Bali is a blast from the past
July 3, 2016.
We spent about ten days with family in Bali this summer. I expected it to be a typical Indian Ocean beach vacation with some Hindu temples from the historic past. Well it was that but turned out to be surprisingly more than that. It is an island one can fall in love with and it seems people often do. Many folks from Australia, Europe, China and even as far as Canada have bought properties and settled in Bali their own resorts or other tourist centric establishments. Land is no longer easily available though and prices have shot up of course. Tourism is the main industry and credit to the government which seems to be doing plenty to support it, including extremely relaxed visa regulations.
It is a largish island amongst the many islands of Indonesia with more than 90% Hindu population unlike rest of Indonesia. Hindu culture from many centuries ago can be seen throughout the island with a daily routine of offerings to God and many ceremonies throughout the year. Homes may be small but each house has a proper temple and then there are several community temples throughout the island in all villages and towns. The daily offerings in a small bowl made of leaves is a sight one cannot miss wherever you go.
There are several temples from past centuries catering to the tourists and there are many online sites with suggestions on the best temples to visit. On the west side is Tanah Lot temple which is famous as it is in the sea, though it is closed for public to go in people flock to it for its famous sunset shots. Then on the south coast is the Uluwatu temple famous because it is on the edge of a high cliff but the interest is more because evening dance performance in the Kecak form depicting scenes from Ramayana in the backdrop of beautiful sunset.
In central Bali are Besakih Temple, largest and called the mother temple; Goa Gajah, more than 1000 years old cave temple; and Beratan temple, located on a lake. The one I liked the most though was Taman Ayun which is the royal temple for its cleanliness and beautiful setting with gardens and water body around it.
Another of the attractions of Bali are its beautiful terrace rice fields. The famous one for tourists to hike around and easier to reach to is the Tegalalang rice terrace in Ubud. But for me the one to not miss is the Jatiluwih rice terrace in Tabanan.
The view from the top is breathtaking with couple of different hills coming together, with long expanse of beautiful green carpet of rice plants dotted with little brown huts. These sites represent the way of life in Bali. I was told that even though Bali is producing so much rice it still has to import more of it due to its heavy usage in both food and Hindu ceremonies.
The most known and booked areas by tourists are Kuta and Seminyak in south westerly part of Bali. These are great for surfing enthusiasts but have become over crowded party places. There are more expensive, have too many buildings and are traffic nightmares. In contrast, Ubud in central Bali is a wonderful place to experience the culture and art of Bali. To me this region represents the soul of Bali. It feels like one is transported to a world thousand years ago with small temples, old buildings and lot of hand art around you. Ubud central and area around it has wonderful boutique hotels and homestays with a number of very nice restaurants. We stayed in a Komaneka property, and they have several in the region. This area is home to several Bali painters, silver work artists, wood work artists and stone work artists — hot bed to buy Bali art and also experience the famous Balinese massage. The temples and Ubud palace with daily dance performances, the monkey forest, and the lotus pond of the Saraswati temple are not to be missed. This area also has the elephant safari and rafting down the river which we did not do.
But of course it is not just about this rich culture and a treat of Asia’s serenity. It is also about the island in Indian ocean. Surfing, fishing, seafood, wonderful beaches, exotic resorts, snorkeling, diving and exhilarating water sports are all there in Bali. The east coast has calmer sea and better under water world. We decided to stay for two days at a homestay in a fisherman village on the beach in Amed. The beach was pebbly and sand was volcanic ash color, but the experience was first rate. Sitting outside and watching amazing both sunrise and sunset, fisherman taking their boats out to sea and coming back with their catch, a connected community with everyone helping everyone and amazing home-cooked food even for us vegetarians are lifelong memories we took away. Snorkeling in this area of course is wonderful but kids enjoyed kayaking and paddle boats equally.
Our final stay was at one of the many five star resorts in Nusa Dua in south part of the island. this are has been developed by the government with very nice roads, lots of green plantation and marketed as a top notch beach vacation or work conferences destination. The beach here was world class with fine golden sand and just the right kind of waves for enjoying beach play.
Besides the resorts themselves, the water sports are well organized as well and include anything one wants to do — jet ski, parasailing, banana boat rides, water ski, glass bottom boats, under sea walk etc etc. For food and shopping there is a nice little set up in a area called Bali Collections. One of the evenings can be spent in watching an hour and a half show on Indonesian dance styles and culture called Devadan.
I do not want to close without talking about the food, which was great & well priced even for the vegetarians like us and probably would be better if you enjoy seafood; Bentang the omnipresent Bali Beer; simple, helping and always smiling people everywhere; everything very conveniently set up for tourists including transport, money exchangers and the no visa needed for short stay; and the relaxing Balinese massage.
On our way to Bali we spent few days in Singapore with a close friend. Singapore is well known and marketed so I am not spending much time writing about it. But do want to mention that the Gardens by the Bay was a nice surprise especially with its evening light and music show. Another area to visit is the Dempsey Hills with wonderful restaurants and antique shops set up in beautiful green set up. It is indeed quite amazing how so much has been packed in such a small city.
