Tourists Know Bali as a Holiday Destination, But for Balinese Their Island Is Simply Heaven

The offering to the gods, made of vibrantly colored rice and shaped like a giant bird, soared more than 10 feet high. Scores of other offerings, built with pungent flowers, pork, vegetables, palm leaves, coconut, rice and colored fabrics, were scattered throughout the temple compound.

Smoke from incense and Indonesian clove cigarettes drifted through the air as hundreds of the faithful, who had marched for several miles, poured through the temple gates--8-year-old girls in yellow silk and golden headdresses, boys banging drums and gongs, elegant young men in white and old women balancing stacks of gifts for their deities atop their heads.

It was just another day on the island of Bali, the “Island of the Gods.”

Each year, more than 500,000 tourists visit this small island, which is among the premier tourist destinations in the world.

Despite the onslaught, the 3 million Balinese on the island have managed to preserve their culture and religion: Heaven, the Balinese believe, is exactly like Bali.

My wife, Cindy, and I have spent several weeks in Bali during two trips to Indonesia. Every day some aspect of Balinese life has held us spellbound--whether it was a temple ceremony, rice fields that carpet the landscape, a painting by an unrecognized talent, a dish of spicy food or just the beauty of the beaches.

On top of that, Bali isn’t terribly expensive. Most of the major hotels do not cost more than $100 a day, while many budget accommodations are less than $10 a day for a couple.

Food is especially cheap: You would be splurging if you spent more than $15 for two at dinner.

But Bali is not a pristine, unspoiled paradise, and without a little planning and foresight it may be disappointing.

Bali is, after all, in the middle of a hot, Third World country. This invariably means that the infrastructure is crumbling, the capital city, Denpasar, is a mess and the narrow roads are constantly clogged with belching trucks and screaming motorcycles.

Probably the worst mistake would be to stay at Kuta Beach, the main destination listed in guidebooks.

Years ago, Kuta was a small village known for its brilliant sunsets. Now it is a tourist slum, crammed with hotels, hustlers (of both sexes) and the worst kind of honky-tonk shops. By now it should be considered an Australian colony, since Australian budget tourists have turned it into their version of Fort Lauderdale.

Instead, start your trip at Sanur Beach, less than 10 miles away from Kuta and a different world. Sanur is quiet, elegant and relatively unspoiled.

At the far end of the beach, someone built a 10-story hotel, but the Balinese quickly realized their mistake and passed a law prohibiting any hotels taller than a palm tree. Though hotels now line the beach, most are hidden in the palms.

Ours, La Taverna, was a group of bungalows set in a wild garden, the rooms furnished with Balinese antiques. The bamboo dining area opened onto the beach.

Sanur on average is more expensive than Kuta, but budget travelers have the option of Candi Dasa, a new beach area on the southeastern coast. (Nusa Dua, another high-class beach area, mostly serves international conferences.)

Although Bali has some beautiful beaches (a relaxing way to recover from jet lag), they should not be the main reason to visit the island.

The Balinese, in fact, ignore the beaches, which they believe are inhabited by bad spirits. They turn their attention to the center of the island, with its massive ravines, rice fields and volcanoes, where the good spirits are said to reside. It is also where you will find the real Bali.

The Balinese are deeply religious, and their form of Hinduism is unique. They believe in a universal God but worship different manifestations. They believe in both good spirits, who are worshiped, and evil spirits, who must be placated.

Wherever you walk you will see simple offerings to the gods strewn on the sidewalks--even in front of the tackiest tourist shops. The offerings usually consist of a banana leaf, rice, spices and flowers.

The Balinese believe that as soon as the offering touches the ground, the gods consume its essence, so no one much cares what happens to the offering after that. Usually, it becomes the next meal of the neighborhood dogs.

Almost every day of the Balinese calendar provides an excuse for a temple festival.

With a little luck, you will see a ground-touching ceremony (babies aren’t allowed to touch the ground for their first six months because they are believed to still belong to the gods), a tooth-filing ceremony (a rite of adulthood in which teeth are filed to make them less animal-like) or a spectacular cremation ceremony (a village will often cremate their dead all at once, putting off funerals for months).

Another special event is the Balinese New Year, usually celebrated in April.

One day, massive, noisy festivals are held to drive away the evil spirits; the next day, the entire island stays inside and people avoid speaking, hoping to trick the spirits into thinking the island has been abandoned.

Balinese dance, among the most beautiful in the world, is an integral part of the religious experience. Some of the more famous Balinese temple dances are performed regularly for tourists.

Although these dances are often professional and are worth seeing, they lack the religious fervor of the dances performed during actual ceremonies.

The Barong dance, an allegory of good and evil, with terrific costumes, is performed every morning in Batubulan, a village whose residents specialize in stone carving.

The Kecak dance, in which tales from Hindu epics are accompanied by a chanting chorus of more than a 100 men, is held every evening throughout the island.

Many restaurants offer the Legong--graceful dances performed by girls and young women--with dinner. (One of the best is held Saturday nights at the Tandjung Sari hotel in Sanur.) All of the dances, with the exception of the Kecak, are accompanied by the haunting sounds of the gamelan.

The best base for exploring the real Bali is Ubud, a cool village about 45 minutes from beach areas. Ubud is the cultural heart of Bali, the center of the vast Balinese artistic community.

With a car, virtually every major monument is an easy day-trip away. Lakes Batur and Bratan, two lovely bodies of water set in the cratered tops of volcanoes that tower over the island, are both about 25 miles from Ubud.

And without transportation, beautiful walks can be taken in any direction. Just head out of town. The walk to Pejeng, through rice fields and gorges, is especially soothing.

Ubud itself has become overrun with small hotels and is not especially attractive. But the outlying villages, such as Campuan and Kedewatan, are still relatively unspoiled.

You can spend days here looking at Balinese arts, which range from wood carvings and paintings to jewelry and batik.

Each of the villages surrounding Ubud seems to specialize in a particular craft. Mas, for instance, is the home of the wood carvers and Celuk the center for silver jewelry.

Though many people leave Bali toting packages home, the most lasting artistry of the people is their special way of life. It lingers in your mind long after you have left.