Archive on 'November, 2006'
by Putra - 30 Nov 2006 @ 1:00 am · Category Place of Interest
Bangli is an hour’s drive (40 km) northeast of Denpasar. An offshoot of the early Gelgel dynasty, the ancient kingdom of Bangli became Bali’s most powerful upland court in the second half of the 19th century.
Bangli today is perhaps the quietest and most easygoing of all the regency capitals. Travelers use for lying on the slopes of Gunung Batur, Bangli has one of the most temperate climates on Bali. The town is still the subject of fierce barbs, and the Balinese look at you askance when you say you’re going to Bangli.
Pura Kehen
Eight royal ‘puri’ were once situated around the main crossroads of town, but now only Puri Denpasar (the present Artha Sastra Inn) is open to the publicAs the original palace of Bangli’s last raja note the sculptures of lions and bodhisattvas inspired by early photographs of Borobudur, and the remarkable painted mural and frieze in the ‘bale loji’ depicting Chinese life in Bangli. The mural is in bad shape but you can still make out detail. Also worth seeing is the 100-year-old ‘bale kulkul’, about a five-minute walk.
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by Putra - 22 Nov 2006 @ 12:56 am · Category About Bali
Bali is an island paradise which has been the favorite destination of a range of discerning travellers. Bali is only Hindu state, and the rich blend of tradition and culture has had an incredible impact.
In Bali, the gods and goddesses called the “Dewa-Dewi” -a god being a “Dewa” and a goddess a “Dewi”. The Balinese religion uses the Indian Hindu pantheon, though having adapted it to their own history, character and unique needs.
This pantheon is a packed pedestal of immortals reflecting Hinduism’s rich vision of spiritual life. But the essential Dewa-Dewi are composed of two balanced trinities, called Tri-Murtis: The male group of Brahma, Wisnu, and Siwa, and their female consort and counterparts, Saraswati, Dewi Sri, and Durga.
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by Putra - 20 Nov 2006 @ 11:54 am · Category Tourism
The Balinese have been more exposed to international tourists and generally speak more english than people in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. They have managed to preserve their culture despite overwhelming foreign influences brought to the region by an ever increasing number of tourists.
Bali is the Hawaii of the East. Of the four million tourists who came to Indonesia in 1994, more than 750,000 flew straight to Bali. The number of foreign and domestic tourists arriving in Bali is now approaching 1.5 million a year. The growth in visitors, which stands at about 10% per year, is expected to continue through the late 1990s. Bali already has a full half of all the hotels in Indonesia.
Bali makes a valuable study in the effects of mass tourism on the social and cultural patterns of an indigenous population. Every generation of visitors arrives to “discover” Bali, pronounce it a paradise, and then once home mourns that it’s lost forever. Visitors are so enthralled with the legend surrounding Bali; many arrive thinking that Indonesia is a part of Bali rather than the other way round.
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by Putra - 17 Nov 2006 @ 6:50 am · Category Religion and Culture
While the village is open and communal, the Balinese home is hidden and private. High thatch-covered mud walls run along the roads, broken at intervals by high pillared porticos with thick, carved wooden doors, each the entrance to a family compound, invariably guarded by a barking dog or two. The thick mud walls of the enclosure define and protect the family; they would feel insecure without them.
A central ramp runs up the flight of steps so motorcycles can be ridden into the walled enclosure. These cells of unbroken, interlocking, single domestic courtyard homes are open only in the back, where the rubbish thrown and pigs root. Behind the main gate is a thin wall (aling-aling) which affords privacy and prevents evil spirits from entering; it’s difficult for the beasties to turn corners.
Just as the layout of the village reflects the grand order, so too does the layout of the family compound. The Balinese believe each part of the house corresponds to a part of the human anatomy: the head is the family shrine, the sexual organs are the gates, the arms are the bedrooms and the social parlor, the navel is the courtyard, the legs and feet are the kitchen and granary, and the anus is the backyard garbage pit. In each corner of the yard are temples dedicated to guardian spirits.
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by Putra - 15 Nov 2006 @ 11:46 am · Category Society
The idea of balance is central to Balinese philosophy and way of life. Nature and Man meet and complement each other. The basic Balinese territorial unit is ‘desa’ (village), whose surface covers both the wet land of the rice fields, and the dry land of the compounds and related gardens, temples and roads. To the wet land, correspond the irrigation units or ’subak’, and to the dry and inhabited land, the community wards or ‘banjar’, each with their temples and organizations.
Ninety percent of Bali’s population is rural, living in hundreds of hamlets and villages all over the island. Traditionally, the social organization of the island is based on the village, each completely self-sufficient, providing for all the needs and functions of the individual from birth through cremation. Not just a collection of family compounds, the rural community was and is a whole series of interlocking corporations, a living organism, a microcosm of the cosmic order.
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by Putra - 13 Nov 2006 @ 7:45 am · Category Tourism
It’s estimated that as much as 80% of all tourists receipts end up outside Bali. This revenue leakage must be measured against the much-touted claims of tourism generating huge foreign exchange earnings. Not surprisingly, the estimated $200 million brought in each year by tourists has not been entirely beneficial for the Balinese economy.
