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Barely distinguishable from the northeastern suburbs of Denpasar, BATUBULAN acts as the capital's public transport interchange for all bemos heading east and northeast, but it's also an important village in its own right, home of the most famous barong dance troupes, and respected across the island for its superb stonecarvers. The northern stretch of the village, known as Tegaltamu, is the most interesting, and it's here that you'll find the shops selling Batubulan's finest stonecarvings. Local sculptors specialize in images made either from the rough grey lava stone known as paras, or from smooth grey, yellow or pink sandstone. Every morning of the year, the barong is performed (9.30-10.30am; Rp20,000) on a stage 200m east off the main road in the north of the village. You can get here by public bemo and buy tickets on the door, but most people come on all-inclusive tours from Kuta or Sanur. Batubulan dancers also put on nightly performances of the kecak dance in a double bill with the fire dance (6.30-8.00pm; Rp20,000) at a stage a few hundred metres further south down the road to Denpasar. About 500m west of the Tegaltamu intersection, or 3km northwest of Batubulan bemo terminal, the landscaped grounds of the Bali Bird Park (daily 8am-6pm; US$8) are home to an impressive menagerie, including birds of paradise and Bali starlings; in the adjacent Bali Reptile Park (daily 8am-6pm; US$8) the star attraction is the eight-metre-long reticulated python. Any bemo running between Batubulan and Ubud or Gianyar will drop you at the intersection. Batubulan's bemo station is at the far southern end of the village and runs chocolate-brown bemos to Ubud, some of which continue to Kintamani. Destinations east of Batubulan are served by dark-blue-and-fawn-coloured bemos, which head for Amlapura via Gianyar, Klungkung, the turn-off for Padang Bai, and Candi Dasa. Buses also depart from Batubulan bemo station to Amlapura and Singaraja.
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