Have you ever wondered why Balinese tradition is preserved well through generations? Do they have something like a basic foundation of the ceremony, tradition, beliefs? How do they know exactly when and how to do a certain ceremony with such complicated details? They must have notes or at least books to remember the procedure, don’t they?

The answer to all those questions is related to the preservation of the legacy of Balinese’s Ancestor. While the world is shifted to a higher technology era, Bali keeps treasuring its ancestor legacy trough tradition and documentation. The most famous preservation for Balinese ancient document is the Gedong Kirtya Museum. This museum is the treasure of Balinese literature, history, and other philosophy.

The Gedong Kirtya museum is located in Buleleng regency, Singaraja. The exact location of this museum is in the building area of Sasana Budaya near Puri Agung (old palace of Buleleng Kingdom). It was founded in 1982 during the Ducth Colonial era. This museum had been internationally acclaimed as an ancient manuscript museum. It is also said that Gedong Kirtya museum is the only one of its kind in the world. Moreover, many foreign students are visiting this museum for research, studies, observation, and many other purposes. Some are frequently visiting this museum and some are scheduled to visit this museum every six month or on school holiday.

This museum collects, copies, and preserves a huge number of documents in various forms such as transcription on a metal plate, books, and lontar. The content of these documents are varying to a common and ordinary writing until the most sacred and sacral manuscript. Village guideline and regulation can also be found in these documents. Some of them are centuries old documents that well preserved. Mostly, ancient documents in Gedong Kirtya Museum are in form of lontar.

Lontar is an ancient document type that was written in a palm leaf by using a knife and written in Balinese ancient calligraphy. There are a lot of topics that had been written in this form of document including Balinese traditional medicine and therapy, Balinese traditional architecture, Balinese Calendar system, history, epic story, and many others. Therefore, many of these documents became the main foundation of Balinese tradition, religious ceremony, and even Balinese perception. In these recent days, not so many Balinese people can read the script crafted on lontar. Thus, the content of this document had been well applied into several media such as modern calendar and books.
However, translation and media alternation is influenced by perception. Moreover, nothing could replace the original work. Also, reviews and reconsideration related to the content of translated media is always needed to ensure the truth. And that is the reason of Gedong Kirtya museum to keep those documents and replicate the decayed or broken documents.

Information and manuscript crafted on lontar and other ancient documents are priceless. Therefore, to make the information understandable and accessible by everybody, a project led by Ron Jenkins in collaboration with Balinese scholars I Nyoman Catra, Dewa Made Dharmawan, and also Elizabeth Ridolfo (from the Internet Archive Foundation) was launched in 2011 together with other staffs. The big idea was popped up in 2012 with the aim to save, preserve and widespread the richness of Balinese literature heritage to the world. Therefore, people from any country can access these documents and understand the information. This project is conducted by taking photograph of every single pages of the lontar and uploaded to internet server. Moreover, the content of the document will also be translated into various languages such as Balinese, Bahasa Indonesia, and English. This project will be a giant step to Balinese literature for the world.

Are you interested to visit this museum? Well this museum can be reached approximately 11 kilometers from Lovina Beach. And don’t worry if you cannot read the documents. There are some staffs and operators that would kindly explain the history, purpose and many other things about the museum. If you are traveling from Denpasar, you can visit several tourism spot along the way such as Git-Git waterfall, Buyan and Tamblingan Lake. Moreover, when you arrived in the north Bali, you can visit some other tourism spot such as Banjar Hotspring, Sing-sing waterfall, Lovina beach, and many others. Therefore, as a final advice, be sure to visit Gedong Kirtya as the only lontar museum in the world.

Address and Opening hours

Gedong Kirtya
Jalan Veteran,
Singaraja – Bali

Monday to Thursday 07.30-03.30,
Friday 07.00-12.30,
Weekends and public holidays closed

Google Map

Jatiluwih is a natural tourism object with an amazing panorama of rice fields terraces. Jatiluwih is located in Tabanan Regency about 49 kilometers from the capital city of Bali, Denpasar. Meanwhile, from the capital of Tabanan, this place is about 28 kilometers to the north. You could go to this place through a route of Denpasar – Bedugul – Jatiluwih, or Denpasar – Tabanan – Jatiluwih.

If you ever search on the internet about Balinese rice fields or paddy fields pictures, it could be assured that you will find a picture of Jatiluwih amongst the shown pictures. This rice fields are indeed amazing. The variation of terraced rice fields with lush greens and mountain is very unique yet enjoyable to watch.

The air of this corner of a village is very fresh because of its height around 7000 meters above sea level. This tourism object has become a favorite for many local and foreign tourists to visit while they are in Bali. For the foreigners, this rice fields terrace is absolutely a unique panorama that they will never see in their country. For the local tourists, this rice fields terrace is still attractive which is maybe still the best in Indonesia. The tourists who are lucky could also watch Petoyan ceremony which is held occasionally. Petoyan ceremony is only held every 210 days in Wednesday Kliwon Ugu (Balinese calendar system). In this ceremony, a set of procession will be conducted including performing a sacred Wali Pendet Dance. Besides its natural beauty potential, Jatiluwih also possessed a historical potential about the construction of an ancient temple which was related to the king of Keraton Gelgel, Ida Dalem Waturenggong (1460-1551).

