Luxury hotel on Paradise destination
Luxury hotel on Paradise destination
List of international tourism destination such as: Bali, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Florence, Jakarta, Java, Lombok, London, Mallorca, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Venice, Yogyakarta. When, I decide to visit the destination, the first job only try find best hotel and I try to find where I should find the best information about hotel.
Folder for International Hotel
Lots information about hotels but are not like this, very clear and complete information, furthermore lots of people want to find easily what they need but, only here we can find this, just click and get here. Remember! If you want to book a hotel, make sure that these hotel really your choice. Think!, insight in the management of hotel’s room reservation processing. How the handle the guest, by phone, answer the email, they handle the billing, what method they are using for their hotel, such as; online reservation, manual reservation etcetera.
And look for their brochure, their website, their hotel’s environment and their employer after your visiting. Compare with the others hotel, after that you will find that our hotel will be filled the best. In my experiences when I would like to find hotel, I just look for their price and than I compare with their facilities, their location, and others things are like how far from tourism attractions, is available for leisure activities or not, is available for entertain my self or not, just easy things like that. If you are doubt with your hotel, just click this hotel folder and get the complete information that you need.
Finally, I decided to visit Bali Island that it most popular with “island of god”, paradise for the young people and silent place for the old “grandfather/mother”.
Nowadays, this is where modern tourism in Bali all started and it’s still the most happening place of all. With the building of the airport in Bali, Bali became a firmly established part and the Balinese responded with smiles, home stays and other best accommodation, and eateries. Before you decided for traveling, make sure that you already book a hotel with international standard.
Balinese Culture Lesson
Balinese Culture Lesson
Balinese Culture Lesson
Balinese Culture Lesson Tours is one of unique tours and travel guides to learn the comprehensive range of Balinese Cultures like paintings, dances, wood carving, kite making, material hand making, instrument/Gamelans, batik and others. It provides a short course of a part of Balinese Culture where you will have a different and unique experience during your vacation in the beautiful Island of Paradise Bali.
What kind of Balinese cultures you can learn?
Balinese cultures are the most complex culture in over the world which are very unique and never meet in other place. There are several of Balinese cultures that you can learn on this sort course with culture choice as below:
BALINESE DANCE COSTUME
Balinese Dance CostumeA set of beautiful Balinese dance dress is provided to be used and dressed by professional Balinese staff complete with a smear of soft cosmetic could make you handsome or beautiful looking. Afterward you may take the picture for your memory to bring home with your wonderful action. Should you have a sensitive skin of the certain cosmetic product, you may bring your own cosmetic to be used on the dressing and making process. The staff will happy to serve your request and make your face like a Balinese.
PRICE: US$ 25 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (Minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 40 net/person
Inclusion : Welcome drink
What to Bring Balinese Culture Lesson Camera, MoneyBali Tours
BALINESE DANCE LESSON
Balinese Dance LessonBalinese Dance Lesson is an interesting experience and you will know how is the difficulty and unique of the Balinese Dance. The elastic movement is making this dance more beautiful to see and here you will be guided from the first step how to dance it. We encourage you enjoy the real experience to perform the beautiful dance during your holiday in Bali.
PRICE: US$ 25 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 40 net/person
Inclusion : Welcome drink
What to Bring Balinese Culture Lesson Camera, MoneyBali Dance
BALINESE GAMELAN LESSON
Balinese Music Gamelan LessonA nice sound and compact of Balinese Gamelan is very amazing. Here you will be teach with the foundation of Balinese Gamelan where most of them from the ‘Gending Rare’ (children song). The speed and the accurate of Balinese song are the point to learn the Balinese Gamelan. You will be guided by some professional and friendly staff to follow the instrument that you hit to make the sound more beautiful.
PRICE: US$ 25 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 40 net/person
Inclusion : Welcome drink
What to Bring Balinese Culture Lesson Camera, MoneyBalinese Gamelan
BATIK LESSON
Bali Batik LessonA sheet of white material is drawn and sketched by the ornament and you will be guided how to make a Batik by following the sketch. The ink process is also the thing of interest to know and the carefully and concentrations are the point to make Batik to be well looking. Bring home your batik hand made after you completing to draw the Batik and you can see how beautiful your batik hand made was. It is guided by the professional and patiently staff that make your lesson are more enjoyable.
