Temple - Pura In Bali

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Pura In International Is Named Temple Is Place Hindu Ceremony In Bali. In Bali Have More Than Thousand Temple. Temple Is Famous In Bali Is Pura Besakih Temple, Pura Batur Temple, Pura Uluwatu Temple, Pura Goa Lawah Temple, Pura Lempuyang Temple, Pura Pulaki Temple, Pura Rambut Siwi Temple, Pura Tanah Lot Temple,Pura Batukaru Temple, And Etc. Pura Besakih Temple Is Location In Karangasem, Near Agung Mountain. Pura Batur Is Location In Kintamani, Bangli Regency, Near Batur Mountain. Pura Uluwatu Temple Is Location In Jimbaran. Pura Lempuyang Temple Is Location In Karangasem Regency Near Abang Mountain. Pura Pulaki Temple Is Location In Buleleng. Pura Rambut Siwi Is Location In Jembrana Regency. Pura Tanah Lot Is Location In Tabanan Regency. Pura Batukaru Is Location In Penebel, Tabanan Regency. The All Pura ( Temple ) Is Very Interesting And You Must Visit There. A Village In Bali Have Minimum 3 (Thee) Pura (Temple). A Distrik Have Several Village. And A Regency Have Several Distrik. Bali Have 9 (Nine) Regency. So You Can Count, How Much Pura (Temple) In Bali!!!

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Other Temple Picture
Picture Batur Temple

Picture Taman Ayun Temple
Picture Taman Ayun Temple
Picture Taman Ayun Temple
Picture Taman Ayun Temple
Picture Taman Ayun Temple
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Dreamland Beach Is Beautiful

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Dramland Beach Located In Pecatu Indah Resort, Jalan Uluwatu Street Jimbaran, Bali. More Than 15 Minutes From International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai In Our Journey Can See The Beautiful View And In Beautiful Area Pecatu Indah Resort The Viem In Area Dreamland Beach We Can See Green Grass To Play At The Golf. At Arrival Coastal Area Dreamland Beach, We Can See The Reef Boosting High And Smooth White Sand. Dreamland Beach Is One Of The Beautiful Coast With The Wave Which Is Suited For Surfing, Swimming, Water Sport And Etc. Besides Kuta. In Dreamland We Can Also See Sunset The Sun Is Very Beautiful Than In Place Other. Facility Of Exist In There Among Others Restorant, Villa, Bar, Etc. I Will Wait Your Arrival In Bali, For To A Pay Visit In Dreamland Beach.

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Other Picture
Picture1 Dreamland stone
Picture 2 Sunset In Dreamland
Picture 3 Sunset In Dreamland
Picture 4 Dreamland Beach
Picture 5 Dreamland Beach

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Bali Fauna

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Bali is home to 32 species of mammals, including a wildcat, two species each of civet (the ‘musang’ or palm civet, which resembles a mongoose), two species of monkey, ’sambar’, barking deer, mouse deer, wild ox (banteng), and a miniature squirrel.

In the early 1900s, a writer reported that his camp in west Bali was trampled by a herd of feral elephants, but by the 1920s it was difficult to meet anyone who’d ever seen an elephant on the island. By that time the Balinese tiger, the smallest of eight subspecies of tiger, was very rarely sighted, and the last known animal was shot in 1937. Today only five sad stuffed specimens are left behind.

A visit to the 76,000-hectare Bali Barat National Park (BBNP), covering most of the heavily forested interior of western Bali, is obligatory for animal and bird lovers. The park is effectively protected against exploitation and development and is well-patrolled by rangers based at the park headquarters of Cekik and Labuhan Lalang. Here you can see ‘rusa’ deer, wild boar, and fairly tame long-tailed macaques and leaf monkeys sitting high in the trees chewing on leaves. The 165-hectare offshore island of Menjangan has a population of around 50 barking deer.

The Wallace Line
Bali is the physical end of what was once mainland Asia. Observing that a great contrast exists between the animal life of Bali and that of the islands to the east, the great 19th century English naturalist Sir Alfred Russel Wallace suggested that the treacherous, 24-km-wide strait separating Bali from the neighboring island of Lombok is an important divide, a biologically impassable line cleaving Asia from Australia. “In just two hours,” he suggested, “you can pass from one great division of the earth to the other, differing as essentially in their animal life as Europe does from America.”

During the last ice age, Wallace theorized, the sea level around the Greater Sundas fell enough to enable animals to travel overland from the Asian mainland, fanning out through the archipelago until they reached the deep trench of the Lombok Strait and could go no farther. While the Selat Bali (”Bali Strait”) separating Bali from Java has a maximum depth of 60 meters, the ocean depths between Bali and Lombok exceed 1,300 meters.

Wallace’s book, The Malay Archipelago, published in 1869 contemporary and parallel with Charles Darwin’s work, advanced a theory of evolution based on Wallace’s examination of the flora and fauna of the region. His imagined line dividing the Asian and Australian regions on either side of the Lombok Strait has since become known as the Wallace Line.

The differences between Bali and Lombok are obvious. Bali is lush, equatorial, smothered in the luxuriant vegetation of tropical Asia, while Lombok is wind-blown and dry like the Australian plains. Bali, Java, and islands west are characterized by the monkeys, squirrels, rabbits, tigers, elephants, bears, sheep, oxen, horses, orangutans, and pythons found in the dense tropical forests and jungles of Asia. On the islands east of Bali begin the parrots and other peculiar bird species, marsupials like wombats and kangaroos, the platypus, and giant lizards of the Australian region. Some “leakage” occurs, i.e., monkeys are found in Sumba.

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Flower

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Many plants we assiduously and lovingly cultivate as pot plants in the West-poinsettia, dracaena, coleus, begonias-grow in riotous profusion along the roadsides of Bali and have to be hacked back with machetes. Due to difference in altitude, rainfall, temperatures, and humidity, there’s a wide variation in the types of plants in bloom from month to month on Bali.

Along Bali’s roads and crowding its markets are stands selling all manner of fruits of strange colors, shapes, and sizes. All the usual varieties known in tropical Asia are grown on Bali, plus about 20 or so grown nowhere else, such as the enormous grapefruit-like ‘pomelo’ (jeruk Bali). For a description of Bali’s fruits, instructions on how to eat them, their Balinese names, and when they come into season, see “Fruits” under “Food and Entertainment” in the On the Road chapter.

Flower fragrances are especially adored by the Balinese and their gods. Fresh flowers are required offerings in almost all temple rituals and ceremonies, a way of providing a pleasing environment for spirits and ancestors during their frequent visits to Earth. The Balinese also use flowers to decorate themselves; statues of gods and goddesses are adorned with flowers; legong dancers wear crowns of blossoms; each time a Balinese prays s/he holds a flower between the fingers. Before a ‘bemo’ driver sets out for the day his wife or daughter prepares for him a floral offering, or ‘canang’. Indeed, flowers are so much in demand here that it’s rare to see flowering trees in full bloom.

