Bali For Travelling - Guidance Before Visiting Bali Island

Makepung: Bull Race

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Makepung or bull race is the only spectacular crowd-gather event that is held in Jembrana Regency. Even the regency itself is nick named after this sport event, Bumi Makepung or Land of Bull Race.

The origin of Makepung is quite a mystery, some say it began as nothing more than rivalry between local farmers; others assume that it is introduced by Madurese migrants to celebrate the end of the rice harvest.

This ancient competitive race takes place on a race track about 800 meters long situated outside Negara, the capital city of Jembrana. The races are usually held three times a year, in August, September, and October.

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Only the handsomest, sleekest water buffaloes are chosen to compete. Once a bull has been chosen as a racer, it receives endless care and attention from its owner. It lives in luxury unlike its unfortunate brother or sister which works the fields. Potential champion is housed separately in comfortable lodging and fed special protein diet full to enhance its racing performance.

The Makepung starts in the morning and by mid-day it’s all over. Early in the morning, 100 water buffaloes decorated with colorful silk flags, ribbons and jangling bells are led into the race track by their owners. Hundreds of spectators are already gathered, mostly men and boys. The owners parade their buffaloes on the race track before the crowd of spectators. This prelude may take an hour or so.

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After the parade session is over, the buffaloes are striped off from their ornaments and a pair of buffaloes is teamed with a brightly clad jockey. The paired buffaloes are yoked to a rickety, gaily decorated two-wheel chariot. Two pairs of water buffaloes or more compete in each race. To gain speed, the jockeys twist the bull’s tail and lash their backs with whips. These heavy, awkward looking, clumsy and meek animals transform into galloping juggernauts, capable of tremendous speed (60 kph). Entrants are judged not only for speed but also awarded point for strength, color, and style. The winning bulls are used for stud and fetch up to twice market value when sold.

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A variation of makepung is the magembeng, in which a pair of bulls is harnessed together and decorated with elaborate ornaments. Huge wooden bells (gembeng) are hung around their necks, making distinctive sounds as the bulls race across the field dragging the colorfully dressed jockeys behind them on the skids.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Subak Irrigation Management (III)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:29:00 +0000

In order to produce an optimum quantity of rice a complete farming tools is necessary. Balinese farmer has a wide selection of farming tool based the activity in the field. For example:

1. Land preparation
Land preparation is first step of rice growing phase; these are the tools which are used for land preparation:
a. Hoe (with one tooth, two teeth, four teeth, and six teeth)
b. Sorok (spade)
c. Tulud (leveler)
d. Penampad (long knife)
e. Tengala (plow)
f. Lampit (leveler pull by bull)

2. Seed plantation
After land preparation was finished, the farmers are ready for seed plantation, various tools they are used are:
a. Arit (sickle)
b. Penyepitan Bulih (seed germ pincher)
c. Tempeh (seed basket)

3. Weed extermination and fertilizing
Weeds are serious disturbance to the growth of paddy and fertilization is essential. The tools for exterminating the weed and fertilizing the crop are:
a. Kikis (weeding knife)
b. Pengrondoan (raking)

4. Waiting paddy to ripe
Near harvest, the farmers are waiting rice to ripe. They made scarecrow to protect the crops fro sparrow, and noisy bamboo to make a loud noise to scare the sparrow. The tools for this phase are:
a. Kepuakan (noising bamboo)
b. Lelakut (scarecrow)

5. Harvest
Harvest is always a time of joy for the farmer and of course a time for hard work. The tools that are used for harvesting are:
a. Anggapan (rice pinnacle cutter)
b. Sanggah Dewa (Spirit house of Dewa Nini (female spirit of rice)
c. Penatapan (tool for leveling the bind paddy)
d. Pangeretan tali (tool for tighten the paddy bind)
e. Arit (sickle)
f. Tali penepukan (rope for binding paddy)

6. Transporting and storing rice
After harvesting the farmers carry the rice stalk from rice field to the granary in their house compound.Women carry the rice by putting the on their head and man by putting them on their shoulder. The tools for transporting and storing the rice are:
a. Pega (tool for conveying the rice stalk form the ground to the head)
b. Sanan (a long bamboo or wood for carrying the rice stalk on the shoulder)

7. Rice processing
The rice processing is usually conducted in a house compound. The tools for rice processing are:
a. Nyiru (winnowing basket)
b. Sidi (sieve)
c. Lu (tool for pounding the rice)
d. Sok (basket)
e. Ketungan (tool for pounding the rice)

8. Grain processing
The grain processing is the last phase in rice production based on Balinese traditional rice production process. The tools used in this process are:
a. Lesung (mortar)
b. Nyiru (winnowing basket)
c. Panarak (basket)
d. Patan (rice measurement device: 0.5 kg)
e. Cengkilik (rice measurement device: 0.25 kg)
f. Lu (tool for pounding the rice)

All these tools are traditional farming tools; the advance of technology brings modern tools and machine to the rice field such as tractors, backpack fertilizer pump, harvest machine and many type of grain processing machine. These new devices are used wisely by the Balinese farmers in accordance with Tri Hita Karana principle. Not just the tools that undergo a change but also the subak as an organization can not escape from the clutch of change.

Water management in Bali is not only a matter of distributing water among farmers within a subak, but also among several subak in a river course. In a river stream there are usually dozens of subak. Often, several subak share a dam. The water is then divided through diversion weirs further down into the single subak. To improve irrigation water management and coordination the government implemented another irrigation management level in 1981, a federation of several subak which share irrigation infrastructure. They were called subak gede. The term subak-gede has been known already during the period of the Dutch occupation and means literally large subak.

The main responsibility of the subak-gede is optimal water distribution amongst the five subak. Thesubak heads come together several times per year to discuss how the water is distributed for the next few months. As irrigation water is the crucial ecological variable, the cultivation cycles have to be staggered within the five subak. Also, the regular face-to-face interaction among the five subak heads allows greater flexibility in water management during times of water shortage. The strengthening of the intersubak institutions brought benefits to the irrigation system. The establishment of the subak-gedehas enabled the subak heads to coordinate and prepare certain larger rice cultivation ceremonies together and therefore reduce time and labor input as well as expenditures.

All that change show the great adaptability of Subak to modernization and development. Despite of its great adaptability Subak does not lose its hallmark as a product of traditional Balinese culture. Subakstill preserves its Tri Hita Karana principle as its code of conduct, code of honor, and code of life.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Subak Irrigation Management (II)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:25:00 +0000

The general Balinese philosophy guiding the subak system adheres to the principle of Tri Hita Karana which emphasises that happiness can only be reached if the Creator (God), the people (the farmers) and nature (the rice fields) live in harmony with each other. Based on this philosophy are the ceremonies which are a substantial part of the rice cultivation cycle. The ceremonies are carried out at the various temples which are associated with the subak.

