Question 1

Bali on Your Own

Accepted Answer

A day on your own in Bali means a car, because the sights are spread out and the roads are slow. Plan on one area, not three: Denpasar's museum and central square, about 8 km from the port, or a temple on the Bukit Peninsula, with a wide margin for the traffic back. Denpasar: The Bali Museum, founded in 1931, stands on the east side of Taman Puputan, the city's central square, where a statue marks the events of 1906. Uluwatu: Uluwatu Temple sits on a cliff about 70 meters above the sea at the southwestern tip of the Bukit Peninsula, and a Kecak dance is staged there every day. Getting a car: Metered Bluebird taxis are common in the south, and the ride-hailing apps Grab and Gojek give you an upfront fare. A car with a driver, hired for the day, lets you see more of the island. Temple dress: To enter a temple you must wear a sarong and sash. Large temples rent them, often included in the entry fee. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Leave extra time for the traffic. Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match the local clocks or your phone. Bali keeps Central Indonesia Time, UTC+8, all year, an hour ahead of Java, so check the ship's clock if you have come from a Javanese port. Carry your passport: Indonesian law requires visitors to carry their passport or stay permit at all times.

Question 2

Getting Around Bali

Accepted Answer

Bali's sights are spread across the island, and its roads, especially in the south, are often jammed, so most cruise visitors use a taxi, a ride-hailing car or a hired driver. Public buses exist but serve commuters rather than visitors. Metered taxis are common across southern Bali as far north as Denpasar but scarce elsewhere. Bluebird's cars are sky blue with a white roof light. Use only registered taxi companies such as Bluebird, Silverbird or Express, or a ride-hailing app, and check that the driver matches the one shown in the app. Grab and Gojek offer cars and motorbike taxis with fares fixed before you ride, and you can pay in the app or in cash. In some places, including parts of Uluwatu, informal signs put up by local taxi drivers try to bar app drivers. If you are day-tripping, it is often easier to ask your taxi to wait and bring you back. Ubud, the arts town in the hills, is in the greater Denpasar area, and traffic jams are common in its center. Traffic in Indonesia drives on the left, and riding a rented motorbike in southern Bali carries a high risk of accidents.

Question 3

Where to Eat

Accepted Answer

Balinese food differs from that of the rest of mostly Muslim Indonesia, because the island is Hindu: pork is widely eaten, and beef rarely. Many warungs, small family eateries, specialize in a single dish. Babi guling is a whole piglet stuffed with spices and vegetables and roasted on a turning spit until the skin is brown and crisp. Bebek betutu is duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked in embers. Sate lilit is spiced minced meat pressed onto skewers, often sticks of lemongrass. Nasi campur, mixed rice, comes with small portions of several dishes and is often sold wrapped in a banana leaf. Sambal matah, a raw chili relish, is a common condiment. Drinks containing methanol have caused deaths in Indonesia, including drinks bought in licensed bars and shops, so be careful with spirits and cocktails.

Question 4

Tipping in Indonesia

Accepted Answer

Tipping is not a universal practice in Indonesia, but in popular tourist areas, particularly on Java and Bali, a tip is often hoped for. Prices are in Indonesian rupiah. Upscale restaurants and hotels add a 10 percent government tax and a service charge to the bill. US dollars are sometimes used for larger purchases, but the law requires payment in rupiah.

Question 5

Temples, Offerings and Dance

Accepted Answer

Religion runs through daily life in Bali, which has an estimated 20,000 temples, each holding a festival at least twice a year. The most visible sign is canang sari, the small offerings of flowers and rice in palm-leaf trays set out each day at homes, shops and shrines. Canang sari are offered to thank the nine guardian deities, and you will see them in temples, at house shrines and on the ground. Uluwatu is one of the nine directional temples that are believed to protect the island, and Tanah Lot, a temple on an offshore rock 20 km northwest of Denpasar, can be reached on foot only at low tide. Kecak, the chanted "monkey dance," was developed in the 1930s by the German artist Walter Spies with Balinese dancers, from an older trance ritual, and tells a story from the Ramayana. Nyepi, the Balinese New Year in March or April, is a day of silence when everyone on the island stays indoors and the airport closes for the day. On the evening before, giant ogoh-ogoh figures are paraded through the streets.

