Bali’s culture, unique arts and ceremonies, gentle friendly people and scenic beauty make it an island almost unreal in today’s changing world.
The main destination for pleasure tourist to Indonesia. Bali’s International Airport, Ngurah Rai, is the country’s gateway and is served by the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia Airways, on its internal and international routes as well as by other airlines and scheduled services and charters. Cruise ships berth at the port of Benoa and overland routes extend to Java across the narrow Bali Strait.
Only 5,623 square kilometers in size, Bali has many roads which crisscross the island, connecting villages with the capital, Denpasar, and the tourist belts of Sanur and Kuta, which are located on the eastern and western coasts of the southern tip of the island. Nusa Dua on the southern peninsula is currently being developed for tourism.
Bali’s culture is based on its unique form of Hinduism called “Hindu Bali” which it retained after the Islamization of Java and developed through the centuries. Though the caste system is observed, it is not as rigid as in India. Religion is the source of traditional customs in family and community life. Its influence is also strongly felt in the arts.
With a completely different lifestyle from the rest of Indonesia, the Balinese have managed to preserve their culture despite the overwhelming foreign influence brought by the increasing number of visitors.
Bali’s “rajas” and princes were deprived of their kingdom by the Dutch colonial government in the early part of this century, but many of them still have their palaces and are respected as patrons of the arts. Dancing and music are highly stylized forms of art and the classical dance is based on the old Hindu epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabarata of on local folklore.
The island of Bali is mountainous in its centre with a cluster of volcanoes of which active Gunung (Mount) Agung is considered sacred. Terraced ricefields dominate the landscape, with small streams bringing water for irrigation.
The attraction of Bali is in its unique art and culture. It almost seems that every person is an artist in some form, whether it is painting, weaving, carving, basketry, etc, or even in the making of the decorations which are placed at the many shrines in public areas, on roads, paddyfields or in the home. Villagers spend their free time in these arts or that of music and dancing, which is taught form a very young age.
The soul of the Balinese is in their religion and it find its expression in the arts