PRICE: US$ 27 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 45 net/person
Inclusion : Welcome drink
What to Bring Balinese Culture Lesson Camera, MoneyBalinese Offerings
BALINESE OFFERING LESSON
Balinese Offering This lesson is making the offering that is a part of daily Balinese activities particular for the Balinese woman. The unique form from the ornament and it is made from the young coconut leaf. You will be guide by the Balinese girls from cutting the coconut leaf and designs it. The simple of the Balinese offering is called ‘Canang Sari’. The indentation of the young coconut leaf and put the colorful tropical flower will make your Balinese offering are good looking.
PRICE: US$ 27 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 45 net/person
Inclusion : Welcome drink
What to Bring Balinese Culture Lesson Camera, MoneyBalinese Cooking Class
BALINESE FOOD COOKING LESSON
Balinese Cooking ClassBalinese food is one of the points the visitor are looking for in Bali Island and here is the place you can learn how to make the Balinese Food. Balinese Food has a specific character where most of them are spicy because all of the ingredients are come from the tropical tree in particular to tuber or root. Let taste your original Balinese Food making and it could be your experience to bring home as practice it self at your house. This process is started from the cooking spices process until it be a Balinese Food.
PRICE: US$ 27 net/person Balinese Culture Lesson Duration 60 minutes (minimum 2 pax)
For Single Traveler is US$ 45 net/person
Tamblingan Lake
Tamblingan Lake is a lake located in the plateau area with green hill surrounded. It is situated adjunction to Buyan Lake with cool weather surrounds it. It owns the fascination where the nature authenticity is felt and the inexistence of boat use motorize here. These beautiful lakes can be seen from the top hill right from Asah Gobleg Countryside, Sukasada District and Singaraja regency, north part of Bali . This lake is encircled by hill and covered by fresh cold atmosphere will fascinate all visitors who pay a visit to this place. This lake is ideal for Jungle Trekking Adventure because it was very amazing with the rain forest including flora and fauna observation. Beside of that, many local visitors are doing camping program or outdoor team building while enjoy the beautiful nature. Here we also can see the local residents use the small traditional boat which is called Perahu to cross it or doing fishing.
The fascination of Tamblingan Lake
Places to visit in Bali, Buyan LakeThe existence of monkey which is not far from these two lakes are precisely located in road side of the main road from Denpasar to Singaraja. In progressively, the amounts are more and more dwelling this area and it was one of fascination for tourist who visit it. It is located in Sukasada sub district, 21 Km south side of Singaraja town. It is situated in the high enough about 1000 meters above sea level so that the atmosphere is rather cold and chilled at night time.
Location
In order to reach Buyan or Tamblingan Lake , it can pass through Munduk countryside, Gobleg countryside and penetrate in Lovina area. Along the way to this lake, we will enjoy the magnificent view of Tamblingan Lake in particular from the top side. From Munduk countryside, this lake can be reached through the road which is made by local society. Tamblingan Lake is strategically located in the tourist destinations area like Bedugul and Beratan Lake ..
Conditions
The broadness of Tamblingan lake is 1,9 Km with the maximum deepness is 90 m and its volume 0,027 km3. The public facilities available in this area are the parking area, boat rental for fishing or simply visited and lodging. The hotels are spreading around the village which are the most own the magnificent view to the lake. Despitefully in some places alongside of the lake there are places for seating for simply drinking coffee, eat the cake or look into the beautiful view of lake. Every day these lakes are many visited by the tourist from local and foreign countries.
Tenganan Village a Balinese Traditional Village
Tenganan Village a Balinese Traditional Village
Welcome to the Balinese Traditional Village of Tenganan which is located in Karangasem regency which so many referred by cultural literature science of Tenganan Pegringsingan. Tenganan village represent one of a number old countryside in Bali Island. Its society life pattern represents one example of Bali Aga Village culture (Hindu Pre) different with the other countryside in plain of Bali. As a place of tourism destination, Tenganan village can serve the attractive and unique matters adding variation of object and fascination the tourist in Bali.