Question 6

Majapahit Kingdom and the Preservation of Hindu Culture

Accepted Answer

Bali's Hindu culture took its present shape after the Javanese Majapahit empire founded a colony on the island in 1343, and its kingdoms stayed independent for centuries after Majapahit fell. The Dutch completed their conquest only in 1906 to 1908, and Bali became part of independent Indonesia after the Second World War. 914, an early inscription: The Blanjong pillar inscription, made under King Sri Kesari Warmadewa, is one of the records that name the island. 1343, Majapahit: The Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit empire of eastern Java founded a colony on Bali. When the empire fell around 1520, many Javanese moved to Bali, which became a collection of independent Hindu kingdoms. 1597, the Dutch arrive: The Dutch merchant Cornelis de Houtman reached Bali. Dutch control began on the north coast in the 1840s. September 1906, the puputan of Badung: Dutch troops landed at Sanur and marched on Denpasar, where the king, his court and their followers died in a puputan, a ritual mass suicide, rather than surrender. The royal palace was looted and razed. 1908, Klungkung: A second puputan took place in the face of a Dutch assault on Klungkung, and the Dutch took control of the whole island. 1930s, artists and anthropologists: Visitors such as Walter Spies, Margaret Mead and Miguel Covarrubias spread an image of Bali abroad, and Western tourists began to arrive. 1942 to 1946: Japan occupied Bali from February 1942. After the war the Dutch returned, and on November 20, 1946, the Balinese independence fighters of I Gusti Ngurah Rai were wiped out at the Battle of Margarana. 1958, a capital: Denpasar became the seat of government of the province of Bali. 1963, Mount Agung: The island's highest volcano, 3,142 meters, erupted catastrophically. To learn more ashore: The Bali Museum, on the east side of Taman Puputan in Denpasar, was built in 1931 near the site of the palace destroyed in 1906, and its walls and courtyards are modeled on the palace. Its four buildings hold masks and musical instruments, sculpture and painting, textiles, and archaeological finds.

Question 7

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

With children, keep a Bali port day short on driving and long on one good stop: a turtle island, a calm beach or a sunset dance. Rabies is present on the island, so keep everyone away from dogs, cats and monkeys, and seek medical help at once after any bite. Younger children: Serangan Island, reached by bridge or by glass-bottomed boat from Tanjung Benoa, is a turtle conservation area, where turtle eggs are kept until they hatch and the young are released into the sea. School age: Tanjung Benoa's calm, reef-sheltered water is a center for water sports such as banana boats and parasailing, and when they can run depends on the tide. Teenagers: At Uluwatu Temple, the Kecak dance acts out a battle from the Ramayana with a large circle of chanting performers. On the water: Safety standards on boats vary, and life jackets for children are not always available, so check before you board or bring your own.

Question 8

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Southern Bali is hard going for anyone who uses a wheelchair or walks with difficulty. Sidewalks are often just the covers of storm drains, in many places only about 2 feet wide, blocked by parked motorbikes or broken sections. Many streets have no usable sidewalk, which forces pedestrians into the traffic. Seminyak and Sanur have wider, walkable beachfront paths than most of the island. At Benoa, ask your ship about the gangway and the walk to the vehicles on the day. A hired car and driver gives the most control over where you are picked up and set down. Uluwatu Temple stands on a clifftop, and Tanah Lot on an offshore rock reached on foot only at low tide.

Question 9

Shopping in Bali

Accepted Answer

Bali's crafts are made close to where they are sold: stone carving in the village of Batubulan, and painting, carving and textiles in and around Ubud. In Denpasar, the old market at Kumbasari stands where the city first grew up as a market town. Batubulan's carvers turn out statues of gods, guardians and much more for the souvenir and export trade. Ubud, the island's arts town, is full of arts and crafts shops. Denpasar's name means "north market," after the market that is now Kumbasari. It is illegal to buy or sell products made from protected wild animals, and smuggling them can mean prison. Change money only at licensed money changers, which show a Bank Indonesia logo and a QR code you can scan to check their license, and agree prices in advance at spas and salons, where scams have been reported.

Question 10

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Calm-water beaches line the Tanjung Benoa peninsula and Nusa Dua, at the southeastern corner of the island. Sanur, east of Denpasar, has a long beachfront path for walking. Geger, the public beach at Nusa Dua, has white sand, generally safe swimming and small beachside eateries run by a local cooperative. A beachfront footpath runs about 7 km from Nusa Dua north along the Tanjung Benoa spit, past two temples on small points. Tanjung Benoa's reef breaks the waves offshore, leaving shallow, calm water near the beach.

Bali (Benoa), Indonesia

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