel like Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”; patrons like spectres, nothing outside but the wildness.”

The Secrets of Ubud – Eat, Paint, Laugh

Bali scores gastro-points with ‘indescribable’ roast duck

 

Traditional dish is so good that food critics struggle to describe it

Ian Lloyd Neubauer

Nikkei Asian Review, 28 February 2020

Bebek Betutu - Balinese Duck

It’s what’s on the inside that counts: A duck is stuffed with the special mix of spices necessary to create the Indonesian delicacy bebek betutu.

UBUD, Indonesia  — “No question about it, this is the best pig I have ever had. Absolutely the best. You think even the finest French chef could ever come up with anything as delicious or as beautiful as this?”

When the TV chef Anthony Bourdain uttered these words while filming in Indonesia in 2006, he turned babi guling — Balinese pig roasted on a spit — from a local favorite into a global delicacy.

There is, however, another Balinese dish that rivals or even exceeds babi guling: bebek betutu — roasted leaf-wrapped duck. Richly seasoned with chili, ginger, candlenuts and garlic, this melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece upstages the flavor profiles of China’s Peking duck, France’s confit de canard and every duck dish ever conceived, according to many prominent food judges.

“The duck meat was black and moist and so tender that it fell from the bone with a touch. It was so delicious and entirely unlike anything I had ever eaten,” wrote Sri Owen, the Indonesian food writer credited with introducing her country’s cuisine to the world, after she sampled bebek betutu for the first time in 1962.

Nicholas Jordan, a Sydney-based food writer, voiced similar sentiments after recently discovering the dish in Bali: “It’s one of the few things I’ve eaten in my life that’s so good it’s taken up a mythical status in my mind … something so beyond regular deliciousness it shouldn’t exist without some sort of paranormal ingredient.”

To learn more about bebek betutu I traveled to Ubud, the Balinese spiritual hub made famous by Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love” and the 2010 film based on the book. Now a booming tourist town with a cosmopolitan dining scene, Ubud has several restaurants that list bebek betutu as a signature dish. Among them is Murni’s, where duck legs are plated with pyramids of yellow rice and a spicy green bean and shredded coconut salad called lawar. With a lightly sweet and herbal finish, the recipe has not been altered since Murni’s opened in 1974.

Indus, a restaurant overlooking a coconut tree-fringed river valley owned by Australian-Indonesian culinary icon Janet DeNeefe, is also known for its bebek betutu, though it must be ordered as a whole bird for two or three people to share.

Aperitif, an extravagant 1920s-style restaurant that cost $2 million to build at the luxury Viceroy Bali resort, offers an East-West interpretation of the dish: duck magret (the boned breast of a duck reared for foie gras) injected with bebek betutu spice mix in place of orange sauce.

But according to Astrid Maharani Prajogo of Good Indonesian Food, a culinary tour company, the best bebek betutu is not found in any restaurant. It is made by specialists who work from home and supply locals with ducks for Hindu ceremonies, celebrations and Sunday roasts.

“There are lots of these duck specialists in Bali,” Prajogo says. “But the one I always take my clients to is Pak Rimpin near the Royal Palace in the center of Ubud. I went there because someone told me his duck was the freshest.”

“They’re all very good at what they do … but with Pak Rimpin, it was his idealism that struck me … his desire to preserve the culinary tradition. He was very keen to open up his kitchen and share his recipe and stories with tourists.” She adds: “It’s also where the royal family of Ubud get their bebek betutu.”

The labyrinthine streets and alleys of Ubud are still semi-deserted at 8 a.m. when I arrive at Rimpin’s home, a traditional Balinese compound with intricately decorated stone gates and Hindu shrines. There I find the specialist at work in a central courtyard kitchen filled with cooking aromas and shards of bouncing light.

Rimpin’s bebek betutu must be ordered at least two days in advance. Normally he cooks between 15 and 20 a day, but today it is relatively quiet; he is making only four, plus an order of duck satay sticks. When I ask his age, he consults quickly with his daughter-in-law Junek, who tells me he is “about 60.” He has been cooking duck “since the 1980s” and learned the craft from an older brother. “I asked him to stop working because he’s getting old and the work is exhausting,” Junek says. “But he won’t listen.”

Rimpin sighs and turns his attention to the four ducks soaking in a pail of water. He chooses one, rinses it dry and starts massaging it with a marinade of coconut oil, fermented shrimp paste, soy sauce and salt. He also adds tamarind paste to the blend to neutralize the naturally unpleasant odor of duck meat.

He then stuffs the bird’s cavity with a handful of bay leaves and bumbu — Balinese for “spice mix” — which in this case also contains sesame seeds, galangal and pepper. “There’s no secret recipe. If people think my bebek betutu tastes good it’s because of the attention to detail. I make them one at a time,” he says, wrapping the bird like a birthday present in betel-nut bark, which contains natural oils to further enhance the flavor.

Next, he takes the package to a room blackened by decades of soot with a series of raised mounds for cooking on the floor. He places the package in a steel wok, covers it with a second wok, rests it on one of the mounds and then covers it with a 30-cm-tall pyramid of rice husks. Finally, he tops the pyramid with a few coconut husks, adds a few squirts of kerosene and sets it alight.

