Let’s get a few things straight at the beginning. Guide and travel books are full of breathless hype about Bali, painting it as a tropical paradise and conjuring up in the imagination all sorts of exotic, exciting, (and impossible) dreams. Bali is not an idyllic paradise. It is a lovely island with many attractions. Bali doesn’t require exaggeration. We will try to give a realistic picture of Bali - one that you can believe in and trust as being authoritative. 

You will want to know these things about Bali: 
 

1. WHAT?  What is Bali?	2. WHERE?  Where is Bali?	3. WHO?    Who are the Balinese people?
4. WHY?  Why do people go to Bali?	5. HOW?    How do you get to Bali?	6. WHEN?   When is the best time to come to Bali?

     This introduction will give you brief answers. If you want to look further, more detailed information will be found in part III of this Home Page. 

 1. WHAT is Bali?  

     Bali is an island with an area of about 5.000-sq. km. (about 2,100 sq. mi.), or roughly the size of the state of Delaware in the U.S.A., or about twice the size of Luxembourg in Europe. 
Bali is not a country. It is a province of the Republic of Indonesia. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. 
 

  2. WHERE is Bali?  

     Bali lies a little less than halfway between Perth, Australia, which is almost due south of Bali, and Hong Kong, located almost due north of Bali. 
     Bali is not in the South Pacific. In fact, it isn’t in the Pacific Ocean at all. It is located on the east rim of the Indian Ocean and South of the Java Sea. If you draw a line on a map due west from Bali you would hit the coast of Africa at Dar Es Salaam, 
Tanzania. A line drawn due east from Bali would go through Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and would hit the west coast of South America a little south of Guayaquil, Ecuador. 
     Bali lies between 8 and 9 degrees south of the equator, and between 114.5 and 115.5 degrees east of Greenwich. Bali time, called WITA, is 8 hours later than Greenwich Time (UT). Bali is located just east of the island of Java, separated from it by a narrow strait less than 2 km. (1.2 mile) wide. 

   3. WHO are the Balinese people?  

     The population of Bali is about 3 million. Balinese people are first and foremost Indonesians. INDONESIA has a population of about 200 million people. About 90% of all Indonesians are Muslims. But over 90% of the inhabitants of Bali are Hindus. Bali is more than a geographical island in the middle of a large country. It is an island of Hinduism in the middle of a largely Muslim population. 
     Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of the Republic of Indonesia, and it is the official language of Bali and all other parts of Indonesia. However, most Balinese people speak Balinese to each other, a language that is fundamentally different than Indonesian. Indonesian is taught in school as a foreign language. 
     The Balinese variety of Hinduism has been derived from Hinduism in India. But it has also been strongly influenced by pre-Hindu animism. Moreover, many religious practices in Bali are unrelated to Hinduism as it is practiced elsewhere. 

