Traveling is one of the things that excites me the most in life. It enables me to breath the boundless love to my core. It takes my joy to a transcendent measure. It is the ground in which I face the unknown of myself and life and confront my deepest barriers and inquiries. Whether delightful or difficult, it is the way through which I can sing the song of my soul. Therefore, I fit more into seeing myself not as a traveler but as a pilgrim. So, you can guess how excited I started my Indonesia journey as it was my first visit to this faraway land.
It is tropical and the diversity of the flora and fauna is impressive. All those massive trees, banyans, coconuts, banana trees, interesting plants with giant leaves, exotic flowers with intoxicating smells and colors are the characteristics of this tropical island. The eye-catching beauty of all of those animals -the birds, reptiles, geckos, lizards, insects, butterflies- is so charming. All those forms and colors of the creation mesmerize you in such a way that you even feel like you are in a different planet.
Amongst hundreds of different ethnic groups living throughout whole Indonesia, Balinese people are the inhabitants of the island. I think I have seen the sincerest smiles in this country. This was the greatest gift these islands had given me, the heartfelt smiles! The young, adults and old, all the people smile and look into each other’s eyes so beautifully. At that moment happiness permeates everything it touches, a wave of love and gratitude pervades my body.
Bali is the only Hindu majority province of Indonesia that has almost 90% Muslim population. Balinese Hinduism represents a distinct form of worship integrating animism. Pre-existing animistic traditions of the indigenous people has a strong influence on the spirituality of the island. It is believed that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature (rivers, trees, forest, ocean, rice etc.) reflect the power of the gods. This understanding is presented in arts and rituals. The painting below shows a woman in her ritual of making offerings and praying for the spirit of the ocean.
Rituals are one of the essential parts of everyday life. Every day you see so many people -mostly woman- that perform the daily ritual of presenting offerings to the altars at the houses, work places, temples or public places for protection and blessings from gods. Mostly using banana leaves as a small tray, they put flowers, different types of food, rice and incense in their offerings. Each time I really loved to see women in their beautiful traditional cloths, doing their daily prayers, performing their offerings and blessing the altar with spreading some water on these little holy places.
Walking through the alleys you see so many impressive stone carved doors and because of their majesty you may mistake them to be the entrance gates of a temple or a holy place. It is so surprising to learn that they are simply the entrance of private houses of the residents of Bali.
Almost every traditional Balinese house -regardless of the economic condition of the family- has a temple at their entrance. Entering through the impressive doors, mostly the statue of Hindu God Ganesh welcomes you. This is where the rituals and offerings are performed every morning. In their inner courtyard there are some little shrines used for ceremonies and separated individual structures used as a house, all adorned with so many decorative elements.
Above is the entrance and the inner courtyard of the homestay I stayed in Ubud.
Along with volcanic stones and bricks, natural materials such as; bamboo, teak wood, coconut timber, straw-made roofs are the essential part of the traditional Balinese architecture. Bali is renowned for its diverse and sophisticated art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, stone carving and all sorts of handicrafts like weaving and pottery. And Balinese people are known for their artistry.
If we are talking about Balinese culture, we should definitely mention about performing arts like theater, dance and Gamelan music. For further reading on this topic, you can take a look at the essay; “Southern Bali / Uluwatu – Canggu”.
And of course, the colorful Indonesian cousine has to be mentioned as one of the inseparable ingredients of the culture. You can read about it in the essay: “Nusa Lembongan – Nusa Penida”.
If you need some useful hints about how to choose the best and reasonable transportation in and around Bali, please go through the lines in “Northeast Bali / Amed – Kintamani”.
Coming to the climate… Bali has a fairly even climate all year round. We cannot distinguish the climate between summer and winter but define the difference by wet and dry seasons. Monsoon season is approximately between December and March which is a more reasonable time if you like to be free from the crowds of tourists.
In addition to all the beautiful things mentioned above about Bali, I also have to write on the other side of the coin. In order to see the full picture of the actual condition of poor Bali, we need to talk on the planetary and ecological issues we as human beings cause. For this, please read the next essay; “Bali / Looking through the Lens of our Changing World”. There you will read about the harmful impacts of our civilization upon our dear planet.
During my travels for 3 months in Indonesia, I had so many amazing and unforgettable experiences as well as very difficult and challenging ones. In overall, I am enchanted by the charm of Bali. It is a unique small island, the only one of its kind. I loved it really much. I loved its colors, textures, smells, music, dance, jungles, rivers, waterfalls, rice fields, tropical trees, flowers, I loved its dogs, birds, geckos, monkeys, dolphins, whale sharks, fish, corals, its people, the beautiful women and the adorable children, the most beautiful, friendly and sincere smiles, I loved its ocean, huge waves, beaches, islands, epic sunsets, and so many more.
I am deeply in gratitude for all the people and beings that supported me, that were in service for my wellbeing and comfort in those very hard times. I am deeply in gratitude for this island for powerfully embracing me and accompanying me in all those blissful moments of joy and happiness.