The term “betutu” refers not to the recipe but to the use of rice husks — a time-consuming cooking process that gives the ducks cooked by specialists a robust flavor. The ducks are baked in these medieval-style ovens for a minimum of five hours, although Rimpin cooks his for 12 hours.

“You get this dry roasting effect similar with steaming and braising that commercial kitchens designed 1,000 years later still can’t replicate,” says Will Meyrick, an expatriate chef from Scotland who teaches tourists how to make chicken betutu, a popular variant, at the Canggu Cooking Retreat on the coast. “All the spices and ingredients get broken down into this rich juice and the flavor is amazing.”

Rimpin’s customers normally eat his bebek betutu at home. But I want to taste it straight out of the oven and unwrap my parcel in the middle of his kitchen. As the bark curls open I am struck by an aroma so complex it seems to possess texture.

The meat at the top is golden-yellow from the turmeric and black on the inside from the spice mix. I collect some on a fork, mop up some of the golden juice, and take my first bite. The flavor is so remarkable it speeds my heartbeat for a few moments. As much as I try, I can’t find the words to describe what I am tasting.

“What words would you use to describe the emotion of hearing ‘I love you’ for the first time, or the sensation of the sun on your face after a month of winter rain?” says Jordan. “How do you describe one of the best things you’ve ever eaten?”

Bali scores gastro-points with ‘indescribable’ roast duck

Murni’s Warung Drinks Photos

Here are some of Murni’s Warung Food Photos.

Here are some of Murni’s Warung’s Drinks Photos:

Virgin Mohito Virgin Mohito.

Fresh mint leaves, squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, topped with soda water, with a view of the green Campuhan jungle.

An extremely refreshing thirst quencher (try repeating that 10 times!)

CoconutCoconut.

Whole young coconut fresh from the tree.

Murni's Warung Drinks Photos Pina ColadaPiña Colada.

Puerto Rico officially declared the Piña Colada as its national drink in 1978.

The cocktail is so popular that 3 bartenders claim to have invented it, all from Puerto Rico, and 2 of them from the same bar. Ramón Pérez says he spent months perfecting it before launching it on 15 August 1952 at the Caribe Hilton Hotel’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan. But his colleague Ricardo Garcia claims he discovered it. Then Ramón Mingot, bartender at Barrachina, a restaurant, also in San Juan, says he invented it in 1963.

Who cares? It’s a great drink. 10 July is National Piña Colada day. Murni’s Warung makes it from Bacardi, Pineapple Juice, Coconut Milk, and Triple Sec.

Murni's Warung Drinks Flu Buster Cold and Flu Buster.

From our Healthy Juices Menu: Tangerine, carrot, apple and lemon.

Super Green JuiceSuper Green Juice.

From our Healthy Juices Menu: Cucumber, green vegetable, celery, ginger and lemon juice – helps reduce blood pressure.

MoisturiserMoisturiser.

From our Healthy Juices Menu: Fresh cucumber, ginger, orange – improves skin texture, moisturizer and reduces body heat.

Iced Ginger TeaIced Ginger Tea.

Ginger tea has a long history dating back to China some 5,000 years ago, where it was traditionally used as a health tonic. It’s good for digestion.

CappuccinoCappuccino.

Made popular during both World Wars, a cappuccino has a bottom layer of one or two shots of espresso, a middle layer of steamed milk, followed by a thick, airy layer of foam to give a perfect, luxurious, velvety texture.

Cappuccino Creme BruleeCappuccino Crème Brûlée.

Cappuccino, Crème Brûlée syrup, topped with sugar and scorched until lightly caramelized.

Vanilla Caramel FreezeVanilla Caramel Light Frappé.

Blended milk, cream, a dash of espresso, caramel and ice.

The snack is Rempeyek or ‘Peyek”  for short. They are delicious Balinese, crunchy, savoury crackers, studded with peanuts. Peyek is the sound they make when you bite into them! Rempeyek are totally moreish – you can’t just stop at one!

Merona Merah MudaMerona Merah Muda.

Our refreshing invention: Merona Merah Muda (Blushing Pink): Fresh strawberries, grenadine, soda water and a squeeze of lime.

Green Tea FrappeGreen Tea Frappé.

The Frappé adventure at Murni’s Warung: Green Tea Frappé (pronounced “frap-pay”). Frappé means ‘beaten’ in French. It’s a tasty, foamy, refreshing, fabulous, iced drink, made of blended green tea, iced espresso, milk, cream and ice cubes, served with a bamboo straw (good-bye plastic!) Some people use instant coffee, but it’s much, much, much better with espresso.

It was a lucky accident that lead to its invention in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair in Greece. Nestlé were exhibiting a new product for children, a chocolate mixed with milk drink, made by shaking it in a shaker. Later that day Nestlé employee Dimitris Vakondios wanted his usual instant coffee but couldn’t find any hot water, so he mixed the instant coffee with cold water and ice cubes in a shaker. He had just made the first Coffee Frappé!

Baileys FreezeBaileys Freeze.

Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlúa, Ice Cubes, Chocolate Topping .

Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur – an alcoholic beverage flavoured with cream, cocoa, and Irish whiskey. Kahlúa is a coffee-flavored liqueur from Mexico, containing rum, sugar, vanilla bean, and arabica coffee. What a great combination, made even better with Rempeyek!

Bintang CrystalBintang Crystal.

Bintang Crystal, Bali’s new, less bitter, smoother, cold-brewed beer.

