Bali Jatra Festival

Bali Jatra (or Bali Yatra) literally means "journey to Bali". This festival is held in Orissa, particularly in the city of Cuttack, to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas (Oriya mariners) would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion.

The festival is held during Kartik Purnima in October and November, for a period of five days right before the full moon. This is the specific time that was considered auspicious by the Sadhabas to begin their voyage in vessels called Boitas.

In Cuttack, Bali Jatra is celebrated annually as a large, open, fair near the Barabati fort area. There are several attractions for children, and food stalls selling Oriya delicacies, and other vendors selling toys, curiosities, and other gifts. Children float toy boats made of colored paper, dried banana tree barks, and cork in the Mahanadi river, ponds, and water tanks, to commemorate the voyage of their ancestors to Indonesia. These toy boats, that are usually launched after sunset with small oil lamps, lit and placed inside them, provide a very attractive sight during the festival.

This festival is also celebrated with great fanfare in Paradeep, Puri, and Bhubaneswar. Bali Jatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Orissa. It is also known as Boita Bandana Utsav, or the "festival of boats".

Bali dance

Bali dance

In Hindu the dance is an accompaniment to the perpetual dissolving and reforming of the world. The creative and reproductive balance is often personified as Shivas wife, Durga, sometimes called Uma, Parvati, or Kali. This has significance in Balinese Hinduism, since the common figure of Rangda is similar in many ways to Durga. In Bali there are various categories of dance (i.e. barong, legong, kecak) including epic performances such as the omnipresent Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Bali dancers learn the craft as children from their mothers as young as age 4 (see a nine years old dancer on the right). In Balinese dance the movement is closely associated with the rhythms produced by the gamelan, a musical ensemble specific to Java, Bali and Malaya.

Multiple levels of articulations in the face, eyes, hands, arms, hips, and feet ate coordinated to reflect layers of percussive sounds. The number of codified hand positions and gestures, the mudras, is higher in India than in Java or Bali. It has been speculated that they have been forgotten as the dance was transmitted from India to Java. Hand positions and gestures are nonetheless as important in Javanese and Balinese dance as in India. Whether in India, Indonesia or Cambodia, hands have a typically ornamental role and emphasize the dances delicate intricacy.

Tanah Lot is a famous rock formation of Bali island

Tanah Lot is a famous rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home of a famous pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot and a popular picture motiv for tourists.

Tanah Lot means "Land in the Middle of the Sea" in Balinese language. Located about 20 km from Denpasar, the temple sits on a huge offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is said to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. The story goes that during his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-islands beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

The Tanah Lot temple was then built and has been an important part of Balinese mythological history for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. It was said that each of the sea temples was to be within eyesight of the next so that they formed a chain along the south-western coast.

At the base of the rocky island, poisonous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. There is said to be one giant snake which also protects the temple. It is believed that this snake was created from Nirarthas scarf when he established the island.

The area leading to Tanah Lot is highly commercialised and people are required to pay to enter the area. To reach the temple, visitors must walk through a carefully planned set of Balinese market-format souvenir shops which cover each side of the path down to the sea. On the mainland cliff tops, restaurants are built for the tourists to relax.

Bangli a part of Bali

Bangli is a regency (kabupaten) of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 520.81 km and population of 197,210 (2004). Its regency seat is Bangli. Up till 1907, Bangli was one of the nine kingdoms of Bali. The capital has a famous Hindu temple, the Pura Kehen, which dates from the 11th century. Bangli also has one nice village, lies surround a hill, Demulih.

From the Demulih hill, we can see a vast majority of Bali Island, particularly on its Southern part - Kuta, Nusa Dua, Gianyar and apart of Klungkung.

The Balinese script

The Balinese script is an abugida that was used to write the Balinese language, an Austronesian language spoken by about three million people on the Indonesian island of Bali. The use of the Balinese alphabet has mostly been replaced by the Roman alphabet, and very few people are familiar with it. It is mostly used for religious writings.

The Balinese script was probably derived from Pallava and Old Kawi alphabets, which ultimately were derived from the Brahmi alphabet, the root of almost all the Indic and Southeast Asian abugidas.

Like most abugidas, each letter has an inherent vowel of /a/. Other vowels are indicated by using diacritics, which can appear above, below, to the left, or to the right of the consonant.

Nusa Penida area

Nusa Penida is an island southeast of Bali island, Indonesia. Administratively, the island is a subdistrict of Klungkung regency. There are two small islands nearby: Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. The Badung Strait separates the island and Bali.
Diving sites

Nusa Penida covers a wide area of diving locations. They are Penida Bay, Manta Point, Batu Meling, Batu Lumbung, Batu Abah, Toyapakeh and Malibu Point. The flow through the Lombok Strait is, overall, south-tending, although the strength and direction of the tidal streams are influenced by the monsoon seasons.

During the southeast monsoons, the tidal flow tends south; during the northeast monsoons, the tidal flow tends north. In the area of the strait north of Nusa Penida, the pattern is relatively simple, with a flow, at peaktide, of about three-and-one-half knots. Tidal streams in Badung Strait are semi-diurnal, but the character of the stream is very complicated because its direction runs obliquely to the general south to north direction of Lombok Strait, and the channel has a curved shape.

Toyapakeh

Toyapakeh has a stretch of reefs, and in the southern part of the bay there is a similar area of rugged bommies, rich with color and fish. Big schools of fish, sea turtles, and occasionally Mola mola (sunfish) are highlight of Toyapakeh diving. Toyapakeh is special for its pillars of coral.

Malibu Point

Malibu Point is a diving site with gray reefs, reef white tips, silver-tips and numerous sharks. While Penida Bay is another anchorage, and the rocky islands have an interesting forms; something like an old resting elephant. The bay is vulnerable to swell, creating-up-and-down-currents. Then, Manta Point is a limestone rock off Pandan cafe. The swell is relatively strong.

Nusa Penida/Lembongan

Nusa Penida/Lembongan is a diving site with vast spread of coral reefs and good visibility. Big fishes are frequently observed at the area. Manta rays or sunfishes appear in the certain season.

The site is also known of the very strong currents requiring divers some skills.

Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay is calmer than outer shore. There are schools of Anthias. A school of batfish comes around periodically. A bat cave is located nearby.

Seminyak Area

Seminyak is a mixed tourist / residential area on the west coast of Bali just north of Kuta and Legian. Originally a separate township, this is now just another suburb of Kuta. This area is very popular with resident expatriates and land and accommodation prices are amongst the highest in Bali. Plenty of luxury spas and hotels abound. Owing to its high density of high end shopping, combined with the clustering of many fine eating establishments, it has rapidly become one of the most well known tourist areas on the island.

Other well know areas popular with tourists include Ubud, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran , and the Bukit Peninsula.

In addition to a few commercial strips with popular and lively restaurants, bars, and good crafts/furniture shops, there are a few notable establishments: Ku De Ta, which is a fancy (but reasonable) restaurant with a cult following based on its beach side/semi-resort atmosphere, and Oberoi, which is an expensive hotel ($400-800/night) with a worldwide reputation. La Lucciola is a restaurant located in the north of Seminyak on the beach and has been in existence for over a decade.

Jalan Raya Seminyak (more often referred to as Jalan Legian) bisects the district and acts as its main road artery.