Within a short while after taking off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on a bright December morning, we hit the vast expanse of Java Sea…we headed southeast beyond the equator towards Denpasar, the only international airport in Bali. Our plane was soon engulfed in clouds, building up to herald the rains in the southern hemisphere. After about three hours, our plane swooped down on Indonesian archipelago while preparing to descend and we caught the first glimpse of Bali charming us instantly! 

Among the large populace of Muslims inhabiting other Indonesian islands, Bali is home to the country’s Hindu community with more than 90% of its population being Hindus. Bali was influenced by the religio-culture of Hinduism from India since the first century AD. Though a small island compared to others, Bali has a history of bloody strife first against the Dutch invaders in the early 20th Century and then again in 1946 thus catalyzing Indonesia's independence from the Dutch rule in December 1949. Bali became the target of mindless terrorism with two powerful bombs ripping through a nightclub in Kuta in October 2002 leaving 202 people dead and around 240 injured, most of them being young holidayers from abroad. The history repeated itself in October 2005 as two more bomb explosions killed 20 persons and injured over 100 in Jimbaran Bay and Kuta. These incidents were a big jolt to the island’s major economic activity – tourism. With the scars of terror long gone, the tourists are back in droves and tourism is thriving once again in Bali. The island has been recording a compounded annual growth rate of 6% mainly riding on the waves of tourism. 

Bali is truly a tourist’s delight with its amazing sea faces, ornately carved temples, omnipresent greenery and exotic sea-foods. The veritable display of Balinese handicraft of metalwork, terracotta, stone & wood sculptures, textiles, leather and painting and their ubiquity would certainly make one’s baggage heavier on the way home. Added to this, Balinese traditional music and dance performances would make the journey complete for any discerning traveller. 

As Indonesia offers visa on arrival to Indian citizens, we paid the visa fees of US $25.00 per head and breezed past the immigration with a 30-day visa stamped on our passports! On coming out in the balmy Balinese weather, we saw a sea of faces at the 'meet & greet' area…my wife was quick to spot the placard with my name on it and we met Mawi, our guide in Bali. Mawi hailed two young ladies, who smilingly garlanded us with strings of 'frangipani' - 'Selamat Datang'… Welcome to Bali! 

The tourist agency sent us a 'Kijang', remodeled as Innova by Toyota in Indonesia, a spacious MPV, for our pick up. We were booked in Bali Dynasty, a seaside resort in Kuta. This was part of a package trip that included our accommodation with daily breakfast at the hotel. The journey from Denpasar airport to Bali Dynasty took just about 15 minutes passing through the busy streets of touristy Kuta. The hotel in its first impression charmed us with its long drive-way and greenery all around. Bali Dynasty has nurtured an excellent tropical garden complete with Lily pools and koi carps creating a sylvan surrounding. The famed Kuta beach was right behind the hotel…a mere five minutes' walk from the hotel lawns. 

The hotel reception handled our booking rather fast and allotted a room on the third floor to us. The room was large with very good natural light as one side of the room with tall glass shutters opened to the balcony overlooking the garden and the temple next door. The furniture, bed, linens…were of very good quality. The toilet had modern fittings and controls for hot & cold water worked fine. The safety locker provided in the closet functioned right. The cleanliness all around was impeccable. 

After a quick shower we left the hotel and walked down Jalan Kartika, the arterial road of Kuta to look for lunch. We zeroed in on Golden Century Chinese Kitchen; avoiding air-conditioned innards of the restaurant, we opted for the road side tables to soak in the local sights and scenes while enjoying a sumptuous meal. We ordered two portions of ‘lamien ayam jamur’ (Indonesian Rupiah 45,000 each) – large bowls of noodle soup with plentiful of chicken and green vegetables cooked in authentic Indonesian style. The soup was delicious and quite filling too. Such a hearty meal called for a short siesta…we headed to Bali Dynasty and woke up in time to catch the sunset at Kuta beach. 

We walked down the lawns of Bali Dynasty and its swimming pools with families frolicking all over trying to get the best out of their vacation. As we reached Kuta beach, our hearts sank…there were clouds on the horizon blocking the sun! The promenade along the beach was busy with joggers, tourists walking briskly, riding cycles and locals vending sarongs, woodcraft, sea shells et al. After a while the clouds mercifully drifted away and the sun appeared with its fullest fervour…as it neared the horizon, I got busy with the shutter trying to capture the moment. The sun gently kissed the sea…the sky was sprayed with hues of scarlet…the birds were heading home and a plane took off from Denpasar airport gliding up the flaming sky…we witnessed an ethereal sunset in Kuta! 