The majority of the delightful flowers you see are not native to Bali but have been introduced from around the world, either imported in recent years or centuries ago by Indian or Arab traders. With the Chinese grafting everything and people bringing plants back and forth from Hawaii, it’s difficult to tell anymore what’s native to Bali and what’s not.

The variety is astounding: the hardy, colorful bougainvillea (bunga kertas), climbing over walls and balconies; the common gardenia (jempiring) and hydrangea (pacah seribu); poinsettias; the rose (maya); the spiked ‘tumbak raja’; the star-shaped, lavender ‘manori’; the jasmine (menuh), a symbol of holiness; the common marigold (mitir). The ‘malu-malu’, a sort of creeping mimosa, is known as the “sensitive plant” because its leaves fold compactly at the slightest touch-thus its Balinese name, meaning “shy.”

The trumpet-shaped red or orange hibiscus (pucuk), which adorns the ears of temple statues, comes in all shapes and sizes. The large-leafed, floating water lily or lotus (Nelubium nelumbo) can be detected from a distance because of its fragrant smell and beautiful colors. The Balinese believe it to be the flower of the goddesses in heaven; this aqueous plant has a high religious value on Bali and is also used as a traditional medicine.

There’s a great variety of flowering trees and shrubs: the acacia; ornamental ‘kenyeri’ (oleanders); the bright orange African tulip trees; the spectacular flame tree ‘merak’; the pure white ‘cempaka’, a large type of magnolia, with a strong long-lasting delicious fragrance; clusters of sweet-smelling white, pink, and red frangipani (bangan jepun) blossoms; the stunning flamboyant (flamboyan); the Singapore rhododendron; the bright orange ‘didap’, used in cremation processions; the ‘datura’ or “Handkerchief Tree” with its drooping white or pink flowers; the firecracker hibiscus; the ‘kecubung’, ‘kedukduk’, ’sabita’ - the list goes on.

The best place to see flowers is in the front yards and living fences of private homes; ask the proprietor or concierge to take you on a botanical tour of your hotel or homestay garden. The Nusa Dua hotels and Hotel Tanjung Sari and the Bali Hyatt in Sanur are famous for their brilliant year-round floral displays. Village markets all have flower stalls that sell flowers for offerings. Also visit the big nurseries of Niti Mandala, near Renon, in East Denpasar.

The Lila Graha Botanical Gardens in Candikuning offers a well-presented collection of orchids and exotics. Behind the Candikuning market are dozens of stalls selling such dazzling flowers as gardenias, roses, canna lilies, heliconia, marigolds, and cock’s combs at very good prices. The grounds of the Bali Handara Country Club, also in the Bedugul area, are definitely worth visiting. By the side of the road from Mengwi up to Candikuning flowers grow everywhere. Also visit the orchid nursery near Blahbatuh in Gianyar Regency; commercial orchid nurseries are also found on the road from Denpasar to Sanur.

If you can find it in a hotel or supermarket bookstore, get a copy of Fred and Margaret Eiseman’s well-researched Flowers of Bali containing 35 color photos of Bali’s native flowers. In 1995, Thames and Hudson published Balinese Gardens, written by William Warren, Adrian Vickers, and Anthony Whitten, with photographs by Luca Invernezzi Tettoni, which beautifully illustrates numerous examples of contemporary and traditional Bali gardens.

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Sanur Beach

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A. Brief Information

Sanur Beach, one of the beautiful beaches in Bali Island, offers a panoramic view since a long time ago. Historically, on an inscription written at the tenure of King Kasari Warmadewa (917 A.D.) in Singhadwala Palace, it is stated that the beauty of Sanur Beach has been discovered at the time. Now you can still find the inscription in the southern direction of Sanur Beach in Blanjong Village.

During the colonial government of Dutch occupied Indonesia, Sanur Beach was functioned as the Dutch‘s harbor where they sent the Dutch fleet admiral to attack Badung Kingdom, which was regarded as mutinous kingdom. A war on November 18^th 1906 A.D. which was commonly called Puputan Badung was a war to defend motherland Indonesia from the Dutch without fear, though the death was a choice. The war was historically led by Badung King who was helped by local people at the time.

Based on tourism view, Sanur Beach started to be known by international world by a Belgium painter named A.J. Le Mayeur, who later on resided and built painting workshop there, in 1932 A.D. He got married with a famous legong dancer namely Ni Nyoman Pollok, who was also known as his painting model. By his paintings, Le Mayeur started to introduce Sanur Beach to international world and also built a museum nearby the beach named the Museum of Le Mayeur.

B. Distinctive Features

While Kuta Beach offers you with magnificent view of sunset, Sanur Beach gives you a panoramic view of sunrise along the tortuous sandy beach of Sanur. At morning, while delighting in wonderful scenery of sunrise along the coast, seems Nusa Penida Island in the southeastern direction of the beach.

Moreover, the scenery of Sanur Beach at evening is just the same as at morning. Since the water is going to ebb, you can brightly see Serangan Island and a group of coral reef in the south. When the wave is not too high, you will be offered with a splendid view of colorful coral reef on the transmarine.

C. Location

Sanur Beach is situated in Sanur Village, Denpasar Sub-district, Denpasar City, Bali, Indonesia.

D. Access

For you who want to access the location, you can take any accessible public transports from Denpasar City to Sanur for about six km away. Indian taxi can also be your alternatives for you to reach Sanur Beach.

E. Ticket Price

In the confirmation process

F. Accommodation and other Facilities

Sanur Beach and surrounding areas are on the first priority of tourism development programs of Bali local government. That is why, you can easily find star hotels and restaurants as well. Souvenirs peddlers offering traditional work arts of Bali Island can be alternatives for you who want to eternalize your beautiful moments during the visit to Sanur Beach.