Tenganan Village presenting the unique traditional culture
Specification which is there is in object of wisata of Countryside Tenganan consisted of:
1. Countrified pattern of rural having the character of Linear
2. The structure of bilateral society orienting at seniority collective
3. Special Ritual System in high frequency by serve the religion solidarity, artistic and social mechanical solidarity
4. The tradition Mekare-Kare in each June that is tradition fight the screw pine in ritual context, religion value, spirit of struggle and test of physical delaying accompanied by traditional gambelan of selonding
5. Art of crafting weave to fasten the cloth geringsing by designed and arrange the typical colour.
Tenganan village is located among hill countryside, the hill at west part and east part. This countryside is inclusive of Manggis sub district, Karangasem regency, consisted of three Banjar those are Banjar Kauh, Banjar Tengah and Banjar Pande. The regional of countryside consisted of three complex those are resident complex, plantation and rice field complex. History of Tenganan village expressed in a few version, first version mentioned that resident of Tenganan village come from Paneges village, a near by countryside of Bedahulu in regency of Gianyar, second version express that word Tenganan recognized in one of Bali inscription with the word Tranganan, the third version express that resident of Tenganan village pray to Bukit Lempuyang temple who trace the coast of Candi Dasa to the east about 10 and 11 century. The word of Tenganan ascribed by a Tengah root word which can mean to aim to middle of Pegringsingan, representing the cloth type weave to fasten typically produce by Tenganan village resident. The structure of resident in Tenganan village is built in linear consisted of six ray, every ray consisted of some lawn broadly, form the building which relative, existence of art shop have altered the original some types of the resident. All the tradition existence of the human being harmonious with the God, human being with the human being and human being environmentally as according to conception of Tri Hita Karana. The Tourism Destination of Tenganan remains to draw during the time, goodness as tourism cultural object, tourism nature and agriculture tourism.
Bali Art Center
Bali Art Center
Bali Art Center, Taman BudayaTaman Budaya or Bali Art Center is the culture building complex with the best style of Balinese traditional architecture. It is featuring the good lay-out building of amphitheater to be a place/hall of show performance purpose. It is symbolizing the twiddling of Mandara Giri mount in the milk ocean and spattering the Amerta holy water for the life of endless as according to nature of dynamic culture and stayed alive during the human being still dwell the earth planet. This amphitheater can accommodate up to 6.000 audiences for the show of colossal both for modern and also traditional. This Taman Budaya (Cultural Park) is opened in the year 1973 with the Bali Artistry Party (Pesta Kesenian Bali) within one month. On that month, there are full of entertainment amusement traditional dance, exhibition, and other cultural activities. At the opening ceremony enlivened by artistic parade started from Puputan Park and finish at the Art Center. Its distance is about 2 Km and this parade is followed by entire regencies and towns in Bali by delivering their artistry mission. This event is often followed by other provinces in Indonesia as well as from outside country like Japan, Korea, Europe, America etc. In this culture parade is presented in so many forms those are from the sacral until contemporary traditional. There are also type of marry and custom clothes from each area, instrument of music or gamelan, forms Sesajen (offering) and others
Bali Art Center in Bali Tourism Development
In fact this event is not tourist event due to visitor and audience are mostly come from the local resident. But some of tourists can enjoy this party which is every year. The person who is propose this yearly culture event is Mr. Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra (who was been a Bali Governor. Taman Budaya or Bali Art Center is published as one of place to visit in Bali or tourist destination in Bali.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located at 8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″ECoordinates: 8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″E, the western most of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country’s 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.
Bali
With a population recorded as 3,151,000 in 2005, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority. 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.
History
Temple offering in predominantly Hindu Bali island.
Bali was inhabited by Austronesian peoples by about 2,000, who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, and Oceania. Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island’s west.
Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, and particularly Hindu culture, in a process beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Balidwipa has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong charter issued by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 913 AD and mentioning Walidwipa. It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.
The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made by Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman who arrived in 1597, though a Portuguese ship had foundered off the Bukit Peninsula as early as 1585. Dutch colonial control was expanded across the Indonesian archipelago in the nineteenth century (see Dutch East Indies). Their political and economic control over Bali began in the 1840s on the island’s north coast by playing various distrustful Balinese realms against each other. In the late 1890s, struggles between Balinese kingdoms in the island’s south were exploited by the Dutch to increase their control. The Dutch mounted large naval and ground assaults at the Sanur region in 1906 and were met by the thousands of members of the royal family and their followers who marched to certain death against superior Dutch force in a suicidal puputan defensive assault rather than face the humiliation of surrender. Despite Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 4,000 Balinese marched to their death against the invaders. In 1908, a similar massacre occurred in the face of a Dutch assault in Klungkung. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise little influence over the island, and local control over religion and culture generally remained intact.