Actually, the beauty of Jatiluwih has been known from the era of Dutch colonialism (1910-1942). However, the access to this village is not well maintained so there were not much tourists who knew about Jatiluwih or visited Jatiluwih. This bad access condition ended in 1970 due to reconstruction done by the government. The road from Denpasar – Tabanan – Jatiluwih was made in asphalt resulting an easy access. So from that time this tourism place started to rise and got a lot of visit because of its nature beauty.

Access

From Denpasar Jatiluwih could be reached around 2 hours or about 49 kilometers. Jatiluwih is situated in the North Tabanan, about 28 kilometers from Tabanan City. Usually, tourists who visit Jatiluwih take a tour package visiting some interesting places in Central Bali. The trip departs from Denpasar to Jatiluwih, and then continued to Tabanan Natural Hot Spring, then Subak Monument, Alas Kedaton and then ended in Tanah Lot enjoying Sun Set in a beautiful beach panorama.

Facilities

Jatiluwih has been completed with public facilities like parking lot, toilets, bale bengong (Balinese gazebo), and a hall functioned for a resting area of the visiting tourists. This hall is very great for a resting place since it provides a full view of the beautiful area of Jatiluwih from the top. Around the area, some restaurants have been built to serve the tourists with various dishes. The infrastructure like road has been also improved providing an easy trip for everyone crossing the area. Vehicles could come from east route through Pacung T-junction and could also come from west route crossing Penatahan Hot Spring and Batukaru Temple.

Visiting Time

Jatiluwih is always great to see. However, the best place for visiting this rice fields area is at the time the paddies are all green, or around the dry season. It is because at that times, the rice terraces panorama will be very amazing which are spread along the vast area of the village. All you can see is green. This tourism object is also great to be visited when the local farmers hold a Petoyan ceremony which is held every 210 days in Wednesday of Kliwon Ugu, in Balinese traditional calendar system.

Other Attractions

It was described above that Jatiluwih has been known since the colonial era in Bali (1910-1942). As the result, in the west area of Jatiluwih Village, the Dutch had built a defense headquarter. This headquarters’ remains are still there which is called “Tangsi Belanda” by the local residents. besides that, there is also a sacred temple called Petali Temple which is used as the main temple for worshiping Hyang Widhi (God) his manifestation as a farming ambience. In this temple, the Petoyan or Petirtan ceremony is usually held by the local farmers.

Lovina Beach is located in the northern tip of Bali Island, or approximately 10 km to the west of Singaraja City. Lovina Beach is located in Kalibukbuk Village, Buleleng Regency. Thus, Lovina is also usually called as Kalibukbuk excursion area.

This beach has natural black sand along its coastline. The situation here is very quiet and peaceful. Usually, tourists who get bored of the hustle and bustle of Kuta area will choose this beach as a place to seek for a more tranquil holiday. Besides that, the most famous attraction in Lovina is observing a herd of dolphins swimming in the vast ocean. You could find these dolphins around 1 km from the coast, so you will need a boat for it. The waters in Lovina is very calm thus you can cross the sea by only a simple fishermen’s wooden boat.

The Dolphins

Lovina Beach is widely known as a place for observing the life of dolphins in their natural habitat. You can directly see and feel the friendliness of this sea mammal in the middle of the ocean. They will not hesitate to swim beside your boat, seems like indicating that they are welcoming your visit.

To be able to see them, you will need to wake up early when the sun is about to rise, around 06.00 until 08.00. If you are late, you will miss the chance to meet these cutes dolphins. In those hours, a big group of dolphins will “perform” naturally in the bluish water of Lovina beach showing their activities in the morning. Some of them only swim calmly, but some of them also makes two or three acrobatic moves over the water. The tourists who had visited this beach and observed them directly were all amazed.

Usually, the tourists will gather in the beach around 05.30 for preparation of crossing the sea. You can rent fishermen’s boats which are parked around there. However, the boat could only carry 5 people, including the fisherman himself. Slowly, the boat will bring you one or two kilometers into the middle of the sea. During this trip, you will be offered an amazing ocean view in front of you and captivating land view behind you. When you are already in the middle of the sea, the fisherman will guide you to the favorite place of the dolphins. You do not need to worry, because this fisherman has already memorized the habits of the dolphins so they know what to do. The process of finding these dolphins may take around 3 hours. However, sometimes these dolphins do not show up because of the nature condition, like the tidal or changing of wind direction. Sometimes, your luck could also become a determinant.

Lovina Marine Park

In the area of Lovina, you could also do diving or snorkeling enjoying the beauty of its underwater life. You can see the beauty of coral reefs or see some friendly fish swim to you. This marine park is not as beautiful as the other marine parks in the other regions of Indonesia, but this marine park is fun enough to be explored, especially when you could observe the friendly and colorful fish under its water.

