athenavillabali.com

Life in Bali after dark starts late, nearing midnight; even in Kuta where the whole evening will be very quiet. But come the stroke of 12, and just like Cinderella, Bali’s night spots and in-places will pulsate and throb with fun, music and revelry. So, when planning a night out, don’t start too early.

Tourists on the prowl for a spot of companionship and fun will find in every corner of Sanur and Kuta, like-minded travelers, locals and future friends! The plus point is that all taxi drivers also know the popular and up-to-date karaoke, bars, clubs, nightclubs and discos anywhere on the island at night.

The nightlife scene usually starts late – around 23:00 to midnight with bars and pubs offering different atmospheres and types of entertainment. Some clubs and bars showcase live bands, DJs, sexy dancers and ‘fashion shows’. Price wise, compared to the nightlife places in Seminyak, partying the night away in Kuta is way cheaper.

Ngaben or the Cremation Ceremony is the ritual performed to send the dead through the transition to his next life. The village Kul Kul, hanging in the tower of the village temple, will sound a certain beat to announce the departure of the deceased. The body of the deceased will be placed at Bale Delod, as if he were sleeping, and the family will continue to treat him as if he were still alive yet sleeping. No tears are shed, for he is only gone temporarily and he will reincarnate into the family.

The Priest consults the Dewasa to determine the proper day for the ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, the body of the deceased is placed inside a coffin which is then placed inside a sarcophagus in the form of a buffalo (called Lembu) or a temple structure called Wadah made of paper and light wood. The Wadah will be carried to the village cremation site in a procession.

The climax of Ngaben is the burning of the Wadah, using fire originating from a holy source. The deceased is sent to his afterlife, to be reincarnated in the future.

Beratan Lake is a shallow lake with the high caldera about 1231m above sea level and it is located at Bedugul, the famous tourist destinations in Bali. This lake have wide 3,8 km2 and also its deepness is up to 22 meters. The water volume in this lake is about 0,049 km3, so Beratan Lake is the closed lake. Tourist can access the Beratan Lake through the dock which have been provided or desist around Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. In this place, the visitor can do various activities like doing recreation to look around in dock or do the other outdoor activities. The various water recreation activities can also be conducted here, for example riding the boat motorize to circle the lake, parasailing, canoeing with the traditional boat, banana boating, water skiing, and others. Fishing activities are also available in this places for who one love fishing in the lake.

Beratan Lake is situated in the plateau area with cool atmosphere surround it. It is an ideal place for relaxation while enjoy the beautiful panorama of lake. The accommodations are also available in this area where is the perfect place for overnight stay, resting and enjoy the beautiful panoramic of lake with the Ulun Danu Temple as a magnificence. The small scale of agriculture activities are likely conducted around this lake and can be perceived at the same time circle around it. If we encircle it, we can take photograph with the beautiful background view or make the picture sketch face in painting mini studio at the lakeside with a short time as a souvenir.

Galungan is perhaps one of the most important Balinese religious holidays for followers of the Hindu faith. The celebrations for Galungan basically involved a three-day period where a series of symbolic ceremonies are carried out all over the island. As this is an extraordinarily long public holiday, most Balinese return home to their ancestral villages to prepare for the festivities. Despite the intense workload the mood is invariably jovial.

The Balinese believe that during Galungan the Gods and deified ancestors descend upon earth for a period of 10 days. During this time numerous ceremonies take place, offerings are made, prayers expressed and traditional food cooked. Certain offerings are also presented to the spirits of the underworld in an effort to maintain a harmonious balance between all forces of the physical world.

The day following Galungan is an opportunity to visit relatives and seek forgiveness for any previous wrongdoings by praying communally for blessing by God Almighty. According to Hindu belief, man faces a continuous battle between the positive and negative elements of life. Hinduism teaches how to resist what is evil and make a concentrated effort to utilize the positive energy from within. Galungan is celebrate every 6 months calendar (7 months Balinese calendar).