The Rose CocktailThe Rose.

The Rose: our version of the finest gin-based Spring cocktail of all time, a popular cocktail in 1920s Paris, and ideally suited for Valentine’s. It’s pink, fresh, floral, light, and intriguingly complex. The Rose was invented by Giovanni “Johnny” Mitta, a diminutive Italian, with a talent for mixing cocktails, at the Chatham Hotel, Paris on Rue Daunou, near the Opéra. 

Bintang and RempeyekBintang and Rempeyek.

Bintang means ‘star’ in Indonesian. The star beer was  first brewed in Surabaya in 1929 during Dutch colonial rule. In 1957, after Indonesia became independent, it was nationalised until Heineken retook control in 1967. The 4.7% alcohol malty beer is on every menu in Bali. We recommend our crunchy home made delicious Balinese snacks with every mouthful.

Murni’s Warung Drinks Photos

Murni’s in Bali – Trip101.com

Murni’s Warung

Trip 101

10 January 2020

A household name in Bali, Ni Wayan Murni started out with Murni’s Warung, the first restaurant to open in the town of Ubud in the early 1970s. Now, Murni’s is an enterprise that includes a hotel, a spa, and a store. Besides embodying Balinese culture and hospitality, she has published a book and exhibited a collection of textiles in San Francisco. When planning a trip to Bali, a full experience at Murni’s will guarantee a wonderful vacation. Reserve a table and enjoy traditional Indonesian cuisine at a restaurant with an excellent view of the river, get a massage at the award-winning Tamarind Spa, and book a room inside the peaceful confines of Murni’s Houses. Keep reading because all these and more await at Murni’s in Bali.

Before Murni became a restaurateur and businesswoman, she was selling food and beer at the local market. Murni’s Warung opened just as tourists were starting to discover the wonders of Ubud. An establishment that has stood the test of time, this is an iconic eatery in Bali that definitely warrants a visit. Guests typically come to taste the lauded Balinese duck and beef rendang, but you can also sample their delicious nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) served with homemade peanut sauce. The extensive à la carte menu includes a list of desserts, with must-tries like Murni’s world-famous carrot cake and the ooey-gooey cashew pie, as well as a list of cocktails, wines, and spirits from the lounge bar.
 Murni’s in Bali   Trip 101.com

Forty Delicious Years – 1974 – 2014

Forty Delicious Years – 1974-2014, Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali, From Toasted Sandwiches to Balinese Smoked Duck

Gourmand Awards

GOURMAND AWARDS 2019

Finalist: A06 Special Awards

Look Inside

Forty-Delicious-Years-Forty Delicious Years – 1974-2014, Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali, From Toasted Sandwiches to Balinese Smoked Duck

Jonathan Copeland
Rob Goodfellow
Peter O’Neill

 

Email: murni (at) murnis.com

Forty Delicious Years is the story of Bali’s most enduring culinary landmark – Murni’s Warung in Ubud. Narrated by some of the Warung’s most intriguing patrons, with a Preface by Murni herself, the book tells the story of how a humble roadside stall became an institution – in fact a must visit on a magical must visit island.

This easy to read and immensely enjoyable collection of vignettes was published to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Murni’s Warung in February 2014.

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“It’s an institution. It’s a favourite, and a hive of memories and friendships. It’s Murni’s Warung.”

Jero Asri Kerthyasa

“It’s not just food and a good time that you get at Murni’s Warung, but a complete sensual experience.”

Professor Michael Hitchcock

“Murni’s Warung … the best clubhouse in the Universe.”

Karen Goodman

“Murni is and always will be one of my favourite mothers in town.”

Janet de Neefe

“For forty delicious years Murni’s Warung has been somewhere to relish life, excellent service, good food, and the company of friends.”

José in den Kleef

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Bring your copy to dinner at Murni’s Warung and if Murni is there she will sign it.

If she is not there … then there is still a wonderful menu, which deserves to be worked through course by course by course by course.
 

Book Reviews

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Forty Delicious Years - 1974 - 2014

Forty Forte

Murni’s Warung,

Hello Bali, Editor’s Finds, February 2015

 

If you have been living in Bali for some time, chances are you know and love Murni’s Warung in Ubud. Dating back to the 1970s, Murni’s Warung is
 a treasured food joint with authentic Balinese food and Campuhan River views. Furthermore, Ibu Murni herself is a beloved figure whose hospitality has earned her many friends and loves over the years. However, if you don’t yet know who Ibu Murni is or where
 to find Murni’s Warung, it’s high time you do. One of the best ways to do that is to read Forty Delicious Years, a compilation of stories about the warung and the namesake founder told by the warung’s eclectic patrons. It’s an interesting insight into what it’s like to be among the island’s insiders.

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Ubud Icon Murni’s Warung Turns Forty

Katrin Figge
Jakarta Globe
4 April 2014
 
Ubud Icon Murni’s Warung Turns Forty

Murni’s Warung remains an Ubud icon 40 years since it was established, with fans crediting its founder as the heart of the place and even of Ubud.

She is often referred to as the “mother of Ubud,” and her restaurant has been a longtime favorite among both travelers and locals: Ni Wayan Murni, a Bali native who recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of Murni’s Warung with the launch of a book that includes personal memories and anecdotes of people who have accompanied her on her journey from the 1970s until today.