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The Museum of Le Mayeur

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A. Brief Information
Born in Brussels, Belgium on February 9th 1880 in a high-class family, Adrian-Jean Le Mayeur got his painting talent from his parents. His latest education in architecture was achieved at Libre University. Forbidden by his father when attempted to develop his talent, he decided to leave his family by hanging around the world to seek for a right place for his talent improvement.
Le Mayeur arrived at Bali in 1932 in Singaraja City then continued a journey to Denpasar City before decided to stay in Sanur Beach. In the beginning, he just wanted to set an eight-month visit to Bali, after knowing the charm of Sanur Beach and beautiful girls of surrounding location, splashed in his mind to build a home and painting workshop in the location. A famous legong dancer named Ni Nyoman Pollok drew his heart to marry her when she became his painting model.
Unfortunately, this couple did not have any son until the end of their life. In fact, Ni Pollok was eager to have son but Le Mayeur denied it considering that she was his painting model. Le Mayeur was afraid of Ni Pollok‘s pregnancy would make her body was not beautiful anymore.
Their home and painting workshop were later on dedicated to government to be functioned as museum by his testament written in 1957. Finally, their home and painting workshop are given a name Le Mayeur Museum.
B. Distinctive Features
Le Mayeur is famous as impressionist and naturalist painter. Moreover, he also had tendency to paint the beauty of Balinese girls. Inside the museum, you can watch his works and historical properties such as chair, carved table, bed, wardrobe, ceramic vase, silver alliances, earthenware, and some sculptures.
At least there are 88 work arts of Le Mayeur from 1921 to 1957 showing his impressionist style. Besides using canvas, he also used other mediums for painting such as hardboard, three-ply, paper, and gunnysack. The last one was used by him remembering the difficulty of getting canvas from Belgium, so he decided to use it on the era of Japanese colonialism.
C. Location
Le Mayeur Museum is situated in Sanur Village, Denpasar City, Bali, Indonesia.
D. Access
From the centre of Denpasar City, you can access the location by any public transportation like Indian taxi. Those Indian taxi will take you to the end of Hang Tuah Street then continue to the destination around 70 km away.
The museum is opened for public at 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. for Saturday to Thursday. On Friday, open from 8 to 12.30 a.m. On holidays, the museum is closed.
E. Ticket Price
IDR 2.000 for adult and IDR 1.000 for children. For group, more than 10 people, adult visitors only pay IDR 1.000 and IDR 500 for children.
F. Accommodation and other Facilities
Typical foods of Bali Island can be easily found along the coast of Sanur Beach for you who are eager to taste it. Completing your visit, you can buy souvenirs around the location with reasonable price.


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Taman Ayun Hindu Temple

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A. Brief Information

Taman Ayun Hindu Temple in Badung District was built in 1634 A.D. by the king of Mengwi Kingdom, I Gusti Agung Ngurah Made Agung titled Ida Cokorda Sakti Belambangan. The Mengwi Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Bali at the time until 1891 A.D. Built as worship place for royal family and their relatives, the building uses Gunung Batukau architecture rather than Gunung Agung architecture that was commonly applied at most of Indonesian Hindu temples.

“Taman Ayun” means beautiful garden. It is on a tableland of four ha wide surrounded by ponds. Viewing from afar, it seems floating above the water. Surrounded by leafy trees and colourful flower garden, the complex of Taman Ayun Hindu Temple offers a magnificent view.

Comprising three buildings, it is usually visited by more and less 300 – 600 tourists, either domestic or foreign tourists, in a year. The first building is an opened space for any kinds of religious event and art performances. Here, you can watch a sumptuous meru (pagoda which has multi-roofed structure, typical of Balinese Hindu Temple). The second building is the main building named Bale Pelik which is fully decorated with artistic carving, relief and a wonderful statue of Deity Nawa Sanga. The innermost buildings in the complex are the sacred buildings of Hindu people that are dedicated to god and goddess of Hindu.

B. Distinctive Features

Taman Ayun Hindu Temple had ever been recommended as a valuable world heritage. On March 12^th 2008, the Director of UNESCO, Kokhiro Masura visited the location to check directly, whether it is proper to achieve the status as above. He argued that this Hindu temple is proper to get such status. Now, this 400 years old Hindu temple is still used as worship place by Hindu people.

The properties of the Mengwi Kingdom can still be found nearby the location, about 300 meters from the location. The Museum of Manusa Yadnya is also located nearby Taman Ayun Hindu Temple. The museum displays some ceremonies relating to human‘s life circle starting from birth to death.

C. Location

Taman Ayun Hindu Temple Mengwi Village, Mengwi Sub-district, in the district of Badung, Bali Province, Indonesia.

D. Access

It is about 18 km away from Denpasar City to Mengwi Village. You can reach the location by public transports passing by route Denpasar - Singaraja or Denpasar - Bedugul for approximately 25 minutes. After being on the crossroad of Mengwi Village, you must continue the trip by walk to the location around 250 meters. It is opened for public at 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

E. Ticket Price

IDR 4.100 for adult and IDR 2.100 for children (per March 2008).

F. Accommodation and other Facilities

In Badung District, you can easily find hotels and restaurants for more comfortable visit to Taman Ayun Hindu Temple.

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BALI AT FIRST GLANCE!

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A friendly and remarkably artistic people, living amid breathtaking panoramas, have created dynamic society with unique arts and ceremonies and ceremonies, making Bali an island almost unreal in today’s hectic and changing world. Terrace rice fields dominate the landscape, with rivers and small irrigation streams dissecting a luscious green landscape, filling the air with enchanting sounds of running water.

Bali is divided by a string of impressive and authoritative volcanoes running almost through the center of the island. Mountains and particularly volcanoes are believed to be the home of the gods. Shrouded in mystery and magic, they stretch skyward in majestic splendor. Bali’s main volcano is the still active and sometimes explosive. Gunung Agung, which is considered, sacred among local people as it is believed to be the center of the universe. Not just a few visitors leave with the same believe.

The ancient kingdoms of the “Rajas” and princes of Bali were dismantled by colonial governments in the early part of this century, but many of the royal descendants still own traditional palaces and are very much respected as patrons of the arts. Art and culture are strongly bonded to Bali’s unique form of Hinduism called “Hindu Darma”. Classical dance dramas for example, are based on the old Hindu epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabarata, but contain an element of local folklore, peculiar to the island.

The very soul of Bali is rooted in religion and is expressed in art forms that have been passionately preserved over the centuries. It seems that almost every person is an artist, spending free time applying skills and images which have been passed down from generation to generation and grasped from a very young age. Whether expressed through beautiful and intricate paintings and dances, extraordinary carvings, superb weaving or even in decorations made for myriad shrines which can be found in public area, on roads, in paddy field or in homes, the island is alive with art.

The Balinese have been more exposed to international tourists and generally speak more English than people in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. They have managed to preserve their culture despite overwhelming foreign influences brought to the region by an ever increasing number of tourists. Bali’s international airport, Ngurah Rai, is in the south of the island and is served by numerous international airlines and charters.

In order to keep up with the growing number of visitors and the need for their comfort, more hotel have been built, ranging from small bungalows types for budget travelers to the luxurious Nusa Dua tourist resort area, near the air port, on the southern tip of the island. Water sports have naturally gained in popularity and Bali offers superb surfing, windsurfing, sailing, scuba diving and white water rafting.

