Bali - The Island of God

One of the most popular island in Indonesia is Bali. Who never heard about Bali, the Island of God? It is an island with fascinating culture, great beaches, nice people, and warm. A lot of tourists have been there, and I believe, one of them might be you. But if you never been there and still consider, "Why I should go to Bali?" Well.... here are the reasons :

BALI - YOUR HOLIDAY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME....
Bali is located at the westernmost of Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. The population in Bali about 3,551,000 people, and most of the people that lived there are Hindu (about 93%). Bali and Java island are separated by Bali Strait. Its land area is 5,632 km2, spread approximately 153 km wide and spans approximately 112 km north to south.

The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Some of the coral reefs spot are very popular diving sports, such as Tulamben, Amed, and Menjangan. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in north and west have black sand (exception to beach town of Padangbai in the south east which has both kind of sand).

The capital city of Bali is Denpasar, near the southern oast. Its population is about 300,000. The important cities in Bali is Kuta (practically part of Denpasar's urban area) and Ubud (located at north of Denpasar and known as the island's cultural centre).


WHAT CAN YOU GET IN BALI? 
Bali is well-known for its diverse and sophisticathed art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handicrafts, and performing arts. Balinese performing arts often portray stories from Hindu epics such as The Ramayana, in heavy Balinese influence. Some of the famous Balinese dance include Pendet, Legong, Baris, Topeng, Barong, Gong Keybar, and Kecak (The Monkey Dance). I will describe some of these performing arts in my next articles.

Celebrations are held for many occasion, such as tooth-filing (coming of age's ritual called Metatah / Mepandes), cremation (Ngaben), or temple festival (Odalan). Many of these celebrations call for a loud,, boisterous atmosphere with lots of activities.

One of the main destination beach in Bali is Kuta. Kuta is the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighboring towns. Two extensions city of Kuta is Legian and Seminyak. They are quieter suburbs with cottage-style accomodations, where many of the expat crowd live. Kuta itself is known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, with many restaurants and bars. Many renowned surfers (mostly come from Australia) have visit Kuta regularly for surfing. Some international surfing exhibitions and competitions have been held in there.

Another destination that you should never miss is Jimbaran. It is a fishing village that located at the south of Ngurah Rai International Airport. It has beach with seafood restaurands and some finest luxury hotels in the world. Jimbaran lies on the neck of the southern peninsula in Bali and is widely known for the fresh seafood kiosks that are scattered along the beach. People who wants to eat can select the live seafood that they wish to eat, and it is immediately prepared using special traditional recipes, grilled over a fire of coconut husks. Hmmmm... sounds very yummy to me.....

Ubud is also one of the popular tourism destination in Bali. Located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of Gianyar Regency, it is one of Bali's major arts and culture centers. It has forests, rivers, cooler temperature and less congestion. The most popular forest in Ubud is Ubud Monkey Forest, in which a sabred nature reserve and temple complex. There are about 340 of Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys live there. The forest comprises approximately a tenth of a square kilometer, and contains at least 115 species of trees. The forest also containes the Pura Dalam Agung Padangtegal Temple, a holy spring bathing temple.

A new tourism destination (well... actually not new, but recently become very popular among tourists from all around the world) is Nusa Dua. It is located 40 kilometers from Denpasar. It has clean beach and large international 5-star resorts.


Balinese, Indonesian, and English is the most widely spoken languages in Bali. So you have no worry about having a "lost in translation" or getting lost in Bali.

By the way, Julia Robert recently just finished doing a filming in Bali Island. Her latest movie - Eat, Pray, Love (based on the memoir of American Author Elizabeth Gilbert), directed by Ryan Murphy - is having some shooting scene in Ubud (Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Pengosekan, Ubud's Art Market, and Monkey Forest), Jimbaran, and Uluwatu. If you wish to know the exotic place in Bali, don't miss the movie. It will premiered in United States on August 13, 2010.