Accommodation

In the area around Lovina there are a lot of affordable resorts or lodges. Some of them even completed with a dolphin attraction and mini zoo. You can choose from the simplest cottage until a luxurious cottage based on your budget.

Access

Lovina Beach is around 80 km from Denpasar and could be reach by 2.5 until 3 hour driving. To reach Lovina, you could use the route of Denpasar-Singaraja or route of Denpasar-Bedugul-Seririt. The second route will be harder because after Bedugul, you will see a lot of winding road. However, this road offers you a better view along the trip. So it is up to you to choose which one is better. Actually, there is another route passing Gilimanuk, but it will take almost 5 hours to reach Lovina. The road is easy and straight but it will take much longer time.

Lovina Beach is one of the most famous tourism objects in Bali. Indeed, this place is a great place for spending holiday. There are a lot of interesting things to be found here, like watching wild dolphins, diving and snorkeling in a marine park, or enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of its beach. If one day you are visiting Singaraja, you must go to this beach at least one day for experiencing all of the great things mentioned above.

Wakatobi National Park has an area of 1.39 million hectare which possessed a great marine potential. This national park offers a unique and amazing underwater panorama. Wakatobi National Park consists of four big island, Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko which is located under the jurisdiction of Wakatobi Region, Southeast Sulawesi.

In 1994, some scientists from Institut Pertanian Bogor (Bogor Agriculture Institute) conducted a survey in the area of Wakatobi. From their survey, it was found that Wakatobi has a great number of marine richness like coral reefs and sea stars. It was also concluded that this area could be developed further as a good tourism object offering underwater panorama as its mainstay.

The local residents in Wakatobi is called Bajau tribe. According to the record of ancient China and European Explorer, this tribe is one of the seamen tribes in Asia which could cross far distance on the ocean with their simple fleet. However, up until now, only Bajau tribe is still exist in Southeast Asia. Watching their unique daily life around the national park is an interesting experience, especially when they hunt for food by diving under the sea without equipments.

In this national park, there are 25 clusters of coral reef. In these clusters, it could be seen around 112 types from 13 family which are located in 25 spots along 600 km of coastal line. Besides the beauty of the coral reef, this national park also possesses various kind of fish species. There are around 93 species of fish in this national park both from the category of consumable and decoration fish, such as Spotted Argus (Cephalopholus argus), Takhasang (Naso unicornis), Pogo-pogo (Balistoides viridescens), Napoleon (Cheilinus undulatus), Baronang (Siganus guttatus), Amphiprion melanopus, Chaetodon specullum, and many more. Not just that, there are also some species of exotic tropical birds dwells the forests of this national park, like the Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster plotus), Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii), and Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). There are also three different kind of preserved turtles, for instance Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta), and Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).

The Islands in Wakatobi are very attractive locations for diving snorkeling, marine excursion, camping, sun bathing, and even culture excursion. The islands in Wakatobi are listed below.

Wangi-wangi Island

In this island, some resorts specially provides you with the diving equipments. Indeed, this island is the gate of Wakatobi National Park. Because of the its fast development, an airport named Matahora Airport is planned to be built in Wangi-Wangi Island. Wangi-Wangi is well known as the distributor of cheap secondhand import goods. In this island, you can also see a fort named Fort Liya Togo. Near from the fort, there is a Talo-Talo Tomb, the tomb of the little king of Buton Sultanate. Talo-Talo in the local language means “a whiz.” There is a unique ritual held every Eid called Posepa.

Kaledupa Island

In Kaledupa Island, there is a coral which is called Kaledupa Coral. This coral is very unique because of its from. People also call this coral as the table coral (refers to its form) which is 2-3 meters in size. Besides its beauty, the people of Kaledupa is also full of history and culture. In Kaledupa, there are various traditional way for getting food from the ocean without destroying the habitat. The activity of the local people, like when they fish using traditional equipments is also attractive to be observe

Tomia Island

Tomia Island is a great place for snorkeling and diving. From around the 90’s a luxurious dive resort has been operated here by a Swiss. This resort even builds an airport called Maranggo Airport to bring the tourists directly from Bali. The resort is professionally managed and the tourists who want to stay there should pay a decent value of money. Besides snorkeling and diving, in Tomia you could also visit Fort Patua. Some remains of ancient cannons are still there. There is also Jomba Katepi; a small-holed 100 meter well which was used to dispose the prisoners in the war era.

Binongko Island

Binongko is the area of blacksmith society. The people of Binongko has been known as a good producer of parang, a kind of Indonesian traditional sword. In the waters of Binongko, a group of dolphins could also be observed especially when they swim besides your boat. Like the other island, Biningko also rich of underwater beauty which has attract so many tourists.

Hoga Island

Hoga Island is one of the favorite diving spots for the professional divers from all around the world. In Hoga, there are around 200 lodges in a form of small wooden stilts house spread along the island. The beach is very fantastic with clean white sand and line of coconut trees on its coast. The water is also crystal clear, make you are able to see the fish swimming around the coral from the top of the dock.

