WHERE IS BALI?

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 and 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 and 3 hours, to Hong Kong about 4.5 hours, and to Sydney/Melbourne about 5.5 to 6 hours.


GEOGRAPHY:
The island of Bali has an area of only 5,632 square kilometres (2,175 square miles) and measures just 55 miles (90 kilometres) along the north-south axis and less than about 90 miles (140 kilometres) from East to West. It's no problem to explore the island on day tours. You can go wherever you want on the island and return to your hotel or villa in the evening.

Located only two kilometres east of Java, Bali's climate, flora and fauna are quite similar to its much larger neighbour. 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. There are lush tropical forests, pristine crater lakes, fast flowing rivers and deep ravines, picturesque rice terraces, and fertile vegetable and fruit gardens. The beaches in the South consist of white sand, beaches in other parts of the island are covered with gray or black volcanic sand.


FLORA:

The wide variety of tropical plants is surprising. You'll see huge banyan trees in villages and temple grounds, tamarind trees in the North, clove trees in the highlands, acacia trees, flame trees, and mangroves in the South. In Bali we grow a dozen species of coconut palms and even more varieties of bamboo and there are flowers, flowers everywhere. You'll see (and smell the fragrance of) hibiscus, bougainvillea, jasmine, and water lilies. Magnolia, frangipani, and a variety of orchids are found in many front yards and gardens, along roads, and in temple grounds. Flowers are also used as decorations in temples, on statues, as offerings for the gods, and during prayers. Dancers wear blossoms in their crowns, and even the flower behind the ear of your waitress seems natural in Bali.


FAUNA:

Elephants and tigers don't exist any more in Bali since early this century. Wildlife, however, includes various species of monkeys, civets, barking deer and mouse deer, and 300 species of birds including wild fowl, dollar birds, blue kingfishers, sea eagles, sandpipers, white herons and egrets, cuckoos, wood swallows, sparrows, and starlings. You can watch schools of dolphins near Lovina, Candi Dasa, and Padangbai. Divers will see many colourful coral fish and small reef fish, moray eels, and plankton eating whale sharks as well as crustaceans, sponges, and colourful coral along the east coast and around Menjangan Island near Gilimanuk.


CLIMATE:

You can expect pleasant day temperatures between 20 to 33 degrees Celsius or 68 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. From December to March, the West monsoon can bring heavy showers and high humidity, but usually days are sunny and the rains start during the night and pass quickly. From June to September the humidity is low, and it can be quite cool in the evenings. During this time of the year, you'll have hardly any rain in the coastal areas.

Even when it rains in most parts of Bali you can often enjoy sunny days on the "Bukit", the hill south of Jimbaran Beach. On the other hand, in Ubud and the mountains you must expect cloudy skies and showers throughout the year (this is why the international weather reports for "Denpasar" or "Bali" mention showers and rain storms during all times of the year). In higher regions such as in Bedugul or Kintamani you'll also need either a sweater or jacket after the sun sets.


POPULATION:

Bali's population has grown to over 3 million people the overwhelming majority of which are Hindus. However, the number of Muslims is steadily increasing through immigration of people from Java, Lombok and other areas of Indonesia who seek work in Bali.

Most people live in the coastal areas in the South, and the island's largest town and administrative center is fast growing Denpasar with a population of now over 370,000. The villages between the town of Ubud and Denpasar, Kuta (including Jimbaran, Tuban, and Legian, Seminyak, Basangkasa, etc), Sanur, and Nusa Dua are spreading rapidly in all directions, and before long the whole area from Ubud in the North to Sanur in the East, Berawa/Canggu in the West, and Nusa Dua in the South will be urbanized.


ECONOMY:

This southern part of Bali is where most jobs are to be found, either in the hotel and tourist industry, the textile and garment industry, and in many small scale and home industries producing handicrafts and souvenirs. Textiles, garments, and handicrafts have become the backbone of Bali's economy providing 300,000 jobs, and exports have been increasing by around 15% per year to over US$400 million. Textiles and garments contribute about 45%, and wood products including statues, furniture and other handicrafts 22% to the province's total income from exports. Silver work is ranked third (4.65%) with 5,000 workers employed. Main buyers are the US and Europe with 38% each, and Japan with 9%.

