"Magical Bali" a Bali Travel Page by trisanna

One of the most diverse and beautiful islands in Indonesia. The island is the cash cow for the country with more visitors arriving here than in any other part of Indonesia. Even though the island can get swamped with tourists there are so many beautiful remote areas for you to discover. Most of the tourists stick to the beach resorts, for instance the towns of Nusa Dua, Kuta, Legian, Sanur and Seminyak. The beautiful unspoiled beaches of the north are more enchanting and you will have them almost to yourself. For instance, try Lovina. But just don’t come here for a beach vacation-Bali is so much more than that. The island has an inspiring culture, which is quite alive through the arts, religion and their handicrafts. Everyone should spend some time in Bali to see a few dance performances (trance dance, kecuk, barong dances and a wayang kulit or shadow play performance). Many tourists come to the island treating it as a place for cheap beer, nice beaches and shopping, while ignoring the beautiful culture and beauty.

The striking green color of the rice paddies, the lovely smell of frangipani flowers that have just fallen off the tree and the haunting image of the mother volcano, Gunung Agung- Bali is a beautiful island to get lost in. I have been to the island three times, since February 2003. I have stayed in Nusa Dua and Ubud. Wasn’t thrilled with Nusa Dua. I think the beaches are quite poor, but heard the surfing is great. Since it was a short trip, we did get to Ubud, which was at best a tease. I fell in love with the artsy town. The brick Hindu temples were beautiful. Some surrounded by lotus ponds.

In May 2003, I returned to the island with my husband for his birthday. We avoided the beachy areas and spent our time in Ubud. We went as far as seeing the two volcanoes, Gunung Batur and Agung. September 2003, came with friend Scott to discover the musical side of the island. Went to various gamelan factories. Really thought he would buy one of the instruments.

The people of the island are mostly Hindu, but there are also sizable groups of Muslims and Christians. The people are quite friendly here. If you strike up a conversation-you may be invited to a local festival. The island is grounded by three large volcanoes, Batur, Batukau and Agung, which is the most sacred, since it’s considered the centre of the Balinese universe. The Hindu gods are supposed to reside there and come down during the day to visit.

Bali is full of interesting sites:

Kuta-nightlife and high end restaurants. Kuta beach has some surfing.
Legian-quieter beaches than Kuta. Full of expats.
Sanur-beaches and good seafood
Ubud-temples, dance, culture, good food, art, good shopping. White water rafting.
Lovina-northern city, black sand beaches.
Batur-wake up early to hike up the volcano and see a beautiful sunrise. Lake Batur can be hauntingly beautiful.
Nusa Dua-besides being full of tourist hotels with no personality-there is also a beautiful temple. Pura Tanh Lot-great for sunsets.
Mas-town famous for their woodcarving

Balinese Rituals:
The Balinese believe in the Hindu belief of reincarnation. Their lives are marked by various rites of passage, which are celebrated by the community.
At birth-baby’s placenta is buried in a coconut shell near the front of the house. Many babies are considered to be reincarnations of past relatives. They are considered holy.
Babies shouldn’t touch the ground until 210 days have gone by. This is when their hair is cut for the first time and they are given a name.

At puberty- the tooth filing ceremony takes place. Their two canine teeth are filed down, which is supposed to get rid of your of any demonic characteristics. In Balinese dance, demons always have pointy teeth, while the heroes always have filed down teeth.
At this time boys can be circumcised. Girls meet puberty by having a ceremonial purification and then going through a period of quarantine.

Wedding- Balinese weddings are interesting affairs. Colorful and beautiful offerings are made at various temples and at the home of the groom. Designs are made with a colored candy into people and flowers. Supposedly, the wedding ceremony takes place 42 days after the bride has been playfully abducted from her family by the groom. Various rituals are gone through on the wedding day in presence of a Hindu priest. One of them involves killing a bird.

The most famous and import ritual is that of cremation. When one dies the body is buried, only long enough so the family has enough money to pay for a cremation ceremony. Cremation ceremonies are big business in Bali. Considered happy occasions by the deceased family, since it’s when the soul is liberated from the body and makes its way to heaven so it can be reborn. Families construct elaborate funerary sarcophagus –many look like animals or possibly demons. It costs the family a lot of money to have this grand sendoff-so many will advertise this event for tourists. If you have the chance to see this, you should. It’s a great way to see and experience the real Bali.

We are hoping to go back soon, but this time doing some of the great diving around the island.