Jimbaran

Jimbaran is a fishing village and tourist resort in Bali, Indonesia. Located just at the south of Ngurah Rai International Airport, the beach is cluttered with seafood restaurants and some of the finest luxury hotels in the world. Tourism in Jimbaran has increased rapidly that has boosted local economy, but it suffered by the 2005 Bali bombings where the bomb exploded in one of the restaurants in Jimbaran.

Jimbaran lies on the 'neck' of the southern peninsula in Bali and is widely known for the fresh seafood kiosks that are scattered along the beach. Diners select the live seafood that they wish to eat, and it is immediately prepared, generally grilled over a fire of coconut husks rather than charcoal. More recently, Jimbaran has become a popular location for foreigners to build villas.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunset in Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot, one of the most popular places of interest in Bali, is located on the coast of West Bali, at the village of Beraban in the Tabanan Regency. It is also called Tanah Let which means ancient land and also Tanah Lod, which means the land to the south.

The temple Pura Tanah Lot, simple in its construction, is dramatic in its ocean-front location and is one of the main temples in the worship of Balinese gods.Tanah Lot has a long history in the world of tourism.

The temple itself is built on a small promontory which is only accessible at low tide. During high water the rock takes on the appearance of a large boat at sea, such is its shape.

Poisonous snakes live in the nearby caves to 'guard' the temple and contribute to the temple's dangerous reputation. Sunset is the best time to visit Tanah lot, when the golden red skies frame the temple and waves crash into the rocks.
It is advisable to avoid the tourist crush here as it can be severe.

Bali Hotels and Villas

Nusa Dua Area

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Grand Hyatt	5 stars	US$ 153
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel	5 stars	US$ 105
The Bale	Boutique	US$ 370
Grand Mirage Resort	5 stars	US$ 95
Melia Bali	5 stars	US$ 98
Aston	4 stars	US$ 80
Melia Benoa	4 stars	US$ 65

Jimbaran

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
The Ritz-Carlton Bali	5 stars	US$ 180
Pan Sea Puri Bali	Boutique hotel	US$ 150
Keraton Bali	4 stars	US$ 95

Tuban Area

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Santika Beach Hotel	4 stars	US$ 88
Kuta Paradiso	4 stars	US$ 85
Risata Hotel	3 stars	US$ 65

Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and surrounding

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Restu Bali Hotel	Budget Hotel	US$ 48
Aneka Beach Hotel	Budget Hotel	US$ 50
Balisani Padma Hotel	Budget Hotel	US$ 45
The Oberoi Resort	Boutigue hotel	US$ 225
Villa Kendil	Boutigue hotel	US$ 100
Tugu Bali Hotel & Villa	Boutigue hotel	US$ 244
Santika Villas (The Samaya)	Boutigue hotel	US$ 310
Resor Seminyak	3 stars	US$ 80
Pelangi Bali Hotel	3 stars	US$ 63

Sanur area

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Waka Maya	Boutigue	US$ 122
The Grand Bali Beach	5 stars	US$ 78
Bali Hyatt Hotel	5 stars	US$ 100
Sanur Beach Hotel	4 stars	US$ 77
Parigata Resort and Spa	3 stars	US$ 65
Puri Santrian	3 stars	US$ 75
Segara Village	3 stars	US$ 65
Puri Kelapa Cottages	Budget	US$ 46

Ubud area

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Maya Ubud Resort	Boutique	US$ 225
Pitamaha Resort	Boutique	US$ 245
Komaneka Tanggayuda	Boutique	US$ 177
Komaneka Resort	Boutique	US$ 138
Kamandalu Resort & Spa	Boutique	US$ 180
The Chedi (Alila)	Boutique	US$ 275
Natura Resort	Boutique	US$ 228
The Payogan	Boutique	US$ 265
Ibah	Boutique	US$ 243
Puri Wulandari	Boutique	US$ 470
Pertiwi Bungalows		US$ 68
Champlung Sari Hotel		US$ 71
Tjampuhan Hotel & Spa		US$ 72
Ananda Cottages		US$ 55
Bali Spririt Hotel & Spa		US$ 75
Puri Saraswati		US$ 76

