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The Balinese - The Balinese are friendly and warm people who are living in their daily social life style with a unique culture, traditions and rules. There is a respected caste system, each having it's own Balinese language, Bahasa Bali. The Balinese language can be extremely confusing for an outsider, and something that confuses us all are people's names! For ordinary Balinese, everyone is named according to their birth order, the oldest child may be called Wayan, the second Made, the third Nyoman and the forth Ketut. This order is then repeated for the fifth etc. This is similar for the higher caste Balinese but with a slight variation on the names possible for each place within the family. To make it even more confusing, there is no distinction between male and female names!
Bali 'Paradise' is made up of volcanoes, rain forests, rice paddies, beaches, reefs, the ocean and monkeys. They are all responsible for Bali's idyllic and fertile character. Bali's climate is tempered by cool ocean breezes, and visitors will find it a pleasant one. The Lombok Strait deep waters separating Bali and Lombok is referred to as the Wallace line, an ecological separation of fauna and flora between Asia and Australia.
Bali 'The Island of the Gods' - Hinduism is the soul of Bali and Balinese life revolves around colourful and rich religious ceremonies and temples. Daily offering are made to their ancestors and spirits, a ritual which can be seen all over the island. Community and participation is honoured through rituals that celebrate the cycles of life and give the Balinese an uncommon sense of roots and purpose.
Balinese Arts - Originally, the arts of Bali were an obligation and testament to the deities. Today tourism has changed much of the aesthetic purpose. Everywhere you turn in Bali there is art of some form, architecture, temples, statues, offerings (an art in themselves) and ceremonies, traditional costumes, music from gamelan bands small and large, Balinese Dancing telling traditional stories, colourful markets and food, art and crafts in many forms.
Balinese Food- Tastes of Bali are never lacking in challenges or surprises, whether of fish, meat, fruit or vegetables and spices. The staple food is rice. However, in very dry areas of East and North Bali it is sweet potato. The food in family communities is cooked early in the morning by the women for the day. The family eat when hungry, so a pot of rice with some spicy samble (relish), fish fresh or dried, beans and nuts is a common meal. The men cook for ceremonies, suckling pig cooked over coconut husks, chopping spices and mixing with coconut, fish, chicken, pork, beans, and vegetables. Everything is highly spiced and delicious.
There are many restaurants in tourist areas selling an abundance of food from around the world, but you can't beat the local food for a true experience.
Bali 'Paradise' is made up of volcanoes, rain forests, rice paddies, beaches, reefs, the ocean and monkeys. They are all responsible for Bali's idyllic and fertile character. Bali's climate is tempered by cool ocean breezes, and visitors will find it a pleasant one. The Lombok Strait deep waters separating Bali and Lombok is referred to as the Wallace line, an ecological separation of fauna and flora between Asia and Australia.
Bali 'The Island of the Gods' - Hinduism is the soul of Bali and Balinese life revolves around colourful and rich religious ceremonies and temples. Daily offering are made to their ancestors and spirits, a ritual which can be seen all over the island. Community and participation is honoured through rituals that celebrate the cycles of life and give the Balinese an uncommon sense of roots and purpose.
Balinese Arts - Originally, the arts of Bali were an obligation and testament to the deities. Today tourism has changed much of the aesthetic purpose. Everywhere you turn in Bali there is art of some form, architecture, temples, statues, offerings (an art in themselves) and ceremonies, traditional costumes, music from gamelan bands small and large, Balinese Dancing telling traditional stories, colourful markets and food, art and crafts in many forms.
Balinese Food- Tastes of Bali are never lacking in challenges or surprises, whether of fish, meat, fruit or vegetables and spices. The staple food is rice. However, in very dry areas of East and North Bali it is sweet potato. The food in family communities is cooked early in the morning by the women for the day. The family eat when hungry, so a pot of rice with some spicy samble (relish), fish fresh or dried, beans and nuts is a common meal. The men cook for ceremonies, suckling pig cooked over coconut husks, chopping spices and mixing with coconut, fish, chicken, pork, beans, and vegetables. Everything is highly spiced and delicious.
There are many restaurants in tourist areas selling an abundance of food from around the world, but you can't beat the local food for a true experience.