Trunyan

Trunyan is another ancient village inhabited by people who call themselves the “Bali Aga” or old Bali who live in ways that are vastly different from other Balinese. The Bali Aga's temple in this village is named Puser Jagat, meaning Navel of the Universe. Its architecture is highly unusual, and stands in the protective shade of a massive banyan tree.
The Bali Aga has a strange way of burial. Instead of cremating their corpses, the Bali Aga simply places them under this banyan tree. The odor is mysteriously masked by a special arboreal fragrance emitted by the banyan tree.
The village of Trunyan is squeezed tightly between the lake and the outer crater rim of Batur, an almighty volcano in Kintamani. This is a Bali Aga village, inhabited by descendants of the original Balinese, the people who predate the arrival of the Hindu Majapahit kingdom in the 16th century. It is famous for the Pura Pancering Jagat temple, but unfortunately visitors are not allowed inside. There is also a couple of traditional Bali Aga-style dwellings, and a large banyan tree, which is said to be more than 1,100 years old. At Kuban sub-village close to Trunyan is a mysterious cemetery that is separated by the lake and accessible only by boat, there is no path along the steep walls of the crater rim.
Unlike the Balinese people, Trunyan people do not cremate or bury their dead, but just lay them out in bamboo cages to decompose, although strangely there is no stench. A macabre collection of skulls and bones lies on the stone platform and the surrounding areas. The dead bodies don't produce bad smells because of the perfumed scents from a huge Taru Menyan tree growing nearby. Taru means 'tree' and Menyan means 'nice smell'. The name of Trunyan was also derived from these two words. The women from Trunyan are prohibited from going to the cemetery when a dead body is carried there. This follows the deeply rooted belief that if a woman comes to the cemetery while a corpse is being carried there, there will be a disaster in the village, for example a landslide or a volcanic eruption. Such events have been frequent in the village's history, but whether women had anything to do with it is a matter of opinion.
source : www.indonesia-tourism.com
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Balina Beach

Balina Beach

September 17, 2006 at 2:54 am · Kategori Place of Interest

About five-km beyond the turnoff to Padangbai, and after the village of Manggis, is a small steel bridge. About 500 meters beyond, turn right down a small lane to Buitan village. This is the heart of Balina, a simple, quiet resort with scant sellers, few tourists, a nice wide black sandy beach, tame waves, no treacherous currents, and seldom the sputter of a motorbike. Though similar to Beach Inn-style complexes found all over Candidasa, Sanur, and Kuta, this simple, quiet resort is in the middle of a fishing village. All the amenities of Candidasa are accessible by ‘bemo’ four km to the northeast, while the urban center of Amlapura lies 18 km to the northeast, and the metropolis Denpasar is a 1.5 hour’s drive.

Water Sports
Balina is known for its diving excursions in a marine reserve offshore. If you reach the beach by late afternoon, you can go night fishing with local fishermen using lanterns. The Balina Diving Center has an impressive team of five instructors supervised by a PADI Open Water dive master; he can also arrange fishing and outrigger sailing trips. Dive trips, instruction, and snorkeling are offered every day starting at 0900. Minimum two people, except for the three-person minimum to Nusa Penida and Menjangan.

Snorkeling and scuba diving rates, including transport, instruction, equipment, lunch, and tax, depend on the destination. Some places of water sports: diving at Blue Lagoon, diving at Nusa Penida, diving at Pulau Menjangan, snorkeling and diving at Tulamben, a stunning shipwreck 40 km northwest of Balina and at Cemeluk, near Amed to the northwest and diving at Pulau Kambing, off Balina. Strong and dangerous undercurrents at the south end of the island can carry you up to 500 meters out of your way. Sharks frequent the area; a few foreigners have gone down here and never come up.

Accommodations and Food
The best midmarket place to stay is 34-room Puri Buitan, east of the Balina Beach Bungalows on one of east Bali’s most beautiful, safe beaches. Definitely worth the price if you’re looking for easy living-nicely furnished rooms with hot water, swimming pool, great snorkeling, shuttle service to Ubud, plus the personal attention of proprietor I Made Patera. Puri Buitan’s motel-style units are clean and tidy. Add 15.5% tax and service to the price.

The restaurant overlooking the pool has a full menu of so-so food reflecting heavy Italian patronage. Also snacks and toiletries. Remain connected to the real world via the international telecommunications office in front of Puri Buitan. Guests can easily walk up the road and grab a ‘bemo’ to Candidasa to get something to eat. Contact Box 444, Denpasar 80001

More upmarket is the 58-room Serai Hotel (tel. 62363-41.011, fax 41.015) on a secluded beach amidst a beautiful coconut grove. Although designed by the same architect, who designed the Amankila, this hotel appeals to a younger, upwardly mobile set. The low-rise Western architecture blends well with natural surroundings and typical Balinese pavilion-style public areas. What sets the Serai apart from other Balinese establishments is that it’s under Australian management who understand better what guests require.