They are organised hierarchically as follow: the simple shrine (chatu) at the individual water inlet, Bedugul temple at the dam or tunnel intersection, Ulun Suwi / Ulun Carik temple at each subak area, penyungsungan subak temple ’sanctuaries which were originally desa temples that one or more subaks helped to worship, after which in the course of time, all the expenses connected with the temple services and offering ceremonials have, gradually fallen to the subak or subaks and Ulun Danu temple, the Baliwide inter-subak temple at the crater lake Batur, the most sacred lake in Bali. For all the temples and other places of worship there are certain times when religious ceremonies are held, either periodically or as occasion demands.

The periodical ceremonies are divided into ngerainin and ngebekin or ngusaba. Ngerainin consists of making a flower offering in the puras ulun charik and penyungsungan subak; it takes place on certain favorable days (rerainan) such as full moon, new moon, Wednesday-Kliwon, Anggara Kasih (Tuesday-Kliwon), and the like, and is performed by the pemangku without the members of the subak being present. No ngerainin takes place at the chatus, which, since they are not puras, do not have pemangkus.

The harvest festival is celebrated in the last stage of the ripening of the rice, in alternate years as ngebekin and ngusaba. New moon is considered a favorable time for ngebekin, while ngusaba takes place at full moon. The former ceremony has the character of an offering to the demons; the latter, primarily a festival of thanksgiving to the deity, is more elaborate than ngebekin and is often accompanied by the Placing of festive Poles of bamboo (penjor) each kesit (field).

The ceremonies are not just performed based on the calendar but also carried out regularly following the stages of rice growth and the sequences of rice farming activities (which are quite similar with the rite of passage) starting from land preparation which is presided by “water opening ceremony”; seeding; transplanting; blooming of rice plant; milking; harvesting until the harvest being stocked at granary. The rituals may be performed individually by each farmer at his own altar as well as in a joint cooperation with other members of the same subak or even different subaks at relevant temples according to the kind of ceremony to be performed.

In effort to keep harmonious relationship with other living creatures such as pests and insects, rice farmers in former times used not to kill them, but rather they performed ritual known as nanglukmerana (“avoid pest attack ceremony”). This ritual is still practiced until today by Balinese farmers. The philosophical meaning of this ritual is that not to kill any creature as could as possible but just to protect the crops from pest attack. In some places, many subaks still used to perform “rat cremation ceremony” as a form of nangluk merana ritual, by praying for God’s blessing so that no pest would attack their crops. Other important rituals that need to be mentioned here are the so called tumpek uduh (“flora day ceremony”) and tumpek kandang (“fauna day ceremony”). Each of these rituals is performed every 210 days on Saturday based on Balinese calendar. These rituals symbolizing the biodiversity preservation efforts of Balinese rice farmers.

The Tri Hita Karana philosophy is also the basis for the clearly defined rules of a subak, called awig-awig. This set of laws regulates rights and duties among the members. It includes public obligations, regulations concerning land and water use, legal transactions of land transfers, and collective religious ceremonies. For instance, all members have the right to the same share of water at all times. This principle of equitable water sharing is put into action by fixed proportional flow division structures.

Subak internal matters are handled by the pekaseh, the subak head who is democratically elected by all members of the subak. He is responsible to overlook the irrigation management within the subak area, to schedule cultivation cycles and to organise subak ceremonies. He is supported by several assistants, such as the vice subak head (petajuh), the secretary (penyarikan), the treasurer (petengen or juru raksa), the messenger (kasinoman), special helper (saye) and the heads of the sub-subak groups. Biggersubak are divided into sub-groups, called munduk. Munduk may have a separate inlet from the subakmain canal. A munduk usually comprises an average of 20 to 40 farmers.

Every munduk is headed by a pengliman who receives direct orders from the pekaseh and is responsible for all matters related to the munduk. As a sub-group of the subak, the munduk has to follow the subak rules and regulations. However, certain organisational and water management issues can be decided autonomously on the munduk level. The munduk is an important dimension within the subak. Day-to-day cultivation decisions are made on this level and provide the fine-tuning of the subak water and crop management – not always following the subak laws by doing this. The relationship betweensubak and munduk is to facilitate top down and bottom up information flow.

Members of subak also form an informal group which is called sekaa, in order to make ease a certain working activity on the rice field by working together on a certain field and certain activity. For examples: sekaa numbeg (for land cultivation), sekaa jelinjingan (for water tunnel maintenance), sekaa sambang (for water and pest surveillance), sekaa mamulih (for seed plantation), sekaa majukut (for plants surveillance), sekaa manyi (for harvest work), sekaa bleseng (for carrying paddy to the barn). These sekaa may recruit workers outside subak members. The code of work in these sekaa is simple, “I scratch yours you scratch mine.”

The indigenous social-administration organization in subak also supported by efficient and effective water system. Subak’s water system comprise of many parts such as empelan (dam) functioned as water reservoir, aungan (tunnel), telabah (primary waterway), tembuku aya (primary inlet), telabah gede (secondary waterway), tembuku gede (secondary inlet), telabah pamaron (tertiary waterway), tembuku pamaron (tertiary inlet), telabah penyacah (quaternary waterway), tembuku penyacah (quaternary inlet), tembuku pengalapan (individual inlet), tali kunda (individual waterway). Subak’s water system also has complementary part such as penguras (flushing), pekiuh (overflow), titi (bridge), Jengkuwung (small tunnel), abangan (off-land tunnel), petaku (waterfall structure), and telepus (siphon).

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Subak Irrigation Management (I)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:22:00 +0000

Balinese rice cultivation is famous all over the world for its efficient use of irrigation water. At the heart of irrigation management are the water user associations called subak. They are the backbone of Balinese rice cultivation.

Subak has been described by several authors. It is commonly recognized as an autonomous socio-religious association which deals with matters related to the cultivation and irrigation of rice. They have evolved over centuries, organized by the farmers themselves without (or little) guidance from central authorities. The subak are considered to be one of the most effective irrigator organizations in the world.

The subak is a mixture of different units within a clearly defined geographical area. They are:

a. It is a technological unit including a main water inlet and a complex system of collectively owned in virilocal residence sons stay in the father’s compound uniting the men of a given patrilineal group. Irrigation canals which secure equal access to irrigation water to all the subak members. The water shares are determined by a combination of area sizes and mutual agreements, and technically implemented with fixed proportional flow division structures.

b. It is a physical unit. The boundaries of a subak are defined by all the rice fields which receive water from the subak irrigation infrastructure. The rice fields are also part of the nearest customary village. Yet, the subak does not correspond to the social unit of the village (Bray, 1994).

c. It is a social unit comprising all farmers who cultivate land within the subak boundaries and receive water from the subak irrigation infrastructure. The farmers live in the surrounding villages.

d. It is a legal unit given the status of customary law societies with clearly defined rules and regulations written down in a law book called “awig-awig”. This set of laws regulates rights and duties among the members. It includes public obligations, regulations concerning land and water use, legal transactions of land transfers, collective religious ceremonies, and sanctions when breaking the subak laws. Theawig-awig of subak has been passed down orally over generations. Nowadays, however, most subakhave a written version at their disposal.

e. It is a religious unit including ceremonies on the individual level, the subak level, and the inter-subaklevel. The ceremonies vary in scale, involvement and duration. The ceremonies ask for protection against pests and diseases, and honour god for letting human beings work the land. The most elaborated ones involve all subak who receive water from the same Crater Lake.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Balinese Temple Network

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:15:00 +0000

More than 20,000 temples are scattered all over the island of Bali. All these temples are linked one and another create hundreds of temple networks based on the function of the temple and the clan of their congregation (network of clan temple). Each network has a central temple from which the network starts. The central temples can be everywhere; they are not localized in one area.

