Travel Guide

Places To See

Ramada Bintang Bali Resort

The Ramada Bintang Bali Resort has live performances of Balinese dancing - themed dinners often accompany performances. If that doesn't take your fancy then you'll find four other bars to choose from.

Hard Rock Cafe

A merchandising outlet disguised as a nightclub, the sprawling Hard Rock fronts the beach and is a magnet for local yuppies. It gets going after 23:00, when a (usually) slick band plays classic rock covers. It's also a venue for occasional overseas artists such as Deviate from the Philippines.

Museum Le Mayeur

The Belgian artist Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpes (1880-1958) arrived in Bali in 1932. Three years later he met and married the beautiful Legong dancer Ni Polok when she was 15. They lived in this compound from 1935 when Sanur was still a quiet fishing village. The house is an interesting example of Balinese-style architecture.

Almost 90 Le Mayeur paintings are displayed inside the museum, with information in Indonesian and English. A free guidebook in English is available and is filled with useful information and beautiful colour photos.

Some of Le Mayer's early works are interesting, Impressionist-style paintings from his travels in Africa, India, Italy, France and the South Pacific. Paintings from his early period on Bali are romantic depictions of Balinese daily life and beautiful Balinese women - often Ni Polok.

The more recent works, from the 1950s, are in much better condition and show less signs of wear and tear, with the vibrant colours that later became popular with young Balinese artists. There are also beautiful black-and-white photos of Ni Polok.

Bumbu Bali

Possibly the best Balinese food around. With author-chef Heinz von Holzen - resident Balinese-cuisine expert - running the show, you won't find nasi goreng (fried rice) here; Bumbu Bali is strictly Balinese, and the banquet is the only way to go. Tourists keen to learn the kitchen's secrets join the open-air cooking school, though it's difficult to imitate perfection.

Un's Paradise Restaurant

At night little tea lights enliven the attractive gardens here and make for a lovely setting among the frangipani trees. Look for fusion offerings such as sesame-crusted tuna and grilled rack of lamb.

Poco Loco

Look for the calming pools streetside at this popular, brightly decorated Mexican restaurant and bar, serving tasty food - Tex-Mex chicken is a good choice. Wash it all down with a few tequila shots and/or jugs of margaritas.

Gunung Kawi

In the bottom of this lush green valley is one of Bali's oldest and largest ancient monuments. Gunung Kawi consists of 10 rock-cut candi (shrines): memorials cut out of the rock face in imitation of actual statues. They stand in 7m/23ft-high sheltered niches cut into the sheer cliff face.

A solitary candi (memorial) stands about a kilometre further down the valley to the south; this is reached by a trek through the rice paddies on the western side of the river.

Each candi is believed to be a memorial to a member of the 11th-century Balinese royalty, but little is known for certain. Legends relate that the whole group of memorials was carved out of the rock face in one hard-working night by the mighty fingernails of Kebo Iwa.

One theory is that the whole complex is dedicated to Anak Wungsu, his wives, concubines and, in the case of the remote 10th candi, to a royal minister.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

This very important Hindu-Buddhist temple was founded in the 17th century. It is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of the waters, and is actually built on small islands, which means it is completely surrounded by the lake. Both pilgrimages and ceremonies are held here to ensure that there is a supply of water for farmers all over Bali.

The temple is truly beautiful, with classical Hindu thatch-roofed meru (multiroofed shrines) reflected in the water and silhouetted against the often cloudy mountain backdrop - one of the most common photographic images of Bali.

A large banyan tree shades the entrance; walk through manicured gardens and past an impressive Buddhist stupa to reach the lakeside.

For an almost surreal experience, take a quiet paddle across the lake and see Pura Ulun Danu Bratan at sunrise - arrange it with a boatman the night before.

The Perama Ulundanu eating house in the grounds has a pleasant outdoor terrace and the usual Indonesian and Western dishes.

Bali Orchid Garden

Given Bali's weather and volcanic soil, no one should be surprised that orchids grow very well. At this garden you can see thousands of them in a variety of settings. Fans will love everything, others will enjoy the back areas which have a wild tropical feel. The gift shop sells orchid plants as well as books about the flowers.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

This cool and dense swathe of jungle, officially called Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana, houses three holy temples. The sanctuary is inhabited by a band of grey-haired and greedy long-tailed Balinese macaques who are nothing like the innocent-looking doe-eyed monkeys on the brochures.

