Bali, Indonesia
Bali, island of gods and demons ... and
of temples. There are said to be more
temples on Bali than houses. In any
case, a paradise for photographers because
you’ll find temples and representations
of gods and demons in abundance, and
also rice terraces, coconut trees and
rainforests, even, as in the photo below, as
so-called cloud forests.
Densely
populated Bali is
Indonesia’s breadbasket and
certainly a “dream island”,
but as is often the case,
things are not all perfect
here either. If you think of
tropical islands, you imagine
wide sandy beaches. They
do exist here, but only in the
areas with lots of hotels, for
example on the Bukit peninsula
in the south, where the Nusa
Dua tourist centre has been
built. Connected to Denpasar
airport by a highway and separated
from Bali proper by big, temple-like gates,
a separate tourists’ world has been
created here, complete with luxury hotels,
shopping centre, restaurants, large
parks with little palm tree forests for
leisurely strolls – but this isn’t
Bali, only a world created for tourists.
The sand in the tourist areas
was brought there. In Nusa Dua,
visitors live in their own separate
world, and guarded by the
ever-present police, those who
stay put here don’t see much of
Bali. The difference becomes
apparent as soon as you walk
through one of those gates and
explore the “world beyond” on
foot. No luxury to be seen far
and wide, and the street cleaners
don’t seem to come here all that
often either ..., and the prices drop.
If it’s early in the morning, offerings
are laid down for the gods and demons in
front of the temples and even in the
middle of intersections, which looks all very
unusual to us. But don’t be afraid,
these are just Hindus practising their beliefs
and no longer the headhunters of the
distant past. I’d very much recommend
island tours by VW jeep; as these jeeps
have no windows, the travellers can get
closer to the action. If you get to
the island’s interior, you shouldn’t miss a walk
through the rainforest. However, it’s
advisable to wear long trousers, socks and
shoes as the leeches are very active
here.
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© Copyright Dieter Klinkhammer
webmaster: Dieter Klinkhammer
Last Date Modified of german page: March 30th 2002 ,
english translation published: June 28th 2003
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