The Main Attractions in the Beautiful Island of Bali

The ultimate holiday destination can be truly justified by the beautiful island of Bali. It is located in Indonesia and is one of the wealthiest regions of the country owing to its huge tourist attraction feature that sees an influx of foreign visitors into the island all throughout the year. It is an unsurpassable and ultimate holiday destination island. Each year thousands of tourists flock in this island to experience the paradise on earth. It is the most enchanting island with an exotic view of the magnificent bounties of nature. The exotic beaches and the beautiful landscapes never fail to sweep you off your feet. Apart from the obvious beach attractions present in this embodiment of heaven on earth, you also get to witness the tropical lush green landscapes and erupted volcanoes. Animal lovers can also embellish the vast wildlife presence in the island. Following are some of the major attractions of Bali: - Kuta Beach: Located in south Bali, Kuta is an elongated sandy beach initially discovered by travelling Asians and Australians. Affordable bars and clubs make it a party centre. It also features a memorial statue carved in stone and marble and temples. - Legian Beach: It is one of the famous beaches in Bali. It is flanked with comparatively less number of tourists and the tides are low in intensity, which makes the beach the perfect place to laze around in peace. - Sanur Beach: It is the perfect place to roam about in your feet because it's characterized by the presence of numerous historical architecture in the form of temples and museums like the Le Mayeur Musuem, Seiki Torige's Open Space Gallery, Griya Santrian Gallery and Darga Gallery, the ancient Blanjong temple, Sekenan Temple of Serangan Island and Padang Galak Memorial Monument. - Ubud: It is the centre for Balinese culture, arts and crafts and marks the presence of a number of palaces, ancient temples, museums and art galleries. - Seminyak Beach: After Ubud, Seminyak is the second largest attraction for art lovers since it houses a lot of art galleries, one amongst which is Biasa Art Space, a temple called Pura Petitenget Temple, and many beaches like Berawa beach, Semniyak beach, Petitenget beach, Canggu beach and Echo beach. - Candidasa Beach: This village is sandwiched between the Lombok strait in the east and the mountains in the west. It is known for its amazing white sandy beaches. Another major attraction in here is the Bat cave temple. - Bali's zoo and animal parks: Bali is also famous for its amazing wildlife amongst the lush and green of the tropical island. The island has breathtaking butterfly parks, elephant safaris, Sangeh monkey forest, Ubud monkey forest, bird parks and a town called Negara that features a unique bullock race. - Other tourist attractions: Located to the south of Singaraja is the cascading Gitgit waterfalls, the place near Lovina has the Daybreak waterfall, Blahmantung waterfalls near Pupuan, Banjar hot springs and the only Buddhist monastery in Bali-The Brahmavihara Arama also located in Banjar and Yeh Sanih freshwater springs with explicit garden background. Also is famous the Taman Nasional Bali Barat, a national park surrounded with open savannah, dense rainforest, mangrove swamps, colorful coral reefs and Pulau Menjangan, the famous deer island. The author of this article has great knowledge about the Bali honeymoon. He has helped many people out there to get the best Bali villa deal at affordable prices. He well knows the fact that there are several things to be considered while choosing the Bali villa. He has written many articles on choosing the Bali holiday villa.

