Wood Carving

WOOD CARVING

Wood carving,like stone carving, has traditionally featured largely in temple and palacearchitecture with little freestanding 'sculpture' work produced commercially.Immaculately carved demons and mythical beings decorate pillars, door panels,lintels and window shutters with the aim of protecting the buildings fromevil intruders. Scenes of legendary figures placed within floral decorset a more pleasant and educational tone. When producing tools and objectsfor everyday use, sculptors had a much freer hand in choosing subject matter.With the arrival of European influences, wood carving started to developalong more innovative and commercial lines.

 Althoughthere have been noteworthy carvers, for example; I Nyoman Cokot, Ida BagusNyana and Ketut Nongos, artistic integrity has suffered as a result ofthe whole villages specialize in producing certain styles of work. Thevillage of Mas near Ubud is probably the best known for its carvings offemale figures, Buddhas, characters from Hindu epics and the traditionalTopeng and Wayang Wong masks.

Textiles

TEXTILES

One ofthe most striking things about Bali is the rich variety of cloths and materialsthat are to be seen in thousands of shops throughout the island. Howeveronly a small proportion of these are indigenous to Bali. The myriad ofbatik clothes and sarongs available everywhere, are mainly imported fromJava and a large proportion of the woven cloths (ikat) found in and aroundKuta / Legian area are imported from the islands of Sumba & Flores.However Bali does have a very rich textile industry of its own. The beautifulSongket fabrics worn by performers of traditional dance are a good example.

 In Songket,gold and silver threads are woven into the cloth to create complex motifsof birds, butterflies and flowers. Sometimes they use so much gold &silver that the underlying cloth is barely visible.
Endek, orweft ikat is another common method used in Bali. In weft ikat weaving,the weft threads are dyed to create the design and then woven with plainwarp threads. These cloths are recognizable by their abstract designs andbright colors.
 
Althoughby far the least common form of weaving to be seen in Bali, Geringsing,or double-ikat, is perhaps the most sought after. With this technique,both the warp and weft threads are dyed to their final designs before beingwoven together. With the exception of certain areas in India and Japan,this weaving technique can only be found in the small village of Bali Again Tenganan, East Bali.
 
If you wouldlike to see ikat being woven visit the Cili Weaving Center, Jalan CiungWanara, Gianyar.

Acomodation

Bali is sure to have the right type of hotels, villas and accommodation for you. Whether you are looking for an international resort hotels or more modest accommodation there is a great selection from which to choose. To assist you, we have classified all Bali hotels and accommodation in categories from budget to luxury.

Budget
Properties offering simple yet clean and comfortable accommodation. There are limited facilities available but is perfect for the traveler wanting to stretch their holiday dollar.

Moderate
Accommodation offering more amenities and facilities, Many hotels feature a coffee shop, restaurant, bar and 24 hour room service. Moderate hotels and villas offer good value.

Superior
Well maintained accommodation ( hotels & villas ) with superior facilities, services and amenities. Properties are normally located on the beachfront or prime location. Most 3-4 star hotels offer spa, fitness and kids club activities.

Deluxe
Deluxe properties offering high quality hotel accommodation with high standards of service. Most 4-5 star hotels have extensive facilities and may offer private villa or suite accommodation. The gardens and pool areas are expansive.

Luxury
Accommodation with tasteful decor, excellent service and quality facilities. Most hotels in this category feature a restaurant, coffee shop, bar, public areas and leisure facilities. Villas in this category offer the best there is.

Stone Carving

STONE CARVING

Althoughstone carvings were mainly used to decorate temples and palaces, the carvershad much more leeway in their use of subject matter than the artists andillustrators. There is little difference between the iconography decoratingtemples and that of private buildings. Gateways represent the dividingline between the inner and outer worlds and as such are the recipientsof some of the most fantastic carvings. 

As well as portraying deities anddemons, the carvers included many scenes from public life and there aremany temple surfaces enriched with the antics of the Dutch Colonialistsincluding scenes of bicycles, drunken parties, car break-downs and evenaeroplanes. Bali's modern-day center of stonecarving is the village ofBatubulan, situated half-way between Denpasar and Gianyar.

 Althoughyou can see excellent examples of Balinese stone carving all over the island,the temples in the North tend to be much more unrestrained (with the exceptionof Pura Puseh in Batubulan). If you are planning on visiting Northern Baliit is well worth taking the time to visit Pura Meduwe Karang in Kubutambahan,Pura Dalem in Jagaraga and Pura Beji near Singaraja. In order to see thework of Bali's most famous stonecarver and accomplished artist, I GustiNyoman Lempad, visit Pura Sagen Agung in Ubud.

Paintings

PAINTINGS

The placesynonymous with the traditional form of Balinese painting is the villageof Kamasan near Klungkung. In the service of the kings of Gelgel and Klungkungup until the beginning of this century, it was only natural that the paintersand illustrators, called 'Sangging', should settle in this one area. Asit was not uncommon for ruling families from other parts of Bali of acquirethe use of a Sangging to decorate their own palaces or temples, the Kamasanstyle of painting quickly spread throughout the whole of Bali.