A diving site is located between Hoga Island and Kaledupa Island or called Hoga Channel. This spot is an underwater paradise. Here, you can see a vast area of colorful corals with some beautiful fish swimming through the anemone or coral itself. Such a fantastic scene!

Besides in Hoga Channel, there are also other 20 diving sites in Wakatobi. There are Pinnacle sites near Hoga, Kaledupa Coral in Kaledupa Island, or Mari Mabuk Coral in Tomia; and every sites has its own uniqueness. The most beautiful coral structure is located in the Pinnacle. The corals are just mountainous, like its name “Pinnacle.” Pinnacle site also becomes the natural habitat of a local barracuda species and pygmy a species of tiny sea horse.

The Access to Wakatobi

To reach Wakatobi National Park you could depart from Kendari to Bau-bau with an express ship for a five hour trip on the sea. From Bau-bau you could continue to Lasalimu by driving for around two hours. After that, you need to take the express ship heading to Wanci. It may take about two and a half hour before arriving in Wanci. Wanci is the front gate of the Wakatobi National Park, so after this, the long trip that you take could be paid off with the beauty and exoticness of Wakatobi.

Prambanan is a Hindu temple built around the 10th century in Central Java. This temple stands tall until 47 meters or 5 meters higher than Borobudur Temple. Prambanan Temple is located around 17 kilometers from the downtown of Yogyakarta. There is a legend about this temple. It was said that in the past, there was a man called Bandung Bondowoso who loved a beautiful maiden called Roro Jonggrang. However, Roro Jonggrang did not love him, so when she was proposed by this man she asked Bandung Bondowoso to build a temple with 1000 statues before morning; an impossible mission. However, Bandung Bondowoso was such a magical and powerful man. Assisted by his genies, he almost completed the 1000 statues before Roro Jonggrang deceived him by creating a fake morning atmosphere. She asked her people to do their activities like it was already morning. At that time, Bandung Bondowoso had created 999 statues. Later on, when he knew that he was deceived, Bandung Bondowoso was very furious. He cursed Roro Jonggrang as a statue and use it to complete the 1000 statues inside Prambanan Temple.

Prambanan consists of 3 temples in the main yard, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva Temple. Those temples are the symbol of Trimurti which all of them faces to the East. Every temple has its own companion temple facing West such as Nandini for Shiva, Swan for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu. Besides that there are also 2 candi apit, 4 candi kelir, and 4 candi sudut. Meanwhile, in the second yard there are 224 temples.

While entering Shiva Temple in the middle of the area, you will see 4 rooms. 1 room for Shiva statue, while the other three contains Durga (Shiva’s wife) statue, Agastya (Shiva’s teacher), and Ganesha (Shiva’s son). The Durga statue in this room is known as the Roro Jonggrang statue in the legend above. In the north of Shiva temple, there is Vishnu temple. There will be one room contains Vishnu statues. Meanwhile the Brahma temple is located in the south of Shiva Temple and also contains a room full of Brahma statues.

The companion temple which is quite attractive is the Garuda temple located near Vishnu temple. This temple tells a story about a mythological half bird man named Garuda. Garuda is pictured as a man with golden body, white face, red wings, bill, and eagle-like wings. Reputedly, this figure is the Hindu manifestation of Sun God or Ra in Egyptian myth or Phoenix in Greek myth. With his hard effort, Garuda could save his mother by taking Amerta holy water from the Gods. The effort of Garuda is very admired until now and used as the symbol of Indonesia. It was said that the creator of Garuda Pancasila got his inspiration from this temple. Thailand also used Garuda as their national symbol, however in Thailand it is known as Krut or Pha Krut.

Prambanan also has a relief telling story about Ramayana epic. Another relief also tells about Kalpataru tree who is believed as the tree of life by the Hindu. This relief was drawn flanking a lion. The existence of Kalpataru relief made some scientists drew a conclusion that in the 9th century, the Hindu people of Java had already given a special care for their environments.

Just like Garuda, Kalpataru has also inspired many people. In Indonesia, Kalpataru has become the symbol of environment conservation. This tree of life could also be seen in the “gunungan” which is the opening act for the traditional puppet show in Indonesia.

Interestingly, there are also some bird reliefs around this temple, but this time they are real birds. The bird reliefs in Prambanan are so natural and detail so that the biologists could identify these birds until the type of their genus. For example, you can see a relief of a yellow parrot (Cacatua sulphurea) which has raised a question. Why? Because this species only lives in an island called Masakambing in the middle of Java Sea. The scientists are very curious to research if this bird also lived around Yogyakarta in the past.

This temple got some serious damages from the earthquake in May 2006 around Central Java region. However, now the temple has been renovated and ready to be visited by the tourists. There is also one unique myth about visiting this temple. If you are an unmarried couple, you are suggested not to go inside the temple together with your couple because it is believed that the couple who enter the area of Prambanan will be separated; just like the love of Bandung Bondowoso and Roro Jonggrang. Believe it or not.

