Bali, Indonesia : a paradise in Asia

Bali is a beautiful place and a great destination for travellers.  It is a tropical island lying between Java and Lombok in Indonesia.  It has many natural beauties, great tourist hotels and friendly local folks.  Luckily, I had several opportunities visiting Bali for both business meetings and vacations.  Recently, my wife and I made another trip to Bali.  This time, we stayed in a small resort villa near Ubud.

Many tourists like to stay in Kuta and Nusa Dua for the lovely beaches and water activities.  We prefer the peaceful and calm country side.  Our hotel is in the middle of paddy fields, coconut and palm trees.  We can watch birds weaving their nets in the tree tops.

(Resort villas and paddy fields)

(Water pond inside the hotel)

(Bird nets in the palm tree top)

Balinese people are friendly and happy folks.  Their skillful hands created many beautiful arts and crafts.  Farming, tourism and handcraft light industry support the local economy.  If you travel through the country side, you can see many paddy fields along the valleys and hill slopes.  You will also see many beautiful stone sculptures and temples.

(Paddy fields along the hill slope)

(Stone sculpture in a garden)

(Stone sculpture for fountain)

Travelling in Bali, you will not miss seeing the temples.  Probably, Bali has the highest number of temples per capita.  There are family temples for individual households, village temples and many Hindu and Buddhist temples for the communities.  Everyday, Balinese folks make offerings to their ancestors and gods.  They also have many festivals keeping them busy all year round. 

(Balinese women carrying offerings to their village temple)



(Offerings ceremony in Lake Bratan)