The best of Bali

By PHILIP GAME

Bali is welcoming Antipodean visitors (and their depreciated dollars) more than ever as its recovery as a tourist destination continues. Most Balinese are wedded to their home villages, their home temples and their community. The raw material for continued terrorism or for racial or religious unrest is simply not there.

The Balinese social system, based on the banjar or village co-operative, has always closed ranks on outsiders, and the province is now tightening controls on unemployed drifters from other parts of Indonesia.

Many of the hawkers, vendors and masseurs who once made Kuta Beach such an endurance test have been moved on.

Whether you go for the shopping, the sunshine or the surf, Bali is exceptional value. Hundreds of stores offer the ubiquitous batik fabrics, printed T-shirts, surfwear and software.

As for the booze, our drinks at the smart Jazz Bar and Grill in Sanur cost about $10 each for three rounds, and the ride home in a metered taxi clocked up less than a dollar. And where else would a smart bar serve non-alcoholic fruit thickshakes, or tolerate children playing on the staircase?

There is no lack of things to do. Spend the morning riding the 11 waterslides at Kuta's Waterbom Park and Spa, choose between the high-speed race track and boogie ride or the thrilling river raft, macaroni tube or jungle ride.

Pre-book and pay before departure if you know what you want to do. Significant savings can be made on the greenback-denominated "rack rates" for family fun on the 24m water slides at Waterbom Park, cruises to Lembongan Island, golfing packages, tours and treks, mountain biking or off-road expeditions.

Fast catamarans operate supper cruises with cabaret entertainment or all-day cruises to Lembongan Island; golfers at Le Meridien Nirwana can tee off within sight of rice paddies and ancient temples, while their partners submit to time-honoured massage therapies.

Trekking, mountain biking or off-road expeditions tempt the more energetic, as does white-water rafting on the Ayung River in central Bali.

Surfing, of course, is what Bali means to many people, chasing those flawless tubes which roll in from the Indian Ocean.

Many of the best things to do on Bali are free, or near enough. Without even leaving Sanur or Kuta, you can marvel at the pageantry of a Hindu cremation or inspect the tangible legacy of a history extending more than 1000 years.

Picking through the muddy lanes of Blahkiuh we discovered what is special about a Balinese market: the piles of pork crackling (Indonesia's Muslim majority naturally don't keep pigs); the frangipani petals arranged in little square plaited boxes, hors d'oeuvres for the gods; the earthenware pitchers and the gilded brocades for dressing up the deities.

Women adjust their ceremonial sashes before entering the market temple to set down their offerings. Bali's Hindu ceremonies are so lavish that produce prices climb ahead of a big event, which chews up mountains of fruit and claims the lives of many a hapless chicken.

Among the "must-sees" is the century-old Monkey Forest Temple at Sangeh where you will meet the natives, but do remove any sunglasses and earrings in advance.

The temples at Tanah Lot and Uluwatu are perched precariously above vertical cliffs. And then there's that magnificent stretch of sand at Kuta.

Denpasar, capital of the Badung Regency, is where visitors rarely linger, but there are fine museums to see, as well as the ceaseless activity of the produce markets.

Kuta is for budget-priced lodgings, shopping, disco-hopping and serious drinking. It has a past which belies its hard, shiny surface today. At times an impoverished fishing village, later a slave port, the village has been a centre of black magic, a refuge for exiles and fugitives.

In the mid-19th century the Danish trader Mads Lange set himself up there in great style, prospering as he played off the Balinese aristocracy against the European powers. In 1936 Americans Robert Koke and Louise Garrett opened Bali's first cottage-style hotel there, only to lose it all to the invading Japanese. Koke also introduced surfing to the island.

Legian and Seminyak are quieter districts stretching north from Kuta, while Tuban extends to the gates of Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Sanur to the northeast is a more sedate community. Here and there between the smart hotels you will find a brick-walled temple compound housing centuries-old structures, such as the 9th-century stone pillar half-buried near Pura Blanjong (Blanjong Temple).

Near the Bali Beach Hotel is the modest museum which in the 1950s was the island home of A.J. Le Mayeur, one of the first European artist-adventurers to capture the rich light and luxuriant colours - and bare-breasted maidens - of the Island of the Gods.

Sheltered by a reef, the east-facing beach is postcard-pretty, with its rows of gaily painted prahus or canoes, each with outriggers raised like spider's legs.

Jimbaran Bay, south of the airport, is distinguished by the beachfront seafood restaurants which come to life at dusk, although these are no longer especially cheap.

Nusa Dua is a rather sanitised enclave on the Bukit Peninsula at the southern tip of Bali, almost like an American gated community, where people can escape from the rest of the world, Bali included.

At Ubud in the hills of central Bali you can lose yourself in contemplation of Balinese rural life, exploring art galleries and artisans' workshops.

Or you can just watch the tiny specks racing down the Ayung River from the comfort of somewhere such as the sumptuous Kupu Kupu Barong - which means "giant butterfly" - perched high above the gorge.

www.indo.com

waterbom.com



GETTING THERE

Flight Centre is offering Bali from $1399 a person (twin share) return Auckland. Price includes 10 nights at Bakung Sari Hotel and economy class airfares on Garuda Indonesia.

Airport taxes are $18 a person plus the departure fee of $25. Package is on sale until October 31.

GETTING AROUND

Metered taxis are abundant and amazingly economical, so don't bother with the many unlicensed taxis or bemo van drivers who tout from street corners.

WHEN TO GO

Bali is hot and sticky year-round. Waterbom Park & Spa Catch the waves of fun at the only water park in Bali. Waterbom Park & Spa is set in a tropical Balinese landscape and has 12 thrilling waterslides to choose from. The less adventurous can relax with a cocktail in the pools or have a massage. Various leisure activities on offer include volleyball, table-tennis and Euro-bungy. Waterbom also has a fantastic array of international cuisines and snacks.

WHAT IT COSTS

Daily rates are; adults US$15, children (aged 3-12) US$8. Family pass (2 adults, 2 children) US$40. Under-3s free.

MONEY

Current exchange rate at the airport is about $1 = Rp 5000. Rates are better outside but count your change carefully. You can easily withdraw cash from ATMs at the airport and elsewhere. Advisory Indonesian departure tax from Denpasar is 50,000Rp for all passengers, payable in cash. Visa No visa required but six months' passport validity is essential.