Bali Safari & Marine Park (BSMP) is a zoo and conservation place for some preserved animals around Indonesia. This safari park is located in Bypass Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra, Gianyar. BSMP was built on a 40 hectares area which spread over three villages, Serongga Village, Lebih Village, and Medahan Village. From Denpasar, BSMP is approximately 17 km and could be reach in 35 minutes, or approximately 30 km from Kuta and could be reached in 50 minutes. This park is similar with Indonesia I Safari Park in Cisarua, Bogor and Indonesia II Safari Park in Pringen, East Java or people say as “sister park.” This safari park is also the member of Indonesian Zoo Association.

BSMP provides a unique medium in a combination of wildlife and ecosystem which is very close to the culture of Balinese people. In this place you can see various species of endangered animals comes from three regions; Indonesia, India, and Africa. Those animals for example, Bali starlings, owls, boars/babirusa, alligators, crocodiles, tapir, Sumatra elephants, Timor reindeers, honey bear, Sumatera tiger, spotted deer, Himalaya bear, nilgai, black buck, hippopotamus, grevy zebra, dromedary camels, ostrich, baboons, blue wildebeest, and lions.

The basic concept of Bali Safari and Marine Park is to get visitors enjoying the one and only safari experience where they start the trip from the most modern era of Bali, and then gradually continued until the era of ancient Bali where so many philosophies, myths, and histories could be found related to the wildlife. It could be seen that in the ancient Bali, the people were always try to maintain the universe by balancing their life with the wildlife.

The safari will be started with the story of Tantri and Ramayana, then continued to Balinese village with its people’s activities, after that visiting an area of Hanuman (monkey god) and his subordinates, until visiting a Ganesha statue, the God of knowledge and prosperity in a form of elephant. After finishing your visit in Bali area, you will be taken into a tour of Sulawesi, Kalimantan/Borneo, Java, until India and Africa. This trip will be done in a special vehicle departing from a terminal called, Terminal Toraja.

After doing Safari Tram Tour, you will be given chance to visit the other places and directly interact with the animals, such as giving food or riding on camel or elephant. You can also take your picture with these animals and their cute babies. The tour of BSMP gives you a unique and different experience, like observing the white tigers or safari on the elephants back.

Besides a good place for safari, BSMP also provide a good place for eating. You can try to have lunch in Tsavo Lion Restaurant with its unique ambience which is the one and only in Asia. Here, you will have your meal accompanied by African lions which are swarming outside the glass window of your place.

Education and Conservation Program

BSMP also features an education and conservation program which is the best choice if you want to spend your holiday with an educating activities. This program starts at 09.30 in Barong Lobby with the introduction of leopard, alligator, Senyulong crocodile (a kind of freshwater crocidle) and Bali Curik bird. After that, it continues to the next introduction and photo session with some gorgeous birds in the area of Banyan Court. Then, the visitors will be taken to tour the area guided by a special guide for around 30 minutes.

The next activity is discussion about animals, environment, and conservation. After that, touching and feeling the animals, watching animals education and conservation show, and observing the process of feeding the white tiger. The program is then closed by having lunch in Uma Restaurant around 12.30. After that, the visitors are free to explore the BSMP and enjoy other activities.

The entrance ticket for this safari park is Rp 75,000 per person while the ticket for the Education and Conservation Program is Rp 110,000 per person.

Other Activities

There are other activities which are provided by BSMP, besides safari and education program, for instance funzone and water park. Funzone features some fun games and rides like gogo bouncer, jungle cruise, spinning coaster, flume ride and so forth. At Saturday, Sunday, and National Holidays there is also barong dance performance and interesting dance lesson for the kids in Bale Banjar hall.

The Best Visiting Time

Apart from the education program, the best time to visit BSMP is in the morning around 09.00, because Various Animal Presentation is usually started at 11.00, and then continued by Elephant Bathing at 11.15 and Elephant Conservation and Education Show at 11.45. after that, you can visit Uma Restaurant or Tsavo Lion Restaurant for lunch. However, if you prefer to go in the afternoon you should not miss the Elephant Bathing at 13.15, Elephant Conservation and Education Show at 15.00 and Various Animal Presentation at 16.00.

Bromo is a name of a mountain in Java Island which is famous for its amazing sunrise and sand desert. Its amazing sunrise has attracted so many tourists from both local and foreign countries. This tourism object is located in Probolinggo Regency, East Java and within bound with four regions around it such as Malang, Pasuruan, Probolinggo and Lumajang. It means that there are many access to reach Bromo area through those mentioned regions.

Bromo is a unique tourists destination because this mountain has sand ocean / desert with 5,250 hectare size. It becomes more unique since the desert is located under a mountain (mountain foot) with 2,100 meter above sea level.

Around this location, there are a lot of choices for staying, from the hotels until local residents’ house which will only cost you around 100,000 or 200,000 rupiahs. Besides that, around these houses you will easily find some food sellers or stands which are also affordable. For the adventurers, they might prefer spending nights in these houses since they can get a more challenging and unique experiences.