Bali is the land of a thousand gods, temples and arts. Some other views are the island as the last frontier area that waiting to be discovered from its beauty. Ask around and you are almost sure to get reply, “come to Bali for its culture, its beauty”. Inside our heart, Bali is really proud of their Island splendor. Once goes to Bali for an experience, a journey of a lifetime, learning traditional customs and faith, their hopes and their eternal search for peace.

A tourist heaven with splendid beaches, friendly people, a warm climate, cool mountain air, a slow pace. You get old stories, find new meaning of life. You can hike up trails, watch the birds, visit temples, and buy natural & unique souvenir, etc. You can fill your own treasure trove with memories, enlightenment recollections when you stood and faced the mountains and gazed at the natural beauty of the surrounding countryside.

Besides known as tourism area, it’s also agronomy area, nowadays called ‘agro-tourism’. As networking system that Bali is surrounded by river, water as the main needs of life. Whether rice is the staple food, derived from paddy which needed a plenty of water.

Balinese need to devise an ingenious system of aqueducts that can be considered a miracle of engineering. Bali perhaps the last place on this earth that still conjures images of beauty mystique, peace, good will and a way of life that is unique in this modern age. Here you get a deep sense of satisfaction. The environment possibly to be the hospitality that envelops you. Moreover the amazing hues of color, sound and natural beauty.

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Bali Hilton International

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The Bali Hilton International is located in its own idyllic, 11.5 hectares of exquisitely landscaped gardens, bordering a 300-meter stretch of white sand beach front in the beautiful island resort area of Nusa Dua. Ornate Balinese-themed courtyards are interspersed throughout the gardens, which also contain a giant, yet tranquil lagoon.

The hotel is only a 15-minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport and is 30 kilometers from the city center. Transportation Options It’s only 20 minutes drive from airport to the bali hilton international. out from the airport, take the main road to the east until Ngurah Rai big statue, turn to the right(south) and follow the main road. Hilton is before golf course.

Rooms Luxuriously furnished, well appointed guest rooms and spacious bathrooms, each with its own private balcony with spectacular views over the grounds and ocean.

Facilities

• Cable TV
• Electrical Service 220 AC
• Executive Level features include: Separate Registration, Executive Lounge
• Car Rental Desk
• Languages Spoken: ENGLISH, GERMAN, JAPANESE, FRENCH, MANDARIN, SPAINISH
• Parking Options: Self-park, Valet
• Parking Facility: Secured, with in/out privileges
• Room Service available 24 hours, Kosher food available
• Recreation
• Fitness Center
• Pool
• Golf Course
• Tennis Court

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Shopping for Painting

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Paintings are sold in souvenir stalls, art markets, cooperative galleries, and pushed by hawkers on foot everywhere you turn. Finding good paintings, however, is hard work. It helps to understand that artists are now working mostly for a European market and the tourists’ demand for paintings “suitable for framing” has changed the technique and content of their painting style.

Balinese artists only started to sign their paintings when Westerners started to ask them to about 50 years ago. Now almost all paintings are signed with the artist’s name and the village where he or she lives.

Producing copies is one of the main occupations of the artist or his or her assistants. If a particular painting sells well, umpteen copies are spawned. This explains why all over the island you’ll find similar paintings portraying hackneyed tourist cliches of a tropical paradise-glowing sunset, smoking volcanoes, sloe-eyed nymphs bathing. The worst, sold by peddlers on Kuta Beach, possess all the banality of velvet paintings in cocktail lounges.

The competition between all the small galleries and painters’ studios has become so intense now that shop owners are contracting with travel agents and tour operators, paying Rp3-4 million up front for the delivery of busloads of tourists. This drives the price of the paintings up, since so many people have to be taken care of-the agent, the bus owner, the guide, the driver. But a tourist who only has a week in Bali and has the money to burn will buy expensive paintings, even for US$3000-4000, no problem. This is how such high-class galleries like Agung Rai, Rudana, and Agung Raka in Gianyar Regency have grown so fast.

To avoid getting fleeced, do your homework. Visit a number of galleries to learn about the different painting styles. Some have whole rooms dedicated to a distinct style so you can get a good sense of each. Don’t be put off by the schlock quality of the majority of the art on display. It’s strictly for mass tourist consumption. Finding the best art takes persistence, and when you do find good art it costs a bundle.

If you see something you like in one of the big commercial galleries, you may be able to look up the artist in his or her home/studio, probably nearby. Many of Bali’s finest painters live around the villages of Ubud, Batuan, Penestanan, Blahbatuh, and Sukawati-all major centers of Balinese painting in south central Bali. Go to the village indicated on the painting and ask around in your primitive Indonesian. Many painters are even listed in the phone book. It could be 1000% cheaper if you buy directly from the artist, avoiding business with Ubud’s countless galleries. Art shops customarily pay only 20-30% of the sale price to the artist. You also won’t have to pay a commission (10-50%) to a guide or driver, which is tacked on to the price of a painting.

However, be aware that high quality paintings by well-known artists may be sold for the same price in the painter’s home as they sell for in the galleries. This is because the painters do not want to undercut the galleries where their work is displayed and thus make a bad reputation for themselves. They want the galleries to continue to buy from them. They will sell a good painting to a gallery for Rp500,000, and the gallery in turn charges a million for it.

Some Buying Tips

Buy only something you really like. Ask yourself: “Do I want to look at this painting for the next 10 years?” Taste obviously plays an immense role in your purchasing decision. By no means should you take advice solely from a gallerist. Ask the locals and ask other tourists. Look at a lot of paintings.

Decide how much you have to spend. This will narrow your scope. With practice, you can tell the difference between a great artist and a mediocre one. Before you buy, decide where the painting is going to go in your house so it doesn’t get stuffed in an attic forever.

If you’ve decided to invest in a fine piece of art, then start reading reference books (see “News, Travel, and Entertainment Media” under the Information and Services section in the On the Road chapter) and visit art galleries. Go to a gallery where paintings are clearly priced. Fixed prices are fairer to the purchaser; the artist also knows what price his work is being sold for. (You can still bargain a little, by the way.)

Galleries

Hundreds of large and small galleries are found all over Bali. Smaller galleries are more apt to bargain than big galleries. Walk up and down the roads of Ubud, Pengosekan, and Peliatan, an area smothered in art shops and galleries. With few exceptions, their interminable labyrinths are filled with a bewildering, conflicting, super-kitsch, haphazard collection of paintings from virtually every school encompassing widely differing styles and big gulfs in quality. In many cases, there are so many paintings that they’re stacked up in piles on the floor. In addition to these commercial galleries, many painters have small galleries attached to their studios.

For an overview of the full range of Balinese painting, visit the Neka Museum (one km west of Ubud in Campuan), which displays the whole gamut of styles, prices, and sizes. This private museum, the first of its kind on Bali, is distinct from the Neka Gallery in Padangtegal (near Ubud). The owner/proprietor of both, Suteja Neka, is an important force in Balinese painting and has published several books on the subject (see Booklist). The first gallery owner to actively collect the art of expatriate painters, Neka is an excellent source of information and always has time to talk to visitors.