Candidasa

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Puri Bagus Manggis		US$ 75
Puri Bagus Candidasa		US$ 75
Mimpi Resort Tulamben	Boutique	US$ 120

Lovina and Pemuteran - North Bali

Name of Hotel	Category	Lowest Price
Puri Bagus Lovina	Boutique	US$ 90
Sol Lovina	Budget	US$ 55
Bali Taman Resort	2 stars	US$ 42
Aditya Beach Cottages		US$ 54
Taman Sari		US$ 65

Bali Travel Guide

Bali General information : Location, Land, Climate, People, Tradition and Culture, Visa and Formalities.

Welcome to The Island of Paradise!

Bali -where religion is the source of traditional customs in everyday life. A vibrant culture, unique arts and ceremonies, a gentle and friendly people and spectacular scenery make Bali one of the premier travel destinations in the world. Come to Bali to learn for yourself how beautiful it is. It needs more pages to describe the wonders and magic of Bali in words. Here is a glance info about Bali:

The Island, Where, Width and Population
Bali is one of the 17,000 Islands of Indonesia, located between 8 and 9 degree south of the Equator. It takes 3 hours flight from Singapore or 5 hours from Sydney or 4 hours from Hong Kong and 8 hours from Tokyo, those closest cities in the pacific. There are direct and some connects flights from Europe, North and South America as well as Africa. A very narrow strait, called the strait of Bali, joins the Indian (Indonesia) ocean and the Java sea, separating Bali from Java. Bali’s total area is slightly more than 2000 square miles. According to the latest census Bali’s population is three million five hundred thousand people.

Topography, rice fields, mountains and beaches
The mountain range is from Batukaru in the west and Gunung Agung in the East while in the center there are lakes which divides Bali into two plains, the Northern and the Southern plains. The Northern plain is much narrower, hilly and dry so that there is no much wet rice culture possible and yet the people here like in the rest of Bali live from agriculture. The mountain in some places comes right to the sea, the coast is swampy in the West, alternately sandy and full of pebbles in the center and rocky in the East. There are few beaches here good for swimming as well as snorkeling and diving.
The Gunung Batur is very active volcano. In this century it erupted in 1905, 1926 and 1963 when it kept erupting till 1974. One of its many craters once in a while emits smoke. The highest Volcano - Mt. Agung was quite for more that 150 years, but it was certainly not dead yet. It erupted suddenly in 18 February 1965 when Bali was about to have a big purification ceremony, called Eka Desa Rudra, which is to be held every 100 years. The previous eruption must be 1811, because this was mentioned in the book, the history of Java, written by Raffles, when he was Governor General of Indonesia.

The center part of Bali are most fertile and in these regions the tourists can see the most beautiful rice field terraces. This part of Bali is, no wonder, called the rice belt of the Island. The South part lies white sandy beaches where mostly hotels are located such as : Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta, Legian and Sanur area.
To the South-East of central Bali lies the arid island of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan which used for snorkeling, beaching by most of Cruises company.

Flora and Fauna
Bali is though to be the last island of Wallace line that separates the flora and fauna of Mainland Asia and Australia, but in Bali there are no kakatoe birds, but one finds plenty of them in the islands East of Bali, e.g. in Sumba and Flores. A very few are found in Nusa Penida. There are more snakes and beautiful myna colored birds. The Australian flora and fauna are supposed to begin in Lombok, the island just East of Bali. In Nusa Penida one occasionally sees the white kakatoe and the Horned bill; a bird with very large beak, too big in proportion with the head, and the body. .