To see the spectacular sunrise scene on top of Mount Bromo you must go to an area called Penanjakan. To go there, a vast sandy desert must be crossed. Usually, the local residents also offer you to rent a jeep for easy trip. It will cost around 300,000 to 400,000 rupiahs per car which could accommodate up to seven people. No time for lazing around here, you must rent the jeep at night and be ready at 3 in the morning or you will miss the sunrise. Make sure that you are all wrapped up because it will be freezing around there. From 3 am you will start crossing the desert and heading into the top of this mountain. Do not worry about the hard and uneasy road that you will face, the drivers here are very expert. A little luck will also be needed here, because if it is cloudy or rainy then it will be “game over.”

About 2 hour or less, you will reach the top of the Bromo. The sun usually rise at 5 am or 5.30 depending on the season. When you are able to see a glimpse of orange lights on the east horizon it means that an unforgettable experience is about to start. All people seeing this will be amazed by the fantastic scene that the nature shows.

To climb up onto the summit of the Mount Bromo’s crater you can go through the stairs. However, if it is too tiring for you, a horse can be rented for 100,000 rupiahs. Do not worry if you do not know how to ride this animal, because a guide will accompany you. From the summit of Mount Bromo you will see directly the crater and smell the odor of sulfur. The amazing panorama that you will see is unmatched. From here, the sand desert and a complex of Hindu Temple could be seen from distance. Beside Mount Bromo, you will also see Mount Batok. Mount Batok is a unique mountain with many layers.

Tengger Tribe

Besides watching the amazing panorama of this mountain, it is also interesting to see and visit the local ethnic called Tengger. According to the history, the people of Tengger were the people of Majapahit Kingdom which fled into the foot of Bromo to avoid wars. Like the religion of Majapahit, these people also believe in Hindu as their religion. Thus, the unique and sacred Hindu ceremonies done here are also attractive. A temple was also built in the foot of Mount Semeru which is adjacent to the Mount Bromo.

Kasado Ceremony

One of the unique ceremonies done in Mount Bromo is called Kasado Ceremony. This ceremony is conducted by Hindu people live in the area by giving offering to God. They will gather their harvests from the gardens, rice fields, and farms and arranged them in a unique form of offering. After that, those offerings are brought onto the summit of the Bromo and then thrown up into its crater. Uniquely, some of the people from outside of this village will wait below to take the offerings. Kasado ceremony is an annual ceremony or a ceremony which is held every year according to Javanese traditional calendar. This ceremony usually takes place between December and Januari. The ceremony itself is intended to bring luck, prosperity, and to prevent disasters especially disaster caused by the eruption of Mount Bromo.

Bali is a famous holiday island which has been attracting more and more tourists to visit and see its natural beauty and unique culture. With a reasonable budget you will be able to experience the world class service and facilities of a world class tourists’ destination. Moreover, the prices in this island are very affordable and for you who always want lower price, the bargaining shopping is the best way here. Not just that, the weather, the people, and even everything about the island is interesting.

Bali is indeed the best place related to the safety, pricing, and attractions. However apart from those good sides mentioned earlier, like everything which exists in this world, it is also common to have bad sides. Common inconvenience things for instance traffic jam, dirtiness, or flood, but the other bad things are there. This writing was not intended to make you afraid of Bali. Not at all! It was written just to give you information as a consideration for the things that need to be avoided while you are spending holiday in Bali, so you could have an unforgotten memories in this island, like the others. According to the baliblog, these things are need to be avoided in Bali.

Arguments with Regulations or Customs

Regulations were made to maintain comfort for everyone. Like the other countries, Bali also has some regulations or customs which need to be obeyed. Some of them are indecisive but some are also strict. Just make sure that you do not argue the regulations because the Balinese will not like it. For example, many tourists protest upon their arrival at Ngurah Rai International airport upon arrival, for extra tight security check which are very bothering, like opening your luggage and so on. Arguing or refusing the officers will only give you more nuisances. The best thing to do is to be polite and accept the regulations as it may lead you to a safer condition of travelling.

Things which are prohibited to be brought into airplane or outside the airplane for example: things that could harm other people (weapons) like knife, swords, baseball sticks, pistol, firearms, or knuckleduster, explosives or flammable things like alcohol, petrol, firecrackers, fireworks, gas lighter; chemicals or toxic substances like bleacher, chlorine, acid, pepper spray and so forth; narcotics like marijuana, ecstasy, opium, and so on; properties of the airplane such as lifejacket, maskers, safety guide book, and so on.

Taxis that Don’t Use the Meter

This things normally happens in Indonesia, where the taxi driver prefer to turn off their taxi meter and ask the passengers to pay a fix amount of money. However, this will only happen if you get on an infamous or illegal taxis. So, before entering a taxi, make sure that you ask the driver whether they want to switch on his taxi meter or not. If they do not use the meter, stay away and find the other taxis as it may cost you more than it should be. Usually, the well known and trusted taxis like Bluebird, Ngurah Rai Taxi, Geka, Gelora, Koperasi Taxi Kowinu Bali, Pan Wirthi Taxi, Rajawali Taxi, or Ramayana Taxi would appear in appropriate manner and serve you well. Other than those taxi corporations, it is not guaranteed that you might get a good service. However, you should always be careful because using a well known taxi, does not mean that you are free from fraud or other irresponsible acts.

