| Page Views: 7,362 Last Visit to Bali: January, 1999 | Bali Hai!! by paradisedreamer - last update: Aug 9, 2003 |
A little history of Indonesia and Bali | Traditional Dress at Besakih Temple |
The first Europeans to set foot in Bali were Dutch seamen in 1597. By the early 1600s the Dutch had established trade treaties with Javanese princes and had gained control of the spice trade from the Portuguese.
In the 18th century the entire island came under Dutch control and became part of the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia then fell to the Japanese during WWII.
At the end of the war Indonesian leader Sukarno proclaimed independence but it took 4 more years to persuade the Dutch that they were not going ot get their colony back. There was a coup in 1965 and General Suharto emerged as a major political figure |
|  | Our Trip We started in Kuta and hated it so we soon moved off to Ubud which was brilliant. Kuta was far too busy whereas Ubud was a lovely calm retreat. I could imagine myself staying there for a long time……..
Ubud has become known worldwide as a center for the arts and is located 25 Kilometers from Denpasar. It is set among lush rice paddies and the stunning hillsides of central Bali.
We had lots of long lazy lunches and enjoyed the cultural side of Bali in the evenings. We were there over Ramadan which I can highly recommend as you see the people in traditional dress and preparing for the feast.
Ubud is an ideal place to see Balinese dance. Legong, Ramayana, Kecak, and the fire dance can be seen every night in or around the Ubud area
We found the tourist office extremely helpful when it came to booking tours and seeing traditional dances, their prices are also very reasonable. |
| | We were in Bali during the rainy season. It is quite difficult on a round the world trip to make sure that the weather is good in each place. In Bali it was not a problem as it would rain in the afternoons and then be clear in the evenings. We would do sightseeing in the morning, come back and read on the balcony with the heavy rain coming down and then go out in the evening which was much cooler due to the rain. Perfect! |
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| Pros: | "Culture, temples, people" | | Cons: | "Nothing really, maybe too many postcard sellers, but hey they have to make a living!" | | In A Nutshell: | "Lush, green, tropical land, colourful people rich in culture" |
paradisedreamer's Bali Travel Tips
 Comments for paradisedreamer about Bali | | | | |
kyoub Mon Nov 5, 2007 20:08 UTC
Excellent tips. Your pages brought back fond memories. | chiara76 Sun Jul 3, 2005 21:15 UTC
Very , very nice page about this wonderful place. You are lucky that you could be there and see it your own eyes! Greetings from Poland. | aussirose Sat Feb 12, 2005 03:46 UTC
Hi Sarah. Hopefully we might get there this year. Looks like you stayed in a nice spot. Nice restaurant tip too. Cheers, Ann :o) | windsorgirl Sun Jan 9, 2005 18:05 UTC
Bali is another of my dream destinations, it seems like you've been everywhere! Great pages, thanks for sharing. |
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