Author and photographer Jonathan Copeland, co-editor of “Forty Delicious Years,” as well as a good friend of Murni, said that it felt right to celebrate this milestone “in a more tangible way than simply a T-shirt and party.”

“We didn’t want a book blowing our own trumpet — there are enough of those vanity publications around — but instead a book focussing on the times and life of Murni’s Warung as seen through the eyes of its guests over 40 years,” he said.

It is an approach that gives readers the chance to learn more about Murni and also about Ubud and Bali in general, and particularly how significantly it has changed over the years.

The first thing that needed to be done was to decide on the number of contributors; 40 contributor for 40 years was the logical solution.

“We then compiled a list of colorful, engaging and interesting characters whom we thought we could contact,” Copeland said. “We went through the time-consuming process of trying to track them down. Some were easy to locate but some were impossible to find. We were delighted with the final list as they comprised a wide range of nationalities, occupations and ages which cover the life of Murni’s Warung from day one until the present. They are all busy people with big jobs and we are very grateful for the time they spent on this.”

Murni, who was born in Penestanan, just a few minutes away from Ubud, began selling breakfast snacks before going to school in the 1950s. Less than 20 years later, Murni already owned four shops on Sanur Beach and established Murni’s Warung in Campuhan-Ubud.

Besides traveling the world and collecting Asian antiques and textiles, Murni built Murni’s Houses and Murni’s Villas catering to the growing number of tourists, and recently opened the Tamarind Spa at Murni’s Houses.

In the book, Murni writes that she still finds it incredible to look back at how she started Murni’s Warung — with no more than a bowl of soup and a sandwich.

“I wasn’t a cook and had no knowledge of what Western food was. I had no business plan, no mission statement, and no spreadsheets. I didn’t have electricity or a fridge or an electric oven. I didn’t have staff or suppliers or a car,” she said. “But I did have passion and drive and energy. And I had friends and customers and hard work. Luckily, Murni’s Warung grew and prospered and has been able to serve food and drinks to thousands of people these 40 years.”

Murni also has a very special connection to the restaurant’s location on a gorge above the river Wos, which is sacred to the Balinese people.

“It has been part of my life, going back more than 40 years,” she said. “When I was a very young child […] I played and bathed down there at the river and among the rocks. When I was older, I helped carry rocks up from the river bed to the road for construction use. Later still, after my parents split up, I secretly met my mother below the bridge. I never dreamed that I would be able to buy part of the gorge, live there and go to sleep to the sound of the sacred river crashing over the rocks.”

Copeland, who has worked with Murni on three previous publications, said that not many people can survive in the highly competitive F&B industry, especially these days, when new restaurants pop up everywhere in Bali.

“Restaurants often start out as flavor of the month and fizzle out,” he said. “It is not an easy business and diners are demanding and unforgiving customers who don’t give you a second chance.

“I think it’s easy, in retrospect, to see how Murni’s early success came about,” he added. “In the early days there simply wasn’t a place in Ubud to get good food. Murni’s Warung was a beacon for early travelers to hang out. They spread the word and they still do. But obviously there had to be substance to it. I think the substance is what has made Murni’s Warung remain a favorite for so long. Murni is a perfectionist. She is very concerned about the comfort and happiness of her guests. And she is a traditionalist concerned about the preservation of Balinese culture. Murni’s Warung is a Balinese building with Balinese food served by Balinese waitresses in Balinese dress.”

Dr. Lawrence Blair, an anthropologist, author and filmmaker who has been based in Bali for almost 40 years, was among the warung’s earliest customers and still vividly remembers a quiet Ubud.

“Instead of tourists, there were only a few ‘travelers’ and barely a handful of eccentric resident expats,” he writes in his section in the book. “And the place to meet them was Murni’s Warung. But the first real draw to Murni’s was the discovery that hers was the sole place in Ubud to have mastered that most rare and esoteric art of producing a sunny-side up properly fried egg. Further cause for enthusiasm was when she also became the first person in Ubud to provide natural yoghurt and wild honey with one’s tropical fruit.”

Blair was also witness to some of the illustrious figures who have visited Murni’s Warung over the years, including Richard Branson, Mick Jagger, Richard Gere and Diane Von Furstenberg.

“My only regret is that they weren’t all there at the same time,” Blair wrote.

Australian-born Janet de Neefe, founder of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, has also been a regular to Murni’s since the 1980s.

“Many of my fondest memories of Ubud in the Eighties are wrapped up in the walls of this multi-leveled eatery,” she writes in the book. “We’d sip on freshly squeezed lime drinks brimming with crushed ice while slowly eating nasi campur or nasi goreng . Lunchtimes drifted into dinner and it didn’t matter. There was nothing urgent to be done except chat about life, love and cosmic heroes — there were no mobile phones, Internet, e-mails, reality TV, not even Facebook.”

De Neefe, like the other contributors, have always enjoyed the peaceful surroundings as much as the delicious food. But they also all agree that Murni, the heart and the soul of the restaurant — some might even argue, of Ubud — has always been the real draw and the secret of the restaurant’s lasting success.

“Back then, I remember that one of the greatest joys about visiting Murni’s Warung was simply Murni,” de Neefe said. “She used to sit at the front desk and invariably wander up to your table and have a chat. There is so much to love about Murni. Whether it be her heart that’s as big as the moon, her gentle nature, grace or soft humor.”

