Bali Denpasar Area Guide
For general city information see the main Denpasar page.
Denpasar: Bali’s only municipality
Denpasar means ‘by the market’ and is Bali only real city. Denpasar is home to Balinese people from all over the island who work in Kuta and in the late afternoon the roads leading to Denpasar are choked with traffic.
Date: February 28th, 2006 |
No Comments
Denpasar Bali: A little history
For more information see the main history of Bali page.
Denpasar is the only municipality in Bali. Its history really goes back to the days of the rajas, that is before 1906. Denpasar back then was called Badung (which is now the name of the district that stretches from the Bukit peninsula up to Bedugal).
Date: January 18th, 2006 |
No Comments
Batawi restaurant-Denpasar
Today I rode along Jl. Teuku Umar in Denpasar and stopped for some food. People often tell me there is great food in Denpasar, but I've never had it. Teuku umar is lined with places advertising food from all over the country, Malang, Madura, Jember, etc. I stopped at a place advertising masakan khas Betawi (Jakarta style food). Not having a clue what Jakarta style food was I ordered a teh panas (hot tea) and ayam goring (fried chicken). The place was very simply designed, a typical street side restaurant with cheap table and chairs and no decor. The waitresses told me they were form Jakarta and by the clientele and the boss I could tell they were probably Chinese Indonesians. Before long a tray of assorted items, roasted in banana leaves showed up. I didn't order them but started eating anyway. The contents of the long thin rolls tasted like sago or something, and the fat rolls were made of rice and contained potato, carrot and beef. They were accompanied by a heated bottle of sauce and a small dish. I gobbled them as they were enak!
Date: October 11th, 2005 |
3 comments
Talking to a stone carver in Batubulan Bali
Batubulan is the stone carving place in Bali. I went there today via some surface streets in Denpasar, but you can get there from Kuta using the Bypass to Sanur, turning off at Tohpati, then heading north towards Ubud. The main stretch of Batubulan is before the right hand turn off for Celuk, the silver center. The array of stone carvings lining the street is impressive. I stopped at a couple of places and went inside one to check it out and ask prices. Through a carved doorway I entered the home of Dukuh, a 50-year-old Balinese man who is an anthropology professor. We chatted and he told me about the carvings. Some of the cheap stuff outside was cement, but the better stuff was made from river rocks he said. He has seated Buddha's of all sizes and told me the best one was 16m rp. Others of similar size were 8m rp or 4m rp. I asked what determined the price and he said, the material and the beauty.
Date: August 30th, 2005 |
1 comment
The Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar Bali
The Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar has been going for a while and has a few more days left. It focuses on traditional arts, dance etc and attracts a mostly local audience. I attended last year and the atmosphere reminded me of a fun fair, with every nick nack vendor you could possibly imagine competing to sell their goods.
Date: July 11th, 2005 |
No Comments
Reasons to visit Denpasar Bali
Most visitors to Bali don’t visit Denpasar. To be honest its not set up as a tourist resort and is home to Balinese and many people from Java. The best was to get around Denpasar is either in a car a with driver, or in a taxi. The one-way system and volume of traffic can be frustrating if you don’t know your way around.
Date: January 18th, 2006 |
4 comments
Taman Wedhi Budaya-Bali Arts Center in Denpasar Bali
Taman Wedhi Budaya is a large complex of building in East Denpasar which is home of the annual Bali Arts Festival from mid June to mid July.
Date: October 30th, 2005 |
No Comments
Denpasar: Bali's captial city
Bali has 8 districts (kabupaten) and 1 municipality, Denpasar. I have lived in Bali for almost 3 years and my knowledge of Denpasar and desire to go there is equally small.
Date: September 24th, 2005 |
No Comments
Batubulan: A stone carving center in Bali
Ask anyone what Batubulan stands for and they will say stone carvings. As you ride NE of Denpasar, past Tohpati, you will ride though a street lined with stone Buddhas and other carved decorations. Batubulan's creations can be seen the world over and one place I stopped at today was a little shop specializing in wood carving. As I pulled up 3 young guys sat on the floor and painstakingly chipped away at their own carving. Also displayed in the shop in the shop just recently finished were carved, center-parting doors and a couple of large carved door frames. I asked the price of the doors and was told 6m rp. A lot of the patterns are repeating with leaves often surrounding some kind of Balinese dancer or some abstract motif.
Date: August 30th, 2005 |
6 comments
Thoughts on having a kid in Bali
Having your child in Bali would probably sound like having it in Tijuana to most Americans and would be the last thing they would want to do. My impression of the system over here, at least the private health care system is quite positive.
Date: July 3rd, 2005 |
3 comments