   4. WHY do people come to Bali?  

     The travel industry has carefully cultivated the image of Bali as a carefree, lush, tropical paradise, its spotless beaches lined with coconut palms, its sensuous people engaged in all manner of native arts, and its exotic religion rich with dance, music, and colorful pageantry. 
     To a certain extent, some of this is true. That is why most people come - chasing their dreams of impossible places. But, Balinese people face the same problems as everyone else in the world. They are not immune from the uncertainties of life that all of us face. It is wrong to pretend otherwise. 
     Visitors to Bali can have a great variety of experiences, depending upon the length of time available to them and upon their interests and financial capabilities. 
     You can’t get more than about 40 km. (25 miles) away from the sea in Bali. So water-related activities are an important attraction, ranging from surfing to sailing to diving and fishing. There are fine beaches, but much of Bali’s shoreline consists of rocky coasts. 
     The arts and crafts of Bali attract casual shoppers and eager students from all over the world. Most of the goods for sale are souvenirs, made specifically for tourists and include sliver work, wood and stone carvings, paintings, textiles, basketry, and musical instruments. Tourists tend to overlook the beauty and utility of native crafts that are made for local consumption. 
Balinese Hinduism involves a great variety of ceremonies, most of that are accompanied by colorful offerings, music, ornate decorations, and sometimes dances. Visitors are welcome to attend and photograph these ceremonies if they are properly dressed and observe the local rules of etiquette, which are always explained by guides and tourism professionals. An increasing number of foreigners come to Bali to learn the performing arts, especially dance and music. 
     The island of Bali is part of a long chain of mountains that extends for thousands of kilometers along the rim of Southeast Asia, just north of the submarine Java Trench. The topography of most of Bali is mountainous. The rich alluvium washed down from the central chain of volcanoes and the abundant rains on their slopes provide fertile soil for the growing of rice in irrigated fields. And one of the principal attractions of Bali is its scenery, ranging from vast beaches to terraced rice fields, to mountain peaks. There are wonderful place for photography, hiking, and exploring. 
     Balinese people are basically open and friendly. They are happy to share their culture with visitors and are always curious about those who come to their island from the outside world. This makes Bali a prime goal of those who want to learn more about the ways of life of a people who, in many ways, view the world from a different point of view and with different sets of rules than those who live elsewhere. 
     Food is certainly an attraction for many visitors. Authentic Balinese food is not something most visitors enjoy, and so hotels and restaurants catering to tourists generally serve Chinese or Indonesian style foods with exotic names, or otherwise modify local recipes to make them more attractive to tourists. You can get any sort of food, from KFC chicken legs and Big Macs to the fanciest European or Oriental cuisine. 

   5. HOW do you get to Bali?  

Most people fly. But you can come by boat, and cruise ships offer frequent service. You can drive to Bali from Java or islands to the east because there is auto ferry service to the island. 
Major international airlines offer frequent service from all parts of the world either direct to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, or to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, from which city there are many daily flights to Bali. Denpasar is the capital of Bali. Its airline code is DPS, and that is the code that is put on your ticket. Garuda Indonesia is the Indonesian national airline. Garuda links the major islands of Indonesia and provides daily service from Jakarta or Denpasar to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States. 
Residents from most developed countries require only a valid passport and ongoing reservations to visit Bali. A tourist visa good for two months is issued at the airport upon arrival. 
Travel agents all over the world offer a great variety of programs for visiting Bali. Accommodations of all types are available, ranging from the most luxurious imaginable boutique hotels to the basic, no frills, rooming houses. For those who prefer to be on their own, public transportation are available, as well as car, motorcycle, and bicycle rental. It saves time and money for the visitor to obtain an International Driver’s License before he comes to Bali. 
Most travel professionals in Bali speak at least some English. There are some guides and services for those who speak Japanese or various European languages, mostly French or German. 

   6. WHEN is the best time to come to Bali?  

     Bali has a tropical monsoon climate. This means that it has distinct dry and wet seasons because of a seasonal reversal of winds, a climatic condition that affects most parts of South Asia that are not right on the equator. 
     December through February is the wettest time of the year. Winds blow over the Indian Ocean from the west and dump lots of rain on the southwest slopes of Bali’s mountains. July through September is the dry season because the trade winds blow from the dry interior of Australia from the east. Therefore, this fact must be taken into account when planning a visit to Bali. However, even during the rainy season there are long periods of sunshine almost every day. One just has to be prepared for frequent downpours. 
     Otherwise, there is little variation in climate. Temperature and humidity vary surprisingly little from daylight to darkness and through the year. The humidity is always high - about 75% and visitors should plan to wear cool garments. Daytime temperatures are seldom more than about 30°C (85°F.) and drop no more than about 5 degrees at night. 
     Other factors might influence when you want to come. Some public events are fixed by the usual civil calendar. The dates of these can be obtained through travel agents or from the many branches of the Indonesian Government Tourist Bureau in the larger countries. Many religious events are scheduled in advance, but normally these are determined by other calendar systems. 
     It is best to contact tourist organizations in Bali for that information. If it is important to be able to observe certain kinds of plants, then growing seasons must be kept in mind.