Important agricultural products besides rice are tea, coffee, tobacco, cacao, copra, vanilla, soy beans, chillies, fruit, and vegetable (there are now even vineyards near the northwest coast). Bali's fishing industry and seaweed farming provide other products which are important exports.

The new free-trade regulations will create some problems for Bali's exporters as they do not allow employing of children. Most children here work for their parents, and this is part of the process of acquiring professional skills and kind of an informal education which has been very important in the Balinese society for centuries.


WHAT MAKES BALI SO SPECIAL:

There is the combination of the friendly people, the natural attractions, the great variety of things to see and do, the year-round pleasant climate, and the absence of security problems. And then there is Bali's special "magic", which is difficult to explain.

As soon as you step off the plane you might sense the difference. In the villages you'll notice the quietness and wisdom in old people's faces, and the interest and respect in the young's. Old men sit at the road side caressing their fighting cocks. Beautifully dressed women walk proudly through rice fields and forests carrying offerings on their heads to the next temple. There is the smell of flowers, and in the distance you hear the sound of gamelan music.

Gods and spirits have been an important part of Bali's daily life for hundreds of years. Gunung Agung – Bali's holy mountain – is internationally regarded as one of the eight "Chakra" points of the world. This may be more than an coincident. Watch out, the moment you feel the magic of this island, you're addicted for the rest of your life.


SACRED CULTURE IN BALI:

In Bali there are two very distinct worlds. The "sekala" is the dimension of existence that most can see and touch. The "niskala" is the unseen (by most) realm of magical currents and forces. The unseen world in Bali is senior and has priority over the physical manifestation we typically call life. In Hindu terminology the physical/material plane of existence is called Maya, or illusion.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religion's on earth, deriving its elements from a hundred different directions, incorporating every conceivable motive of religion. Worship of earth, sun, nature, sky, ancestors and heroes, mother and father, as well as a mystical association with plants and animals, are all thoroughly explored within the Hindu religion. Balinese spiritual culture in reality is too animistic, too rooted in their native soil and soul to be compared to the Hinduism of India.

Bali's first recorded contact with world religion was the Mahayanic Buddhism of the Sailendras in the 7th century. Another dominant early influence was the worship of Siwa. These two ways, Siwaism and Buddhism, were first mixed during the Mataram era, taking Siwa (advanced Hinduism) as the religion or "inner science" and Buddhism as the philosophy for everyday life. The same blend was later refined through the majestic style of the Majapahit. At one time Majapahit was the largest kingdom in all of Southeast Asia, acknowledged today as a pinnacle of spiritual and cultural expression. In 1478, when this vast empire founded its last outpost on Bali, the culture of the Balinese flourished, enjoying a renaissance of the arts and a strengthening of their religion, then called Siwa-Buddha.

The majority of Balinese today have ardently taken on the Hindu dharma system of religion, which is not the Balinese tradition but a system, which protects the "batin" or soul of Bali and its people. Buddhism was maybe a little too compassionate to face the tidal wave of global tourism. The Hindu Dharma is not as high or advanced as the Siwa sect of Hinduism. Hindu Dharma is the basis, or the basic training of spiritual aspirants. For the Balinese sacred culture, Hindu Dharma is simply further protection, similar to a goalie in hockey requiring a protective mask.

So the Balinese, despite the years of onslaught by the modern material world, have continued to "maintain" their culture and traditions. How can the Balinese continue to safeguard and protect their sacred essence while opening and revealing their deepest and most guarded secrets to humanity? One answer is re-education from the roots up; for after 32 years under a socially and politically controlling military dictatorship, confusion and ignorance was allowed to grow. Now this current state of affairs must be countered and corrected through a return to the real roots. So, back to the basics, Bali: rising to a new relationship with the outer world where a new destiny can emerge.