Bali, Indonesia's tropical island paradise
Bali is unique. Out of the thousands of islands that form the Indonesian archipelago, Bali is unique in religion, unique in culture, and in almost everything Bali sets itself apart from the rest of Indonesia. And yet it is this inexplicable charm that captivates the imagination, sending droves of tourists to its shores, to bask in the sand, to quench their thirst for exotic cultures, to relish the magic that can only be derived from visiting Bali.
Bali is the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Sandwiched between the densely populated Java to the west, and the island of Lombok to the est, Bali is one of the 33 provinces of Indonesia, and the only one where the main religion is Hinduism. Bali's population, as of 2005, stood at 3.1 million, of which over 93% are Balinese Hindus whose highly developed culture has made the island Indonesia's biggest travel destination.
The landscape of Bali includes wave-battered coastline, rice terraces, serene highland lakes, soaring mountains and active volcanoes. The tallest mountain in Bali is Gunung Agung, a 3142 meters tall active volcano which last erupted in 1963. It is the easternmost of the major mountains in Bali. Another active volcano, Gunung Batur, created a massive crater that is now a lake, in what was the largest eruption on earth 30,000 years ago. Much of the central and eastern sides of Bali is mountainous. The land slopes gradually towards the south, so that most of the rivers in Bali tend to flow in the north - south direction. These rivers, flowing through the alluvial plain, tend to be very dry during the dry season, and overflowing their banks in the rainy season.
Balinese dancers
Author: Symm (GFDL)
Balinese structure, Uluwatu
© Timothy Tye (20 June, 2004)
Balinese farmer
Author: Yves Picq (GFDL)
Balinese architecture
© Timothy Tye (17 June 2004)
Beach parasols, Kuta Beach
© Timothy Tye (17 June 2004)
Beach soccer in Bali
Author: Riza Nugraha (cc-by-2.0)
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The biggest town in Bali is Denpasar. It has a population of around 300,000 or a tenth of Bali's total population. The second biggest town is old colonial capital ofn Singaraja. Among tourists, however, the most important towns are Kuta, on the southern part of the island, and Ubud, to the north of Denpasar.
The Bali Barat National Park, on the west side of the island, is the only national park on Bali. It covers an area of 19,000 hectares and is quite inaccessible to the general tourist. It is home to the endangered Bali Starling, one of the rarest birds in the world, and one of 280 species of birds found in Bali. The national park is also a wildlife refuge for the Sunda pangolin, Indian muntjac, the mousedeer, the leopard cat, black giant squirrel, among others.
Tourism is the single most important factor influencing Balinese society today. Until just about 30 years ago, Bali was still a very much agriculture-based society. While most of its population are still farmers and fishermen, almost every family has somebody involved in the travel industry, whether working directly within a hotel or a travel company, or through secondary activities from being an artisan producing Balinese handicrafts or performing in the many Balinese dances. Despite repeated terrorist assaults on the travel industry, Bali has quickly rebounded, registering record numbers of tourist in 2008, when close to 2 million visitors came.
Most Balinese follow a unique form of Hinduism which can be described as a fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism. Along the way, it generously adopted animistic traditions that were already inherent in Bali before Hinduism arrived. Balinese believe that every element of nature, be it a rock, a tree, a mountain, or flowing water, is potentially an abode of spirits emanating goodness or evil. Such spirits have to be appeased through elaborate offerings, whether done daily or on specific occasions.
Apart from Bahasa Indonesia, the official language, many Balinese also speak their local Balinese language. A good number is learning up English, especially those who are, or aspiring to be, involved in the tourism industry. As with many Hindu society, there is a caste system in Bali, and nuances in the Balinese language helps the hearer determine the speaker's position within Balinese society.
Bali has a highly developed artform. Balinese crafts range from painting to woodcarving, sculpturing and floral arts. Performing arts in Bali includes the kecak, barong, topeng, pendet, and other dances. Many of these had their origin in the palace and temple courts, but now are often performed to satisfy the tourism industry. Even sacred rituals such as the barong dance, which was previously performed for religious purposes, are now more often than not, staged for the tourist dollar. Nevertheless, most performances have retained their authenticity. However, in the case of barong, many villages have resorted to using barong masks made specifically for tourist performances, while retaining the older mask for their own sacred performances.
Arriving in Bali
Most visitors to Bali arrive at the Ngurah Rai International Airport. Please note that airport tax must be paid at the airport during departure, and is Rp 100,000 at time of writing. Ngurah Rai International Airport is located between Kuta and Jimbaran, and about half an hour from Denpasar. Apart from Garuda Indonesian Airlines, other airlines flying to Bali includes Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Jetstar Asia, Lion Air and Mandala Airlines.
Bali is connected by air to the following destinations:
Balikpapan (Garuda)
Bandar Seri Begawan (Royal Brunei)
Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi (Thai Airways)
Darwin (Garuda, Qantas)
Doha (Qatar Airways)
Guam (Continental Airlines)
Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific, Mandala Airlines)
Kuala Lumpur (AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways)
Jakarta (Adam Air, AirAsia, Batavia Air, Garuda, Lion Air, Merpati Nusantara, Sriwijaya Air)
Jayapura (Garuda)
Makassar (Garuda)
Melbourne (Garuda)
Osaka-Kansai (Garuda, Japan Airlines)
Perth (Garuda, Qantas)
Seoul-Incheon (Garuda, Korean Air)
Singapore (Garuda, Jetstar Asia, Singapore Airlines, Valuair)
Surabaya (Batavia Air, Garuda, Mandala Airlines)
Sydney (Garuda)
Taipei (China Airlines, EVA Air, Mandala Airlines)
Tokyo-Narita (Garuda, Japan Airlines)
Yogyakarta (Batavia Air, Garuda)
Best time to visit Bali
The best time to visit Bali is between the months of July and August, when the sky is blue almost every day. It is however a peak season with hordes of Australian tourists descending on Bali. The low season is between January and March, when the weather can get quite wet.
