Bali Balinese Culture
Travelling the North-East Road Pt. 2
Waking to a glorious sunrise bursting over the ocean is one of those special moments and although reluctant to move on towards Singaraja along the north-east road, it was the adventurous side that took over and it was not long before we found ourselves driving along the road out of Tembok bathed in glorious sunshine and with some stunning mountain views on our left, and, the vast still sea to our right spread out like a rich blue carpet. The ride was a tad rough and having to avoid the potholes in the road and the trucks was no mean feat, however, once past Bondalem we found the smooth bitumen highway much more to our liking, well, at least out butts did!. What impressed me about this stretch of road were the surprising panoramas with each bend we engaged. Rocky outcrops jutted out into the sea, small bays where fishermen trolled for a meal and the constant brilliance of the never ending sea stretching to the horizon dotted with prahu’s coming into shore after a night’s fishing.
Date: May 6th, 2008 |
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Bali Arts Festival Dates
The one festival and time of the year I enjoy is the Bali Arts Festival. A potpourri of drama, dance and culture combine to make it one of the most enjoyable attractions of the year. Twenty provinces from Indonesia will join the festival this year by presenting their cultural arts and handicrafts as well as twelve arts troupe from eight countries. The international events would include a world `wayang` (puppet shadow) festival and an ASEAN ethnic music festival. The theme this year will be “Citta Wretti Nirodha” or a self-controlling behaviour toward the balance and …
Date: May 1st, 2008 |
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Balinese Dances
When in Bali you must see a traditional Balinese dance performance. One of the best places is the Royal Palace in Ubud. Here is a guide to Balinese dances.
Date: January 28th, 2008 |
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Bahasa Indonesia / Basa Bali : Words beginning with 'p'
Visitors to Bali will see signs featuring words they do not understand. in the interests of expanding one’s vocabulary, here is a selection of words in Bahasa Indonesia and Basa Bali beginning with the letter ‘p’.
Date: November 27th, 2007 |
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Balinese women in modern society
Balinese culture has been referred to as the perfect form of socialism, with every member of the community expected to work, take part in community events and be invited to all community ceremonies. Balinese women form a central part to all this and while their roles differ from the men without them the culture would not function.
Date: November 7th, 2007 |
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Aneh-aneh Art and Uniques: Denpasar
How weird is weird? Well, nobody could answer that for sure including Tjia Jie Hong, the owner of Aneh-aneh Art and Uniques in Denpasar. There is no certain limitation to the meaning of the word aneh (weird). This was why he picked the name Aneh-aneh for his business. Aneh-aneh is a workshop providing various kinds of artworks with extraordinary designs, mostly made from wood and roots. It is located next to the busy Ngurah Rai express highway.
Date: May 2nd, 2008 |
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Jason Monet Exhibition: Ubud
Art and orangutans don’t appear to have much in common. However, for internationally recognized artist Jason Monet, conservation of the threatened primate starts with bamboo. According to the Bali-based artist, the more the arts, architecture and just about everything else from food to furniture uses bamboo, the longer orangutans on Sumatra and Kalimantan will have a home. Jason has been working with bamboo for the past two years, using it for his sculptures and to frame his paintings.
Date: May 1st, 2008 |
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Indonesian dishes with a European influence
The cuisine of Indonesia, like it’s national language has been greatly influenced by outside cultures. Take for instance sate, the small grilled chunks of meat that can be bought for a few thousand rupiah on many streets in Indonesia. Sate was invented in Java, but has it’s roots in the Middle East, with the kebab, featuring beef and goat. The popular vegetable dish cap cay is taken from Cantonese cuisine and so forth. Here is a Jakarta Post article discussing other local dishes with foreign roots.
Date: December 23rd, 2007 |
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Important Balinese temples
Bali has thousands of temples, when you take into account the major temples, village and family temples. For a newcomer it can be hard to get grip of what the temples stand for and how important they are.
Date: November 9th, 2007 |
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Understanding Balinese Hinduism
Visitors to Bali will be immediately aware of the strength of the local culture and its Hindu based religion. Flower offerings mark shop fronts, the rattle of gamelan practice can be heard on major streets and abundant family temples offer a clue that something other that just cash and capitalism is at work here.
Date: October 23rd, 2007 |
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