The function based temple networks involves only functional temples, or temple of professions, such as Melanting temple (temple of the trader), Ulun Suwi or Ulun Carik Temple – Ulun Suwi temple is an irrigation temple that belong to a subak (traditional water management group), and Banuan temple (dry fields temple).

Pura Melanting, Pulaki – Singaraja

The melanting temple network consists of thousands of melating temples that spread all over Bali. Each traditional market in Bali has its own Melanting temple (temple of trader) from which the traders and businessmen ask for fortune; these temples create melanting temple network with its central temple located in west Buleleng, near Perancak.

Pura Ulun Danu Batur

Ulun Suwi temple networks consist of hundreds ulun suwi temples that spread all over rice fields in the island. There are several networks of ulun suwi temples in Bali; each has different central temple and its own area. Since all rice field irrigations in Bali get their water from the lakes, the central temple of an ulun suwi temple network is the lake temple (Pura Ulun Danu) that is situated around the lake from which this ulun suwi temple network get its water. For example Pura Ulun Danu Batur (Lake Batur Temple) is the central temple an ulun suwi temple network which consists of hundreds of Pura Ulun Suwi (irrigation temple) which spread all over Rice fields in east and central Bali.

Pura Meduwe Karang

The banuan temple networks is a network consists of hundreds of Pura Banuan (dry field temple) that spread all over Bali. Banuan temple is a temple dedicated to the spirit of the land so it will gives his blessing to the cultivators of the dry land. The central temple of this banuan temple network is Pura Meduwe Karang (owner of the land temple) in Kubutambahan village, Buleleng regency.

The clan temple network is a network of temples which belong to a particular clan. For example Pande (blacksmith) clan temple network consist of dozens of clan temples of Pande clan that spread all over Bali. Each clan in Bali has its own temple network and its own central temple, for example, the Tarukan clan temple network has its central temple in Tarukan village, Gianyar; the central temple of Pande clan temple network is located in the complex of Ulun Danu Beratan Temple.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

How is the clan temple network formed? At first the members of a clan were concentrated in a village and built their clan temple there. With the passing of the time, there are steady increased on the number of clan members. Some of them settle down in far away villages and built a branch clan temple there. Big clan such as Pasek has hundreds of branch clan temple which spread all over Bali.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Temple and Society

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:12:00 +0000

Temple and societies in Bali has a unique bond in which a temple serves as part of identity of a society. All traditional Balinese social unit from households to kingdoms, possess their own temples where offerings are offered to the deities concerned with their affairs, for example market deities in the market temple, ancestors in the household and clan temple. In other words, each social unit forms congregation of specific temple or shrines, which symbolically defines its place in Balinese social universe.

This principle has survived into modern era, as banks, government offices, and even tourist hotels construct small temple on their ground, which superficially establish their existence but as for identity more light have to be shed on this matter.

The Subaks or irrigation organizations have their water temple in which Dewi Danu, the goddess of lake or other deities which has strong relation with the farmers and agricultural activities are venerated. The traditional markets have their market temple in which Dewi Melanting, the goddess of trade is given homage. The traditional institutions have obvious relationship with particular deities and give identity to their temple and institution. While modern institutions like office buildings have no immediately obvious relationship with particular deities and so it is difficult to assign any identity to the temple and to know which deities should be invited on the temple anniversary.

Unlike traditional Balinese temples which consist of collection of shrines for specific deities which show the identity of the temple – whether it is a clan temple or water temple. The temples of new institution usually only has a single shrine which is known as padmasana (the lotus throne or throne of God) which is the place where God is revered. The reverence of God in these new temples gives no specific identity to these new temple since all temples has a shrine to venerate God and hence the temple does not give any identity to these new institutions.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

About Subak

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Rice is the staple diet of the Balinese and a great deal of effort goes into sustaining this vital foodsource. Past generations of farmers have painstakingly transformed pockets of natural landscape into the most intricate network of rice terraces and canals.

One of the most important elements of the entire rice cultivation process is a shared irrigation system run by an organization called Subak. This collective basically refers to a group of farmers who have adjacent fields and the organization ensures that each piece of landscape receives fair distribution of the precious water that is sourced from a local spring. These farmers also cooperate to repair aqueducts and dikes, prevent theft and invariably attempt to solve the minor problems that arise between neighbours.

Any farmer owning rice terrace land in Bali must become a member of the Subak. There is periodical voting amongst the constituents to elect a head of the organization. Although being chosen as the head of the Subak is an unpaid role, it is often compensated by extra water supplies if required. Each Subak committee holds regular meetings to decide plantation and harvest dates as well as what insecticides to use and when to perform certain ceremonies to bless the land. In addition, every Subak cooperative maintains a small temple in amongst the rice fields where the deities of rice and water are worshipped.

In the region of Tabanan, which is Bali’s most fertile rice growing district, there is a unique Subak Museum that is dedicated to the entire rice growing process. It houses a collection of tools and equipment that have been implemented by farmers over the generations. The museum is a legacy that delves into the ancient Balinese Hindu philosophy and ideology of rice growing.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Magecel: A Unique Balinese Pastime

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:01:00 +0000

Magecel is a unique Balinese pastime which strongly related to cockfighting. Magecel can be defined as an activity of fondling and exercising fighting cock. As any activity in Bali, magecel is done collectively; sometimes four up to a dozen men bring with their fighting cocks sit under the canopy of banyan, other big tree or in the hamlet meeting hall fondling and discussing the merit and demerit of their own fighting cocks, sometimes mock battles without steel spurs are staged to exercise the fighting ability of the cocks.

The most favorite topic of conversation during the magecel is the Pengayam-ayam. Pengayam is knowledge of fighting rooster, the law of cockfighting, in short anything related to the cockfighting.Pengayam is written on sacred palm leaves manuscript. The knowledge of pengayam is unbelievably intricate and detailed. There is a mind-boggling classification of cock by color, shape, configuration, neck ruff, and other characteristics. Certain color of cocks should fight cock of other colors only during specific phases of the moon, on specific days, at specific times of day, from specific direction in the ring, and so on. This is subject of endless discussions during the magecel activity.

