of Balinese life: shrines are found in every home and hotel, and shops and streets often strewn with canang trays made from palm leaves and filled with offerings of rice and flowers. Some people, especially around Candikuning and the west, originate from Java, Lombok, and other islands and practice Islam. While Hinduism still thrives along the western coast, the majority of Lombok is Islamic. Some in the north follow the unofficial Wektu Telu sect, which combines Islam with Hinduism, Buddhism, and animist beliefs, although adherents are officially classified as Muslims.
Culture Balinese culture permeates every pore of society and is as much an attraction to some visitors as the sun, surf, and shops. Despite encroaching modernism and tourist-led hedonism, Balinese still embrace a unique spiritual faith and omnipresent culture not seen anywhere else on earth. Everything has a purpose and deep meaning, primarily aimed at appeasing the gods to ensure a happy life, healthy family and abundant harvest. Private lives are part of communal law under the guidance and authority of the banjar association (mostly of married men), and cremations are as elaborate as anything celebrated during a person’s life. On Lombok, the family and village are also paramount to indigenous Sasak culture, and traditional customs and laws regulate an individual’s life. Almost all Sasaks are Muslims, so the mosque is the dominant force, but ceremonies are less significant and traditions less public.
Arts & Crafts Bali’s artistic prowess is no more evident than in Ubud, where galleries galore sell all sorts of paintings and carvings that incorporate the island’s landscape, mythology and, of course, religion. Popular crafts, such as batik cloth and songket weaving, and the unusual form of gerebah pottery still practiced around Lombok, are explained in the Quick Guide to Handicrafts & Arts (see page 89).
Architecture From the moment you arrive, you’ll be struck by Bali’s unique architectural designs and marvel at the skills involved in carving the symbols of demons and gods that decorate gates, pillars, and roofs to protect inhabitants from evil invaders. Temples, homes and, indeed, entire villages are designed to face downstream towards the sea (kelod) or the mountains (kaja), which are home to the gods.
Tuttle Travel Pack Bali & Lombok
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Full of up-to-date, thoroughly researched information by people who have lived, studied, and worked in the country, the Tuttle series of Travel Packs are indispensable companions on your global travels. The portable size and straightforward format always makes them easy to use, no matter if you’re a regular or first-time visitor.
At the front of this book we provide an overview, including the geography, climate, and people of Bali and Lombok and, importantly, the unique culture, crafts, and architecture of both islands.
Chapter 1 lists the 21 Best Sights across Bali and Lombok, including the most alluring beaches, the most resplendent temples, and the greatest outdoor activities like cycling and snorkeling, as well as other highlights, popular or lesser-known. To help you plan your stay, the Making the Most of Your Visit section offers advice about where to base yourself and how to make those “tough” decisions about what to see and do among the myriad of attractions based on your preferred interests and level of comfort.
In Chapter 2, we detail a number of daily excursions across Bali, from the hedonistic southern beaches to the northern and eastern coasts, and the cultural and volcanic heartlands in between. We focus on places that are well-known and popular, such as Ubud, Sanur, and Lovina, but also lakeside temples, traditional villages, and undeveloped beaches that tourists rarely visit or even know about. We also include Bali’s sister island, Lombok, which is similar in some ways but vastly different in others, and doesn’t have the obvious trappings of mass tourism: pollution, urban sprawl, and high prices.
A vital part of this book is Chapter 3 in which the author offers many personal recommendations. From his vast experience of traveling, working, and studying in Bali and Lombok, he provides a list of the best of the best for both islands, including the grandest and most unique hotels, from budget to luxury and in between, and premium places to dine, whether it’s on a beach or among the chaos of Kuta. Kids, night-clubbers, shopaholics, and outdoor enthusiasts are certainly not forgotten either, with special sections dedicated to the very best of what Bali and Lombok have to offer.
Lastly, the Travel Facts section provides everything you need to be aware of, including must-knows like visas and money, explanations about health and events, some basic Indonesian to help you make the most of your visit, and details about how to get there and travel around.
No guidebook is complete without detailed maps, however, so we provide dozens of maps, as well as a large double-sided, pull-out map of Bali and Lombok based on an updated version of Periplus’ renowned series of maps.
While information was correct at the time of printing, places on both islands do sometimes close, change owners, or fall in quality. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors that may be contained in this Travel Pack, but we also encourage readers to contact us with corrections and recommendations.
CHAPTER 1
BALI & LOMBOK'S
Best Sights
Some rarely venture outside the confines of their chosen resort area, but Bali and Lombok offer almost every conceivable attraction from temples on volcanic slopes in Bali’s central highlands to hot springs among tropical forests to the north, as well as quaint villages clinging to Indonesia’s second-highest peak, Mount Rinjani, on Lombok. Online research, or a visit to any travel agency, will quickly confirm the overwhelming number of things to do and places to go and see, which is why we’ve done the hard work for you and compiled a list of 21 Best Sights across both islands. Including sunset dinners at beachside cafés, hypnotic dances at cliff-top temples, and cycling around a care-free (and car-free) island, make sure you cross as many as possible off this list.
1 Tanah Lot Temple
2 Lake Bratan, Bedugul Highlands
3 Jimbaran Beach Seafood Dinner
4 Padangbai Village, East Bali
5 Ulu Watu Temple, South Bali
6 Pasir Putih Beach, East Bali
7 Tirtagangga Water Palace
8 Cycling on Nusa Lembongan Island
9 Ubud’s Taman Saraswati Dances
10 Rice Terraces at Jatiluwih
11 Ubud’s Monkey Forest
12 Gunung Kawi Rock Temples
13 Banjar Village, North Bali
14 Mount Batur Natural Hot Springs
15 From Ujung to Amed, East Bali
16 Snorkeling Lombok’s Gili Islands
17 Southern Lombok’s Kuta Beach
18 Lombok’s Senaru Village