The museum, which should more aptly be called a gallery, is made up of Balinese-style buildings set in an exquisite garden. One room contains just the Balinese masters and early modernists such as Lempad and Togog; another contains just foreign artists who’ve worked in Bali like Smit, Spies, and Bonnet; another holds Indonesian academic artists who’ve painted in Bali; and yet another is filled with Western masters such as Blanco, Meier, Snel, and Friend. At the entrance, buy Perceptions of Paradise (Rp65,000) by Neka Gallery, as well as postcards of the famous works inside.

The superb, spacious, and expensive Agung Rai Gallery is in Peliatan (two km east of Ubud). Assembled by a self-made visionary collector of every school of Balinese art and an expert in the evolution of Balinese painting, Agung Rai’s collection is accommodated in six separate display halls. Ask to visit the permanent collection and his private museum in Peliatan. The gallery sponsors well-attended painting classes on a regular basis. In 1995, the Agung Rai Museum complex opened in Peliatan. The three-hectare site consists of a spacious building for the permanent collection, another large structure for visiting exhibitions, an art school for children, a library, and an international artist’s colony.

Also don’t miss the Rudana Gallery north of Mas and about one km south of Teges (south of Peliatan). The gallery displays a large collection of traditional, naive, and modern paintings in a sprawling complex of rooms. Also pay a visit to the Sanggraha Kriya Astra Arts Center in Tohpati outside of Denpasar on the road to Ubud, where a wide range of good quality paintings are for sale at fair prices.

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Tourism in Bali

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The Balinese have been more exposed to international tourists and generally speak more english than people in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. They have managed to preserve their culture despite overwhelming foreign influences brought to the region by an ever increasing number of tourists.

Bali is the Hawaii of the East. Of the four million tourists who came to Indonesia in 1994, more than 750,000 flew straight to Bali. The number of foreign and domestic tourists arriving in Bali is now approaching 1.5 million a year. The growth in visitors, which stands at about 10% per year, is expected to continue through the late 1990s. Bali already has a full half of all the hotels in Indonesia.

Bali makes a valuable study in the effects of mass tourism on the social and cultural patterns of an indigenous population. Every generation of visitors arrives to “discover” Bali, pronounce it a paradise, and then once home mourns that it’s lost forever. Visitors are so enthralled with the legend surrounding Bali; many arrive thinking that Indonesia is a part of Bali rather than the other way round.

Able to survive Islam, war, coups, and occupations, Bali has been less successful in withstanding the tidal waves of tourists. Commercialism has crept into every aspect of Balinese life. You now have to go deep into the interior, up to the mountain villages, to find people still adhering to the old traditions.

Who Are Those Guys?
Two types of foreign visitors arrive on Bali: those who come to relax on holiday, and those who come to experience the culture, to “discover” Bali. Demographically, the highest percentage is in the 25-35 range with an average length of stay of about 12 days. Singapore sends the greatest number of visitors, followed by Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

The “international class” stays in culture-neuter luxury resorts concentrated in an unseen, unfelt quarantine zone along the southern coastline. With snapshots of volcanoes and rice terraces in their cameras and souvenirs in their hands, they shuttle in air-conditioned buses with tinted windows to talky, fake trance dances, truncated ‘wayang’ performances and staged cremations. They return south at dusk to Nusa Dua and Sanur to watch yet more dances by torchlight while eating continental dinners. These tourists have almost no impact on the values of Bali, leaving the Balinese culture more or less intact.

Then there are the yuppies, the travelers, and the college students. These so-called “cultural tourists” have come to Bali to experience the gentle climate, relatively low prices, good surfing beaches and general ambience that have made this island a popular hangout for young people for more than 15 years. They stay in inexpensive homestays or beach inns in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Candidasa, romp in the surf off Uluwatu, roar around the island on rented motorcycles or Suzuki and trip out on magic mushroom omelets while listening to rock tapes.

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Mount and Lake Batur

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After Agung, Batur is the most sacred mountain on Bali. Most often the mountain’s only sign of life is an occasional wisp of smoke that drifts across its lava-blackened slopes. However, when this 1,717-meter volcano erupts, it glows red, bellows and throws out rocks and showers of volcanic debris.

History
Batur was initially formed in the shape of a sharply pointed cone over 3,500 meters above sea level. A terrific explosion blew the point off the cone, atomized a large portion of the volcano and collapsed the bulk of the mountain into the magma chamber, which was emptied by the initial cataclysm.

Before the present caldera was born, Penelokan and Kintamani lay on the western slope of the “first” Gunung Batur. Now Penelokan and Kintamani are spread out along the top of the caldera’s outer crater rim. The present younger, smaller volcano-of the effusive rather than explosive type-gradually grew out of the crater floor over a period of hundreds of thousands of years.

Lake Batur Region
The crescent-shaped crater lake of Batur, 1,031 meters above sea level, is seven and a half km long, with a maximum width of two and a half km, and a depth of between 65 and 70 meters. The western side is barren lava rock while the eastern side is lined with trees. The average height of the huge outer rim is around 1,300 meters. Though there are no surface river outlets, the waters of the lake feed underground rivers, which emerge as holy springs in the southern part of the island.

Guides
Guides will approach you everywhere, offering their services. Guides you meet in your ‘losmen’ tend to charge too much. You can easily find a guide if you arrive at the trailhead at 0330. They’ll come out of the dark and offer to lead you.

The guides in Toya Bungkah offer three different climbs. The short one, up and back for the sunrise, is four hours. The medium one involves a walk around Batur’s three caters, a visit to the bat cave, and a breakfast of eggs boiled by volcanic steam for five hours. The third option is the more interesting tour.

Approaches
You can attempt the climb from many different directions. As a rule, always take the widest, most obvious and worn path, not necessarily the most direct.

The easiest approach is from the northwest, beginning at Toya Mampeh. This climb, by way of the volcano’s back door, can also begin from the west at Kintamani.

You can also start from the northeast. Drive or walk seven-km on the good road west from Toya Bungkah to Toya Mampeh. If you start at 0400, you’ll make it to the peak of Gunung Batur in time for the sunrise. The climbs from Toya Bungkah and Pura Jati end in exactly the same spot, so ascend one way and descend the other. Half the climb is through a man-made eucalyptus forest.

Climbing It
Gunung Batur is the easiest Bali volcano to climb-you can drive to the base and you don’t have to struggle through vegetation. Regardless of your approach, tackle the mountain only in good weather. It’s coolest when overcast, but the climb is not recommended in the rainy season (Nov-March). As you start your ascent locals try to sell you drinks. So bring your own food and water (two liters) or be prepared to pay for the most expensive drinks on Bali.