The magecel activity gives Balinese men bad stigma of lazy men. The visitors which come to Bali can easily make a conclusion that Balinese women are working busily for the family and while the Balinese men are busy fondling their fighting cocks. This picture is not always true. Nowadays, the magecelactivity is usually done late in the afternoon or early in the evening, after the working hours or on the holiday.

The magecel activity can be found easily in the rural area, urban populations in the city rarely enjoy this pastime anymore. The magecel activity is strongly related to the existence of cockfights. After the government banned cockfighting in 1981, the megecel activity decreased slowly in frequency, and quantity of the participant, but the strong resilience of cockfighting and the relatively high frequency of illegal and legal cockfights preserved this pastime.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Through The Eyes of Researcher: Cockfight and Balinese Men

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:57:00 +0000

Here is an interesting excerpt on cockfight and Balinese men taken from Clifford Geertz’s writing entitled “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”. It will give you an interesting insight on the relation between cockfight and Balinese men

As much of America surfaces in a ball park, on a golf links, at a race track, or around a poker table, much of Bali surfaces in a cock ring. For it is only apparently cocks that are fighting there. Actually, it is men.

To anyone who has been in Bali any length of time, the deep psychological identification of Balinese men with their cocks is unmistakable. The double entendre here is deliberate. It works in exactly the same way in Balinese as it does in English, even to producing the same tired jokes, strained puns, and uninventive obscenities. Bateson and Mead have even suggested that, in line with the Balinese conception of the body as a set of separately animated parts, cocks are viewed as detachable, self-operating penises, ambulant genitals with a life of their own. And while I do not have the kind of unconscious material either to confirm or disconfirm this intriguing notion, the fact that they are masculine symbols par excellence is about as indubitable, and to the Balinese about as evident, as the fact that water runs downhill.

The language of everyday moralism is shot through, on the male side of it, with roosterish imagery. Sabung, the word for cock (and one which appears in inscriptions as early as A.D. 922), is used metaphorically to mean “hero,” “warrior,” “champion,” “man of parts,” “political candidate,” “bachelor,” “dandy,” “lady-killer,” or “tough guy.” A pompous man whose behavior presumes above his station is compared to a tailless cock who struts about as though he had a large, spectacular one. A desperate man who makes a last, irrational effort to extricate himself from an impossible situation is likened to a dying cock who makes one final lunge at his tormentor to drag him along to a common destruction. A stingy man, who promises much, gives little, and begrudges that is compared to a cock which, held by the tail, leaps at another without in fact engaging him. A marriageable young man still shy with the opposite sex or someone in a new job anxious to make a good impression is called “a fighting cock caged for the first time.” Court trials, wars, political contests, inheritance disputes, and street arguments are all compared to cockfights. Even the very island itself is perceived from its shape as a small, proud cock, poised, neck extended, back taut, tail raised, in eternal challenge to large, feckless, shapeless Java.

But the intimacy of men with their cocks is more than metaphorical. Balinese men, or anyway a large majority of Balinese men, spend an enormous amount of time with their favorites, grooming them, feeding them, discussing them, trying them out against one another, or just gazing at them with a mixture of rapt admiration and dreamy self-absorption. Whenever you see a group of Balinese men squatting idly in the council shed or along the road in their hips down, shoulders forward, knees up fashion, half or more of them will have a rooster in his hands, holding it between his thighs, bouncing it gently up and down to strengthen its legs, ruffling its feathers with abstract sensuality, pushing it out against a neighbor’s rooster to rouse its spirit, withdrawing it toward his loins to calm it again Now and then, to get a feel for another bird, a man will fiddle this way with someone else’s cock for a while, but usually by moving around to squat in place behind it, rather than just having it passed across to him as though it were merely an animal.

In the houseyard, the high-walled enclosures where the people live, fighting cocks are kept in wicker cages, moved frequently about so as to maintain the optimum balance of sun and shade. They are fed a special diet, which varies somewhat according to individual theories but which is mostly maize, sifted for impurities with far more care than it is when mere humans are going to eat it and offered to the animal kernel by kernel. Red pepper is stuffed down their beaks and up their anuses to give them spirit. They are bathed in the same ceremonial preparation of tepid water, medicinal herbs, flowers, and onions in which infants are bathed, and for a prize cock just about as often. Their combs are cropped, their plumage dressed, their spurs trimmed, their legs massaged, and they are inspected for flaws with the squinted concentration of a diamond merchant. A man who has a passion for cocks, an enthusiast in the literal sense of the term, can spend most of his life with them, and even those, the overwhelming majority, whose passion though intense has not entirely run away with them, can and do spend what seems not only to an outsider, but also to themselves an inordinate amount of time with them. “I am cock crazy,” my landlord, a quite ordinary afficionado by Balinese standards, used to moan as he went to move another cage, give another bath, or conduct another feeding. “We’re all cock crazy.”

The madness has some less visible dimensions, however, because although it is true that cocks are symbolic expressions or magnifications of their owner’s self, the narcissistic male ego writ out in Aesopian terms, they are also expressions- and rather more immediate ones-of what the Balinese regard as the direct inversion, aesthetically, morally, and metaphysically, of human status: animality.

The Balinese revulsion against any behavior as animal-like can hardly be overstressed. Babies are not allowed to crawl for that reason. Incest, though hardly approved, is a much less horrifying crime than bestiality. (The appropriate punishment for the second is death by drowning, for the first being forced to live like an animal.) Most demons are represented-in sculpture, dance, ritual, myth-in some real or fantastic animal form. The main puberty rite consists in filing the child’s teeth so they will not look like animal fangs. Not only defecation but eating is regarded as a disgusting, almost obscene activity, to be conducted hurriedly and privately, because of its association with animality. Even falling down or any form of clumsiness is considered to be bad for these reasons. Aside from cocks and a few domestic animals-oxen, ducks-of no emotional significance, the Balinese are aversive to animals and treat their large number of dogs not merely callously but with a phobic cruelty. In identifying with his cock, the Balinese man is identifying not just with his ideal self, or even his penis, but also, and at the same time, with what he most fears, hates, and ambivalence being what it is, is fascinated by-The Powers of Darkness.

The connection of cocks and cockfighting with such Powers, with the animalistic demons that threaten constantly to invade the small, cleared off space in which the Balinese have so carefully built their lives and devour its inhabitants, is quite explicit. A cockfight, any cockfight, is in the first instance a blood sacrifice offered, with the appropriate chants and oblations, to the demons in order to pacify their ravenous, cannibal hunger. No temple festival should be conducted until one is made. (If it is omitted someone will inevitably fall into a trance and command with the voice of an angered spirit that the oversight be immediately corrected.) Collective responses to natural evils-illness, crop failure, volcanic eruptions-almost always involve them. And that famous holiday in Bali, The Day of Silence (Njepi), when everyone sits silent and immobile all day long in order to avoid contact with a sudden influx of demons chased momentarily out of hell, is preceded the previous day by large-scale cockfights (in this case legal) in almost every village on the island.

