Handicraft

Be it, jewelry-making, woodworking, sculpting, stone carving, panting or tie-dyeing, it is quite easy to see if a Balinese had had his or her hands on it.

delicate silver

chip off the old block

garuda_coloured

Style can be cultivated, but the Balinese seemed to be born with it.

oriental mask

From the grosteque, to the enigmatic, Balinese handicraft displays the attention to detail in their expressive art and intricated patterns.

devil in the details

village scene




the famous couple immortalized


These trinkets makes fantastic souvenirs. However, the Balinese must have felt very passionate about their art, that they proceed to decorate and ornament whatever they could get their hands on, regardless of scale. You can see it in their boundary fences, roofs, houses, etc....

delicate silver

Vishnu & his vehicle

crude_babi guling

And when it comes to Monuments, the artists must have had a field day.



Neptune-like guy at the traffic lights



Look at that, we are talking about a culture that places crazy, dramatic figurines all over the town.




Denpasar_museum cum gallery

This immense structure (badly taken), was like an alien warship that had landed in the bustling town of Denpasar. It looked quite out of place, not just in Bali, but on Earth. Maximalism to the Max?

chariots of fire

But who wouldn't love the idea of living in a city where the council solidifies the local stories in such majestic illustrations?

Balinese handicraft - words do them no justice.

Kuta

Kuta, Bali's very popular tourist hotspot was at one time, at the risk of being remembered solely for the horrific bombings that happened sometime ago. This was also where we were based during our short stay in Bali. When we were there however, there was no feeling of unrest nor were we at any point feel threathened for our lives.

The Grand Istana Rama

The travel agency arranged for us to stay at a resort named Grand Istana Rama.

manicured lawns

age old tree & her gnarled roots

The resort itself, apart from being incredulously expensive, strategically located and having lovely gardens, is really not worth the time. In other words, don't go there. The building is not maintained, and while everything may look 'grand' at first glance, they are in actual fact very much in need of repairs.

dining

In Kuta, or rather, Bali, everything was carried out in style. We were pleasantly surprised when we were brought to dine out on the beach. Rows & rows of white-linened tables were laid out with black deck chairs beneath the starry sky. Opposite, is the ocean and it was high tide, thus you get the view of cascading white waves upon waves.

entertainment

The restaurants must decide that beach-side dining with the occasional flare of fireworks display is not enough. They have arranged for traditional dances to be carried out on platforms near the dining tables in case the ocean breeze bores you. They have also engaged a quartet of multilingual musicians who performed "Sweet Home Alabama" to the American guests and sang "月亮代表我的心" for the table with Singaporeans.

the man who sells jagung on the beach

Kuta also has a pretty happening nightlife. Unfortunately we did not have much time to venture around the streets except to do some hurried haggling and shopping. And the shopping is of course, fantastic! Bric-a-bracs, Balinese massages, food ~~

intergrated cultures_horse carriage in Kuta

Kuta is very much westernized, compared to the other parts of Bali. Some of the buildings, the food, the beer, the items they sell - they are to cater for our Western counterparts, especially Australians. Aussie brands like Billabong, Ski & Surf, Victoria Bitter, etc are quite prominent. Fortunately we didn't spot Vegemite.

street view

The Balinese while they are probably not born salespersons, are thrust into the whirlwind of tourism and embraced the art of selling and buying the best they could. It takes less than 10 minutes for D to be alone on the beach, before he was almost coerced to purchase various services.

hanging ten

D was walking alone on the beach taking photos when a jovial local approached him: -

Local: Hi Mate! Do you want to buy some surfing lessons?

D: No thanks... : )

--- pause ---

Local: Em...Do you want to buy some marijuana?

D: Uh....No, thanks....

--- pause ---

Local: So, do you want some hookers?

--- pause ---

Hehehe...hehe....D walks away.