As you climb, the towering mountain is frequently hidden by dense fog and mist, revealing the summit momentarily, then surrounding it again. The way is well trodden, well marked and well maintained, but if you get lost don’t expect anyone to show you the way without exacting payment. In addition, unless you’re a very experienced mountaineer, be sure to hire a guide if you intend to tackle Batur in the dark.

The Summit
There could be 100 people on the summit, but this is likely to occur only in the tourist season. Most tourists are guided to the sandy top of the middle crater. The topmost crater to the north is another hour’s climb, along a narrow rim only one meter wide, and the view isn’t as fine. At the top there’s a small shrine to Vishnu.

From the southern rim take the trail down inside the crater to the bat cave. If you intend to stay in the Batur region for just a day, get down in Toya Bungkah by 1300 or you may have to spend a lot of money chartering a ‘bemo’ up to Penelokan.

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Bali Island - The Nusa Dua

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In 1974 the government concocted the Nusa Dua Experiment, calling for the construction of luxury hotels along the East Coast of the arid, thinly populated Bukit Peninsula. By offering foreign investors 50-year leases with maximum incentives and tax holidays, it was hoped the Nusa Dua resort would accommodate and contain the surge in visitors. Nusa Dua constituted a major shift to elite tourism, planned as an isolated, self-contained ghetto that would allow visitors the experience of Bali but keep their interactions with the natives to a minimum.

Because relatively few of the island’s 2.7 million people live near the sea and few tourists want to stay anywhere else, the plan looked really good on paper. But the resort was very slow to develop. It was only in the 1980s that Nusa Dua finally came into its own; it wasn’t until late in the decade those tourist projections were met.

In this Mediterranean-style, self-contained hotel resorts tourists can sun their near-naked bodies on white sandy beaches without scandalizing anyone and watch abbreviated pseudo-events performed in expensive hotel foyers. Those with a spirit of adventure may day-trip around the island in air-conditioned buses to pre-selected villages and tourist sites, leaving untainted the rest of Eden.

The early 1990s brought a more formal experiment in “village tourism,” wherein groups of tourists move discreetly in small numbers with a minimum of intrusion, making direct, low-impact contact with the Balinese. The idea is being tried in three Balinese villages, Jatiluwih (rice-planting and fabulous views), Penglipuran (a nearly Bali Aga village in Bangli), and Sebatu (woodcarving and other art forms).

Guests from the southern hotels experience something “real” by joining day or weekend excursions to these villages. This cultural tourism is really just an extension of enclave-style tourist development, consistent with the policy of limiting and canalizing tourist development to minimize its impact on Balinese society.

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Bali Island - Sibetan

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The attractive drive to Sibetan winds through palm-leaf fenced rice fields, flowering teak, fragrant clove trees, and plenty of snakeskin-like ’salak’. Since 1950 Sibetan has been the ’salak’ center of Bali, hundreds of hectares planted of this low, thorny palm. The area ’salaks’ are known for their crisp, sweet taste, somewhere between apples and strawberries. Price depends on grade.

It requires three to four years of intensive tending for the three-meter-high trees to bear fruit. Pruning plants that have grown too tall and heaping soil around the stalk improves productivity. Planted among coconuts to provide shade, each plant yields from 40 to 50 fruit annually. Since the trees are planted close together, harvesters must crouch between the thorny branches to reach the fruit. The main season for ’salak’ is December through February. From October through November, trees bear smaller fruits, called ‘gadon’, which are more expensive because they’re available so early in the season.

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Bali Island - Putung

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Located 11 km west of Bebandem, 20 km west of Amlapura, and 68 from Denpasar. This miniature tourist resort is famous for ’salak’ grown on area plantations. The accommodations lie at the terminus of a dead-end road. Enjoy the cool fresh air; it doesn’t warm up until noon. An ideal place for meditation. Very quiet, these grandiose surroundings will nourish your soul.

From Amlapura, take a ‘bemo’ to Bebandem, another ‘bemo’ to the turnoff in Duda village, then walk or hitch 2.5 km to the Putung Country Club. Here are five ‘lumbung’-style rooms. Each bungalow comes with a good foam mattress, closets, veranda, downstairs ‘mandi’ and sitting room, loft bedroom with large picture windows. Rooms 4 and 5, with adjoining doors, are perfect for a family.

Although plain and basic, what you’re paying for is the knockout view. The bungalows sit on the edge of a high cliff over a deep chasm-no ‘padi’, just jungle falling sharply away to the sea 700 meters below. This area, it is said, is a favorite haunt of ‘leyak’ who hover over the nearby hills and cliffs. The restaurant serves Balinese/Indonesian meals. In the off-season you’ll probably have the whole place to yourself.Several nice walks in the area.

From Putung, take the seven-km-long path via Bakung through gardens and forests down to the coast to Manggis, six km west of Candidasa. Or head west along the road to Rendang, then spectacular terraced rice fields follow the land’s dramatic contours to the coast. If you turn south at Duda, you can reach Klungkung via Sidemen.

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Bali Island - Selat

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A village surrounded by lovely rice terraces rising to Gunung Agung. During festivals, Selat builds a huge ‘barong’, requiring up to 20 men to lift it, made entirely of fruits, vegetables, and rice. From Selat, take the country road southwest via Sideman, which comes out just east of Klungkung. Just beyond Selat is the village of Padangaji, known for its ‘gambuh’ troupe; this classical dance-drama is now rarely performed on Bali.

Four km west of Selat, in the peaceful village of Muncan, a special ceremony called Makanplengan is held the day after Nyepi-large costumed figures simulate copulation. Feast on Balinese specialties or European and Chinese cuisine, meanwhile enjoying the scenery from Bukit Jambul Garden Restaurant in Pesaban, south of Rendang to the west.

The 900-meter-high village of Sebudi, five km north of Selat, is the favored starting point for the five-km southern assault on Gunung Agung. Sebudi is also the location of the very imposing Pura Pasar Agung (”Temple of the Agung Market”). The road to the pura climbs precipitously up through stands of bamboo and ’salak’ plantations to the parking lot where you take the 500 steps up to the 1,200-meter-high terraced temple with Gunung Agung towering above. An ethereal and dramatic spot.

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Balina Beach

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About five-km beyond the turnoff to Padangbai, and after the village of Manggis, is a small steel bridge. About 500 meters beyond, turn right down a small lane to Buitan village. This is the heart of Balina, a simple, quiet resort with scant sellers, few tourists, a nice wide black sandy beach, tame waves, no treacherous currents, and seldom the sputter of a motorbike. Though similar to Beach Inn-style complexes found all over Candidasa, Sanur, and Kuta, this simple, quiet resort is in the middle of a fishing village. All the amenities of Candidasa are accessible by ‘bemo’ four km to the northeast, while the urban center of Amlapura lies 18 km to the northeast, and the metropolis Denpasar is a 1.5 hour’s drive.

