Bali High: Beaches galore ... and so much more

Bali is like no other destination in the world. Its rich culture plays out at all levels of life, from the exquisite flower-petal offerings placed everywhere to the processions of joyfully garbed locals, shutting down major roads as they march to one of the myriad temple ceremonies, to the otherworldly traditional music and dance performed island-wide.


Yes, Bali has beaches, surfing, diving and resorts great and small, but it's the essence of Bali _ and the Balinese _ that makes it so much more than just a fun-in-the-sun retreat. It is possible to take the cliche of the smiling Balinese too far, but in reality, the inhabitants of this small island are indeed a generous, genuinely warm people. There's also a fun, sly sense of humour behind the smiles; upon seeing a bald tourist, many locals exclaim ''Bung ujan'' (today's rain is cancelled) _ it's their way of saying that the hairless head is like a clear sky.

Almost as big as Bali, Lombok is the undiscovered place next door. From its volcanic centre to untrodden idyllic beaches like Mawun, it rewards travellers who want to explore.

BALI'S FOOD

Oh goody! It's virtually impossible not to say this when you step into a classic warung for lunch to find dozens of freshly made dishes on the counter awaiting you. It shouldn't surprise that this fertile island provides a profusion of ingredients that combine to create fresh and aromatic dishes. Local specialities such as babi guling, roast suckling pig that's been marinated for hours in spices, will have you lining up again and again.

Denpasar has the island's best range of Indonesian and Balinese food. Savvy locals and expats each have their own favourite warung and restaurants. At the Pasar Malam Kereneng (Kereneng Night Market), dozens of vendors dish up food until dawn. Also good is Jl Teuku Umar, while in Renon there is a phenomenal strip of eating places on Jl Cok Agung Trisna between Jl Ramayana and Jl Dewi Madri.

CRAFTS OF THE ISLANDS

Using a simple knife others might use to cut an apple, a Balinese craftsman sits in the shade of his family compound's frangipani tree and carves a masterpiece. Yes, schlock is sold here in profusion, as it is everywhere, but true local crafts draw on experience handed down for generations and nurtured through the years. Wood carvings are used for temple ceremonies and traditional performances such as the Barong, where colourful, animated wooden masks are integral to the story, while in Batubulan stone carvers create art from rocks.

The start of the road from south Bali is lined with outlets for stone sculptures _ stone carving is the main craft of Batubulan (moonstone). Workshops are found right along the road to Tegaltamu, with another batch further north around Silakarang. Batubulan is the source of the stunning temple-gate guardians seen all over Bali. The stone used for these sculptures is a porous grey volcanic rock called paras, which resembles pumice; it's soft and surprisingly light. It also ages quickly, so that ancient work may be years rather than centuries old.

JATILUWIH RICE FIELDS

Ribbons of green sinuously curve around hillsides crested by coconut palms _ the ancient rice terraces of Jatiluwih are as artful as they are elegant, and a timeless testimony to the Balinese rice farmers' love and respect for the land. You'll run out of words for green as you walk, bike or drive the little road that wanders through this fertile bowl of the island's sacred grain. This is one of the few places where the ancient strains grow, standing stout and bounteous in the flowing fields.

The terraces have been nominated for Unesco status for being emblematic of Bali's ancient rice-growing culture. You'll understand the nomination just viewing the panorama from the narrow, twisting 18km road, but getting out for a rice-field walk is even more rewarding, following the water as it runs through channels and bamboo pipes from one plot to the next. Much of the rice you'll see is traditional, rather than the hybrid versions grown elsewhere on the island. Look for heavy short husks of red rice.

DIVING BALI

Feel small as a manta ray blots out the sun's glow overhead, its fluid movement causing barely a disturbance in the surrounding waters as it glides past. And there's another ... and another. Just when you think your dive can't get more dramatic, you turn to find a 2.5m sunfish hovering motionlessly, checking you out.

The mysterious haunted island of Nusa Penida is but one of the many dive sites ringing Bali. Largely overlooked by tourists, Nusa Penida awaits discovery. It's an untrammelled place that answers the question: What would Bali be like if tourists never came? There are not a lot of formal activities or sights; rather, you go to Nusa Penida to explore and relax, to adapt to the slow rhythm of life there, and to learn to enjoy subtle pleasures such as the changing colours of the clouds and the sea.

Bali's best-known underwater attraction, Pulau Menjangan, has a dozen superb dive sites. The experience is excellent _ iconic tropical fish, soft coral, great visibility (usually), caves and a spectacular drop-off.

BUKIT PENINSULA BEACHES

A little plume of white sand rises out of the blue Indian Ocean and fills a cove below limestone cliffs clad in deep green tropical beauty. It sounds idyllic, and it is. The west coast of the Bukit Peninsula in south Bali is dotted with beaches like that, such as Balangan Beach and Bingin.

Balangan Beach is a real find. A long, low strand at the base of the cliffs is covered with palm trees and fronted by a ribbon of near-white sand, picturesquely dotted with white sun umbrellas. Surfer bars, cafes in shacks and even slightly more permanent guesthouses precariously line the shore where buffed first-world bods soak up rays amid third-world sanitation. Think of it as a bit of the Wild West not far from Bali's glitz.

An ever-evolving scene, Bingin comprises several funky lodgings scattered across cliffs and on the strip of white sand below. The surf here is often savage, but the sands are calm and the roaring breakers mesmerising. The scenery is simply superb, with sylvan cliffs dropping down to a row of houses and the foaming edge of the azure sea.

Source = bangkokpost