Address: Jalan Tegal Bingin, Mas, Ubud, Kemenuh, Gianyar
From the audacious dreams of a Balinese businessman, a space from which to fly off on the wings of fantasy - it’s the Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets, created 14 years ago by collector Hadi Sunyoto in order to preserve traditions at risk of being lost for the benefit of all. Spread throughout tiny wooden buildings known as “joglo”, the museum is immersed in a typical Indonesian village just outside of Ubud, where rice paddies trace the landscape. The museum holds 1700 masks and 5700 marionettes from all over Indonesia but also China, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia - ritual and religious objects but, above all, protagonists of the rich theatrical traditions that are common to all the regions of the area. To complete the collection, Sunyoto added pieces gathered from across the globe - thus, right next to the characters of Indonesian shadow theatre, we find masks and puppets from Africa and Japan, Venice and Papua Nuova Guinea. However, Setia Darma isn’t merely a museum - it’s spacious open-air amphitheatre can hold up to 500 spectators, desirous to enjoy some enchanting puppet theatre on its stage.
In the plush flood valley of Tampaksiring, surrounded by rice fields, Candi Gunung Kawi is an archeological site sculpted into the rock, considered one of the island’s most beautiful places.
Stephan Kotas is a Czechoslovakian photographer who chose Bali as a home where he could do what he loves - help the past live again in vintage portraits using the old-fashioned photographic developing technique of "tintype".
From a stone platform in the mountainous region of Munduk, close to the famed Wanagiri Hidden Hills, you can admire the remarkable view of the “twin lakes” Buyan and Tamblingan.