Bali Tour Guide

At the beginning of this dance, if you hear the dancers shout," chuck, chuck, chuck" they don't mean to call a guy named "Chuck". The dancers makes sounds like these (or in Balinese language it is cak, cak, cak, since we read the words as it is written) in order to imitate the Balinese musical instrument. This dance does not use any form of musical instrument. Instead it uses sounds combination which is made by all the dancers. (The number of dancers can be fifty to one hundred ) It may appear like a choir. Kecak dance was created by Wayan Limbak in around 1930 with Walter Spies, a German painter who lived in Bali. The dance was ispired by Sang Hyang Dance (a kind of trance dance where the dancer is possesed by achestral spirit). The Kecak dance alway tells a story of Ramayana. It is a journey of Prince Rama and his wife Sitha, along with his brother, Laksmana, who together go to the forest. In the forest, Sitha sees a golden deer, and pleaded Rama to capture th...

The problem of goodness versus evil is never really finish in this world. Many stories, legends, even the Hollywood movies set this theme as their focus in their stories. In Bali there are also many stories about good and bad. Barong story which is presented in the Barong Dance performed daily in Batu Bulan village is no different. It tells the story is about fight between good and bad, only this time the good does not win... Barong is a an animal which looks like a lion. Since no one has seen it in reality, it is safe to assume that Barong is a mythical character just like the leprechaun. Where do you see the original Barong? If you tour around with your tour guide or driver, you might have a chance to see a religious procession. You will probably the local Balinese who dances Barong dance on the prossesion. The function of Barong is believed to expel the evil spirit away, or neutralize negative energy (if this make more sense to you) so it will not interfere the temple festival. Ther...

A friend of mine, Dar, a Bali tour guide, thought he could "summon" the monkeys at monkey forests any time he needed just by shouting loudly. Well, he is surely right about calling the monkey but he forgot something else. He was no Tarzan. And the monkeys didn't like people shouting at them disturbing their privacy. So, Dar was going to get a surprise he would never forget for all his mortal life. This is a story about my friend who took a client to a monkey forest somewhere north Denpasar, Bali on one afternoon. Dar's client was a very important client because he owned a travel agent in US. Therefore, my friend was on special mission to give the best service in order to impress this VIP client. "Make the client happy," his boss reminded,"we count on you." The client was happy touring around Bali, admiring the rice fields, beautiful temples and the friendliness of the Balinese. At midday Dar took the VIP client to the Kedaton monkey forest. They we...

"When is the best time to visit Bali?" I often got this question asked to me. Not just once, but a lot of time. When you ask this question, I know what you mean is more than this simple question. You want to know when to visit Bali so you can have great times in Bali without any disturbance, for instance, rain or peak season. Rain seems to be the main concern for the visitors. I can understand that because rain can "ruin" your holiday. It is hard to enjoy Bali when rain pour from one morning to the next morning. Let's talk about rain first. We have two seasons in Bali, the dry season and the wet season. The dry season is "scheduled" from April to October, while wet season starts from October to April. So, if you don't fancy rain in your holiday, best time to come is between April to October when the dry season is "on". The wet season, however, is not really really that wet. If you think rain is pouring down on our island for six months ev...

To my astonishment, a reader wrote me an email asking where she can watch a "Wayang Kulit" or shadow puppet show in Bali. I never thought shadow puppets show can also be interesting for tourists, so I decided to write a little note about this matter (not a comprehensive article). Shadow puppet show, despite all these bombardment of movies with computerized special effects, still alive in the heart of the Balinese people. Thanks to the great puppet masters in Bali that Wayang Kulit is till watched by many Balinese, even the youngsters. Shadow puppet which can be a part of sacred ceremonies are prepared very carefully. Not any Balinese can be puppet master because it requires special skill for example in changing voices when talking as different character. A puppet master must also be knowledgeable in Hindu religious teaching and social matters. The preparation of a Wayang Kulit may appear very simple. All it needs are large screen, a torch, a banana tree trunk for placing the ...

As you step your feet in our island, you'll soon notice that we have different traffic "road rules" with those European or American countries. Some of the rules may appear strange to you. And here are some of the "rules" you will observe in the tiny streets in Bali. Beeping "rules". People seems to beep a lot more here. A driver beeps when asking other driver to give way to him, so he can drive through. A driver also beeps when saying hello to a friend he meets in the street or offers transport service to tourists. Hazard lamp "rule" for cross road. The hazard lamps are lit when going straight in a cross road. Maybe the logic is that when turning right or left, we have to light either right or left sign lamp. So, if going straight, both lamp; left and right, should be lit. "Rules" for crossing the road "Zebra crossing" for pedestrians. Cars will not stop at zebra crossing, even though you have stepped your feet on the zebr...

How do you say no to the street vendors offering you goods they sell? Easy. Just say No, Thank You. Right, but often it is not as easy as it seems. The reason? They don't take no for an answer. They keep offering you post cards, chess set, T-Shirt, wooden statue, beach sarong, bone statue, a pack of chop sticks (we don't use them here) and a lot more. So, how do you "handle this situation"? When you are in Bali, especially in tourists area you will meet many street vendors. You will meet them at tourist objects like Kintamani, Tegalalang, Goa Gajah, Kertha Gosa, Bat Cave, Ulun Danu Batur, Lake Batur, Seribatu village, Lovina Beach or in the street outside your hotel. The street vendors are just the Balinese people who work to earn a living. They don't have stall, or capital to start their own business. The easiest thing to take part in tourism industry is to become street vendors or "pedagang acung". They just need merchandise to sell, and off they go. ...