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Forty Delicious Years, 1974-2014

“I enjoyed every chapter of this book.  A wonderful collection of stories from long-term residents, many of whom are famous authors, artists and scholars. An entertaining and interesting read of reflections of Murni, the “Mother of Ubud”, who started a humble little restaurant some forty years ago.  It’s a journey of loving, living and laughter through these pages.  Highly recommended read.”

Stephanie Brookes

Author Indonesia’s Hidden Heritage – Cultural Journeys of Discovery

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An Ubud icon – Murni’s Warung is celebrating 40 years of operations with the publication of a new foodie book.

Murni’s Warung, located in what is arguably the cultural capital of Bali, was Ubud’s first international standard restaurant and, on February 20, 2014, it marked 40 years of continual operations.

Celebrating the landmark, The Orchid Press publication “Forty Delicious Years” is the story of Bali’s most enduring culinary landmark—Murni’s Warung in Ubud.

Narrated by some of the Warung’s most noteworthy patrons and with a preface by the legendary Murni, the book tells the story of how a humble roadside food stall became an Ubud institution and a ‘must visit’ on a magical ‘must visit’ island.

According to Ibu Murni, considered by many to be a “Mother of Balinese Tourism”: “The 20th of February in 2014 also happened to be my calendar birthday and, what’s more, this date also fell on the same day as my Balinese birthday. This rarely happens, so it’s was a triple … no, a quadruple celebration.”

Bali Update

6 April 2014

www.balidiscovery.com

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FORTY DELICIOUS YEARS IS THE BEST BOOK ON BALI–TAKE A VOYAGE TO THE CULINARY AND SOCIAL HEART OF THE ISLAND OF THE GODS

By Vivienne Kruger on July 7, 2014

Forty Delicious Years is one of the finest books ever produced about the mystical, legendary, god-blessed island of Bali–the sacred, unsullied morning of the world. Bali is a brilliant, bright emerald jewel set in the elongated necklace of 17,000 islands that comprise the brooding, primeval Indonesian archipelago. Anyone who has ever visited my beloved Bali–or is planning a sojourn of personal discovery or food discovery–should bring this book along with them. Forty Delicious Years is an incredibly revealing and intimate masterpiece about Ni Wayan Murni, her gorgeous gorge-side Warung restaurant in Ubud, and the constellation of notable expatriates and international personalities that have made Murni’s Warung their social and culinary home away from home. The tell-almost-all book is filled with the charm and beauty of Murni’s universe, reflected in the anecdotes, accolades, reflections, and stories penned by forty of her often famous, well-known (Mick Jagger) customers and fans. These intensely personal, soul-revealing chapters empower all of us to be expats on Bali for awhile, and experience life as very lucky strangers in an unknown paradise. I lived in Bali for two years, and know first-hand the seductive, permanent pull on the soul by the spiritual, always-god-conscious Balinese and this very fertile, bountiful island sanctuary.

The writing is incredibly alive and spectacular, and is delightfully easy to read and digest. The book takes us into the sanctified world of Balinese cooking, traditional village social life, tinkling gamelan orchestras, and culture–seasoned with Murni’s kindness and career, and deep, longstanding friendships in the community. Situated near the old Dutch suspension bridge in Campuan-Ubud, Murni’s Warung was built from the ground up, and is a legend in its own time. For almost four scrumptious decades, it has been the ultimate place for Ubud expatriates (and tourists alike) to fulfill their most deep-seated Balinese and western dessert fantasies. The stunning, four-level restaurant is carefully decorated with Murni’s exquisite antiques, Balinese stone statuary, Buddha images, and artworks–and enjoys a spellbinding, natural riverside location and view. A visually and spiritually enlightening, five-foot-tall bronze statue of Ganesha the Elephant God symbolically creates prosperity and removes all obstacles in the Lounge Bar of Murni’s Warung. Ordered by Murni as a specially designed commissioned piece in 1997, it took highly esteemed, respected, experienced Balinese artisans-craftsmen five years to complete!

Murni remains an integral part of her village of birth and her island of Bali–and the forty testimonial chapters written by forty different long-time expatriates, visiting Bali scholars, and international adventurers/wayfarers are personal, unique, revealing and priceless. This book is a deep and memorable journey through residence in Bali, religious devotion, ceremonial splendor, and life as an expat (or repeat, Bali-obsessed visitor) eight sacred degrees south of the equator. As a first-hand travel journal collection in its own right, these personal tales of adventure–and longing for the spirituality and benediction of Bali–are amazing. And they all swirl around the wonderful people of Bali, Balinese life, and Murni’s longstanding contributions to and dedication to her community, family, local temples, and the gods. One of the best stories is about a very loyal, Kintamani Bali dog named Dausa–who spent his life lounging on the front steps of Murni’s Warung as Murni’s personal guard dog. He lead a charmed life, and enjoyed such delicious foods as chicken sate sticks and Murni’s highly coveted chocolate chip cookies! A very pampered Balinese dog indeed!

I am an expert on Bali, as well as on traditional Balinese food and food culture, and have complete admiration for this very special new book about one of Bali’s most important and iconic purveyors of Balinese food, art, antiques, and hotel accommodation on the unforgettable island of the gods.

