Balinese Dance and Music
Are also justly famous and a major attraction for visitors to the island. As on neighboring Java, the
gamelan orchestra and
wayang kulit
shadow puppet theater predominate. Dances are extremely visual and
dramatic, and the most famous include:
Barong Dance, Calonarang, Kecak Dance and Legong Keraton. They are the
ones you must see and they are simply included in our excursion program.
Art
both traditional and modern, is everywhere in Bali and impossible to miss. Ubud
is the artistic capital of the island with several museums and a
variety of informal workshops and retail outlets. Ubud's museums
showcase the works of local artists, both living and dead, as well as
works by many foreign artists, who either have a strong affinity to Bali
or have made the island their permanent home.
Culture
Unlike any other island in largely Muslim Indonesia, Bali is a pocket of
Hindu religion and culture. Every aspect of Balinese life is suffused with religion, but the most visible signs are the tiny
offerings (
canang sari, or
sesajen)
found in every Balinese house, work place, restaurant, souvenir stall
and airport check-in desk. These leaf trays are made daily and can
contain an enormous range of offering items: flowers, glutinous rice,
cookies, salt, and even cigarettes and coffee! They are set out with
burning incense sticks and sprinkled with holy water no less than three
times a day, before every meal. Don't worry if you step on one, as they
are placed on the ground for this very purpose and will be swept away
anyway (But you better not stepping one on purpose, because - as
Balinese belive - it'll give you bad luck!).
Time
Bali is in the UTC+8 time zone (known in Indonesia as WITA,
Waktu Indonesia Tengah), same as Western Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and China and 1 hour ahead of Jakarta.
Climate
Daytime
temperatures are pleasant, varying between 20-33⁰ C (68-93⁰ F)
year-round. From December to March, the west monsoon can bring heavy
showers and high humidity, but days are still often sunny with the rains
starting in the late afternoon or evening and passing quickly. From
June to September, the humidity is low and it can be quite cool in the
evenings. At this time of the year there is hardly any rain in the
lowland coastal areas.
Even when it is raining across most of Bali, you can often enjoy sunny, dry days on the Bukit Peninsula which receives
far
less rain than any other part of the island. On the other hand, in
central Bali and in the mountains, you should not be surprised by cloudy
skies and showers at any time of the year.
At higher elevations
such as Bedugul or Kintamani, it gets distinctly chilly and you will
need either a sweater or jacket after the sun sets.
International arrivals procedures All
passports must be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the date of
entry into Indonesia and have at least 2 blank pages available for
stamps.
There are three ways of entering Indonesia:
- Visa on arrival. Pay on arrival, get a visa in your passport, get it stamped. Most visitors fall in this category.
- Visa in advance. Obtain a visa at an Indonesian embassy before arrival.
- Visa waiver. Show your passport, get stamped, that's it. Applies only to a few select, mostly ASEAN countries.
Visitors arriving in Bali by air from a point of origin outside
Indonesia will be clearing customs and immigration at Bali's Ngurah Rai
International Airport may require the purchase of a visa on arrival
(VOA). As of January 2010, the only type of visa on arrival available is
US$25.00 for 30 days. This may be extended later at the local
Immigration office for a further once only period of up to 30 days. (The
previous 7 day visa on arrival is no longer available). Exact change in
dollars is recommended, although a selection of other major currencies
including rupiah are accepted, and any change will usually be given in
rupiah. Credit cards are accepted in Bali (but don't count on the
service working).
Arriving passengers are passed through VOA
(visa on arrival) issuance if applicable, then subsequently processed
through immigration clearance channels for VOA, Non VOA (if the visa has
been obtained prior to the time of departure), Visa waiver (for
eligible nationalities) and a separate channel for Indonesian passport
holders. Baggage retrieval is followed by customs and quarantine
examinations including baggage X-ray checkpoints.
Tourism visit
visas can be issued in advance at some Indonesian embassies prior to
departure. Check well in advance of your proposed departure date at the
Indonesian embassy or consulate in your home country.
The Airport, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport
Although in air ticket code called DPS, the airport simply located in Kuta area instead of DPS ( Denpasar ). A
new International terminal is being built at DPS, and is due to open in
2013. When the new terminal is opened the current International
facilities will be turned over to domestic operations. It is expected
that these improvements will make Bali's airport a much nicer
destination for airline travelers.
When
departing from Bali, you are subject to the
airport departure tax
which can be paid in cash in Indonesian Rupiah only, so save some bills
for the trip out. The airport departure tax is Rp 150,000 for
international departures and Rp 40,000 for domestic departures. Infants
under 2 years of age are exempted from departure tax (but not Visa On
Arrival).
Language / Talk
Balinese language is linguistically
very different from Bahasa Indonesia, although the latter is the
lingua franca
in Indonesia and is spoken by practically everyone in Bali. In tourist
regions, English and some other foreign languages are widely spoken.
Balinese is a difficult language, and any visitor who makes an effort to
speak a few words will be especially warmly received by the local
people.
Contact Unfortunately,
it is very unlikely you will find a working public telephone on the
street, which can be very frustrating in emergency situations. Depending
on your circumstances, you may have to rely on mobile phones (local SIM
cards may be used in unlocked phones with economical local and
international calling rates) or phone/internet shops. Budget
accommodation options are unlikely to offer telephone services to
guests.
International phone operators: ☎ 101. International Direct Dialing prefix: 001, 007, or 008.
Directory inquires
- ☎ 108 (if using a cell phone locally dial the area code you are in (eg 0361) and then 108)
Immigration office:
- Niti Mandala, Renon, Denpasar. ☎ +62 361 227828.
- I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport. ☎ +62 361 751038.
Area Codes Bali has six area codes.
- 0361:
all of South Bali (Bukit Peninsula, Canggu, Denpasar, Jimbaran, Legian,
Nusa Dua, Sanur, Seminyak, Tanah Lot) plus Gianyar, Tabanan and Ubud)
- 0362: Lovina, Pemuteran and Singaraja
- 0363: Amed, Candidasa, Karangasem, Kintamani, Padang Bai, Tirta Gangga
- 0365: Negara, Gilimanuk, Medewi Beach, West Bali National Park
- 0366: Bangli, Besakih, Kintamani, Klungkung, Mount Agung, Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida
Emergency Phone Contact
- Ambulance: ☎ 118.
- Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), free ambulance service. ☎ +62 361 480282.
- Police: ☎ 110.
- Search & Rescue team: ☎ 115 or 151, +62 361 751111.
- Tourist Police: ☎ +62 361 754599 or +62 361 763753
- Bali Police HQ: Jl WR Supratman, Denpasar. ☎ +62 361 227711 .
- Badung Police HQ: Jl Gunung Sanghyang, Denpasar. ☎ +62 361 424245.
- Police stations:
- Denpasar: Jl Ahmad Yani. ☎ +62 361 225456.
- Sanur: Jl By Pass Ngurah Rai. ☎ +62 361 288597.
- Kuta: Jl Raya Tuban. ☎ +62 361 751598.
- Nusa Dua: Jl By Pass Nusa Dua. ☎ +62 361 772110.
