24th - 29th November 2014
It's been three weeks since I got back from Bali but the memories are still fresh. Its as though Bali is beckoning me back already. Bali, in a nutshell, was totally not what I expected. What I expected was an island full of villages and small towns with lots of poor locals working hard to meet their daily needs. I even thought that I can do an around-the- island-tour in just a day. Was I wrong! Following is a list of my impression of Bali.
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| Nusa Dua beach |
One, Bali is big. It is five times bigger that Penang that is Penang island and mainland put together. Once you get this right, then you can plan your itinerary. Though we booked a 3-day tour package, we only managed to cover 30 percent of Bali, well this estimate is according to our driver.
Two, Bali is developed. It's not like KL where you see unfinished construction work almost everywhere. KL is developing into a modern 21st century city whilst Bali's development is centred in retaining its cultural and natural appeal. You won't find high rise buildings in Bali, well none that I saw anyway. But developed enough to sustain itself. And the development of its tourism industry is throughout the island. I saw villages that can easily classify as small towns in Malaysia but with a different look and feel.
Two, Bali is developed. It's not like KL where you see unfinished construction work almost everywhere. KL is developing into a modern 21st century city whilst Bali's development is centred in retaining its cultural and natural appeal. You won't find high rise buildings in Bali, well none that I saw anyway. But developed enough to sustain itself. And the development of its tourism industry is throughout the island. I saw villages that can easily classify as small towns in Malaysia but with a different look and feel.
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| Sunset at Uluwatu |
Three, Bali preserves most of nature's blessings, the very things that we in Malaysia take for granted, such as age old buildings, temples, houses, trees, jungles, hills, and just about everything that Mother Earth provides. Drive anywhere in Bali and you will quickly appreciate its natural beauty but here in Malaysia, if you drive from KL to Penang, what greets you on both sides of the highway are rows and rows of oil palm trees. As much as I can appreciate that oil palm brings in revenue for Malaysia's economic growth, I do wonder, have we gone overboard? Did we really have to clear so much of our forests for oil palm? The Balinese, on the other hand, have found a way to blend the ancient with the modern in the most beautiful way.
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| Tegalalang rice terrace |
Four, Bali is green The kind of green that you don't see here in KL. Maybe its the volcanic soil, I don't know, but watching the green fields of paddy fields is so soothing to the spirit.
Five, Bali is warm and welcoming. There is no hostility towards anyone who is of a different race, colour. religion or background. The Balinese people are very easily accepting of people from different parts of the world who visit their island. The slogan about the smiling people of Bali is so true.
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| Tirtha Empul temple |
Six, Bali is synonymous to ceremonies. Balinese people take their ceremonies seriously and are proud to partake and uphold their ceremonies. Their women immerse themselves in the daily chore of preparing for ceremonies. They have developed their own community systems to govern the ceremonies. They even have volunteer community and traffic police.
Seven, Bali is where you can find people from many parts of the world. I remember being in Monkey Forest and listening to many different languages being spoken, from Italian, French, English, Russian, Korean. Japanese. Indonesian, Mandarin, etc.
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| Prayer session with offerings (pix taken with permission) |
Eight, Bali has lots of character. Every building is unique in its architecture especially in Ubud. You don't see rows and rows of terrace houses as you do here in Malaysia.
Nine, there is no rush to do anything in Bali. The people seem laidback and not stressed out over life. This include people working in the paddy fields.
Ten, Bali is the land where the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are kept alive. The heroes and heroines of these epics are sculpted and showcased at many round-a-bouts and road dividers and junctions. Some of these scupltures are very dramatic in their expressions.
Eleven, Bali the land where the lingering smell of frangipani flowers is ever present in the air. Look out for these trees and colourful blooms. Also used in prayers.
Now that I have summed up the good impressions that I had of Bali, let me list some stuff that I didn't quite enjoy.
One, the entrance fees. For first timers in Bali, please be warned that you need to set aside a few hundred ringgits just to cover main tourist spots. Asians pay the same rate as Westerners. I think there should be a separate counter for people from ASEAN countries with a much lower rate.
Two, the food. Somehow I was disappointed. As a Malaysian, I am so used to getting a quick fix of roti canai, tosai, nasi lemak, fried noodles just about anywhere. Here, their main dish is rice. The breakfast is also a meal of rice. Bread is available in mini-marts but I couldn't find butter or margarine. We as a family really missed Malaysian food. The other thing is price. The price of food is that of KL. In fact after crossing over to Jawa island, we realised that the price of food in Bali is 3 times higher than that in Yogjakarta.
Three, the problem with flies. The first thing we noticed during meal times is the presence of flies, as in houseflies. Our driver said it is due to the rainy season. They are just about everywhere, especially around food.
Four, dogs. As much as I respect animals' right to life, and Balinese style of co-existing with the dogs, it scared the hell out of me when I see strays in the middle of the road, pavement, beach etc. Most were docile but you can't help noticing the huge number of dogs that roam the streets. Some of them don't look healthy. Having said that, we didn't encounter any bad incidents, we kept our distance and avoided eye contact.
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| Ancient sage ready with blessings |
Ten, Bali is the land where the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are kept alive. The heroes and heroines of these epics are sculpted and showcased at many round-a-bouts and road dividers and junctions. Some of these scupltures are very dramatic in their expressions.
Eleven, Bali the land where the lingering smell of frangipani flowers is ever present in the air. Look out for these trees and colourful blooms. Also used in prayers.
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Now that I have summed up the good impressions that I had of Bali, let me list some stuff that I didn't quite enjoy.
One, the entrance fees. For first timers in Bali, please be warned that you need to set aside a few hundred ringgits just to cover main tourist spots. Asians pay the same rate as Westerners. I think there should be a separate counter for people from ASEAN countries with a much lower rate.
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| Tanah Lot temple -entrance fee is Rp 30000 per adult |
Two, the food. Somehow I was disappointed. As a Malaysian, I am so used to getting a quick fix of roti canai, tosai, nasi lemak, fried noodles just about anywhere. Here, their main dish is rice. The breakfast is also a meal of rice. Bread is available in mini-marts but I couldn't find butter or margarine. We as a family really missed Malaysian food. The other thing is price. The price of food is that of KL. In fact after crossing over to Jawa island, we realised that the price of food in Bali is 3 times higher than that in Yogjakarta.
Three, the problem with flies. The first thing we noticed during meal times is the presence of flies, as in houseflies. Our driver said it is due to the rainy season. They are just about everywhere, especially around food.
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| Dog on Jimbaran beach |
Four, dogs. As much as I respect animals' right to life, and Balinese style of co-existing with the dogs, it scared the hell out of me when I see strays in the middle of the road, pavement, beach etc. Most were docile but you can't help noticing the huge number of dogs that roam the streets. Some of them don't look healthy. Having said that, we didn't encounter any bad incidents, we kept our distance and avoided eye contact.
In the following postings, I shall give updates of the places we visited, and many other happenings that caught my interest. Stay posted!
