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Islands of Bali
Bali Destinations
SAY Bali and most people think paradise. There are stunning sunsets, sculpted rice terraces and a temple on almost every corner. And for less-spiritual seekers, this steamy Indonesian island also has great surfing and a rollicking nightlife. Sure, it's gotten pretty touristy, especially on the pub crawl along Kuta Beach, where beer-swilling Australians rule. And while recent terrorist bombings have rattled Bali's blissful pace (it is a Hindu-majority island in a Muslim-majority nation), they have done little to temper its popularity or discourage super-chic resorts from being built. Paradise, after all, is as close as the nearest temple, finding yourself on your knees with a blue flower pressed between your fingertips, asking for blessings from Brahma or one of the other gods.
Bali Destinations
DENPASAR: Denpasar has swollen some temfold, to a mini-metropolis of about 200,000 since replacing the Northern-port of Singaraja as the capital of Bali Island in 1945. The last decade has been one of extraordinary change – some ten blocks of shops at the centre of town get busier by the year, suburban sprawl is swallowing up once autonomous satellite villages and the capital’s formerly packed hotels now cater only to domestic visitors. But Denpasar has its hidden atractions. If you are lucky enough to pass an inner-city ceremony, stop for a moment and observe how the basically reral Balinese cope with patterns of urban life. The feast on roast stuckling pig, Jawanese goat sate or Chinese noodles and etc.
SANUR BEACH: is near beaches of the south, however, that have captivated generations of foreign tourists. Sanur, about ten kilometers to the south-east of Denpasar at the lagoon-side end of the fertile Renon-Kepaon-Legian rice crescent, was once an enclave of fishermen and holy Brahman priests, more famous for it’s demons and magic than it’s scenic delights. During the 1930s, however, spectacular beaches of Sanur attracted a colony of western intellectuals and artists that included anthropologist Margaret Mead and Painter Walter Spies. Over the water main attraction is leisure of Sanur – a facet of life not unknown to those who live here. Strolls up and down the beach can easily occupy your day, capped by a fine meal and an evening dance performance. For a bit more activity catch one of the sailing prahus that ply the hotl shores, and sail across the narrow strait (about one hours) to Lembongan Island, Ceningan Island and Nusa Penida Island, spending the day snorkeling in the crystal waters of this idyllic islands off an idyllic Islands. The architecture and culture of the two or three small adjacent villages are still very medieval: pure and strong in Lembongan, Ceningan and Nusa Penida. Nusa Penida is incidentally where the best lobster is caught and sold from Bali island.
KUTA: Where as Sanur and Nusa Dua cater to visitors in search of relaxed seclusion and comfort , Kuta on South – Western coast of Bali, has blossomed recently into a bargain basement beach party. “Discovered” by Aussie surfers in the early 1970s, chief of the Kuta natural attractions are a broad, slping beach, a pounding surf and a technicolour senset. Accommodations of the Kuta are delightfully informal – often no more than a concrete block hastily thrown up befind a villager’s home. There are also increasing numbers of up-scale bungalow resorts, and the streets of Kuta and neighbouring Legian are lined with a staggering array of restaurants, cafes, pubs, boutiques, discotheques, bikes, motor-bikes and cars rentals, artshops, tour agencies and etc. The result is a kind of tinseltown with a cosmopolitan fell – during high and peak seasons (July – August and December – January) Kuta roars into the fast lane. Deserted stretches of sandy beach and the serenity of the Balinese country-side are, thankfully, never more than a few minutes away. Walk or drive north from Kuta through Legian to Seminyak and beyond. Crowded beach and raucous traffic give way to elmpty space.
SOUTHERN BALI ISLAND: South of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, a bulbous appendage fans out to form the Bukit Peninsula, once the hunting grounds of the rajas’ Denpasar. Geologically and climatically this area is Mediteranean – a dry, mostly barren plateau lying well above sea level. The Western and Southern shore-line is rimmed with sharp, jutting cliffs, site of Pura Uluwatu – a sublime place to watch the sunset.
