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‘I have to say that of all places that I have visited, Bali’s my favourite’ - Christopher Meloni

Bali is the best known of all the Indonesian islands and instantly evokes images of ancient temples, graceful dancers, beaches, lush green paddy fields and an ambiance that literally breathes 'exotic’. Bali is actually a little bit of nearly everything most tourists would want out of a holiday destination - there’s entertainment, there’s culture, and there’s sheer natural beauty. The Balinese, as a people are extremely artistic and religious, and the combination shows in the expression of various art forms- the beautifully decorated temples and the dance dramas that depict tales from the Hindu epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Against the backdrop of Bali’s towering volcanoes, rippling streams and green fields, it’s a beauty you might find at times hard to believe. What makes Bali even more attractive is the fact that it’s easy to get to, many people are fluent in English, and the island is very tourist-friendly.

Bali can’t do without two things- Dance and Music. On all festivities and ceremonies you will be pleased to see the inhabitants induging in dance and other cultural programs. The only medium through which the people share about their culture and long lived tradition is- dance. With lively dance, music and theatre performances, there’s no chance of returning dissatisfied from Bali!

According to the Balinese belief, at the time of the Hindu festival- Nyepi, almost everything from shops to restaurants shut down for a day and there is total peace. This is because the inhabitants believe that the evil spirits passing by will leave the island unharmed thinking nobody to be there.

The Hindu community in this city has a special ‘coming-of-age’ ritual for girls. A person, known as the ‘sangging’ slowly files a girl’s teeth so that they become long and sharp. After this ritual is performed the girl is considered to have entered ‘womanhood’.

Historically Speaking

Bali, by virtue of being one of the main islands of Indonesia, has had an important role to play in the history of Indonesia as a country. Bali has a history of Hindu kingdoms (many signs of which still remain, in the magnificent Hindu temples scattered across the island), established initially by immigrants from neighbouring Java. Bali, in fact, remained a stronghold of Hinduism for quite a while.

Islam arrived in Indonesia during the 1300s, and the establishment of a Muslim empire resulted in the downfall of the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, whose rulers fled to Bali in the 1400s. They stayed on in Bali (in fact, their descendants are still highly respected in Balinese society), but were ousted from whatever power they held by the arrival of the Dutch, who took control of the island by the twentieth century. Bali remained under the rule of the Dutch until the independence of Indonesia, in 1949.