The Grandeur and Intrigue of the Traditional Balinese Theater State

Miguel Covarrubias, the famous Mexican amateur anthropologist and intrepid traveller, wrote in 1937 in his classic work Island of Bali that "it seems difficult to reconcile the soft-mannered, peace-loving Balinese we know with the intrigue and violence of their turbulent past." And indeed the historians of Bali's past thousand years tell tales that would put any modern soap opera to shame: stories of the rise and fall of kingdoms, of bloody battles waged and beautiful maidens won, of princes gifted with magical powers warding off evil demons disguised as fierce, fanged monkeys and vicious, razor-beaked birds. Bali's written history begins in the 8th century, when Java's Indianized kingdoms turned an eye toward the island's bounty. The Javanese, who had already been introduced to the Buddhist and Hindu religions by South Asian traders, spread these teachings to Bali, along with the knowledge of writing in the Old Javanese language - known in Bali as Kawi - which soon became the medium of communication for Bali's elites. By the 10th century, Balinese art, religion and culture had taken on a decidedly Indian appearance. One important relic of this era can be found today in the midst of modern Sanur: the Prasasti Belanjong, an inscribed monument dated 913 A.D. - making it Bali's earliest dated artifact - that tells the tale of a Javanese king and his journey to Bali. The 11th century saw the birth of one of Bali's most influential historical figures: Airlangga, son of the Balinese Prince Udayana and the Javanese Princess Mahendratta. Airlangga journeyed to Java, where he ascended the throne of a dynasty that would rule on that island for the next 300 years. During Airlangga's lifetime, contacts between Java and Bali grew increasingly close. Out of this cross-fertilization of cultures came a number of social features that would mark the face of Bali for centuries to come: rituals presided over by Hindu priests chanting holy mantras, temples devoted to the worship of gods and divine ancestors, and the means to effect magic, both good and evil, to harm one's enemies or heal one's friends. This period of Bali's history also gave rise to the mythic tale of good and evil that continues to enthrall visitors with its fearsome power: the story of Rangda and Barong. Legend has it that Airlangga's mother, Mahendratta, possessed among her many queenly accomplishments a command of the dark forces of transformation that enabled her to change from a beautiful woman into a horrific witch able to rain disease and death upon her enemies. When her husband found her dabbling in these dangerous arts, he banished her to the forest, where she remained, nurturing her evil powers, until her daughter reached the age of marriage. Fearing Mahendratta's black magic, no one dared to marry the young princess, despite her esteemed status and her lovely looks. Wild with anger and driven to revenge, Mahendratta shifted her shape into that of a hideous witch, armed with spiked teeth, a tongue of fire and heavy, hanging breasts, to spread plague and pestilence across the land. Today the story is reenacted in the drama of Calonarang, where a mythological beast, the lion-like Barong, protects the suffering villagers from the demonic powers of the witch, known as Rangda. In the performance, traditionally held in the dead of night in the village graveyard, the followers of the Barong attack Rangda, who uses her magic to send them into trance and make them turn their daggers against themselves. The Barong's power protects them from the blades and helps them push the witch back into the cemetery, restoring the balance between good and evil until the next encounter. The most critical turning point in Bali's history came in the 14th century, when the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit sent an army led by the revered general Gajah Mada to colonize Bali. Different versions of the tale of Majapahit's conquest exist, but the basic story goes something like this: At that time, Bali was ruled by a cruel and greedy king named Bedaulu. Although he possessed great magical powers, he angered the gods by forbidding his subjects to worship them, requiring instead that they make their offerings to him. Bedaulu was so arrogant that he once removed his head and sent it up to heaven to show the gods what awesome spiritual skills he commanded. Annoyed by this boastful display, the god Siwa replaced Bedaulu's head with that of a pig. Embarrassed by his new animal appearance, the king ordered that none of his courtiers was to look at him, and he had them build a high tower where he would sit, presiding over his subjects free from their curious stares. But Bedaulu still had not learned his lesson. His evil grew to the point where he demanded that all his food be spiced with human blood. Finally, his desperate people sent word to Java, asking for aid from Majapahit. Gajah Mada promised to help if the king did indeed have a pig's head, and he sent one of his soldiers to investigate. In order to catch a glimpse of Bedaulu, the cunning Javanese tricked the king by requesting the food known as paku, a long, stringy green that is eaten by lowering it from above into one's mouth. Facing upwards toward the tasty morsel, he was able to verify Bedaulu's beastly countenance, and called for Gajah Mada and his troops, who conquered Bali and set in place a new king who ruled from Samprangan, near Klungkung. With the arrival of the Majapahit empire came vast changes in the cultural, religious and political landscape of Bali. Only the people known as the Bali Aga, who kept themselves distant by retreating to their isolated mountain villages, escaped encompassment by the new social order. As the Javanese installed their own nobles to preside over Bali, the island's population became drawn into a hierarchical system controlled by warrior kings and learned priests and divided into castes. Today, Balinese speak of history in terms of the pre-Majapahit and post-Majapahit eras, and those who can trace their genealogies back to the mighty rules and sages of that time still claim high social status in the present. When the Hindu Majapahit empire finally fell in the 16th century, brought down by the rise of Islam across the Indonesian archipelago, a new wave of priests, scholars, nobles and artists sought refuge on Bali, which would remain the last Hindu island in the land. Over the next four hundred years Balinese culture flourished around the royal courts. Elaborate rituals were staged, and Bali's famous cremation ceremonies came into existence as a means of showing honor and loyalty to the ruling lords. Art, dance and music prospered, not as purely aesthetic activities but as service on behalf of gods and kings. This era saw the rise of what later anthropologists would describe as the Balinese "theater state": a complex combination of extravagant art and ceremony designed to celebrate the power and majesty of the royal families and to express the humble deference of their followers. But this period was hardly a peaceful one. The seat of the kingdom of Bali moved to Gelgel, and the king who presided over it was given the title of Dewa Agung, or "Great Lord," a reference to both his worldly and spiritual powers. One of these kings even managed to bring parts of neighboring East Java and Lombok under Balinese control. But the kingdom soon became fragmented by family feuds, and Gelgel splintered off into a number of smaller principalities, which remained in a state of constant war and intrigue until the turn of the 20th century.

Arts And Entertainment For The Whole Family

There are times that due to our busy schedules and different careers in life, we tend to forget to spend some time with our family which is really bad. We must always remember that in order to get closer and have a better relationship with our dearest love ones, we must able to give some of our time to them. Lets all enjoy time together as long as we can still have it. It is very essential because we can never bring back the time that we've already lost so no matter how busy you are, you are still obliged to find ways on how you can let them feel your love for them. By simply meeting them and spend quality time doing activities together, you can able to make them happy. And one thing that you can do to make your time with your family the best ones is through arts and entertainment. The most popular way of spending time with family is to stay at home and enjoy each and everyone's presence. You can choose some good movies and go with a movie marathon with your siblings. In this way, you can also check them out and ask them what's going onto their lives. You can open up with them while watching your favorite movies of all time. You can scream, be scared, laugh and be happy together. Just make sure that in choosing the movies go for those that everyone from the oldest to the youngest ones will surely enjoy. You can also ask your parents to make some delicious foods for a more exciting movie experience. The next activity that you can try out is to sing and dance with your family. Do you still remember how happy it was when all of you used to sing and dance with your favorite song in the karaoke machine? Do you want to see your parents sing their favorite love song again? If yes, then making a simple and small song and dance party in the comfort of your own home is the best way to spend your free time. You can ask your siblings to sing and dance under Jason Derulo album songs and the one that will make the best performance will get a prize from you. You can also showcase your talents to them by singing your own favorite Jason Derulo songs and inspire them by letting them see your glamorous song and dance number. If your family is a creative one, then maybe you can also pursue with some art crafts that you can all do together. Choose those that can be displayed in your house so all of you will always see that wonderful moments of spending time with your family. This activity will surely make the family even closer and will also help build and develop your skills and abilities in the line of arts. Just make sure that the young ones will be guided accordingly so we can avoid them from being hurt or from any accident that may happen.