ARTS
OF BALI
Some
of the TOP Hotels in Bali
Bali's
most famous and crowded resort is Kuta beach, a six-kilometre
sweep of golden sand, with plenty of accommodation,
shops and nightlife. Nearby Sanur is much quieter, but
most backpackers prefer the beaches of peaceful east-coast
Candi Dasa and traveller-oriented Lovina on the north
coast. The island's other major destination is the cultural
centre of Ubud , a still charming but undeniably commercialized
overgrown village, where traditional dances are staged
every night of the week and the streets are full of
arts-and-crafts galleries.
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa : The Nusa Dua
Beach Hotel & Spa is a luxury property strategically
located only 15 kilometers away from the... Nusa Dua
Aston Bali Resort & Spa : The Aston
Bali Resort and Spa is a luxury hotel located on the
waterfront facing golden sandy beaches... Tanjung Benoa
Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel : Sanur
Paradise Plaza Hotel is situated in the coastal village
of Sanur, an ideal location from which to explore...
Sanur
Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites : The Sanur
Paradise Plaza Suites is located in Sanur Village just
two kilometers from the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel....Grand
Bali Beach Hotel also is a nice hotel in Sanur.
Swiss Belhotel Bali Aga : The Swiss
Belhotel Bali Aga is a deluxe property strategically
located only 20 kilometers northeast from the Ngurah
Rai... Nusa Dua
Grand Hyatt Bali Hotels located in
Nusa Dua and The Oberoi Bali located
in Seminyak, Maya Ubud located in Ubud,
The Alilia Ubud, Chedi, Hard
Rock Hotel Bali located in Kuta beach, Melia
Bali located in Nusa Dua and Padma
Bali located in Kuta
The
island's very well-organized cultivation system and
its astounding fertility has given the Balinese leisure
to develop their arts for centuries. It's incredible
that so many people on such a small area of the earth's
surface (3200 sq km) pour so much energy into creating
beautiful things. Their worship of life and the gods
encompasses a wide range of art forms, making an art
out of even very simple necessities of everyday life.
Fruit salad is served with flowers strewn on top and
coils of pigs' intestines are used for temple decoration.
Influenced by incoming European artists, modern Balinese
art only began about 1927 when for the first time artists
gave the date and signed their paintings. Before this,
all art wa3 for god. If the painting or sculpture was
too innovative, it might not have qualified in the service
of god and the artist was considered a failure. Still
there is no word in their language for 'art' or 'artist'.
A sculptor is a 'carver', a painter is known as a 'picture
maker', a dancer goes by the name of the dance she performs.
The Balinese have never allowed artistic knowledge to
become centralized in a special intellectual class.
Everyone is an artist on Bali. The simplest peasant
and the most slow-witted create something or else are
aesthetically conscious as critical spectators. A field
laborer will chide a clumsy instrument maker for a job
poorly done. Even dagang, young girls who run small
foodstalls, are skillful practitioners of Bali's classical
dances. The Balinese are very susceptible to fads: fashions,
harries theatre, new painting styles and dance forms
often sweep the island.. They are unabashed and uncanny
copyists and some of their stone temple carvings such
as a holdup or a plane crash are copied right out of
magazines. Stone carvings and paintings show pregnant
women, boys playing, beer drinking, seductions, even
atomic bombs going off in heaven. The purest and oldest
example of Balinese art is the ancient mosaic-like lamak
which last only for a day. These are woven for Balinese
feasts by women from strips of a palm leaf, bamboo,
and yellow blades of sugar or coconut palm pinned or
folded together to form fancy borders, rosettes, and
little tree designs.
Nusa
Lembongan is situated 12 miles south east of Bali. It
is one hour traveling time by boat from Benoa Harbour.
This pear shaped island is around 4km long and 2km wide.
It is surrounded by a beautiful fringing reef, which
hosts a myriad of marine life, The waters are renowned
for their abundance of life and great surf breaks. The
reef has been declared a marine park by the Indonesian
authorities. Not only does the reef support its own
Eco-system, but it supports most of the villagers on
the island as well. The local people farm seaweed. This
seaweed is cultivated, harvested then exported all over
the world for use in cosmetics, food stabilizers and
medicines. Other sources of income include traditional
wooden boat building, farming peanuts, sweet potato,
and fishing.Village life is very slow and enchanting.
Very few cars and motorbikes are seen on the roads.
The people are steeped in tradition, and one could imagine
Bali being like this island, thirty years ago.Although
the island is small there are many things to do. Fishing,
diving, surfing, mangrove exploring, discovering natural
fresh water springs, underground cave house exploring,
cycling around the island. A visit to the bat caves
on a nearby island, or a picnic at dream beach. Try
catching mud cabs in the mangrove area at the back of
the island. There is something for every one at Nusa
Lembongan.
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