Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Balinese Delicacies

Bali is said to be "the island of the Gods", I would agree with this statement as it makes all its visitors less divine persons than heavenly happy people.

Tana Lot Temple


In an island more spiritual than religious, temples are everywhere, under different forms and for different reasons. Family temple in the back yard or in the front of the shops, community temple in the center of the villages or historical temple (like Tana Lot Temple for example) in amazing and astonishing place in the island, all have a purpose and a place in the Balinese society.

Temple after Ceremony


They could be use as one of the nine directional strikes, for life ceremonies (wedding, burial) or just to appease the devils and gods of the island for a prosperous day, all temples have a reason and the daily offers in the small banana leaves square boxes, filled with colorful flower, holy waters and perfumed incense stick are there to reminds each and every visitors that the island had been bless by the gods at every step of the way.

Food at Hotel Tugu


Bali has also been touched by the cooking Gods. Most street corners have a local eatering (Warung) where more often locals than tourists mix for a quick snack on a wooden bench. Sharing a meal or sometime even the physical plate is the important time to share stories and relax before re-exploring the island.

Dreamland Beach


Bali is an Indonesian island surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand due to volcanic activities. What is surprising in Bali is that depending on what you like doing (snorkeling, sunbathing, surfing) you can always find the right spot for your activity, you just have to go where the elements are setting the stage for your convenience today. Too windy in the West for scuba diving, move to the North; too flat for surfing in the East move to the South.

Girls Smiling


Paradise would not be without smiling faces, and Balinese have been blessed by the smiling Gods. Each and every inhabitants of the island has been graduated from smile school, and the large smiling banana is given for anything and everything: a picture, a hello, a joke. Nothing is good enough for not smiling.

Rice Paddy


The island is also land of multiple seasons all at once: from the cold night at the Mount Agung peaking at 3,142 m, to the 75km of the Ayung River sleeping over the Sea of Bali, the island is giving more opportunities to enjoy life than any long or short vacation could sustain.

Monkey Alley


When all is put together into one divine place like Bali, visitor could only enjoy their paradisiacal vacation. Just wondering how would that be to be less of a tourist and more of a local.

Sunset at Uluwatu Temple


Bali is truthly the island of all the Gods.