Reviewed by Dr. Vivienne Kruger, Ph.D. Author of Balinese Food: The Traditional Cuisine and Food Culture of Bali. Tuttle Publishing, 2014.

Forty Delicious Years – 1974-2014, Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali, From Toasted Sandwiches to Balinese Smoked Duck

Murni’s Warung – Epicure – Bali Guide

murni's warung, epicure, baliBali Special

Famed for its pristine beaches, striking sunsets and rich culture, the sought-after Indonesian destination also boasts a burgeoning number of highly lauded hotels, restaurants and bars. Meredith Woo goes on a gastronomic eight-day journey to the Island of the Gods.

An Ubud Invitation

An hour from the closest beach town, inland Ubud offers other attractions: art and culture, serenity and some of Mother Nature’s best views.

A day trip to the central foothills of Gianyar regency will not suffice. Ubud has so much more to offer – from meditative sunrise mountain peak views to villages known for intricate silver-smithing and the delicate craft of egg painting.

SHOP AND SAVOUR

If you seek museum quality relics, visit Murni’s Warung Shop. A plethora of rare pieces such as a Balinese comb bearing green and red carnellians (Rp 5,750,000) and intricate batik stamps (from Rp 385,000) feature in this 41-year-old establishment, which is part gallery.

The adjoining four-storey restaurant offers daily specials such as stir-fried duck (Rp 79,000) and beef rendang. Beyond Murni’s expertise in Asian antiques, textiles and food, she has expanded her portfolio to include a spa and guest houses in downtown Ubud.

Murni’s Warung – Epicure – Bali Guide

Bali – Green Utopia – Ubud

ubud, bali, murni, murni's warung, tamarind spa, massage, eat, restaurantBali – Green Utopia – Ubud

Stephanie Brookes

iFly – KLM in flight magazine

July 2016

The ultimate palms and paradise destination? There are many, and Bali is definitely on the shortlist. But there’s more to the Indonesian island besides white-sand beaches and clear blue water…

For me, the town of Ubud is the best place to base myself. I find myself among the tranquil, terraced rice fields and beautiful mountain scenery …  my adventurous week … aimed at exploring and experiencing Bali’s local way of life.

Rejuvenation treatment 

The next day, my body tells me it is time to take a rest. I book a three-hour relaxation and rejuvenation treatment at Murni’s Tamarind Spa in Ubud. Locally, Murni is affectionately known as ‘the Mother of Ubud’. She pioneered tourism in Ubud in the 1970s by setting up her legendary restaurant, Murni’s Warung, where artists, adventurers and academics hung out, drinking mango lassies. 42 years later, Murni still lovingly presides over her dream creation on the jungle-clad Campuan Gorge above the Wos River. The stellar-rated Tamarind Spa is the latest addition to Murni’s business. Under a beautiful tamarind tree, I find out that my massage therapist, Kartini, was the former personal therapist of the President of the Seychelles.

After a welcome drink, cold towel and foot ritual, Kartini starts to weave her therapeutic magic on me. She begins with an hour-long traditional massage, deeply relaxing, mind- soothing and muscle-relieving. A full-body exfoliation follows, with a fragrant green-tea scrub and a yoghurt rub down. After that heavenly treatment, my skin feels softer than that of a baby. I end up soaking in a warm bath with multi-coloured flower petals floating on the water’s surface. Finally, after a pot of organic herbal tea and fresh tropical fruit, I leave feeling relaxed as can be.

Places to eat 

Murni’s Warung

This four-level open-air restaurant overlooks a jungle- clad ravine and raging river. Not only does the restaurant serve excellent Indonesian and western dishes, it also houses a shop with textiles, jewellery, tribal artefacts and collectables. Try their famous apple pie.

Things to do 

Murni’s Tamarind Spa

Located in the heart of Ubud, this beautiful spa in quiet tropical gardens offers aromatherapy massages, traditional Balinese boreh herbal scrubs and more.

Bali – Green Utopia – Ubud

Balinese Painting

Balinese Painting

Introduction

E.H. Gombrich begins his book The Story of Art, first published in 1950, with the opening sentences, “There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists.”

Miguel CovarrubiasMiguel Covarrubias.

The Mexican artist, Miguel Covarrubias, and his wife, Rose, went to Bali in 1930, visited Walter Spies in Ubud and wrote Island of Bali, the first major book on Bali, which is still widely read today. He began his chapter on “Art and the Artist” with the sentence, “Everybody in Bali seems to be an artist.” He also notes that there are no words in the Balinese language for “art” and “artist.”

Art and artists

As far back as the 9th century AD there are royal inscriptions. One provided a refugee for artists and exempted them from taxes. The inscriptions refer to blacksmiths, goldsmiths, musicians, singers, dancers and shadow puppet performers.

The temples were the main source of patronage. The arts were required, and still are required, for the frequent temple ceremonies. The artists congregated near the temples. So, in places where there are many temples, there are many artists.

Balinese temples and the ceremonies within them are entirely given over to the arts: sculpture, carving, music, painting, offerings, dances, drama, poetry readings, shadow puppet performances and so on.

Ubud

It is often said that Ubud is the cultural centre of Bali. This may be a slight exaggeration, but it is certainly true that Ubud is a very good place, probably the best, to survey the vast range of Balinese arts. Ubud has long been a centre of music and dance and later painting.