Dutch rule over Bali had come later and was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia such as Java and Maluku. Imperial Japan occupied Bali during World War II during which time a Balinese military officer, Gusti Ngurah Rai, formed a Balinese ‘freedom army’. Following Japan’s Pacific surrender in August 1945, the Dutch promptly returned to Indonesia, including Bali, immediately to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration. This was resisted by the Balinese rebels now using Japanese weapons. On 20 November 1946, the Battle of Marga was fought in Tabanan in central Bali. Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai, 29 years old, finally rallied his forces in east Bali at Marga Rana, where they made a suicide attack on the heavily armed Dutch. The Balinese battalion was entirely wiped out, breaking the last thread of Balinese military resistance. In 1946 the Dutch constituted Bali as one of the 13 administrative districts of the newly-proclaimed Republic of East Indonesia, a rival state to the Republic of Indonesia which was proclaimed and headed by Sukarno and Hatta. Bali was included in the “Republic of the United States of Indonesia” when the Netherlands recognised Indonesian independence on 29 December 1949.
The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed thousands, created economic havoc and forced many displaced Balinese to be transmigrated to other parts of Indonesia.
Bali blast monument.
Mirroring the widening of social divisions across Indonesia in the 1950s and early 1960s, Bali saw conflict between supporters of the traditional caste system, and those rejecting these traditional values. Politically, this was represented by opposing supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), with tensions and ill-feeling further increased by the PKI’s land reform programs. An attempted coup in Jakarta was put down by forces led by General Suharto. The army became the dominant power as it instigated a violent anti-communist purge, in which the PKI was blamed for the coup. Most estimates suggest that at least 500,000 people were killed across Indonesia, with as many as 100,000 killed in Bali, equivalent to 5 per cent of the island’s population. With no Islamic forces involved as in Java and Sumatra, upper-caste PNI landlords lead the extermination of PKI members.
As a result of the 1965/66 upheavals, Suharto was able to manoeuvre Sukarno out of the presidency, and his “New Order” government reestablished relations with western countries. The Bali as a tourist paradise which was instigated during the pre World War II colonial time was revised in a modern form, and the resulting large growth in tourism has led to Balinese standards of living rise dramatically and significant foreign exchange earned for the country. A bombing in 2002 by militant Islamists in the tourist area of Kuta killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. This attack, and another in 2005, severely affected tourism, bringing much economic hardship to the island.
Geography
Topography of the island
The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and is approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; it’s land area is 5,632 km². The highest point is Mount Agung at 3,142 m (10,308 feet) high, an active volcano that last erupted in March 1963. Mountains cover centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Mount Batur (1,717 m) is also still active, an eruption 30,000 years was one of the largest known volcanic events on Earth.
In the south the land descends to form an alluvial plain, watered by shallow rivers, drier in the dry season and overflowing during periods of heavy rain.
The principal cities are the northern port of Singaraja, the former colonial capital of Bali, and the present provincial capital and largest city, Denpasar, near the southern coast. The town of Ubud (north of Denpasar), with its art market, museums and galleries, is arguably the cultural centre of Bali.
Southern Bali in the foreground and Mount Agung behind
There are major coastal roads and those that cross the island mainly north-south. Due to the mountainous terrain in the island’s center, the roads tend to follow the crests of the ridges across the mountains. There are no railway lines.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand. The beach town of Padangbai in the south east has both. The Ho River is navigable by small sampan boats. Black sand beaches between Pasut and Klatingdukuh are being developed for tourism, but apart from the seaside temple of Tanah Lot.
To the east, the Lombok Strait separates Bali from Lombok and marks the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia. The transition is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who first proposed transition zone between these two major biomes. When sea levels dropped during the Pleistocene ice age, Bali was connected to Java and Sumatra and to the mainland of Asia and shared the Asian fauna, but the deep water of the Lombok Strait continued to keep Lombok and the Lesser Sunda archipelago isolated.
Ecology
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The Bali Starling lives only on Bali. As few as six may exist in the wild Bali has around 280 species of birds, including the critically endangered Bali Starling. The only endemic mammal of the island, the Bali tiger, became extinct in the 1930s.