In the cockfight, man and beast, good and evil, ego and id, the creative power of aroused masculinity and the destructive power of loosened animality fuse in a bloody drama of hatred, cruelty, violence, and death. It is little wonder that when, as is the invariable rule, the owner of the winning cock takes the carcass of the loser- often torn limb from limb by its enraged owner-home to eat, he does so with a mixture of social embarrassment, moral satisfaction, aesthetic disgust, and cannibal joy.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Tajen Cockfighting Today

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:53:00 +0000

There are many articles or essays in the net which explains cockfighting in Bali in remarkable detail but they are all in the past. So I will give information in relation with cockfighting in Bali after the 1981 ban up to present days.

In 1981 the government of Indonesia banned the cockfighting but the practice has merely moved away from prying eyes so that it is less obvious but still very real. Cockfighting runs in the blood Balinese menespecially the older generation, Fred B. Eiseman, Jr author of Sekala Niskala wrote “So popular has cockfighting been in Bali for so many decades, that it is about as realistic to tell a Balinese man that he cannot participate in his favorite sport as it is to tell the sun not to rise”.

In the reign of Mangku Pastika (as a head of Bali Provincial Police), the campaign against cockfighting reached its peak, the secular tajen (cockfighting for gambling purpose) virtually vanished from the island but the Tabuh Rah (cockfighting for religious purpose) survived until present day. Tajen has become a rare event.

Though the secular tajen virtually vanished from the earth face, the gamblers found a way to satisfy their gambling lust. The Tabuh Rah was modified to fulfill the need of the gamblers. The Tabuh Rah usually consist of three matches (telung sahet) and of course this three matches will not satisfy the need of the gamblers, three matches was expanded to eight or ten matches.

This modified Tabuh Rah did not last long. The police grew vigilant and they stop the match when the third match was finished. This situation made the gamblers turn to their only hope to deities in some temples.

Some temples in Bali are well known for holding tajen for 7 until 42 days. This kind tajen can not be touched by the police since it is protected by the deity of the temple where the tajen is held. The deities of these temples are fond of tajen, pestilence and misfortune will fall on the congregations of these temples if the tajen is not held. Of course there were many police officers who tried to stop this tajen but after they stopped this tajen, they usually got an accident or paralyzed by mysterious illness. They can only be saved or healed after asking forgiveness to the deity in the temple where the stopped tajen is held. Sometimes the punishment from the enraged deities cost the lives of the officers.

This tajen is usually held to celebrate the temple ceremony (every 210 days). Thousands of gamblers will come from all over Bali. The passionate game is held without any fear, the former glory restored but the economic crisis and the drawback of tourism have taken their toll the size of the bet is reduced significantly nevertheless the joy, the laugh and the tears are still there.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

On Villa Design in Bali

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:48:00 +0000

Driving through the tourism areas of Bali, you can hardly miss to spot hundreds of villas that have established over the last decade. Take a look on these villas especially their designs while you are driving and your drive will turn into architectural trip around the world.

Many of these villas are masterpiece of architectural designs which remind us of European palace and castle, Japanese and Chinese house, Hawaiian hut, North African Kasbah or Hollywood mansion. Yes, there is a need to be different and special. This need seems to be fulfilled by the unique designs of these villas; adding different nuances to the paradise island of Bali and giving you a chance to taste a bit of Africa or Japan while spending your vacation in Bali.

Some villas combine the foreign architecture with traditional Balinese architecture or decorations creating a West-meet-East, East-meet-East, or Mod-ethnic design, in order to infuse the sense of familiarity into the exotic atmosphere of Bali as well as creating a culture-friendly design.

Bali Villas – A Private Piece Of Paradise

All luxurious Bali Villas in villas-bali.com have been filtered in order to provide you the best Bali Private Villa in experiencing holiday, wedding, honeymoon which guarantee Privacy and Outstanding Personalized Service.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Discover The Uniqueness of Bayung Gede (II)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:44:00 +0000

Bayung Gede is the mother of Balinese ancient villages concealing many unique things. For those exceptionally different customs, this village located in Bangli regency is never missed by visitors who have insatiable hunger for Balinese ancient culture. On the previous article, it has been discussed about the unique customary leadership structure. On this piece of writing, other unique customs will be revealed.

Generally, Balinese people have a custom to bury the placenta of the babies. But, Bayung Gede community places placenta in a coconut shell and hang it up on a tree in the graveyard. It sounds terrifying spooky but this tradition is still going on for years and years since hundreds years ago.

Since hundreds years ago also in Bayung Gede there is a different burial system for female and male dead bodies. Female is the symbol of earth and male is the symbol of sky and so the burial position is exchanged. The female dead bodies are buried into usual upward position while the male bodies are laid facedown. These positions according to Wayan Suwela describe the meeting of the sky and the earth.

Besides the three unique traditions above, the decision to use Bayung Gede as a model of community – based tourism project has to do with another unique custom. In Bayung Gede, new married couples are forbidden to step into home yard. They are also not considered as the part of Bayung Gede community before giving tumbakan (sort of dowry) in the form of two cows to the village and fasting. Is that all? No. New married couples are obliged to do panyekeban procession (live in a separated place to become mature people) in a small hut far away from the center of the village.

This village whose people work mostly as farmers indeed does not have written customary law. People of Bayung Gede live based on the convention which still exists since years ago and this is a fact that they can be able to live peacefully using only the convention.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Discover The Ancient Uniqueness of Bayung Gede (I)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:41:00 +0000

As a matter of fact, Bangli is the home of many villages which still hold ancient Balinese culture (Bali Aga). Panglipuran village is one of them concealing very ancient but exotic architectures. Bonyoh and Sekardadi are the other two. And Bayung Gede is the mother of the Balinese ancient villages.

Fresh air with silent green surrounding will welcome people at Bayung Gede. No one would expect that this village hides privileged customary leadership structure, privileged rules for new married couples, and privileged way in burial. For those unique cultures, Bayung Gede becomes one of 20 villages in Indonesia which attract Indonesian government to develop the tourism at this village in which the origin of the name is still unclear.

There are two versions. First report is related to a long complex myth involving the Lord Siva’s asceticism. This version is hard to be accepted by many people as facts of history. Another logical version was stated by Wayan Suwela. He argued that the name of Bayung Gede is actually Bayu Gede or “Super Power”. In the past, the ancestors needed big big power to clear a dense forest land to be a place for many people to live.

And at that place in which the origin is the forest land, people are still faithful to the ancient customary leadership system called Paduluan Sasih Nem Belas. This structure consists of 4 important positions and 16 subordinates. These 4 important persons who have titles Jero Kubayan Mucuk, Jero Kubayan Nyoman, Jero Bahu Mucuk, Jero Bahu Nyoman are free from customary fine and responsible to prepare the ceremonial stuffs. Each person of Bayung Gede community will definitely be in that structure one day as long as the person matching up to the criteria.