Unregistered Money Changers

Changing money is also crucial thing to do in Bali. If you want to do so, try to find a registered and legal moneychanger. It is quite easy to find the legal one, as you can judge by yourself how a good moneychanger looks like. Dealing with a wrong moneychanger could seriously rip off your holiday budget.

Below are the list of some TRUSTED moneychangers :

1. Airport Money Changers
2. PT Bali Maspintjinra, Kuta Jl Sriwinjays No 16A
3. BMC Seminyak PT Bali Maspintjinra (opposite Bintang Supermarket, next to Sip restaurant on the Kuta side.)
4. PT Bali Maspintjinra, Head office Jl Raya Seminyak No 16A
5. PT Bali Maspintjinra, Sanur, Jl Danau Tamblingan No 18
6. Central Kuta Money Changer, JL Pantai Kuta, Kerobokan, Kuta, Denpasar
7. Wahana Money Changer, JL Raya Kuta 88R, Kuta, Bali
8. Sentral Kuta Money Changer JL Kunti 121, Kerobokan, Kuta, Denpasar, Bali
9. Kodak Shops
10. Fuji Shops

Flashing Money

Absolutely, do not try to show off in the public area by flashing your money. Doing that may attract the pickpockets and thieves which could only give trouble. Well, they are not Balinese for sure, but usually come along from outside Bali for working and once in a while stealing tourists’ money.

Buying Drugs

This is Bali, not Amsterdam. Here, or anywhere in Indonesia, drugs are illegal and prohibited. It does not matter if you are only using them, the cops will have enough reason to send you to jail. Moreover, bringing narcotics into Indonesia will be punished dead. If you buy drugs on the streets, it will also be more risky, because police has “eyes” everywhere. Do not sacrifice your whole holiday pleasure for this temporary pleasure!

Hustlers on the Streets

This is the characteristics of every developing countries. Beggars could be found easily on the street. Some of them are genuine and poor, but the others are fake only taking advantage of your generosity. If you give them money, it will not help them but it will make them become lazier because they do not need to work to gain money. Moreover, some of these beggars have big boss who exploit them for getting easy money.

Heat of the Day

Although you come to Bali to feel the tropical climate in the warmth of the sun, you may not expect that sometimes it could be burning hot in Bali. So, always be prepared with some water to avoid dehydration. If you want to walk around the street, it will be better to be done in the morning or at night because the day and afternoon could be very hot.

If you are looking for a complete packaging of holiday and education at once, this museum is a perfect choice. The Batur Volcano museum is located in Kintamani District of Bangli Regency in Bali. This is the first volcanic museum in Indonesia. If you are travelling through Kintamani but not visiting this museum, you miss a diamond among the gold during your holiday. This museum is a treasure chest full of information about volcano in Indonesia especially the Batur volcano. This museum explains huge varieties of information from the history, process, material, studies and many more including Balinese religious perspective towards volcano. This museum was built in regard to the fact that Indonesia possesses more than 500 volcanoes which 129 among them are categorized as active.

This museum can be found on the right side of the street after Penelokan mount view in Kintamani if you are traveling from Lovina or Singaraja. This is a famous museum for local citizen in Kintamani, so you can ask people around there about the location of the museum. Moreover, this museum is reachable in relatively short distance from several tourism objects such as Ubud, Bangli, Besakih Temple, or Tampak siring.

Since this museum was built in 2007, not so many people notice this museum in Bali. The front appearance of the building is also more likely to be a market or ordinary building. However, the facilities inside are very interesting and informative. You can find diorama, map, sample of volcanic eruption material, several tools used to detect upcoming eruption, pictures, audio-visual media, computer-based interface, big theater playing movies about volcanic eruption, and many others. As the result of those facilities, many students are visiting this museum every month. However, the numbers of visitors are still low compared to other museum in Bali.

In the first floor, you will find a big diorama showing the relation of volcano worldwide. It is controlled by some console button paired with the name of the volcano. When you pushed the button, the diorama will turn on the lamp of the volcano in the map. There are also some buttons used as a console to some volcano as a category, so when you push this button, a group of volcano will turned on. However, some other cool dioramas are not working since the temperature of the area is too humid and not good for the devices. And as replacement, some computer interfaces are ready to show several interesting information such as the history of the Batur Lake and Volcano. There is also a diagram of how traditional and modern way of early warning system is conducted in the past.

When you see a beautiful view in Penelokan, you will feel amazed by the beauty of a wide lake there. And in the museum you will understand that the lake was the caldera of the Batur Volcano several thousand years ago. It means that the lake was the basement of the volcano which was very wide, and it can be imagined how high the Batur Volcano was in the prehistoric times. Well as stated previously, this museum also shows some volcanic material from Mount Agung, Mount Batur, and other regional and International material.