This monument remind us to the terrible tragedy, the explosion of Bali Bomb occured on Saturday October 12, 2002 at jalan Legian Kuta which causing 202 persons from 22 countries killed and 324 seriously injured of defected. The horrible bomb explosion also destroyed and damaged many buildings and cars in one kilometers radius and since that tragedy tourism industry as the back bone of Bali’s economy suffer the deepest decline along its history. But owing to the dedication and hard work of all community level, either private sectors or the Government, now it has got gradual recovery.

The monument is located at the area of explosion site (Ground Zero), while the striking part of the monument is “Kayonan” taking the shape of a huge white color three leaf, as symbol of the universe, and at the lower part of Kayonan could be found an inscription listing all dead victim of the bomb tragedy, classified in nationalities.

Just 3 km from Candidasa is Tenganan, the old village in the district, Karangasem Regency. It is flanked by hill that is Kauh on its east and west. In its north are dry field and rice fields and in the south is Pasedahan village. It is about 66 km from Denpasar to the east or about 15 km to the west from Amlapura. As an ancient village, Tenganan pegeringsingan is identical with religious activities. Many temple festivals performed in this village that attracts visitors to come. The most famous one is “Mekare-kare” or “Perang Pandan”. This is a ceremonial fight or war using thorny pandanous leaves as the weapon. This festival usually takes place in relation to the celebration of “Sasih Kelima” or the fifth balinese month. Read more…

This is basically a story about the struggle between good and evil. Good is personified by the Barong keket, a strange, funloving creature in the shape of shaggy semi lion. Evil is represented by Rangda, a witch. Ultimately, the two characters engage in battle, at which pont the Barong’s keris-bearing followers rush in to attack Rangda. The witch, however, uses her magical powers to turn the keris knives in upon their owners, who fall into a trance and start trying to stab themselves. The Barong uses magic to protect his followers from the knives. In the end, the Barong triumphs and Rangda retreats to recuperate her strength for the next encounter. All that remains is for a priest to help the keris dancers out of their trance, with the help of a little holy water. The Barong and Rangda dance is a very poweful performance and is not taken lightly by those involved.

Kecak is the most unique Balinese dance which is not accompanied by any orchestra/gambelan but by a choir of seventy men it has its origin in an old ritual dance “Sanghyang” or trance dance. In the Sanghyang dance a person in a state of trance communicates with the deities or ancestors. They use the dancers as a medium into the dance. Briefly the story runs as follows:  Due to a wise prince of Ayodya Rama the legal heir to the throne of Ayodya was exiled from the realm of his father Dasarata. Accompanied by his wife Sita and his younger brother Laksmana they went into a forest called dandaka. While they were in the forest the demon king Rahwana found them and lusted after the beautiful Sita. Accompanied by his Prime Minister Marica, they made a trick to steal Sita. Using his magic power Marica transformed himself into golden deer. Disguised as a golden deer the succeeded in luring Rama and Laksmana away from Sita. Rahwana making use of this opportunity kidnapped Sita and took her to his palace Alengka. Discovering the deception Rama and Laksmana set out to rescue Sita from clutches of the demon king assisted by the huge army of monkeys under the command of their king (Hanoman). Rama succeeded in getting his wife back safely.

The huge state temple of Pura Taman Ayun surrounded by a wide moat, was the main temple of Mengwi kingdom, which survived until 1891 when it was conquered by the neighboring kngdoms of Tabanan and Badung. The temple was originally built in 1634 and extensively renovated in 1937. It’s very large and spacious, and the elegant moat is an unusual feature. The first courtyard is a large, open grassy expanse and the inner courtyard has a multitude of Merus (multi-tiered shrines).  In a beautiful setting across the moat from the temple is a rather lost-looking arts centre. Mendwi kingdom also built Puncak Mangu temple, a big temple behind the mount Mangu across the ridge of south Lake Beratan and Batukaru and Tanah Lot temple were supposed to have been built by Mengwi Kingdoms.