Paduluan Sasih Nem Belas only has responsibility in the area involving ceremonies while Kelihan Desa runs the system of government. However, Bayung Village has no customary written law or awig-awig. They use and strictly follow only the convention.

source:blog.baliwww.com/

Gumang Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:04:00 +0000

Gumang Hill is situated in Bugbug village, on the road between Candidasa and Amlapura in Karangasem Regency. This hill overlooks the majestic Mount Agung on the north and Lombok strait on the east. During a favorable weather Mount Rinjani and the island of Lombok can be seen from this hill. Gumang Hill is not a tourist resort,so there is no such a thing as entrance fee.

The peak of Gumang hill can be reached just by 40 minutes hiking and climbing from the road on the foot of the hill. On the peak of the hill you can find an old temple that is called Pura Bukit Gumang by the locals. This temple is guarded by a band of monkeys that not just roaming the temple precinct but also the forest on the slope of the hill, and sometimes they can be found searching for food on the shrines on the foot of the hill.

Gumang Hill has a great mount Agung and ocean view during the daytime, but the best panorama Gumang hill has to offer can be seen early in the morning. Yes, the view of sunrise from this hill is superb especially during the dry season (late in April up to early in October) but for the sunrise I recommend you to climb this hill around July and August.

Hunting a snapshot of sunrise from the peak of this hill is quite an adventure. There is no camping site on the peak of the hill so you have to climb the hill early in the morning (around 5 AM) in order to get to the top of the hill right in time for the sunrise. The best spot for capturing the sunrise is on the east side of the peak, right on northeast side of the temple.

The beauty of the views that you can see from the peak of Gumang is worth every ordeal you take in climbing this hill. Just take a look on the pictures to see what I mean.

source:blog.baliwww.com

The Beauty of Sukawana

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Situated on the slope of mount Batur, at the highest physical elevation of any human settlement in the island of Bali, the village of Sukawana offers a great panoramic view of Mount Batur and its vicinity; it also provides a good angle for the photographer to capture the beauty of mount Batur, Abang and Agung simultaneously.

This village is also recognized as one of the oldest and most traditional highland communities of Bali Aga or “mountain Balinese”. Bali Aga communities are well known for preserving their cultural heritage and ritual from the influence of Javanese migration in 11th century A.D. The village of Sukawana is well known for its unique Baris (warrior) dance and great temple anniversary.

The great temple in Sukawana, that its anniversary is celebrated extravagantly is Pura Puncak Penulisan, about 5 km north of Kintamani on the road towards Singaraja. Known also as Pura Tegeh Koripan, Pura Puncak Penulisan is highest temple in Bali. Based on 9th century inscriptions, it is also one of the most ancient temples in the island.

source:blog.baliwww.com

The Beautiful Belandingan Village

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:49:00 +0000

Perched on the east slope of mount Batur, Belandingan is a remote village, which is quite difficult to reach since the road to this village is bumpy. However, Belandingan worth every bit of your effort to reach it. Belandingan has beautiful panorama, unique culture and of course pollution-free and fresh air, even on the way to this village you can enjoy the beautiful views along the bumpy road.

Belandingan is located on a hilly area, make it suitable for jungle tracking and agro-tourism. Most of the inhabitant of Belandingan are farmers and their farms are usually far from their house so they made huts (pondok) in their farms and live there most of the time. They usually go back to their house when there is a temple ceremony in the village.

In addition to the picturesque view of the surrounding, Belandingan also has a unique traditional house architecture compare to other Balinese traditional house architecture. Belandingan’s traditional house is all-inclusive house, which its kitchen is intergrated into the house while other Balinese traditional house has seperated kitchen within the house compound. the Belandingan’s traditional house is almost enterily made of bamboo which is make it unique and eco-friendly.

In short, Belandingan is an interesting village that worth a visit.

Source:blog.baliwww.com

Central Ubud Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Central Ubud is an interesting area where you can make hints what Ubud has to offer. Central Ubud has great restaurant and warungs, accomodation and interesting tourist destinations that serve as hallmarks of Ubud.

In Central Ubud you can visit Puri Saren, Ubud’ s main palace. This palace lies on the northeast comer of the town main crossroads facing the market, the exact center of Ubud. This is an elegant palace with cool nuance. Visitors are free to roam in inner courtyard of the palace to see the ornate thatched Bale (traditional house), royal heirlooms, and numerous colonial-era photographs.

Other interesting site is Pura Saraswati next to Puri Saraswati Bungalows, the royal temple of Ubud, that is situated near the Puri Saren Agung, behind Cafe Lotus. The temple is a masterpiece of I Gusti Nyoman Lempad. The visitors can find a magnificent lotus pond, beautiful garden, numerous of beautifully carved Bale and shrines. This temple is dedicated to the goddess of learning, Dewi Saraswati.

For art lovers, Central Ubud has Puri Lukisan, the “Painting Palace” of Ubud. This museum not just offers beautiful painting but also magnificent statues, a nice place to relax while enjoying beautiful work of art.

Central Ubud houses good restaurants and warungs that have been known as Ubud’s legends.

Ibu Oka’s roasted pig is a popular eating establisment in Ubud. The food stall has stood here for the past 20 years, a legend. The babi guling (spit-roasted pig) here is world-famous, and this humble eating place is virtually a place of pilgrimage. The roast pork is served with rice and spiced veggies. There are normal tables and chairs but you can also sit on the floor at low tables inside the bale (pavilion).

Next to Ibu Oka’s, across Kanjeng Street is Café Lotus. This cafe provides you not just delicious food and excellent beverage but also nice and pleasant surroundings. Surrounded by lotus pond and impressive Ubud palace’s family temple rise majestically in the background, a gamelan plays daily in the small raised wantilan will give a relaxing effect to you and if you happen to come there when the lotus is bloom you will surely enjoy the most soothing view in Ubud and of course, at a reasonable cost.

Ary’s Warung is also a good choice. This eatery maintains its long and impeccable reputation of providing friendly service and delicious dishes. The warung has two levels; if you choose to sit downstairs, at street level, you will be surrounded by warm finishes of teak and coconut wood, marble and natural stone, antique wall decorations and tropical greenery with a very stylish bar setting, this section usually for luncheon. Or, upstairs on the open-air terrace, a spacious room, an open tree-lined veranda, which seems to catch whatever cooling breezes are present at the time. You can lounge in oversized rattan chairs while enjoying the view of Ubud’s main street and village temples.

Another great restaurant is Casa Luna, a very large restaurant but with excellent interior design and relaxed tropical atmosphere. Apart from delicious food, Casa Luna’s attentive staff even watch your children while you are eating. The Balinese food and homemade cakes and desserts served in Casa Luna are favorite as well as the delicious Mediterranean dishes.