The Bali Barat National Park, located on the north western side of the island, is a refuge for wildlife such as the pangolin, common muntjac, chevrotain, leopard cat, black giant squirrel, macaque and leaf monkey.
Administrative divisions
The province is divided into 8 regencies (kabupaten) and 1 city (kota):
* Badung
* Bangli
* Buleleng
* Denpasar (city)
* Gianyar
* Jembrana
* Karangasem
* Klungkung
* Tabanan
Economy
Rice terraces near Ubud; until the late-twentieth century tourist boom, agriculture dominated Bali’s economy
Rice terraces near Ubud; until the late-twentieth century tourist boom, agriculture dominated Bali’s economy
Three decades ago, the Balinese economy was largely agriculture-based in terms of both output and employment. Tourism is now the largest single industry; and as a result, Bali is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest regions. The economy, however, has suffered significantly as a result of the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005.
Although in terms of output, tourism is the economy’s largest industry, agriculture is still the island’s biggest employer, most notably rice cultivation. Crops grown in smaller amounts include fruit, vegetables and other cash and subsistence crops. A significant number of Balinese are also fishermen. Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce batik and ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings and silverware.
Although significant tourism exists in the north, centre and east of the island, the tourist industry is overwhelmingly focused in the south. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta, and its outer suburbs of Legian and Seminyak, Sanur, Jimbaran, Ubud, and the newer development of Nusa Dua. The Ngurah Rai International Airport is located near Jimbaran, on the isthmus joining the southernmost part of the island to the main part of the island. Another increasingly important source of income for Bali is what is called “Congress Tourism” from the frequent international conferences held on the island, especially after the terrorist bombings of 2002; ostensibly to resurrect Bali’s damaged tourism industry as well as its tarnished image.
Bali’s tourism brand is Bali Shanti Shanti Shanti. Where Shanti derived from Sanskrit “Çantih” meaning peace.
Demographics
The population of Bali is 3,151,000 (as of 2005).
Religion
The Mother Temple of Besakih one of Bali’s most significant Hindu temples.
Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. Minority religions include Islam (4.79%), Christianity (1.38%), and Buddhism (0.64%). These figures do not include immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.
Bali consists of about three million people, nearly all of whom practice the Balinese Hindu religion, a heterogeneous amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, with the spirits of ancestors and with indigenous deities associated with agriculture and with places considered sacred. Religion as it is practiced in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic. It is supposed to pervade every aspect of traditional life.
Bali Hinduism, which has roots in Indian Hinduism and in Buddhism, adopted the animistic traditions of the indigenes, which inhabited the island around the first millennium BCE. This influence strengthened the belief that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature, therefore, possesses its own power, which reflects the power of the gods. A rock, tree, dagger, or woven cloth is a potential home for spirits whose energy can be directed for good or evil. Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief than Islam in Indonesia. Ritualizing states of self-control are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior.
Slattum, J. (2003). Balinese Masks: Spirits of an Ancient Drama. Indonesia, Asia Pacific, Japan, North America, Latin America and Europe: Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Language
Balinese and Indonesian are the most widely spoken languages in Bali, and like most Indonesians, the vast majority of Balinese people are bilingual or trilingual. There are several indigenous Balinese languages, but most Balinese can also use the most widely spoken option: modern common Balinese. The usage of different Balinese languages was traditionally determined by the Balinese caste system and by clan membership, but this tradition is diminishing.
English is a common third language of many Balinese, owing to the requirements of the large tourism industry. Staff working in Bali’s tourist centres are often, by necessity, multilingual to some degree, speaking as many as 8 or 9 different languages to an often surprising level of competence.
Culture
Ogoh-ogoh monster in Ubud
Bali is renowned its diverse and sophisticated art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handcrafts, and performing arts. Balinese percussion orchestra music, known as gamelan, is highly developed and varied. Balinese dances portray stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana but with heavy Balinese influence. Famous Balinese dances include pendet, legong, baris, topeng, barong, and kecak (the monkey dance).
The Hindu New Year, Nyepi, is celebrated in the spring by a day of silence. On this day everyone stays at home and tourists are encouraged to remain in their hotels. On the preceding day large, colorful sculptures of ogoh-ogoh monsters are paraded and finally burned in the evening to drive away evil spirits. Other festivals throughout the year are specified by the Balinese pawukon calendrical system.
National education programs, mass media and tourism continue to change Balinese culture. Immigration from other parts of Indonesia, especially Java, is changing the ethnic composition of Bali’s population.
