Dear strangers,
Sometimes when people asked me to recommend a place to visit in Indonesia, I am have no idea where to recommend them. Indonesia definitely is a beautiful country with a lot of scenery from beaches to the mountains, the problem is the people. In South East Asia, no one can beats the friendliness and kindness of Thai people.
I went to Bali, it was my third time and sad to say I don't like Bali. It is too commercialized and the locals are not friendly with the local tourists, too many Australians and British. To be honest, during my travel, Australians and British are the most arrogant, rude and a lot of people hate them. Even tho when I was traveling I met quite a few nice British but in general yeah I agreed with most of what people think. Personally I think in general traveler from Europe are very polite especially the Dutch, they are funny and friendly. The Germans as well, French they are soft spoken, and of course the Norwegians I met are the best even tho most of Norwegians are cold.
When traveling to Bali it is not about the beaches, it is also about getting to know the culture. I try to write what I remember about it.
75% of the Balinese are Hindu. In every of the house they will have a small altar to worship and do the prayer. They do the prayer 3 times a day in the morning at 6am when the sun rises, and then at the noon around 12 pm and the last one when the sun set. After prayer usually they will put the rice which has been soak into Sandalwood for a day on their forehead and neck. It is the sign that they have gone for the prayer and hope that they will have a clear and good mind and also they will have a good words come from their mouths.
In Bali, you will never find a building taller than 15m. There is a reason behind it, Pura (the temple where the people goes for prayer) was built on the ground, usually it is only one level. To respect the Pura the sacral place for prayer, the houses and other building can not be built taller than 15m. There is only one building taller than 15m which is a hotel located in Nusa Dua built by the first president Sukarno, the reason is to preserve the historical value of the building.
I will take one long break to explore Indonesia myself and learn the culture, perhaps I can write better things about it.
Beautiful Mt Batur with the Lake Batur on the other side.
There are about 300 people inhabit the village near the mountain, they are known as Tarunyan tribe or Bali Age, they are the native Bali tribe who still believe in praying to the tress or animals. When the Hindu religion came to Bali they refused to believe in it and chose to isolate themselves in the mountain, one of their tradition that still preserved until now is to put the death body under the big tree in the center of the village.
Tanah Lot, Bali. One of my favorite place in Bali, it is too commercialized now but still it has it own charms.
Tanah Lot was built by a hermit (which I have forgotten the name), it is the holy place where he meditated and it is also part of spreading Hinduism in Bali, there are a few pura which built by him along his journey. According to the myth he summon his belt into the snake to guard him while he meditate, that's why you can find the white snake at Tanah Lot.
Sunset at Dream Land beach. Not my cup of tea too many crowds there, it is not a paradise.
Lombok is still not over exposed as Bali, it has its own charm with clean beach with not much wild life as Bali. It is ultimante gateway. I love Lombok. I will come back one day.
Sengigi beach, Lombok, stunning crystal water and white sands. Paradise
Gili trawangan, it is the ultimate paradise.
