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Visitors will agree that Bali is considered as the main tourist destination in Indonesia. Its nature, people, and cultural sights look amazing to all tourists; just like the facets of a diamond.  Balinese culture is based on its unique form of Hinduism called “Hindu Bali” which it retained after the Islamization of Java and developed through the centuries. Though the caste system is observed, it is not as rigid as in India. Religion is the source of traditional customs in family and community life. Its influence is also strongly felt in the arts.
The attractions of Bali lie in its unique art and culture. It almost seems that every person is an artist in some forms, whether it is painting, weaving, carving, basketry, etc. or even in the making of the decorations which are placed at the many shrines in public areas, on roads, paddy fields or inside house. Villagers spend their free time in these arts or that of music and dancing, which is taught from a very young age. The soul of the Balinese is the religion and it finds its expression in the arts.
Bali has been described as a living museum. Ritual and tradition are an intrinsic part of the daily life of the island and its people. A fundamental belief in the “Tri Hita Karana“ – a commitment to maintaining harmony and balance in man’s relationship to man, man’s relationship to nature, and man’s relationship to God is reflected in every aspect of Balinese life: the way the Balinese build their homes, raise their children, treat each other, and even in their daily language.
LOMBOK An island of 4,594 square km, Lombok was formerly a Kingdom with its capital Mataram. The population comprises the native Sasak whose main religion is Islam; the western part of the island is inhabited by Balinese, where the Hindu way of life prevails, complete with ancient temples. Lombok offers its unspoiled beaches, excellent for underwater life lovers, the breath taking Mt Rinjani complemented with its rural villages and waterfalls. KOMODO The last home of giant lizard Varanus Komodoensis Komodo, the very word conjures up thoughts of mystery and myth. A Jurassic world where rolling hillsides of savanna grassland meet long stretches of palm fringed beaches. A place where massive tectonic plateaus collide beneath the turquoise waters of the Flores. Active volcanoes and the strong currents of the Lint Straits create giant whirlpools, guarding the island from the outside world. Great reptiles bathe in the sun as the sounds of exotic birds bring the dense forest to life. This island supports a limited number of plant and animal species, only those who have been able to adapt to this harsh environment have survived. This is the world of the Komodo dragon, the island of Komodo, Indonesia. Called “Ora” by the local people, the dragon is the world’s largest land reptile. Superbly adapted, they reign supremely as the island’s top predator. The only place on earth you can see these magnificent creatures is Komodo and Rinca Island in West Flores. Reaching 3 meters in length and the weight around 90 kg; an adult komodo will attack and kill water buffalo, deer or wild pigs. JAVA Traveling through Java is a treat, whether you take the northern route with its little fishing towns, teakwood forests and old historical sites, or drive through the southern cool green hillside country and rich cultural center. Borobudur Temple, a Buddhist sanctuary was built in the ninth century. The shrine has the world’s largest and most complete collections of Buddhist relief. The walls of its seven terraces rising up on the Great Stupa are carved with Buddhist art. Borobudur lovely hillside location is quiet and serene. Java and Bali enjoyed a lucrative trade with surrounding islands and their arts flourished. Parts of the Mahabharata epic were translated and re-interpreted to conform closer to the East Javanese outlook and philosophy, and it was from this that East Java inherited much of its treasure of temple art. PAPUA PAPUA is the largest and most intact natural history museum in existence, which comprises roughly one half of the island of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland. It is the least populated, least visited and most remote province in Indonesia. Papua holds immense fascination for the naturalist. It is renowned for its colorful and exquisite species of the exotic birds of paradise. There are a variety of tribes and local languages spoken. Some tribes have hardly any contact with the outside world. Their lifestyle, culture and traditions are still intact and alive everywhere. BORNEO Borneo lies on the equator with temperatures from 18C up to 36C in the lowland and 10C up to 23C in the mountain areas. The total land area is 37,000 square kilometers, crossed by many big and small rivers and, that’s why it’s called “The Island of Thousand Rivers”. The rivers are dominant means of transportation and commercial activities. In this island, however, visitors could see first hand orangutan, a unique homo species not found else where in the world. CELEBES The Torajas highland has a unique culture based on animistic beliefs. Known for their grand burial ceremonies on cliff or hanging stone graves, they practice an ancestor cult even today where death and afterlife ceremonies are great feasts when buffaloes are sacrificed in the final death ceremony, after which the deceased's remains are placed in a coffin and interred in caves hollowed out in high cliffs. Lifelike statues, looking out from a “balcony” guard the mouth of the cave. As death has such an important meaning when the souls are released, burials are elaborate and followed by days of feasting. Rock graves also a form of burial. A strict hierarchy is followed in the villages. SUMATRA Sumatra is as rugged as it gets. Thick rainforests cascade like water down towering peaks. Jungle treks are a struggle with gravity and mud. But rewards are plentiful: the world's largest flower blossom, one of the last remaining enclaves of orangutans, or the sulfur-spouting crater of a resting volcano. |