The Balinese eat with their right hand, as the left is impure, a common belief throughout Indonesia. The Balinese do not hand or receive things with their left hand and would not wave at anyone with their left hand.
Lombok
Lombok (population 2,950,105 in 2005) is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a “tail” to the southwest, about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,725 km² (1,825 sq mi). The administrative capital and largest city on the island is Mataram.
History
The Dutch first visited Lombok in 1674 and settled the eastern part of the island, leaving the western half to be ruled by a Hindu dynasty from Bali. The Sasaks chafed under Balinese rule, and a revolt in 1891 ended in 1894 with the annexation of the entire island to the Netherlands East Indies.
Geography and demographics
Gunung Rinjani
The Lombok Strait marks the passage of the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia that is known as the Wallace Line, for Alfred Russel Wallace, who first remarked upon the distinction between these two major biomes.
The island’s topography is dominated by the centrally-located stratovolcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the third-highest in Indonesia. The most recent eruption of Rinjani was in June-July, 1994. The volcano, and its sacred crater lake, ‘Segara Anak’ (child of the sea), are protected by a National Park established in 1997. The southern part of the island is a fertile plain where corn, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton are grown.
The island’s inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people, closely related to the Balinese, but mostly practising Islam), 10-15% Balinese, with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese.
Economy and politics
Lombok has much in common with nearby Bali, but less well-known and less-visited by foreigners. It has been working to increase its visibility to tourists in recent years, promoting itself as an “unspoiled Bali”. The most-developed center of tourism is Senggigi, spread in a 10-kilometer strip along the coastal road north of Mataram, while backpackers congregate in the Gili Islands off the west coast. Other popular tourist destinations include Kuta (distinctly different from Kuta, Bali) where surfing is considered some of the best in the world by leading surfing magazines. The Kuta area is also famous for its beautiful, untouched beaches.
Local Sasak children
Local Sasak children
While the area may be considered economically depressed by First World standards, the island is fertile, has sufficient rainfall in most areas for agriculture, and possesses a variety of climate zones. Consequently, food in abundant quantity and variety is available inexpensively at local farmer’s markets. A family of 4 can eat rice, vegetables, and fruit for as little as US$0.50. Even though a family income may be as small as US$1.00 per day from fishing or farming, many families are able to live a happy and productive live on astonishingly small incomes.
In early 2000 thousands fled from religious and ethnic violence that swept over the island, and tensions remain. Some travel websites warn that tourists sometimes provoke anger in this economically depressed region. This warning lacks credibility, since all of Lombok has had a long history of welcoming visitors to the island. Both the government and many of the residents recognize that tourism and the services required by tourists is Lombok’s highest source of income. Further proof of the island’s hospitality is show by the fact that tourists are virtually never seriously injured by any interaction with the local population. There is also a refugee camp on the island, costs paid for by Australia, which holds mostly Hazara Afghans who have tried to enter Australia by boat.
Emaar, Emirati property company planned to build a new town sprawled in 1,200 hectares in Central Lombok. It costs estimated at US$600 million. It will have a 7 km natural waterfront, which will support a marina, apart from luxury residences and five-star resorts by Ritz-Carlton[1]. The Ritz-Carlton will also have a world class golf course and retail amenities. The homes will employ tropical designs and low-rise architecture in tune with the surroundings.[2]
Mount Agung
Mount Agung or Gunung Agung is a mountain in Bali. This stratovolcano is the highest point on the island. It dominates the surrounding area influencing the climate. The clouds come from the west and Agung takes their water so that the west is lush and green and the east dry and barren.
Gunung Agung last erupted in 1963-64 and is still active, with a large and very deep crater which occasionally belches smoke and ash. From a distance, the mountain appears to be perfectly conical, despite the existence of the large crater.
From the peak of the mountain, it is possible to see the peak of Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok, although both mountains are frequently covered in cloud.
The 1963-64 Eruption
The lava flows missed, sometimes by mere yards, the Mother Temple of Besakih. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected. However, over 1,000 people were killed and a number of villages were destroyed in this eruption.