They are ever vigilant for passing tourists who just might have peanuts and ripe bananas available for a quick handout. They can put on ferocious displays of temperament if you fail to come through with the goods and have been known to bite if provoked. Don't hand food directly to these creatures.

The interesting Pura Dalem Agung (Temple of the Dead) is in the forest, for this is the inauspicious kelod side of town. Look for the Rangda figures devouring children at the entrance to the inner temple.

You can enter through one of the three gates: at the southern end of Monkey Forest Rd; further east, near the car park; or from the southern side, on the lane from Nyuhkuning.

Naughty Nuri's

You wouldn't know it to look at it, but Nuri's is famous - for its martinis, of all things, which are so renowned they're sold frozen in bags to take away. It can get very interesting on Thursday night, when expats descend in droves.

Events

Apart from the usual western calendar, the Balinese also use two local calendars, the Hindu saka and the wuku. The wuku calendar, which is used to determine festival dates, uses 10 different types of weeks between one and 10 days long, all running simultaneously! The intersection of the various weeks determines auspicious days. It's impossible to work it out yourself: when you arrive in Bali, go to a tourist office and ask which festivals and celebrations are coming up. Try to get to at least one.

The Galungan Festival, Bali's major feast, is held throughout the island and is an annual event in the wuku year. During this 10-day period all the gods come down to earth for the festivities and barongs (mythical lion-dog creatures) prance from temple to temple and village to village. The last and most important day of the festival is Kuningan.

Nyepi is the major festival of the saka year - it's the last day of the year, and usually falls towards the end of March or the beginning of April. The day before is set aside as a day of purification across the island. The night before, evil spirits are noisily chased away with cymbals, gongs, drums and flaming torches. On Nyepi itself, everyone stays quietly at home, making no noise, using no lights and doing no cooking. The idea is that when evil spirits descend, they are fooled into thinking that Bali is uninhabited and leave the island in peace for another year.

Pre-Departure Information

Electricity

127/230V

50Hz

Electrical Plugs

European plug with two circular metal pins

British-style plug with two flat blades and one flat grounding blade

Weather Information

Just 8° south of the equator, Bali has a tropical climate - the average temperature hovers around 30°C (mid-80s°F) all year. Direct sun feels incredibly hot, especially in the middle of the day. In the wet season, from October to March, the humidity can be very high and oppressive. The almost daily tropical downpours come as a relief, then pass quickly, leaving flooded streets and renewed humidity. The dry season (April to September) is generally sunnier, less humid and, from a weather point of view, the best time to visit, though downpours can occur at any time.

There are marked variations across the island. The coast is hotter, but sea breezes can temper the heat. As you move inland you also move up, so the altitude works to keep things cool - at times it can get chilly up in the highlands, and a warm sweater or light jacket can be a good idea in mountain villages such as Kintamani and Candikuning. The northern slopes of Gunung Batur always seem to be wet and misty, while a few kilometres away, the east coast is nearly always dry and sunny.

Air-con is not really needed on Bali at night. A cool breeze always seems to spring up in the evening, and the open bamboo windows, so common in Balinese architecture, make the most of the light breezes.

History and Culture

Pre-20th Centure History

There are few traces of Stone Age people on Bali, although it's almost certain that the island was inhabited very early in prehistoric times. There is also little known about Bali during the period when Indian traders brought Hinduism to the Indonesian archipelago. The earliest written records are inscriptions on a stone pillar near Sanur dating from around the 9th century AD. Hindu Java began to spread its influence into Bali in the first half of the 11th century, when the rock-cut memorials at Gunung Kawi were sculpted.

The Javanese Singasari dynasty conquered Bali in 1284, but when it collapsed shortly afterwards Bali regained its autonomy and the Pejeng dynasty, centred near modern-day Ubud, rose to great power. The Pejeng king was defeated by the great Majapahit dynasty in 1343 and Bali was brought back under Javanese influence. As Islam took hold in Java in the 15th century, the Majapahit kingdom collapsed and many of its intelligentsia moved to Bali. They included key priests who were credited with introducing many of the complexities of Balinese religion. Javanese artists, dancers and musicians also sought sanctuary in Bali, and the island experienced an explosion of cultural activity.