Central Ubud also offers good range of accomodation for all kinds of traveller, here are some good choices :

Pradha Guest House is situated just a stone throw from Café Lotus close to Ibu Oka’s. Pradha Guest House offers comfortable accomodation in reasonable prices. This guest house also has swimming pool, restaurant and spa.

Villa Chempaka

Villa Chempaka is good mid-range choice. It is offers balinese style villa with complete amenities, wooden floor, swimming pool, and terrace with garden and rice field view.

Samhita Garden

Samhita Garden is great choice for upmarket travellers. It offers 9 superior bungalow, 2 suites and 2 villas. The room and villa have complete amenities and entertaiment facilities. Samhita Garden provides facilities such as swimming pool, bar and restaurant.

Komaneka at Bisma

The newest Komaneka in Ubud is designed as a sophisticated and contemporary lifestyle destination. It’s elegant villas, each with its private pool, and spacious suites are completed with an Indonesian fine dining restaurant, luxurious spa-villa, and wedding chapel

source:blog.baliwww.com

Tanah Lot, To Open 24 Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:38:00 +0000

Tanah Lot still has the allure that this sacred sea temple is never empty of visitor. From morning till afternoon, this magical destination is flocked by tourists, locals and foreigners. And after exploring the sea temple standing on the water and watch the golden sunset they will return home. Night is not so attractive. But it will change soon.

The management will give opportunity for those who want to experience Tanah Lot at night. Thus, they plan to install 100 lamps in several spots. “This year we focus on the lightings and we predict this project will cost 1 Billion Rupiah,” said Tanah Lot Operational Manager, Made Sujana. Further he said that this project will give the option to the travelers who have no time in the morning to visit Tanah Lot.

“If the visitors usually enjoy the sunset only but after the lightings is installed, they can watch the show of Kecak dance or savor the dinner at restaurant situated around the beach,” Made Sujana added.

He also mentioned that the installation of 100 lamps will be done into two areas; each will have 50 lamps. 50 lamps will be installed around the beach to lighten up the exotic temples. When the temple on the rock is lightened it will give dramatic effect. In the meantime another 50 lamps will radiate the parking area. Hence from the first spot of this destination, the visitors will feel enthusiastic and it will last when they leave this place.

Tanah Lot’s Management also urges the local government to install the lamps along the entrance way to Tanah Lot. “Especially the long road Mungu-Beraban, it needs more lightings and maintenance of the broken road,” Sujana explained.

This refurbishment will result in the new Tanah Lot. This sacred temple for Hindu community to pray as well as majestic destination that will hypnotize more tourists will be planned to open for 24-hour nonstop.

source:blog.baliwww.com

Bali International Convention Centre

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:30:00 +0000

Developed as a luxury resort complex in the southern-most tip of Bali, Nusa Dua is home to the island’s most luxurious hotel and resort accommodation and conference facilities. Located in a secluded enclave with access controlled by private security, and just 10 kilometers from Bali’s international airport and 25 minutes from the chic and vivacious Kuta, Legian and Seminyak districts, Nusa Dua exceeds all expectations as a world class tourist destination.

Building an International Reputation

Choosing a location for a large global meeting is a challenging task. Size, security, access for the worldÂ¡Â¦s main air carriers, full back up equipment, luxury accommodation within easy reach, professional interpreting and media facilities, first class management and catering, unique tour and entertainment options are all to be taken into consideration.

BICC has risen to the challenge. That is why so many world meetings and conventions made this their first choice.Â

With exceptional conference facilities catering to international conferences and world summits to corporate conventions and exhibitions, BICC is the pride of Nusa Dua with facilities and services that rival anywhere in the world. Indoor and outdoor venues, both on site or in a location of your choice, can be catered to with BICC’s internationally renowned level of quality service and attention to detail.Â

Meeting facilities can easily be arranged for a wide spectrum of requirements and needs; be it a small scale company presentation or a private power breakfast to a full blown international conference with delegates from all over the world.

Facilities include:

17 meeting rooms
2,700 square meters exhibition space
Exclusive bonded warehouse
Built-in and portable simultaneous interpreter system
10 meter ceiling in Nusa Indah Hall
Secretariat Offices
Ballroom Foyer (air-conditioned with natural lighting)
Auditorium with 506 seats and built-in stage
Broadband internet access in all meeting rooms
Wi-Fi connection
Dedicated Convention Services and Audio Visual Team

Adjoining to the Bali International Convention Centre is the Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali. Each one of 346 spacious guest room offer the Heavenly Bed, flat screen television set connected to over 30 TV channels, an electronic safe, voice mail system, wireless internet service, complimentary tea/coffee making facilities, iron and ironing board and refreshment centre. The luxury suites feature separate living room and bedroom areas, all with balconies.

There are over 3,000 first class hotel rooms in the immediate vicinity of Nusa Dua Resort Area. Some of the closer properties include:

Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa

The Laguna Resort & Spa

Melia Bali Villas & Spa Resort

Grand Hyatt Bali

Ayodya Resort Bali

Novotel Nusa Dua Golf Resort

Nikko Bali Resort & spa

source: blog.baliwww.com

Diving at Pemuteran

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:19:00 +0000

Pemuteran area, with its scenic beach is located four km west of Pulaki, 28 km east of Gilimanuk and 40 km west of Lovina. For diving enthusiast Pemuteran offers some of the island’s best diving and snorkeling with great dropoffs just one km offshore. This idyllic resort is also strategic to be used as a base for diving the North Bali areas, with its quiet and pleasant atmosphere and range of accommodation from budget to luxury.

For diving activities, Pemuteran is a good site for beginners since there is hardly any current there. Diving in Pemuteran is good year-around but the best times are from March to early May and September to January. The water temperatures are around 28Âº – 32ÂºC and visibility is good.

There are many good dive sites around Pemuteran, such as Napoleon Reef, is an underwater mound, about the size of football field. With its flat top, Napoleon Reef is home of sponges and corals, cuttlefish, and manta rays. Another good reef is Lebar Reef that is covered with thickets of staghorn and tabletops acropora and fan gorgonians.

Another good site is Kebun Batu (Rock Garden), a huge boulder rise from the bottom to just meters below the surface, covered with sponges and corals and serves as home for various fishes. Pemuteran not just offers beautiful sponges and corals, there is also a site known as “Close Encounters” where divers can get a close encounter with big fish such as reef shark, tuna, mackerel, Napoleon wrasse and occasional whale shark.

source:blog.baliwww.com

The Serene Pemuteran Area

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 03:22:00 +0000

Pemuteran is a coastal area, situated in the northwest of Bali. Pemuteran area is including to the edge Bali Barat National Park, a government-protected park with only few minutes drive to the east from Teluk Terima. Pemuteran receives less rainfall than other island areas during rainy season and is too dry for rice cultivation. Its people traditionally live from the sea. Pemuteran has the largest area of shallow coral reefs in Bali that are easily accessible, because the area is calm and free of strong currents and waves which affect most other parts of the island.