Climbing the Mountain
There are two routes up the mountain, one from Besakih which proceeds to a higher peak and starts at approximately 1100metres and another which commences higher from Pura Pasar Agung, on the southern slope of the mountain, near Selat and which is reputed to take 4 hours. There is no path between the two routes at the top. Cecilie Scott provides an account of the ascent from Pura Pasar Agung. The mountain can be seen from various directions in video, there is a well produced video of the climb from Pura Pasar Agung and a short video from the top above Besakih. Greg Slayden describes a climb from Besakih claimed to have taken a remarkable four and a half hours to the peak and Ken Taylor describes a climb that took much longer and which included getting lost.
Guides are available in Besakih and the mountain can also be climbed without a guide. The climb from Besakih is quite tough. It is sometimes tackled as a single climb generally starting about 10.00pm for a dawn arrival at the peak and sometimes with an overnight camp about three quarters of the way up. It is far harder than the more popular Balinese climb up Gunung Batur. It is not a mountain that needs ropes and not quite high enough for altitude sickness but adverse weather conditions develop quickly and warm waterproof clothing is required and should be carried. There is no water available along the route.
Proceed through the temple complex then continue on a path that travels continuously upwards on a steep narrow spur through open forest and jungle most of the way. There is little potential to get lost until the route opens up towards the top where the correct route doubles backwards. Many climbers miss this turn and continue up a small valley which can be climbed out of with some difficulty.
Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is an island southeast of Bali island, Indonesia. Administratively, the island is a subdistrict of Klungkung regency. There are two small islands nearby: Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. The Badung Strait separates the island and Bali.
Diving sites
Nusa Penida covers a wide area of diving locations. They are Penida Bay, Manta Point, Batu Meling, Batu Lumbung, Batu Abah, Toyapakeh and Malibu Point. The flow through the Lombok Strait is, overall, south-tending, although the strength and direction of the tidal streams are influenced by the monsoon seasons.
During the southeast monsoons, the tidal flow tends south; during the northeast monsoons, the tidal flow tends north. In the area of the strait north of Nusa Penida, the pattern is relatively simple, with a flow, at peaktide, of about three-and-one-half knots. Tidal streams in Badung Strait are semi-diurnal, but the character of the stream is very complicated because its direction runs obliquely to the general south to north direction of Lombok Strait, and the channel has a curved shape.
Toyapakeh
Toyapakeh has a stretch of reefs, and in the southern part of the bay there is a similar area of rugged bommies, rich with color and fish. Big schools of fish, sea turtles, and occasionally Mola mola (sunfish) are highlight of Toyapakeh diving. Toyapakeh is special for its pillars of coral.
Malibu Point
Malibu Point is a diving site with gray reefs, reef white tips, silver-tips and numerous sharks. While Penida Bay is another anchorage, and the rocky islands have an interesting forms; something like an old resting elephant. The bay is vulnerable to swell, creating-up-and-down-currents. Then, Manta Point is a limestone rock off Pandan cafe. The swell is relatively strong.
Nusa Penida/Lembongan
Nusa Penida/Lembongan is a diving site with vast spread of coral reefs and good visibility. Big fishes are frequently observed at the area. Manta rays or sunfishes appear in the certain season.
The site is also known of the very strong currents requiring divers some skills.
Crystal Bay
Crystal Bay is calmer than outer shore. There are schools of Anthias. A school of batfish comes around periodically. A bat cave is located nearby.
Goa Gajah
Goa Gajah, ook wel Olifantsgrot genoemd, ligt ten oosten van Peliatan vlakbij Ubud in het midden van Bali. Goa Gajah dateert uit de 11e eeuw en is in 1922 ontdekt.
De ingang van de grot bestaat uit een soort monsterlijk wezen met wijd open mond. De grot heeft een 13 meter lange gang die uitkomt op een T-splitsing. Aan het uiteinde van de linkergang staat een beeld (1 m hoog) van Ganesha met vier armen (de hindoegod met de olifantenkop). In de andere gang staan drie linga, die de manifestaties van Shiva voorstellen. Vlak voor de ingang staat een beeld van de boeddistische godin Hariti.
Tegenover de grot ligt een fontein met zes vrouwenbeelden. Deze werd pas in 1954 blootgelegd door de archeoloog J.C. Krijgsman. Langs de grot loopt de rivier de Petanu.
Opvallend is de mengelmoes van hindoeïstische en boeddistische elementen. Rond het jaar duizend moet de grot al gebruikt zijn door hindoes; waarschijnlijk daarvoor door boeddisten.