The first Europeans to set foot on Bali were Dutch seamen in 1597. Setting a tradition that has prevailed to the present day, they fell in love with the island and, when the ship's captain prepared to set sail, several of his crew refused to come with him. By the early 1600s the Dutch had established trade treaties with Javanese princes and had wrestled control of the spice trade from the Portuguese. They were, however, more interested in profit than culture and hardly gave Bali a second glance.

In the early 18th century, as local rule in Bali began to fracture, the Dutch began muscling in using the tried and tested divide-and-rule policy. They used Balinese salvage claims over shipwrecks as a pretext to land military forces in northern Bali in 1846. Teaming up with the Sasaks of Lombok to defeat the rajahs of Bali proved a bad tactic when the Sasaks changed their minds and slaughtered the Dutch. This incensed the Dutch so much that they invaded Bali with a heavy military force and severed its control of its smaller neighbour. With the north under Dutch control and ties with Lombok severed, the south of Bali was not going to remain autonomous for long. Another salvage dispute resulted in Dutch warships appearing off Sanur in 1906.

Modern History

It took Dutch troops five days to reach the outskirts of Denpasar. Surrounded by superior forces, Balinese royalty and religious leaders decided to take the honourable path of a suicidal puputan - a fight to the death - rather than surrender. First the palaces were burnt, then - dressed in their finest jewellery and waving golden daggers - the rajah led the royalty and priests out to face the Dutch and their modern weapons. The Dutch begged the Balinese to surrender, but their pleas went unheard and wave after wave of Balinese nobility marched forward to their death. In all, nearly 4000 Balinese died.

As other local kingdoms capitulated or were defeated, the entire island came under Dutch control and became a part of the Dutch East Indies. There was little development of exploitative plantation economy on Bali, and common people noticed very little difference between rule by the Dutch and rule by the rajahs. Despite the long prelude to colonisation, Dutch rule over Bali was short-lived; Indonesia soon fell to the Japanese in WWII.

At the end of WWII, the Indonesian leader Soekarno proclaimed independence, but it took 4 more years to persuade the Dutch that they were not going to get their colony back. In a virtual repeat of the puputan nearly half a century earlier, a Balinese resistance group was wiped out in the Battle of Marga in 1946. In 1949, the Dutch finally recognised Indonesia's independence. In 1965, an attempted coup blamed on communists led to Soekarno's downfall. General Soeharto suppressed the coup and emerged as a major political figure.

The Communist Party was outlawed and a wave of anti-communist reprisals followed. On Bali, local communists were perceived as a threat to traditional values and the caste system because of their calls for land reform and an end to social repression. Religious traditionalists took advantage of the post-coup hysteria and led a witch hunt against communist sympathisers. Mobs rounded up suspected communists and clubbed them to death. The Chinese community was particularly victimised before the army stepped in and restored order, but no-one on Bali was untouched by the killings. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people were killed, at a time when the island's population only totalled two million.

Soeharto established himself as president, and under his government Indonesia looked to the West for alliances and investments. On Bali, economic growth and dramatic improvements in infrastructure were achieved by hugely expanding the tourist industry. This also resulted in the displacement of local populations and disruption of many traditional communities.

Recent History

The end of the reign of Soeharto in 1998 threw the entire country into a maelstrom of change and turmoil. For some time it seemed that Bali was to be spared much of the anguish experienced on other islands in the archipelago. But the bomb attacks targeting Westerners that killed about 200 people near Kuta Beach on 12 October 2002 ravaged the tourism industry and destroyed any such complacency. It took about a year, during which the Balinese were in a kind of shock, but tourism recovered and 2004 was one of the best years on record for visits. More bombs in October 2005 killed about 20. Again, tourism numbers suffered and the entire island's economy took a hit.

By 2007, Bali was back in the tourism business big-time. The backbone of the local economy recovered, scores of new resorts were under construction and visitors numbers looked set to hit record numbers.