Religion
Most population of Bali (90%) are Hindu and the others are Catholic, Protestant, Moslem and Buddhist. The Hinduism in Bali mixed with local tradition and culture, thus almost everyday you can find ceremony or festival.
The Balinese will be accompanied by rituals from birth to death. The birth is celebrated through the "penyambutan" ceremony, The three Month ceremony when the child is allowed to touch the ground an given the name. Every six month celebrate otonan (birth day), after the adulation they have 'tooth filling' ceremony then wedding ceremony.
As we are Hindu we have also Cremation ceremony, if some one died we will cremate the death body. Common people said that through cremation the soul can go the Heaven.
Temples, houses and other building are celebrated every 210 days (6 month) as the anniversary ceremony. You can easily find ceremony almost everyday. This is one of the main reason why travelers come to bali.

Bali Tour Activities

Where to Go, What to See in Bali

You can see our various choice of excursion to explore Bali to meet local people, learn their culture, tradition, daily life and enjoy its beautiful scenery.

UBUD VILLAGE, HANDICRAFTS & SHOPPING TOUR
This tour will lead you to the Balinese Artist: Stone carvers, gold and silver smith, textile weavers, wood carvers and painters. Our Guide will also show you the Balinese traditional house which built based on Hinduism Philosophy.
First you drive to Batubulan the village of stone carvers then to Celuk centre of silver and gold smith. Onto Batuan to see if there are ladies who weaves Balinese scarf or other textile and proceed to Kemenuh a village famous for its wood carvers. Ubud will be your last stop for Balinese and foreigners painters. You will see both modern and traditional paintings.
Other point of interests you may visit Painting Museum, where modern Balinese paintings one display. Wenara Wana - a small forest nearby inhabited by a group of playful monkeys; Pengosekan, a village well known for its handicrafts (It has become more popular, since Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Great Britain visited this village a couple of years ago). If your are interested in having something to bring home as souvenirs from these artist, please inform your guide to do shopping .... and do not forget to bargain.

KINTAMANI VOLCANO TOUR
Drive to Batubulan village to attend Barong and Keris dance performance. If you have not visit Ubud yet, then visit the art and handicraft villages of Celuk, Batuan, Mas and Ubud, to witness gold and silver work, hand weaving woodcarving and painting with very short stops. Proceed to Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), a Hindu meditation center dating back to the 11th Century. It will need at least 45 minutes to explore the site. Then you will drive to Tampak Siring to see Tirta Empul the holy spring water temple. The Holy Water usually taken by the Hindu Priests for temple ceremony. Next on to view the magnificent Panorama of the still active Mt. Batur volcano and Lake Batur where you will have your lunch (about US$ 10 per person). After lunch return to your hotel through Bangli town to see the 13th century Kehen Temple and easy drive down for breathtaking views of rice terraces and palm trees at Bukit Jati.

MENGWI KEDATON & TANAH LOT TOUR
A trip to Mengwi to view the beautiful Taman Ayun Royal Temple surrounded by water and to the holy monkey forest at Kedaton - noted for its temples inhabited by s colonies of friendly monkeys, bats and birds. Then, on to Tanah Lot temple built on a small, offshore island of barren rock.

EVENING CULTURAL DANCE PERFORMANCE TOUR
Drive to a village close to Denpasar to attend the Kecak/monkey dance, Ramayana story or one of many others dance performances.

Background on Bali

Many people have visited the tropical island of Bali, one of the world's better known tourist destinations. Bali is just one island in a long chain of islands known as the Indonesian Archipelago, the fourth largest nation in the world.

Indonesia is made up of 13 677 islands, over 3000 of which are inhabited. Bali is one of the more densely populated islands (almost 5 million people), in an area of only 5 500 sq km (a fraction smaller than Tasmania). Bali lies immediately east of Java, separated by a narrow strait (Bali Strait) less than 3 km wide. It has a number of volcanoes, some still active.

The majority of Indonesia's population of over 200 million people are Muslim. In contrast, Bali has maintained its Hindu faith. The majority of Bali's inhabitants are descendants of the great Majapahit kingdom of Java, migrating to Bali around the 16th Century to escape the wave of Islam that was rapidly spreading through central Java.

Bali's history stretches even further back in time. The cultural heritage of Bali has evolved over a millennium and has fascinated anthropologists and historians for many generations.