Getting around Bali
Taxi: Metered taxis are easily available in southern Bali. The flag off rate is Rp 5000 for the first two kilometres followed by Rp 5000 per kilometre thereafter. You may also rent a taxi for Rp. 375,000 per day. Negotiate and agree to the price before the journey, and pay at the end of the trip.
Self-Drive: Cars may be rented for Rp. 80,000 - 120,000 per day. Motorcycles rent for Rp. 30,000-35,000 per day. Driving is on the left side of the road, similar to UK, Australia, Malaysia, and Japan. If you need a car with driver, the price would be in the region of Rp. 400,000 - 500,000 per day of 10 hours, including petrol.
Accommodation in Bali
Accommodation in Bali ranges from simple family-run guesthouses near the beach to luxurious five-star resorts. Use the Budget Accommodation Guide to look for suitable budget accommodation.
Useful Tourist Information
Time
Bali is in the UTC+8:00 time zone, similar to Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, but one hour ahead of Jakarta.
Electricity
220V 50Hz. The outlets are European standard CEE-7/7 "Schukostecker" or "Schuko".
History of Bali
Bali has been inhabited since 2000 BC, when the people Austronesian stock migrated south from Taiwan via the islands of the Philippines and Sulawesi. As a result, the Balinese language bears a close relationship to the languages of the peoples in the Indonesian archipelago.
Hinduism has arrived in Bali as early as the first century AD. An irrigation system, called subak, was developed to grow rice in the 10th century, and with it developed a culture whose traditions can still be observed till today. From 1293 until 1520, the Hindu Majapahit empire flourished in eastern Java. Bali became one of its colonies in 1343. When the empire began to decline, many of the Majapahit elites, including its intellectuals, artisans and priests sought refuge in Bali. This was how Hinduism was introduced to the island.
Although a Portuguese vessal had came close to shore in 1585, Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman was the first European to land on Bali in 1597. This was the start of Dutch colonial rule that was to eventually engulf the whole of Indonesia, then called Dutch East Indies. The Dutch began exerting their dominion over Bali from 1840's. They did so by playing up the distrust of the various Balinese kingdoms against one another. In 1906, thousands of members of the Balinese royal family in Sanur marched to their death in a mass suicide than face the humiliation of defeat. This ritual suicide, or puputan, was to repeat itself in 1908 in Klungkung, preventing the Dutch governors from exerting much control over the people of Bali, and enabling their culture and tradition to continue intact.
During World War II, Bali was occupied by Japanese forces. During this time, a local hero called I Gusti Ngurah Rai formed the Balinese freedom army. He was killed at age 29 during the Battle of Margarana in a puputan against the Dutch on 20 November 1946. He was honored by having the Bali International Airport renamed after him. The Rp 50,000 banknote also features him. When Indonesia gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1949, Bali became one of its provinces.
1963 saw economic havoc brought along by the eruption of Gunung Agung which destroyed much of the crops and forced the transmigration of many Balinese to other parts of Indonesia. Violence erupted in Bali in the 1950's and 60's with a conflict pitting those that support the traditional caste system against those who reject it. These opposing sides were represented by the Indonesian Communist Party and the Indonesian Nationalist Party. In the end, the nationalist under General Sukarno prevailed, and the resulting purge against communism saw the liquidation of 80,000 suspected communists in Bali, representing 5% of the island population.
The upheavals of 1965/66 brought an end to Sukarno's administration, and in its place came Suharto, who proceeded to build relations with the west. It was also under Suharto that tourism was introduced as a form of economic activity for the Balinese. The tourism boom brought a flood of foreign exchange into Indonesia, and saw a dramatic rise in the standard of living of the average Balinese, making Bali one of the most prosperous provinces in Indonesia. Islamic extremists put a dent on the surging tourism industry by masterminding bomb attacks on Kuta, the main tourist area. The attacks in 2002 and 2005 killed 202 and 20 respectively, each time severely crippling tourist arrivals. Despite the attacks, Bali rebounded with gusto, registering record tourist arrivals in 2008.
Festivals in Bali
Balinese festivals are called odalan. They are usually associated with any one of the 20,000 temples and shrines located all over Bali. Odalans are usually celebrated twice a year, and on many other auspicious dates of the Balinese calendar. The Balinese calendar, called wuku or Pawukon calendar, has a 210-day cycle. Hence it is completely out of sync with the Gregorian calendar. In addition, the Balinese also observe the saka calendar, which is a lunar calendar that is more closely resembling the western calendar.
The Hindu New Year, or Nyepi, is a festival to be avoided. It happens around March or April (the 2009 Nyepi is happening on 26 March). The reason is, Nyepi, also known as Day of Absolute Silence, sees all businesses closed for a day, and tourists confirned to their hotels. The reason for the silence is that the Balinese believe it is a day they have to fool the demons into believing that there is absolutely nobody in Bali. By successfully observing Nyepi, Balinese believe that demons will go elsewhere and leave Bali in peace for another year.
Other festivals in Bali are accompanied by more pomp and pagentry. Even funerals, called pitra yadnya seems to be an excuse for colorful rituals. Cremations are often performed amass. Galungan is a 10-day festival celebrating the death of tyrant Mayadenawa. Bamboo poles called penjor line the streets during this festival.
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