Water Sports
Balina is known for its diving excursions in a marine reserve offshore. If you reach the beach by late afternoon, you can go night fishing with local fishermen using lanterns. The Balina Diving Center has an impressive team of five instructors supervised by a PADI Open Water dive master; he can also arrange fishing and outrigger sailing trips. Dive trips, instruction, and snorkeling are offered every day starting at 0900. Minimum two people, except for the three-person minimum to Nusa Penida and Menjangan.

Snorkeling and scuba diving rates, including transport, instruction, equipment, lunch, and tax, depend on the destination. Some places of water sports: diving at Blue Lagoon, diving at Nusa Penida, diving at Pulau Menjangan, snorkeling and diving at Tulamben, a stunning shipwreck 40 km northwest of Balina and at Cemeluk, near Amed to the northwest and diving at Pulau Kambing, off Balina. Strong and dangerous undercurrents at the south end of the island can carry you up to 500 meters out of your way. Sharks frequent the area; a few foreigners have gone down here and never come up.

Accommodations and Food
The best midmarket place to stay is 34-room Puri Buitan, east of the Balina Beach Bungalows on one of east Bali’s most beautiful, safe beaches. Definitely worth the price if you’re looking for easy living-nicely furnished rooms with hot water, swimming pool, great snorkeling, shuttle service to Ubud, plus the personal attention of proprietor I Made Patera. Puri Buitan’s motel-style units are clean and tidy. Add 15.5% tax and service to the price.

The restaurant overlooking the pool has a full menu of so-so food reflecting heavy Italian patronage. Also snacks and toiletries. Remain connected to the real world via the international telecommunications office in front of Puri Buitan. Guests can easily walk up the road and grab a ‘bemo’ to Candidasa to get something to eat. Contact Box 444, Denpasar 80001

More upmarket is the 58-room Serai Hotel (tel. 62363-41.011, fax 41.015) on a secluded beach amidst a beautiful coconut grove. Although designed by the same architect, who designed the Amankila, this hotel appeals to a younger, upwardly mobile set. The low-rise Western architecture blends well with natural surroundings and typical Balinese pavilion-style public areas. What sets the Serai apart from other Balinese establishments is that it’s under Australian management who understand better what guests require.

The Nelayan Villages (or Balina Beach Bungalows, Box 301, Denpasar, tel. 62361-41.002/005, fax 41.001) offers accommodations with private verandas and baths set amidst palms and rice fields. Forty-one Balinese-style bungalows range from small two-bed units and family units (best views). Extra 15.5% for tax and service are added to the price. Prices include continental breakfast; credit cards honored, postal service, moneychanger, safe deposit boxes, good parking, pool, gazebo bar, luncheon service, “Bali Night Dinner” with barbecue. Ideal for the sports-minded, as the Balina Diving Center maintains its office here. Drawbacks: expensive, terrible restaurant meals, and they don’t smile much.

At the nearby Java Restaurant the food is somewhat better and certainly more reasonably priced; also runs a small homestay. Fishing families will offer you drab rooms in the ‘kampung’. At the opposite end of the scale, Balina’s most conspicuously upmarket hotel is the Mandra Alila, with 80 rooms. The luxurious beachside Serai Hotel, tel. 62366-41.011, fax 41.015, built in the imposing Pacific Rim architectural style, is in the same class. Although the rooms are motel-style, they are spacious and well appointed. The swimming pool is near the beach under coconut palms.

Nearby accommodations include Sunrise Bungalows, tel. 62366-41.008, in Buitan, consisting of 10 bungalows. The nicest rooms are on the second floor in the back, with lots of windows overlooking palms and garden foliage, with the bay in the distance. Beach between two concrete jetties with good snorkeling. Full-time security; small restaurant. Ketut has a car, speaks good English, possesses a wealth of information, and caters to a regular and devoted clientele. Mailing address Box 287, Denpasar 80001, Bali.

To the west is the even more isolated Ampel Bungalows in Manggis village-beautiful seascapes, nice gardens, restaurant. You’ll get a simple, clean room (no hot water or electricity) and an exceptional view. The verandas are lit, with oil lamps provided in the evenings. There are no nearby restaurants, but proprietor Wayan Pastika Adijaya willingly arranges transport to the closest in Candidasa or Balina Beach. To get here go past Manggis and the turnoff to Amankila, where the road winds down to the coastal flats heading to Candidasa; the turn to Ampel is 300 meters before the bridge (see sign on right, if coming from Manggis), about one km before Balina Beach. Any ‘bemo’ driver can find the place.

Hotelier Adrian Zecha’s Amankila is another world. Only about two-km from Padangbai, heading north past the stone mangosteen monument, is this spectacular resort palace, set on a high cliff facing the Bali Strait. The 400-meter-long “restricted access” salt and pepper beach lies below an old temple spotlighted at night. Built in a luxuriant grove of frangipani, palms, and other local mature trees, some 35 spacious suites, linked by walkways to the restaurants, pools, and beach.

All are exceptionally well designed, with extreme attention to detail. The structures may look heavy and blocky (someone wrote that they were looking for the graffiti!) but are actually ecologically correct, built to preserve and encourage drainage via natural waterways and streams. No TVs, as guests are expected to relax in an atmosphere combining unobtrusive luxury with informality.

Enormous areas are dedicated to public space, including a “staircase” of three pools at different levels; seven suites come with their own pools. Visit the decadently elegant Library Museum, the sumptuous Beach Club with its thin 45-meter-long pool in the midst of a coconut plantation. Nonguests may frequent the Beach Club and the beach. Nice little restaurant (superb fish and chips) and the best lap pool on Bali. Barbecue is every Tuesday and Friday night; ‘kecak’ dances are held Wednesday, ‘baris’ on Saturday. Reservations c/o Amanusa, Nusa Dua, Bali, tel. 62363-41.333, fax 41.555.

Getting Away
The man at Kios Melati, just up from the Puri Buitan, rents vehicles for guests. You may also charter vehicles for the airport, Kuta, or Nusa Dua. In the high season, a shuttle service may be in operation with shared rides to Ubud, Sanur, Kuta and the airport. For much cheaper public transport, go up to the main road and flag down a ‘bemo’. Kios Melati also develops film in one day.

The area west of Balina around Manggis is really picturesque, with the sea on one side and mountains on the other. Walk 1.5 hours through woods and gardens to Ngis via Manggis; Tenganan is a two-hour walk from Ngis.