In the second floor, you can see an explanation of how volcanic rock is carved by Balinese people as one of the artistic pride of Bali. A Geopark showing Batur environment and cultural reservation is also exhibited there. Another facility in the second floor is a movie theater with the capacity of more than 100 people inside. However, if you want to ask the staff to play the movie, you need to be in a group of least 25 individuals. An auditorium is also available in the second floor which usually used by local government or other company.

The third floor is specialized as the monitoring and research station towards the activity of the Batur Volcano since it is still active. In this floor, a telescope equipped with aerial photograph is available. By reading instruction or asking guidance from the museum staffs, visitors can also see the nature landscape of Batur Volcano. By their eyes, visitors may see the smoke coming out from the volcano as a sign that the volcano is still active. Local citizen are well aware of the might of Batur Volcano based on religious and scientific perspective. Therefore, when a sign of eruption is appear, local citizen will conduct a ceremony that related to this event. Event without modern early warning system, local citizen can notice the signs of eruption trough the changing act of animals and nature condition. And this museum explains all details of the phenomena. So, be sure to visit this museum at least once on your trip in Bali.

Location

Batur Volcano Museum
Jalan Kintamani, Penelokan, Bangli, Bali, Indonesia
Tel: +62 366 51152
Fax: +62 366 51186
Google Map

Sikui Island is one of the islands located on the west side of Sumatera. This island is a member of Mentawai Archipelago. Administratively, Sikuai Island is located in the region of Bungus Teluk Kabang District, Padang, West Sumatra. This island is approximately 23 km from Padang City which could be reached using speedboat. This island was started to be developed as a tourism object from 1994. Sikuai Island is a tropical paradise offering all beauties and experience of a tropical island, for instance white sand and soft beach, warm waters, coral reef richness, and various species of fish. The calm wave, line of coconut trees, and a lush and green tropical rainforest are all well maintained and natural. The most attracting scenery could be seen in the sunset, when the sun glows red with orange background “drowning” into the bluish ocean. Such an amazing panorama!

Despite the beauty, this island is not really popular. Many travelers or tourists does not know much about the Sikui Island in West Sumatera. This island is like newly discovered. This island should be visited when you spend holiday in the land of Minang (Padang). Usually, tourists will prefer visiting Gadang Clock, Anai Valley, Gadang Houses, and the legendary beach where the story of Malin Kundang was taken place if they are having holiday in West Sumatera. Indeed, those tourism objects are the mainstays of West Sumatera, but slowly but sure Sikui Island will join them and become of the favorites.

Sikuai is one of 19 islands which are inside the region of Padang City. This island is about 38.6 square meters or has the area of 40 hectares. Although it is not yet famous if compared to the other tourism objects, Sikuai Island could be said as one of the developing tourism object in West Sumatera, especially for marine tourism. In this island, you can do some water activities such as snorkeling, diving, fishing, or just swimming on the clean water of Sikuai Beach whilst watching the beauty of sea biota including coral reefs.

To access this island, from Padang City exactly from Bungus Bay, you will need a boat for crossing into Sikuai. Bungus Bay is about 23 km south of Padang City. Besides Bungus Bay, you could also depart from Wisata Bahari dock in Batang Harau Street. If you take this way, Sikuai Island could be reached in 25 minutes on speed boat or 60 minutes using ship or from Muara Port with travelling time around 45 minutes with ship and then from Airud Bungus in 35 minutes. There are 25 cottages built in this island. Besides that, facilities like restaurants, meeting / conference room, swimming pool, or even bicycling and jogging path to go around the island are available. The stairs which were built in this island reaching the top of the hill, allowing the tourists to enjoy the sunset and sun rise from the top spot on the island.

If you consider a quiet and peaceful holiday destination, this island is a perfect choice. In the line of coconut trees neat the resort, there are some hammocks hanging on the trees for relaxing and enjoying the fresh air. After that we could go to the beach, playing or walking on the sand and then swimming. Here, you could easily see some turtle hatchlings swimming between the reefs. Not just that, other activities like snorkeling around the island or canoeing on the calm waters are also fun to be tried in the peaceful atmosphere of Sikuai Island. The clear water makes the underwater biota visible even from top of your canoe.

The trekking or jogging lane is also available behind the resort. There is a green tropical rainforest with its high hill which could be explored. This hill is already equipped with 369 stairs if you want to go up the stairs and reach the top of the hill. It will need a tough effort though, because for arriving to the top needs 30 minutes or more. It will be energy draining activity, but all will be paid off with the amazing panorama of the ocean with some small islands around it. Moreover, if you arrive on the top at the sunset, you will see the view that you will never forget. However, the minus point of this island is the lack of electricity. The electricity source for the resort is from a generator and unfortunately turned on only from 17.00 to 08.00 in the morning.

Some water sports are also worthy to try here, such as banana boat, snorkeling, mountain cycling, or speed boat. Activities like venturing the forests, trying the coconut fruits and its fresh water will also be a unforgettable experiences. Spending holiday in Sikuai Island offers a true relaxation and peace.