In the last decade, Pemuteran Area has been developed as a tourism resort with nine small mountains as a dramatic backdrop and Bali Sea in the front, Pemuteran offers uncompromising beautiful view. In two hours, you can climb to the top of the mountains to the west from where you can view either the sunrise or sunset. Pemuteran is also armed to teeth with tidy, black sand, scenic beach, a serene beach far away from the hustle bustle of the south Bali, a perfect place for those who give more emphasis on tranquility and peacefulness.

Pemuteran is also a perfect place for water sport lovers; you can do various water sports here such as diving, skiing, fishing, and parasailing. As I said earlier Pemuteran has the largest area of shallow coral reefs; the spectacular coral reef growth near land made for a diving and snorkeling paradise. For the divers, Pemuteran has the Napoleon Reef 1.5 km offshore; the soft coral like flowers blooming, plenty of reef fish such as damsel fish, silver fusilier, blue dancers, snappers, with occasional manta ray. Because the area is furthest from the island’s main tourism centers to the south, it was quiet and unspoiled.

Pemuteran community declared that the reefs are protected no-fishing zones, for eco-tourism use only. Local fishermen banned bomb and cyanide reef fishing in Pemuteran Bay to preserve the beauty of the reefs. Through such conservation efforts, the healthy Pemuteran bank reefs drew increasing numbers of divers and snorkelers to view the coral gardens.

source:blog.baliwww.com

Diving at Menjangan Island

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:15:00 +0000

Located on the north western tip of Bali, Menjangan Island can be reached by boat from Labuhan Lalang port or from Terima Bay in Buleleng regency. It is received its name from the wild java deer that graze on its open savannahs. Menjangan Island is one of Bali’s premier scuba diving and snorkeling locales, this island has reefs that are frequented by species of fish of every size, shape and color. Menjangan Island boasts of 110 species of reefs and 226 species of reef’s fish and other kind of fish.

Menjangan Island has a good geographical position. With no current and wind-generate waves to contend with Menjangan Island is suitable for beginning and intermediate divers. And when it comes to visibility, Menjangan Island holds the sway, occasionally, the water can be crystal clear, and for the rest of the time visibility seldom go under 25 meters.

Under the water surface, Menjangan Island has variety of underwater terrain, from two meters below the surface to 150 meters offshore. The interesting feature which is offered by this island to the divers is soft coral walls around the island. The walls are almost vertical and extended down to 35-60 below the surface. The reef has unusually rugged surface with caves, grottoes, crevasses and funnel-like splits break up the coral wall, with nooks and crannies texture the surface of the walls. The walls are covered various large-size Gorgonians, huge-barrel sponges and soft corals.

On the south side of the island, divers can explore a spectacular 120-meter dropoffs and caves. On the north western end of Menjangan Island lies the “Anker” wreck, a 25-meter wreck lies on a sandy slope from 7 meters down to 45 meter underwater. This spot has excellent soft corals with variety of fish such as parrotfish, surgeonfish, unicornfish, butterflyfish, batfish, damselfish, triggerfish, scorpionfish, bannerfish and other reef life.

source:blog.baliwww.com

Tulamben

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Tulamben is a small fishing village on the north-east coast of Bali. It is among the most popular dive sites on Bali since the wreck of the Liberty, a US Army Transport ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 lies just off shore. During high-season, up to 100 divers descend to the wreck each day.

The town’s name is derived from the word batulambih, which roughly translates as “many stones” a reference to the destructive eruptions by Mount Agung that have affected this part of Bali from time to time. The modern name evolved over time, first to “Batulamben” and finally settling on the contraction Tulamben (“batu” means “stone” in Indonesian).

The wreck lies in shallow water and is considered appropriate for divers of all certification levels. The ship rests in 30 meters of water, is roughly 25 meters from shore and can be reached with a short swim from the beach. The highest point of the wreck tops out about 5 meters from the surface. The ship was torpedoed by the Japanese off the nearby Island of Lombok and the ship was towed to the beach at Tulamben for salvage operations. The 1963 eruption of Mt. Agung, which devestated much of the eastern side of Bali, drove the ship into the water just off shore, where it became encrusted with coral and a home to other sea life.

The best conditions for diving here are during October and November, when the weather is generally calm and during the start of southeast monsoon, which typically extends from May to July. In addition to a wide variety of corals and invertebrates on the wreck itself, large fish frequent the wreck in some seasons, most popularly Mola mola and whale sharks. Professional divers have praised local residents for minimizing local fishing activity.

source:blog.baliwww.com

Diving and Snorkeling at Padang Bai

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Snorkeling

There is good snorkeling in the bay, though the snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon is much better. Many of the local dive operators organize trips to this spot. If the waves are large, don’t bother snorkeling as the current is extremely strong and visibility will be 1 to 3 meters at best. On a calm day expect lots of fish and great visibility. Buoys mark the furthest point snorkelers should go. For even better snorkeling you can charter a boat.

Several places in Padang Bai rent snorkeling equipment.

Diving

Padangbai is noted for its diving and the friendly dive centres are right on the beach with their own bars for after-diving refreshments.

Geko Dive, Jl Pantai Silayulkti, Padang Bai (northern end of the bay), â˜Ž +62 363 41516. PADI dive centre which has been awarded GoEco operator status by Project Aware. Offer full range of courses and fun dives. English and Dutch speaking instructors.

Q-Dive Bali, Jl Silayukti 7, Padang Bai (in the front of the Puri Rai Hotel), Ph +62 363 41387 , fax: +62 363 41386). A new PADI diving school

source:blog.baliwww.com

Exploring Nusa Lembongan

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:04:00 +0000

Being such a small island, Nusa Lembongan is ideal to explore by foot, motor bike or bicycle. There are very few motor vehicles on the island and the roads are quite narrow as well as being rather steep in some places. The views from the more elevated parts of the island are spectacular, especially the view of sacred Mount Agung on Bali directly across the strait from Coconuts Beach Resort.

There are many other elevated points around Nusa Lembongan which provide magnificent views of Bali, Ceningan and Penida Islands. There are two villages on Nusa Lembongan

Jungut Batu Village
This village earns its income from seaweed farming and tourists, usually surfers, divers and more recently tourists looking for the peace and tranquillity which is becoming harder to find in Bali. There are a couple of souvenir shops in the village as well as several small stores selling the usual necessities. The close proximity of this village to the famous surf breaks, Shipwrecks, Lacerations and Playgrounds, has made it an ideal place for surfers to stay since the 1970’s.

Lembongan Village
This is the larger of the two villages on the island situated on the southern end of the island. The cultivation of seaweed is also the main occupation of these villagers. A visit to the (Goa Sigala-gala) under ground house is a must. The construction began in 1961 by one man and continued for more than 20 years, making many rooms including a kitchen, bed rooms, 6 entrances, 2 ventilation holes and a well for water.

Text from Island Explorer Cruises

source:blog.baliwww.com