Why Bali…??
May 2, 2008 – 1:22 pmI believe you have known this, and I also think we all agree that Bali is a magic name. Bali is the magnet itself.
I have witnessed myself when I was in Flagstaff-Arizona, USA in 1980 to enjoy the magnificent beauty of one of the world wonder The Grand Canyon. I met too many people there but one of them an American tourist, a Russian born who approached me, probably because I was wearing a batik jacket (special design fabric that produced in Java-Indonesia) and asked me where I am from.
I explained that I am from Indonesia. He looked at me and said: “I know, it is in the Philippine“. I replied, no, I told him that it is between the Philippine and Australia. I tried to make a map on the ground to make him know where my Indonesia is. But, again He wanted to show me that He knew it. He said: “Ok Paul, I remember now, it is in Thailand“. When he knew that He was wrong, He asked me: “Where Indonesia is from BALI?“. I answered: “BALI is in Indonesia“.
Then we continued talk about the beauty of the island of paradise. When I was in Seoul – South Korea in 1989, I have seen some ladies screamed when they knew we come from BALI. They said: “we are working, we are collecting money and we have to go to BALI”. In the other zone, in Berlin-Germany, I met Johanes a cab driver who was very serious planning to visit BALI as well as John Dolley I met in Detroit-Missouri, USA in 2003 who was also very eager to visit this island.
Covarubias in 1935 probably the first person who wrote about Bali as a tourist destination since He was invited by Thomas Cook, Inc to promote this island then followed by numbers of writers with their own talents to emphasize the beauty and the magic power of the island which is also named as Island of Paradise, Island of Thousand Temples, Island of Festivals, Island of Gods and still many other names.
There are a lot of reasons why tourists wish to visit BALI. The magic that attracted visitors not only because of the white sandy beaches or good hotels or good foods or mountains and lakes or rice fields and temples, but also the life style of the Balinese, about the farmer who always work in the rice field starts at 5.00AM and end at 9.00AM then go home for coffee or tea, sitting down in a banjar, a social meeting place belongs to the member of the community with his friends, about his coock fighting, his hundred ducks, about his kids who pay homage in their shrine, about their little boys or girls who learn how to dance and play music. Then, at 4.00PM He will again go back to his rice field, work again until 6.00PM and go home with hundreds of ducks in front of him. There are also farmers who are painters as well as wood carvers.
The other magnets are the festivals: temple festivals (temple anniversary which can be every day since there are thousand temples are found), tooth filing festival, wedding festival, full moon festival, Saraswati (education) festival, Pagarwesi (day of victory) festival, Galungan (thanks giving day) festival, Melasti, Ogoh-ogoh and Nyepi ( pre- Hindu New Year) festivals, kite festival and cremation.
Today, Bali has lots to offer. From white sandy beaches with deluxe and boutique hotels to the mountains, lakes, rivers, rice terraces with bungalows, villas and standard hotels, from white water rafting, snorkeling and diving to traditional dance performances, from cruises and water sports to land excursions and soft adventure for bird watching, cycling, mount climbing, from reading on the beach or at hotel swimming pool to learning or interactive with the locals to get to know their culture, tradition and way of life.
In fact, there were not only tourists visited BALI but also the Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens, Senior Citizens of the world have visited this island of paradise, for example: President Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush, Prime Minister John Howard and many others.
I have received questions how to combine BALI and other islands such as Java, Madura, Sumatra, Nias, Mentawai, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Alor, Rote and Sabu. There are also questions about the story of the festivals in Bali. Before visiting you next month to answer the above questions please visit: floressatours.com which might give you some information.