Actual improvement in the standard of living is significant but not dramatic. Much of the population is poor, in many cases desperately poor. The minimum wage is about Rp30,000 per month. Lowly hotel workers earn only Rp2000 per day, receive free lodging, and if they’re lucky get one meal a day. Assistant carpenters earn about Rp5000 per day; young workers in the garment industry sew beads or sequins on clothing for as little as Rp600 per day.
The vast majority of Balinese lives in villages and does not directly benefit from foreign-exchange earnings. The advent of tourism has widened the gap between rich and poor. A UNESCO study demonstrated that those who benefit most from tourism are directly engaged in the industry-hotel and art shop owners and employees, guides, drivers, hotel workers, musicians, performers.
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by Putra - 10 Nov 2006 @ 4:44 pm · Category About Bali
Geography
The Island of Bali is part of the Republic of Indonesia and is located 8 to 9 degrees south of the equator between Java in the West and Lombok also the rest of the Lesser Sunda Islands (Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba and Timor) in the East. Flying time to Jakarta is about 1.5 hours, to Singapore and Perth (Australia) 2.5 ’till 3 hours, to Hong Kong about 4 hours. Bali has an area of 5620 sq. km, measures approximately 140 km by 80 km.
Located only two kilometers east of Jawa, Bali’s climate, flora and fauna are quite similar to its much larger neighbor. The island is famous for its beautiful landscape. A chain of six volcanoes, between 1,350 meters and 3,014 meters high, stretches from west to east. Gunung Agung known as the ‘Mother Mountain’ is over 3000 meters. There are lush tropical forests, pristine crater lakes, fast flowing rivers and deep ravines, picturesque rice terraces, and fertile vegetable and fruit gardens.The south beaches consist of white sand; other parts of the island, beach are covered with gray or black volcanic sand.
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by Putra - 07 Nov 2006 @ 5:20 am · Category History of Bali
At the time of Holland’s final conquest of Bali in 1906, the island was administered by autonomous lords and their officials. Each of its nine warring principalities-Klungkung, Karangasem, Mengwi, Badung, Bangli, Tabanan, Gianyar, Buleleng and Jembrana-was separated by sharply demarcated borders and each competed for the loyalty, support, and deference of the population.
In May 1904 the small Chinese steamer Sri Koemala was wrecked and looted off Sanur. The owners held the Dutch government directly responsible. The Dutch, in turn, demanded the raja of Badung pays damages and punish the looters. The raja, with the support of bordering states, refused. The dickering between the Dutch and the raja dragged on for two years, with the deadlock finally used as a pretense for the Dutch to throw a complete naval blockade around southern Bali.
On 15 September 1906, the Dutch anchored a large war fleet off Sanur and landed an expeditionary force of 2,000 men. Opposed on the beach at dawn the next day by Balinese attacking with golden spears, the Dutch started their final advance on Denpasar, trundling their cannons behind them. By 19 September they reached the town’s outskirts. The naval bombardment commenced early the next morning, firing the king’s palace and the houses of the princes.
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by Putra - 07 Nov 2006 @ 3:27 am · Category Religion and Culture
Nyepi
The major festival of the sake year is New Year Nyepi, at the end of March or beginning of April the major purification ritual of the year. The days before Nyepi are full of activity - religious objects are taken in procession from temples to sacred springs or to the sea for purification. Sacrifices are made and displayed at crossroads where evil spirits are thought to linger, to lure them into the open. The night before Nyepi, the spirits are frightened away with drums, gongs, cymbals, firecrackers and huge paper-made monsters. On the day itself, everyone sits quietly at home to persuade any remaining evil spirits that Bali is completely deserted.
Saraswati
Another annual event, Saraswati, in honor of the goddess, takes place on the last day of the wake year. Books are particularly venerated and the faithful are not supposed to read, while students attend special ceremonies to pray for academic success.
Pagerwesi
The name literally means ‘iron fence’ on which day ceremonies and prayers are held for strong mental and spiritual defense in welcoming the Galungan holiday.
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by Putra - 07 Nov 2006 @ 2:42 am · Category Place of Interest
A mountain village, Batur is north of Penelokan on the western rim of the crater, with no distinguishable border separating it from Kintamani. The newcomer on the ridge, Batur until 1926 was a prosperous village located at the foot of Gunung Batur. In 1917, the volcano erupted and buried most of the village in lava. This cataclysm took the lives of 1,000 people, destroying 65,000 homes and 2,500 temples. Miraculously, the molten lava stopped short at the gateway of Batur’s village temple.
Kintamani Village
Kintamani is a cool, fresh retreat, bring warm clothes, as it’s cold at night (1,500 meters above sea level). The fog comes rolling into Kintamani early, transforming it into a ghost town of howling ‘anjing’, so you’d best settle in before nightfall. The coldest months are July and August, lots of rain from October to March. Get up early to watch a superb sunrise.
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