On the way to Kintamani in the morning our first stopover was Tirta Empul (temple of holy spring water) located at Tampak Siring Village, about 39 km eastwards from Denpasar. The temple is set in a serene surrounding with green hillocks on one side, pools of water all over and trees abounding in the compound. The temple complex has large pavilions, intricately carved wooden statuettes and beautifully sculpted stone doorways. According to local belief, Indra, King of Gods pierced the earth at Tirta Empul to release holy water for his ailing troops after the battle with a demon. The spring water at the temple is considered sacred by the Balinese. Pregnant ladies having bath in the holy water of the temple is part of a ritual. We also saw a newly married Balinese couple in their traditional costumes arriving to seek blessings at the temple.

We drove down to Ubud, a town in central Bali comprising fourteen villages and considered to be the hub of Balinese arts, craft, dance & music. In recent times, Ubud has started attracting large groups of tourists and thus all along the town and villages surrounding it, we came across several art galleries, fashionable cafes & restaurants and boutique hotels. We stopped at Tegalalang, a tiny hamlet for a panoramic view of terrace cultivation…rice is being grown in small stretches at various levels along the hillocks. Tegalalang was soothing for the eyes with its verdant valley of rice fields, banana, coconut, palm & betel nut trees all over.

Climbing uphill we reached the cooler climes of Kintamani (altitude: 1500 m), famous for the volcano, Mount Batur and a huge caldera, Lake Batur at the foothill. Lake Batur is the largest lake in Bali and serves as the major source of irrigation for the farmers. Kintamani tops the list of 'must see' attractions in Bali and tourists throng in on a day trip to the place. As we reached the vantage point at Penelokan villge, the view of the mountain and the lake was simply breathtaking! Mount Batur has erupted 24 times since 1800 AD and is considered an active volcano. We could see large tracts of volcanic rock formation from the solidified lava on the hill face.

Our brief stopover next was at Daging Woodcarver at Mas-Kemenuh village near Ubud. This was a huge gallery displaying a large collection of wooden artifacts ranging from life-size Ganeshas to garden bench with a sleeping nymph to Barong masks to Balinese dancers all carved out on sandal, mahogany, teak, hibiscus or crocodile woods. For our Bali souvenirs we chose a Barong mask and face of a Balinese dancer – after a little bargaining the price negotiated was quite good for such exquisite handicraft.

On our way back, we visited Goa Gajah temple (the temple of elephant caves) at Bedulu, about 27 km from Denpasar. After walking down the alley of shops selling typical touristy wares, we climbed down sets of stairs to reach the temple courtyard. Like many others, the temple compound has many trees with thick foliages and pools of water. We entered the cave and found shrines of Shiva and Ganesha inside. We bowed our heads in reverence of our ancestors, who came several centuries ago and from thousands of miles away to preach the holy tenets of Hinduism in a strange land!

The next afternoon we set for the Uluwatu Temple located around 25 km south of Denpasar. Uluwatu temple is perched at the top of a cliff jutting out into the sea at the southern most point of Bali. The cliff with a jagged face here has formed deep canyons that create an exotic view of Balinese land's end. As we approached further we could see the azure blue waters of Indian Ocean gently caressing the canyons. After the quintessential photo shoots we walked up the path towards the temple. Thanks to the travel advisories on the net, we were aware of the monkey menace here. My wife came without any necklace or earrings and we removed our spectacles in the car itself. While I was fiercely guarding my camera, I saw many tourists losing their hats and specs in split second maneuvres by the monkeys. To our utter delight, the monkeys did negotiate return of the snatched items in exchange of bananas etc.!

Jimbaran beach was on our agenda next…tucked away south of Denpasar airport, the sea forms a crescent here with the hills at one end complementing nature. Once a sleepy hamlet of local fishermen, Jimbaran is now a 'one-stop-shop' for some great seafood in Bali. The beach is dotted with a row of restaurants all claiming to serve the freshest catch of the day! We spotted a large Taiwanese group gorging on the seafood and we settled down on a table next to them at Nyoman Café…our table being only a few yards away from the sea! We ordered white snapper (600 gm; Rp39,000) – the whole sautéed fish came with lavish accompaniments of steamed rice, soup and the greens. With rays of the setting sun lighting up the clouds, a placid sea in the foreground and live music being played by a local group for the diners, it was end of another memorable day in Bali!

We also visited Pura Tanah Lot on the last day of our stay in Bali…the temple at Tanah Lot, literally meaning an isle floating on the sea, is located about 30 km west of Denpasar on the south-west coast of Bali. Dewa Baruna (Varuna), the Hindu God of water is worshipped in the temple, which can be accessed by foot only during the low tides. While Tanah Lot is known for its sunset, we missed the grand spectacle due to cloud cover.

Our five-day sojourn in Bali came to an end rather soon…with heavy hearts we promised to return to the island teeming with happy and smiling people, all believers in the great philosophy of 'karma'!