There are many galleries and three excellent art museums, the Neka Art Museum, the Agung Rai Museum of Art and the Puri Lukisan.

There are several distinct schools of art.

Classical Wayang Style

Painting probably started with wayang puppets for shadow puppet performances and then strayed into painting hand-woven cotton cloth. There was no separate art of Balinese painting. Until the 1930s there were not even artists, there were just artisans, multi-professionals, who did everything. Some still do. There was not a word for, or indeed a concept of, art. There were only concepts of religious and court needs.

Kamasan PaintingKamasan Painting. Buy here.

The resemblance to wayang puppets of the figures in traditional Balinese paintings is clear. For details of the wayang puppets, see the chapter entitled Wayang Kulit: shadow puppet performances in Secrets of Bali. Painters were usually Sudras and formed themselves into communities called sangging. The kings of Gelgel and Klungkung recognized them up to the beginning of the 20th century. They supplied the courts with paintings.

The rules for wayang puppets are followed in the paintings: the shapes, colours and headdresses of the characters, the positioning of the noble and divine characters on the left, coarse and evil ones on the right, as they would be in a performance from the point of view of the audience. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

Puppeteers tell stories orally. Painters do it by drawing trees, buildings and even writing on paintings. Time is shown by depicting the same characters at different stages in the story in the same painting. The paintings can be several meters long and half a metre wide and tied to the eaves of a building during a religious ceremony – this type is called ider-ider.

The village of Kamasan in the kingdom of Klungkung in the south became the centre for this kind of painting. The reason: court patronage of the arts. See the chapter entitled Balinese History – Pre-history to the Europeans in Secrets of Bali for the details. The Majapahit dynasty, following its arrival in Bali from Java, first established itself in Samprangan, later Gelgel, and subsequently Klungkung. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

The Dewa Agung of Klungkung appointed the painters and sculptors of Kamasan to decorate his palace and they then became established as official court painters for generations. They received requests from other kings and their style of art spread. Paintings would also be used to decorate a household or a temple during ceremonies. After the ceremony they would be put away and stored in baskets.

Manufactured cotton fabrics are used now rather than hand-woven fabrics, on which the artist initially draws the outlines with a sharp pen. This style of painting is also used on wooden panels to decorate the back walls of shrines and offering platforms, as well as bed heads, doors, windows, boxes, baby cradles and bowls.

The subject matter tends to come from the Ramayana and the Mahabarata stories, frequently battle scenes and the story of Rama, Sita and Rawana. Paintings in calendar form, depicting gods, demons and mythical animals, are also popular.

Rivalry between the courts was a major stimulus to the arts. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

There was a brief flowering when the Dutch employed Kamasan artists to restore the palace at Klungkung, which the Dutch had destroyed during their invasion. As a result art flourished in the 1920s, but then declined again. A new patron was required and it was the tourist.

The Pita Maha group of artists in Ubud, mentioned below, in the 1930s overshadowed Kamasan, but in the 1960s, Nyoman Mandara, a local artist from Kamasan, established a school of traditional Balinese painting, which is now supported by the Government, so the style continues.

Famous Kamasan paintings of hell can be seen in all their glory in wood panels lining the ceiling of the old law court, Kirta Gosa, in Klungkung, recently restored by present-day Kamasan painters. Their purpose was to edify and teach.

Lempad

I Gusti Nyoman Lempad was the most remarkable painter that Bali has produced so far. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali. There are collections of his works in the Museum Puri Lukisan and the Neka Art Museum, Ubud.

He was also an architect and talented wood carver. After the bad 1917 earthquake Lempad and his father designed the royal palace gate. It used to be very simple, but is now elaborate.

His was an early departure from the Kamasan style paintings. The real explosion came with the arrival of the foreigners in Ubud in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Spies, Bonnet and Pita Maha

Walter Spies, German (1895-1942), himself an artist, came to Bali at the suggestion of the royal family in Ubud. Spies told the local artists that they were merely churning out the same old themes and that they should paint scenes of daily life, the markets, planting rice, harvesting, temple festivals and dance performances.

At that time painting was in a crisis. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali. Walter Spies is discussed in the chapter entitled Balinese History – the Europeans in Secrets of Bali.

Up to that time, Ubud had concentrated on music and dance and was not a painters’ colony. Klungkung was up until then the centre of painting. Ubud became and still is an artists’ colony thanks to Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, a Dutch artist (1895-1978). Bonnet also encouraged the local artists and gave them modern paints, materials and canvasses and explained depth and perspective.

Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

 Until 1937 Museum Bali was the major outlet. Bonnet also bought from them and finally donated quite a lot of objects to the Puri Lukisan, Ubud Museum. Bonnet’s pupils are still around.

At the meetings, Bonnet, in particular, explained, if the work was rejected, why it had not been selected. This led to an unfortunate, unhealthy Bonnet-style generation of painters in Ubud, who copied his style of half-turned torsos. Painters from outside Ubud, from villages such as Kamasan, Batuan and Sukawati, were also members of Pita Maha, but they retained their independence and were not so influenced by Bonnet.

Pita Maha organized exhibitions in Java and outside Indonesia, and for the first time individual artists came to be recognized. They started to sign their paintings. They were at long last producing non-functional works, not merely objects for the temple.