CENTRAL BALI: With more gold leaf per square inch than imperial China, more artists than Mont-martre and the most glamourous traditional culture in the modern World, the magical middle kingdom is most exotic and artistic region of Bali Island. Ever since the great Hindu-Balinese renaissance of the 17th century, the realm within about 15-km radius of the village of Ubud has been the centre for arts of Bali Island. The star villages of Singapadu, Batubulan and Batuan support a full spectrum of dance and drama groups. Heading first East then North toward Ubud, the road climbs slowly, past bountiful rice fields and super-ornate temples, into villages where bright smiles and laughter are as universal as are the gentle tones of the gamelan. A silver dragon twice encircles the wrist to form a bracelet sold in the village of Celuk, a contre for gold and silver work. Original designs in delicate filigree give Balinese jewellery a distinctive appearance. For historical reasons, the village of Mas is an almost exclusively Brahman enclave, the order of its town planning and the exquisiteness of its festivals reflecting the high-born status of its inhabitants. It is a village of master carvers. In former times, woodcarvers worked only on religious or royal projects, but now the also produce decorative and ‘art’ works for export. The most famous carver was Ida Bagus Nyana, whose visionary modernist sculptures of the 1940s – ether-real maidens with twisted torsoes – are now on display in the vast gallery of his son, Ida Bagus Tilem, himself a talented carver. Father north is the gallery of Ida Bagus Anom, whose expressive topeng masks are much sought after by the island’s 100 or so topeng dance troupes.
UBUD: For many years, Ubud has been a mecca for foreign and local artists who enjoy the creative atmospyhere in this area of Bali. Although main street of Ubud is now lined with shops selling all manner of paintings, carvings, weavings and bric-a-brac, the surroungding villages and country-side are as charming as ever, and most artists gladly welcome visitors into their haome or studio. Artists have thrived in Ubud since the 1930s, when a local aristocrat named Cokorda Sukawati formed the Pita Maha art society together with German painter Walter Spies and Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet.
EAST BALI: East Bali was also the home of most powerful kingdoms of Bali. Courts at Gelgel, and later at Klungkung and Karangasem, were places where rajas and noblemen patronized the arts and created traditions of music and dance that flourish today. The town of Klungkung about 20-km to the East, wast once the political centre of Bali. The Candi Dasa, romantic lagoon and bay that is just beginning to be developed into a resort. The romy beach-side cabanas here are simple, cheap and quiet – the favourite retreat of the island’s cognoscenti.
WEST BALI: Compared with the compact, temple-encrusted valleys valleys of central and Southern Bali, the sweeping horizons of the West unfold most dramatically. Geographical ups-and-downs and twists-and-turns impart a slightly different character to each of the three Western districts: Mengwi, Tabanan and Jembrana. Together they make up almost half of Bali, and are noted for their beautiful garden temples. Do not swallow the West in one trip. Instead, base yourself in the South and plan mini-excursions to points of special interest. Visit the Monkey Forest of Alas Kedaton, the moated Pura Taman Ayun Temple, or the Island temple Tanah Lot.
NORTH BALI: One of greatest attributes of Bali is its compactness. In only a few hours one can travel from the sandy Southern shores of island to the spectacular rim of an active volcano, about 1,450 metres, above sea level, and in so doing observe a broad spectrum of natural and historical wonders. In Bali there are two passes over the scenic central mountains, via Kintamani and via Bedugul, and the two roads rendezvous on secluded North coast of Bali. The culture of the North is thus different is several ways: the language is faster and less refined, the music more allegro and the temple ornamentation more fanciful. The port city of Singaraja, the capital of Bali under the Dutch, has sizeable communities of Chinese and Muslims. The best facilities, however, are the be found at Lovina Beach, about 12-km West of Singaraja on the scenic coast road. Here a calm sea laps the sandy shore and tidy bungalows, hotels and villas. Lake Bratan, veiled in mists and filling the ancient crater of Mountain Bratan. People in the surrounding villages honour Dewi Danu, the goddess of the lake, in the temple of Ulu Danu on a small promontory by the western shore. Around on the southern shore there is a small, government-run guest house and restaurants, where recently they have begun renting motor-boats and water-skies. This is a cool, peaceful place. Children fish for minnows and conoes cross the still waters, carrying firewood to villages on the far bank. Just below the lake is the village of Bedugul, where wild orchids, tree ferns and fresh vegetables are sold at the Bukit Mungsu market.
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