 Until thestart of this century, the dominant form of painting was the portrayalof Hindu epics, on 'Langse' - large narratives painted either on broad,rectangular cloths or on 'Ider-ider' which were much narrower (about 30cmwide and several meters long). Langse were placed in temples as wall hangingsor used as curtains in the palaces. Ider-ider were hung around the roofsof temples and shrines and were used decoratively at court on festive occasions.The artists also painted on wooden boards which were placed between raftersas ceiling friezes. A side from large representational paintings, the 'Sangging'were also expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboovessels, headboards for princely bed chambers and in particular to illustrateastrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth.
 
The stylefor which the artists of Kamasan are famous is based on the East Javanese'Wayang' art. These were basically two-dimensional, iconographic representationsfollowing strict rules and guidelines as to how the characters should beportrayed. For example a person's character and status can be seen fromthe colors used to portray them, his headdress of even the direction inwhich he is facing. Noblemen always have very refined faces while coarsecharacters have large, bulging eyes and fangs. Today in Kamasan you canstill find people who are dedicated to painting in the traditional 'Wayang'style. One of the most famous Kamasan artists is I Nyoman Mandra, who,aside from producing his own paintings and doing restoration work, hasstarted a school to try and keep the Wayang tradition alive.
 
It wasn'tuntil the early nineteen hundreds that Western influence reached Bali.The use of Asian symbols in the works of, amongst others, Paul Gauguin,Toulouse Lautrec and Camille Pissaro created a new trend for Asian-influencedart and European painters began to move to Bali. Ubud's fame for art canbe traced to the arrival of German painter, Walter Spies and Dutch painterRudolf Bonnet. Together, with Indonesian artist Gede Agung Sukawati, theyestablished the Pitamaha Group which encouraged Balinese artists to moreexpressive and less tradition-bound. Aside from the Kamasan school of paintingthere now exists a wide range of different styles. Some characteristicsare listed briefly below.

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The Arts Of Bali

ArtisticallyBali is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. The Balinese have a natural capacity forabsorbing different cultural elements to blend them with their own to produce dynamic newhybrids. Over the years Bali has been the recipient of numerous influences, Chinese,Buddhist, Indian, Hindu, Javanese and most recently, Western. For centuries artists andcraftsmen in Bali worked under the patronage of the priests and ruling classes, decoratingpalaces and temples. The artists themselves were anonymous, never signing their work andusually living close together in artists' 'villages'.

Generallythe artists did not have much room for personal expression as their designs followedstrict aesthetic and religious guidelines. With the arrival of European artists at thestart of this century, this soon began to change and artists started developing their ownindividual styles.

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You can select from one of our prearranged tours or we can create a tour to suit your specific needs. Tours are based on 5 hours or 8 hours of shopping and include air-conditioned transportation, driver and 'shopper', refreshments and local knowledge of where to shop. 

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| TEXTILES | WOOD CARVING|

Restaurant In Bali

Balinesecuisine is known for its spicy ingredients, the Balinese roasted pig 'Babi Guling' is afavorite as well as the Indonesian 'Nasi Goreng' , 'Mie Goreng' or 'Satay' are frequently chosen dishes by foreigners. Other appetizing alternatives such as Chinese or Oriental cuisines are represented in numerable food-stands or restaurants, while European andAmerican foods are now also found in most of the tourist hubs.

 

Bali offers a wide selection of tropical fruitsas well as various kinds of canned or boxed soft drinks made from them. Bottled mineralwater is served at restaurants and hotels and travellers can protect themselves againstdigestive discomfort by drinking these and not tap water. Excellent domestic made beersand rice wine called 'Brem' or Balinese alcohol 'Arak' and sweet coconut wine 'Tuak'. Ortry hot drinks like : the tasty Balinese coffee or sweet Javanese tea.

In Bali today, you can eat extremely well, and choose from many different national cuisines. Furthermore, the cost is a fraction of what you would pay, for the same quality of food, in any of the world's major cities. When you add to this, for no extra charge, some of the most magnificent dining settings that you could ever imagine, then you know that you really are holidaying in the `land of the gods'.

The Bali Restaurant GuideYour online dining guide to restaurants in Bali!
Whether you're looking for something new to eat or just want to check out your old favorites, we have everything you're looking for right here. This online RestaurantGuide can be searched by location only, by cuisine only,  by location and cuisine,or if you know the Restaurant Name by entering in the name in the space provided or by alphabetical listing.All listings are quantified as to price. This refers to a meal for two persons [food only, drinks not included]. For western style food this is calculated as to the average cost of enjoying three courses, entrée, main and dessert. For Asian style food where, traditionally, the meal is shared by all participants; a mix of entrees [if suitable] and mains to make up a full dinner has been the base used for the price of that establishment.