Balinese gamelan, Balinese music

Balinese music can be compared to Javanese music, especially that of the pre-Islamic period. During that time, Javanese tonal systems were imported to Bali.

Balinese gamelan, a form of Indonesian classical music, is louder, swifter and more aggressive than Javanese music. Balinese gamelan also features more archaic instrumentation than modern Javanese gamelans. Balinese instruments include bronze and bamboo xylophones. Gongs and a number of gong chimes, are used, such as the solo instrument trompong, and a variety of percussion instruments like cymbals, bells, drums and the anklung (a bamboo rattle). There are two sizes of bamboo flutes, both used in theatrical music, and a rebab (two-stringed spike fiddle).

Modern forms of Balinese gamelan include kebyar, an energetic style played by clubs, which generally compose their own music.

Kintamani Dogs

Kintamani Dogs have a distinctive form and character which sets them apart from the average village dog. Whilst they live much the same kind of life as an average village dog, Kintamani dogs have longer hair and dig holes in which to nest their young. Some even live in small caves among the boulders around Kintamani. Nowadays, these good-looking dogs are increasingly sought after as pets. They have a broad face, a flat forehead and flat cheeks. In this way, they resemble the Chinese mountain dog, the Chow Chow, to which recent genetic studies have confirmed; the Kintamani Dog is distantly related.

Appearance

Common fur colors include white, beige, and black. Now officially recognized as a separate canine breed, the Kintamani looks something like a mix between the Samoyed and a solid white Malamute. Breeders often confine the dogs to cold dark caves near the Kintamani volcano, insisting it an essential step in developing the thick white coat of Balis only official breed.

The typical physical appearances of Kintamani and Bali street dogs. The withers height of the female Kintamani dog is 4050 cm, 4555 cm for the male. The stature of the Bali street dog is similar. The desired physical traits of the Kintamani dog include erect ears, forwardly curved tail held at the midline, medium to longhaired coat, almond-shaped brown eyes, and black skin pigment. The most desired coat color is white with apricot-tipped ears. However, other coat colors, such as black, are accepted. Bali street dogs come in many colors and coat patterns, and they are almost always shorthaired and straight to curve tailed. Both still whelp in burrows dug into the earth, a feral dog trait. However, the Bali street dog cannot be reliably tamed, even when taken as a puppy. In contrast, the Kintamani dog is gentle around people, yet retains enough assertive behavior to render it a noteworthy (but not vicious) watchdog.

Padangbai

Padangbai is a small town in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It serves as a ferry port for travel to Lombok, The Gilis and other of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is also a lovely beach town that is popular with those who prefer a small town atmosphere over the large scale beach party that is Kuta.

Besides the beach near the ferry terminal there is a beach just to the north known locally as the Blue Lagoon and the especially nice Secret Beach just to the south of town. These pleasant beaches have clusters of small family owned warungs that will be glad to prepare a meal and serve beer.

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.