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Bali - introduction
Bali is one of over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago and is located just over 2 kilometers from the eastern tip of the island of Java and west of the island of Lombok. The island, home to approximately 4 million people, is approximately 144 kilometers from east to west and 80 kilometers north to south.
The island's varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides provide a picturesque backdrop to the colorful and deeply spiritual culture of this 'Island of The Gods'.
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History
Bali has a long chain of history from the ice-age era (pre-historic time) to modern, global civilization era. In general, the history of Bali is divided into three different eras including the pre-historic, the Hindu-Buddhist era and the modern culture.
The pre-historic marked the oldest and simplest way of life, an era of hunting and food-stuff gathering, verified by the discovery of several tools and hunting equipments. In the following era there were also building construction system and a particular communication system. These were just proofs of the existence and further development of Balinese culture. The Balinese culture flourished that nowadays one can indicates a perfect bonds between religions, tradition and culture to become the identity of the Balinese community.
The Dutch seamen were the first Europeans to arrive on Bali and started to introduce western culture in 1597, though they hadn’t discovered any appealing aspect until 1800s. Around 1846 the Dutch returned with colonization in their minds, having established a strong political base as majority of the Indonesian islands were under their control since the 1700s. The military campaign embarked from the northern coast of Bali. With the help of Sasak people of Lombok, by 1911, all Balinese principalities were under the Dutch control.
The sense of Indonesian nationalism began to grow after the World War I, with the young generation declaring the national language in 1928, known as Bahasa Indonesia. During the height of World War II the Japanese arrived, expelling the Dutch and ruled the country for about 3.5 years, which ended later in 1945 when Indonesia declared independent led by its very first president, Sukarno. Yet the new-born nation was only recognized by the international community as an independent country in 1949 |
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Cities & beaches
Ubud (Inland – Central Bali) Cultural, religious and artistic center of Bali. Set in the middle of rice fields, on the edge of a river with views of the rainforest.
Nusa Dua Beach (South Bali)Super deluxe – all 5-star hotels and higher. Very quiet, little traffic, isolated from the busier areas of the island. Not so much local feeling or culture – it’s all about the resort and the feeling of exclusivity.
Popular With: Americans, Japanese, Up market Asian, Up market Europeans
Jimbaran Beach (South Bali) Close to airport, deluxe, quiet, peaceful beach – no vendors. Mainly high rise hotels – a bit more mixed than Nusa Dua – you have the Ritz Carlton, but you also have some lower category hotels. There is a beach area, but it cannot use for swimming – villas are all inland.
Popular with: European, American, Japanese, up-market Asian.
Kuta Beach (South Bali) The heart of the Kuta stretch. Very busy, packed with shopping and nightlife. This is very popular area, Bali’s largest tourist resort. It’s a surfer’s paradise. The only one deluxe hotel here is the Hard Rock Hotel.
Popular with: Backpackers & budget; surfers; Australians, Japanese, Americans, Some Europeans
Sanur Beach(South Bali) One of the first beaches to be developed. Not quite as busy as Kuta, but still has a little shopping/nightlife feeling to it.
Popular with: Mass-market Germans Europeans; some backpackers
Seminyak Beach (South Bali) North of Legian on the Kuta stretch. It’s good for high end market. It’s also known as a good dining area, with a wide variety of sophisticated restaurants. Lots of rental villas, some hotels.
Popular with: European, American, and Japanese
Tanah Lot (Beach access -South Bali) Only one hotel - Le Meridien, perched on the cliff, nothing else around except some small villages. Golf course is next to the hotel. |
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Weather
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Bali is always warm, humid and tropical, remaining around 86 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. The April-October dry season and November-March rainy seasons are only relative, with plenty of rainfall around the year, but the Balinese winter is cloudier, more humid and with a higher chance of thunderstorms.
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A more important consideration is the tourist season, as Bali can get packed in July-August and again around Christmas and New Year's. Australians also visit during school holidays in early April, late June and late September, while Indonesians visit during national holidays. Outside these peaks, Bali can be surprisingly quiet and good discounts on accommodation are often available. |
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To do
Hot springs - There are several hot springs to be discovered in Bali. One of them, along the northern coast of the island, near Lovina, is Air Panjar where stone mouth carvings allow hot water to pass between pools which are set among a lush garden. Spa - Bali is paradise for spa lovers and all sorts of treatments are widely available, but the Balinese lulur body scrub with herbs and spices - traditionally performed before a wedding ceremony - is particularly popular. Balinese massage is usually done with oil and involves long, Swedish-style strokes.
In steep contrast to exorbitant Western massage fees, Balinese massage is an incredible value, and visitors should definitely avail themselves this luxury. In local salons, a one-hour full body massage will cost between Rp. 40 - 60,000, and the two-hour mandi lulur, which incorporates a body scrub and hydrating yogurt body mask in addition to the massage, will cost about Rp. 100,000.
The curiously named cream bath is a relaxing scalp and shoulder massage, usually lasting 45 minutes, in which a thick conditioning cream is worked through the hair and into the scalp. A cream bath typically costs about Rp. 40,000. Note that these same services in an upscale hotel will cost many times more.
Weddings - Balinese weddings are getting popular in recent years. The exotic tradition, ceremonies, music and costumes have a special attraction among western people. Many couples who are already legally married to each other choose Bali as the perfect place to renew their vows. Full wedding services are widely available in Bali such as: ceremony arrangements, photography, videography, flowers, musicians, dancers, caterers etc. There are about ten wedding chapels available in Bali today (largely in luxury hotels) and the number is growing. You can find many professional wedding organizer to handle your wedding in Bali through the internet. Destination weddings, featuring all types of religious and presentation arrangements, are becoming increasingly popular with private villas being one of the island's many offerings for venues.
Waterbom - Opposite the new huge Discovery Shopping Mall. This is an excellent day out for all the family with a fantastic kids area, great water slides and fun going round on the lazy river.
Scuba Diving -There are many interesting scuba diving sites around Bali such as the wreck of USAT Liberty Glo at Tulamben. Pulau Menjangan is particularly popular.
Surfing - Warm waters, crowds of young backpackers, cheap living and reliable waves keeps Bali near the top of world surfing destinations. |
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Map
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Photo gallery
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