The association experienced some disruption when Spies was arrested for immoral conduct, homosexual relations with minors. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

The Japanese invaded Bali in February 1942 and Pita Maha came to an end. During the Japanese Occupation, Bonnet was deported and interned in Makassar (Ujung Pandang) in the Celebes (Sulawesi) in East Indonesia. He returned after the War in the 1950s, but efforts to revive the association failed. The Ubud Painters Group replaced it, but it was a pale reflection.

The Young Artists of Penestanan

The Dutch painter, Arie Smit, who was born in 1916, came to live in Campuan, Ubud in 1956. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

Fishes and frogs abounded. Bright colours in naive style filled the canvas: yellow skies, pink oceans, green men. It was vital and it was fun: ducks with hats, frogs riding bikes. There was a sudden freshness in Ubud and Penestanan.

Sanur BeachSanur Beach.

There was no better expression of rural, peasant life in Bali. The paintings were bought by foreigners mainly and embassies in Jakarta. The Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur had one in every room. The famous science visionary Buckminster Fuller, and anthropologist Margaret Mead, were collectors of this school.

The Community Artists of Pengosekan

Also adjoining Ubud is Pengosekan, where, in the 1960s, another group of artists saw a new demand in the market. Led by I Dewa Nyoman Batuan the group became known as the Community Artists of Pengosekan.

Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

Batuan

Batuan is a village that is not too far away from Ubud, but far enough, so that tourists rarely visited, which meant that the Batuan artists pursued a different style. They were also far from Kamasan. Much of the subject matter is concerned with controlling the powers of good and evil.

There are at least three Batuan styles:

Detail

In the 1930s some of the painters joined Pita Maha, but kept to their old concerns, especially about mystical power, called sakti. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

There is a lot of detail and the canvases are often covered in many miniscule characters. The linear interweave may have been influenced by Balinese Perada textiles, on which designs were traced in gold paint. See the chapter entitled Balinese Dress and Textiles in Secrets of Bali. To a great extent they kept to the old Ramayana and Mahabarata stories, but there is a disturbing feel of black magic in the air. Often there is a contrast between life in the village and life in the forest, between areas of security and areas of danger.

Fantasy

In the 1950s more colours were used and in the 1960s another style appeared, still Wayang figures and mythological stories, but treated in a fantastical manner.

Daily life

The third genre is a style of small figures, often in dark colours, and fine attention to detail, but instead of mythological figures, modern Balinese life, including cars, helicopters and tourists, is the subject matter.

Western artists in Bali

There have been excellent Western artists living and painting in Bali, but they have not influenced Balinese art much. Only Spies, Bonnet and Smit had an influence and that was because they involved themselves in the local artistic community.

Spies and Bonnet have already been mentioned. So has Arie Smit in connection with the Young Artists of Penestanan. Read more about it in Secrets of Bali. The largest collection of his works is in the Neka Art Museum.

Willem Gerard HofkerWillem Gerard Hofker.

The main Western artists in Bali, who painted very beautiful, sometimes romanticized paintings with Balinese themes, were the Swiss painter, Theo Meyer (1908-1982), who lived in Selat, the Austrian Roland Strasser in Kintamani, the Belgian aristocrat Adrien Le Mayeur (1880-1958) in Sanur, the Dutch painter Willem Gerard Hofker (1902-1981) in Denpasar, Australian Donald Friend (1915-1989). Dutch Han Snel (1925-1998) and Catalan Antonio Blanco (1926-1999), who both married Balinese ladies, who survived them, lived in Ubud.

There are examples of their paintings in the art museums in Ubud. Blanco and Snel’s paintings can also be seen in their personal galleries at their homes in Ubud, Their widows still live there. Blanco designed a museum, but did not live long enough to see the opening of it, the Blanco Renaissance Museum, in 2001, which is next to Murni’s Warung.

Balinese contemporary art

There are many painters in Bali, especially in the Ubud area. Many come from the rest of the archipelago and overseas. Along with Nyoman Gunarsa, Made Wianta, who is in his Fifties, is considered the pioneer of Balinese contemporary art. His works have influenced younger artists.

Born in Apuan village in Tabanan, Wianta graduated from the ASRI Yogyakarta Arts Institute in 1974.

Read more about it in Secrets of Bali.

His paintings are collected in Thailand, Japan, Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, France and Belgium.

Puri Lukisan

Bonnet still wanted to maintain the quality of the arts and had long been looking to build an art museum. The idea first formed before the Second World War. Cokorda Gede Agung Sukawati donated the land, which is now in the centre of Ubud, and Bonnet designed the gardens.

Puri Lukisan opened in 1956 and has been very successful. Many heads of state visited. President Prasad of India visited in 1967. The same year President Tito and Madame Tito of Yugoslavia visited. In 1968 Ho Chi Minh, in a white Chinese jacket and black pants, visited from Vietnam – he did not say a word. Later the same year the King of Thailand and Queen Sirikit came. Then the Vice President of Egypt visited and after him Bobby Kennedy, the Attorney General of the United States. In 1971 the Queen of Holland paid a visit. Then Prince Philip arrived from England, but he just visited Cokorda Gede Agung Sukawati and not the museum.

The ex-king and Queen of Belgium visited and so did Rockefeller, the Vice President of the United States, in 1975.

There are now three buildings housing a permanent collection of Balinese art and often there is an exhibition.

Balinese Painting