The Laughing Buddha Bar

The Laughing Buddha is Ubud's long-running live music bar, a small, lively venue on Jalan Monkey Forest, a short walk up from the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary and within easy reach of the hotels and guesthouses in the centre of town. In a town where nightlife is generally quiet and early, it is one of the few places where you can count on a band most evenings.

Music is the reason to come. Live acts play on a mini stage almost every night, covering blues, rock, reggae, soul, jazz, acoustic sets and world music, and there are salsa nights and special events from time to time. Local musicians sometimes join the band on stage, which gives the evenings an informal, jam-session feel. The room fills up quickly, with tables often taken by around 8pm, and the atmosphere is raw and lively.

Drinks are straightforward and good value by Ubud standards. A daily happy hour from 4pm to 7pm offers two-for-one mojitos and daiquiris, and the menu includes jugs of sangria, an espresso martini with an oriental twist and shooters. Recent guides list drinks from under 100,000 rupiah, which is low for the town, and the food has its fans too, with the burger and skin-on fries singled out. Bands usually play until around 11.30pm, and they tend to get people dancing.

The Laughing Buddha suits solo travellers, couples and groups of friends who want a fun, unpretentious night out with live music, and it is one of the more sociable places in town. It is loud once the band starts, so it is not the place for a quiet conversation. It is especially popular at weekends, when the bar is at its busiest. Arrive before 8pm for a table, and check the bar's social media for the current music line-up.

Jalan Monkey Forest has several other bars, including No Más and CP Lounge, so it is easy to move between venues on foot. The street runs north to Ubud Palace on Jalan Raya Ubud, and most central guesthouses are within walking distance, which avoids the need for transport late at night.