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Bali Island - Sidemen

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The Swiss ethnomusicologist Ernst Schlager (1900-64) and ethnologist Dr. Urs. Ramseyer lived and worked for many years in the Sideman area, southwest of Iseh. Presently, a Swiss charitable foundation has established a special school here devoted to propagating and strengthening traditional Balinese culture. With 120 students, the school’s curriculum includes the study of ‘adat’, crafts, music, dance, painting, water divination, calendrical traditions, the Balinese language, traditional penmanship, literature, and the Bali-Hindu religion.

Visit also the weaving factory Pertenunan Pelangi opposite Sideman Homestay. There are several workshops and outlets where you can purchase expensive silk ‘kain songket’ interwoven with designs of gold and silver thread, as well as distinctive Sideman-style ‘endek’ garments. This beautiful area is also known for its scholarly healers, ‘balian usaba’. Here also is enacted the ‘barong ketek’, a dance drama concerning a highly esteemed mythical lion. This magical creature also serves a curative function-’tirta’ from his beard is prescribed by area ‘balian’ to clients ill or enduring ill fortune.

Sidemen Homestay (tel. 62366-21.811) has one of the nicest locations on Bali: 14 comfortable bungalows with fans, fine food (four-course dinners), good service, and superb views. Climb the many steps to enjoy a drink at the bar, with Gunung Agung rearing up behind you. See also Sanur Beach; at night lights sparkle all along the coast. In the vast expanse of ’sawah’ in front is a wonderful collection of ragged, multicolored scarecrows.

Still, the charge is an astonishing sum (though guests seem willing to pay it). No air conditioning, ‘kelambu’, hot water, nor Visa, but the rooms are nicely furnished, the beds decent, and the ambience peaceful. Good library of Balinesian books in all languages. Ibu Putu also runs Subak Tabola Inn (tel. 62366-23.015) that lies in the middle of ‘padi bali’, three km from the main road at the end of a walking track; nice gardens, pool, and basic meals served.

Alternatives? Two km from Sideman Homestay in Desa Tabola is Homestay Patal, a better deal: with six spacious, quiet, set in a well-tended garden high on a hillside, half a km from the road. Also check out the American Emerald Star’s Tirta Sari; luxury accommodations, meditation center, many sacred rocks in the area. Reach Sidemen by traveling west on the scenic road from Amlapura through Bebandem, Putung, and Iseh, or by waiting for a ‘bemo’ at the turn at Satria (or Sampalan Tenah) northeast of Klungkung, then traveling 12 km through the hills. Stand in front of Sidemen’s market for a lift out of town in either direction.

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Bali Island - Bangli

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Bangli is an hour’s drive (40 km) northeast of Denpasar. An offshoot of the early Gelgel dynasty, the ancient kingdom of Bangli became Bali’s most powerful upland court in the second half of the 19th century.

Bangli today is perhaps the quietest and most easygoing of all the regency capitals. Travelers use for lying on the slopes of Gunung Batur, Bangli has one of the most temperate climates on Bali. The town is still the subject of fierce barbs, and the Balinese look at you askance when you say you’re going to Bangli.

Pura Kehen
Eight royal ‘puri’ were once situated around the main crossroads of town, but now only Puri Denpasar (the present Artha Sastra Inn) is open to the publicAs the original palace of Bangli’s last raja note the sculptures of lions and bodhisattvas inspired by early photographs of Borobudur, and the remarkable painted mural and frieze in the ‘bale loji’ depicting Chinese life in Bangli. The mural is in bad shape but you can still make out detail. Also worth seeing is the 100-year-old ‘bale kulkul’, about a five-minute walk.

Pura Kehen, thousands visit this lovely old terraced temple, 1.5 km northeast of the town center-the largest and most sacred temple in the regency. It has the appearance of a full-scale ‘wayang’ performance in the middle of a breathtaking rice paddy. Brave the usual crush of vendors, some very aggressive (children accost tourists with flowers, asking for money). In the early 11th century by Sri Brahma Kemuti Ketu as a state temple. Kehen is derived from the word kuren, meaning “household” or “hearth”; the temple is under the protection of Brahma, the Lord of Fire.

Like Besakih, Pura Kehen was built on eight terraces on the southern slope of the hill. Each of the three main terraces is connected to the one above by a flight of stairs. Jabaan, jaba tengah, jeroan.

Events
At night, this temple anniversary is also celebrated with the sacred Rejang dance. Even bigger than the state temple’s ‘odalan’ is Bangli’s ‘ngusaba’ ceremony. Unusual dance forms practiced in the Bangli area include Baris Presi (eight men with leather shields), Baris Dadap (men with shields made of dadap wood), and Baris Jojor (eight men in line with spears).

The main event is market day, when you’ll see products like sweet potatoes, peanuts, and spices not found in the south. Dances and ‘wayang kulit’ are sometimes staged in the town’s ‘bale banjar’ every ‘hari raya’, but not with the lavishness or regularity of Gianyar. A resident ‘dalang’, Dewa Made Rai Mesi, lives just 700 meters from the Artha Sastra Inn.

Accommodations
The Artha Sastra Inn, an original raja’s palace, has seen better days. Still, the potted plants and palace court architecture gives this place a unique feel. You can sleep in the bed of the last king of Bangli and participate in the ritual life of a triwangsa family. The Inn is ideally located in the center of Bangli near the bus station-traffic noise from this busy intersection can be bothersome.

Slightly less run-down are the five larger rooms in the interior of the ‘puri’, with inside ‘mandi’. These are adapted from traditional Balinese bale and feature ancient carved doors and antique furniture.

The ‘pasar malam’ to the east of the bus station serves cheap, delicious meals: ‘cap cay goreng’ with rice, ‘ayam goreng’ with vegetables. Or dine at several ‘warung makanan kecil’ around the bus station; get there early, as they stay open no later than 2100.

Services
You’ll find many shops in the local market south of the Artha Sastra Inn where you can buy the necessities of life. Change cash but not traveler’s checks at Bank Pembangunan Daerah (open 0730-1400) by the Trimurti statue, or use a bank in Gianyar, 13 km by ‘bemo’ to the southwest. There’s a pay telephone in front of the Artha Sastra Inn, or go to the 24-hour Wartel (telecommunication service).

Getting There and Away
Take blue public ‘bemo’ from Denpasar’s Terminal Kereneng (40 km). You can also take ‘bemo’ from the town of Gianyar (13 km) or from Kintamani. If coming from Klungkung (19 km), you may have to change ‘bemo’ in Peteluan or simply board a Singaraja-bound ‘bemo’ and get off in Bangli. Magnificent views on the way up.

From the ‘bemo’/bus station opposite the Artha Sastra Inn in Bangli, get rides to Gianyar (13 km), Penelokan (26 km north), Kintamani (33 km), Tampaksiring (22 km) and Denpasar’s Batubulan Station (40 km).

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