The Nelayan Villages (or Balina Beach Bungalows, Box 301, Denpasar, tel. 62361-41.002/005, fax 41.001) offers accommodations with private verandas and baths set amidst palms and rice fields. Forty-one Balinese-style bungalows range from small two-bed units and family units (best views). Extra 15.5% for tax and service are added to the price. Prices include continental breakfast; credit cards honored, postal service, moneychanger, safe deposit boxes, good parking, pool, gazebo bar, luncheon service, “Bali Night Dinner” with barbecue. Ideal for the sports-minded, as the Balina Diving Center maintains its office here. Drawbacks: expensive, terrible restaurant meals, and they don’t smile much.

At the nearby Java Restaurant the food is somewhat better and certainly more reasonably priced; also runs a small homestay. Fishing families will offer you drab rooms in the ‘kampung’. At the opposite end of the scale, Balina’s most conspicuously upmarket hotel is the Mandra Alila, with 80 rooms. The luxurious beachside Serai Hotel, tel. 62366-41.011, fax 41.015, built in the imposing Pacific Rim architectural style, is in the same class. Although the rooms are motel-style, they are spacious and well appointed. The swimming pool is near the beach under coconut palms.

Nearby accommodations include Sunrise Bungalows, tel. 62366-41.008, in Buitan, consisting of 10 bungalows. The nicest rooms are on the second floor in the back, with lots of windows overlooking palms and garden foliage, with the bay in the distance. Beach between two concrete jetties with good snorkeling. Full-time security; small restaurant. Ketut has a car, speaks good English, possesses a wealth of information, and caters to a regular and devoted clientele. Mailing address Box 287, Denpasar 80001, Bali.

To the west is the even more isolated Ampel Bungalows in Manggis village-beautiful seascapes, nice gardens, restaurant. You’ll get a simple, clean room (no hot water or electricity) and an exceptional view. The verandas are lit, with oil lamps provided in the evenings. There are no nearby restaurants, but proprietor Wayan Pastika Adijaya willingly arranges transport to the closest in Candidasa or Balina Beach. To get here go past Manggis and the turnoff to Amankila, where the road winds down to the coastal flats heading to Candidasa; the turn to Ampel is 300 meters before the bridge (see sign on right, if coming from Manggis), about one km before Balina Beach. Any ‘bemo’ driver can find the place.

Hotelier Adrian Zecha’s Amankila is another world. Only about two-km from Padangbai, heading north past the stone mangosteen monument, is this spectacular resort palace, set on a high cliff facing the Bali Strait. The 400-meter-long “restricted access” salt and pepper beach lies below an old temple spotlighted at night. Built in a luxuriant grove of frangipani, palms, and other local mature trees, some 35 spacious suites, linked by walkways to the restaurants, pools, and beach.

All are exceptionally well designed, with extreme attention to detail. The structures may look heavy and blocky (someone wrote that they were looking for the graffiti!) but are actually ecologically correct, built to preserve and encourage drainage via natural waterways and streams. No TVs, as guests are expected to relax in an atmosphere combining unobtrusive luxury with informality.

Enormous areas are dedicated to public space, including a “staircase” of three pools at different levels; seven suites come with their own pools. Visit the decadently elegant Library Museum, the sumptuous Beach Club with its thin 45-meter-long pool in the midst of a coconut plantation. Nonguests may frequent the Beach Club and the beach. Nice little restaurant (superb fish and chips) and the best lap pool on Bali. Barbecue is every Tuesday and Friday night; ‘kecak’ dances are held Wednesday, ‘baris’ on Saturday. Reservations c/o Amanusa, Nusa Dua, Bali, tel. 62363-41.333, fax 41.555.

Getting Away
The man at Kios Melati, just up from the Puri Buitan, rents vehicles for guests. You may also charter vehicles for the airport, Kuta, or Nusa Dua. In the high season, a shuttle service may be in operation with shared rides to Ubud, Sanur, Kuta and the airport. For much cheaper public transport, go up to the main road and flag down a ‘bemo’. Kios Melati also develops film in one day.

The area west of Balina around Manggis is really picturesque, with the sea on one side and mountains on the other. Walk 1.5 hours through woods and gardens to Ngis via Manggis; Tenganan is a two-hour walk from Ngis.
source ; www.tourdebali.net
picture source : www.balinadivingcenter.com

Sealifes, Endangered Species

Sealifes, Endangered Species

Flora and Fauna

Hire boats at Labuhan Lalang for snorkeling and diving in the marine reserve of Bali Barat National Park in the northwest. The wonderful sealife of the coral reefs off Menjangan Island is one of Bali’s premier dive sites. A unique species of lobster is caught in these waters, as well as a wide range of colorful coral fish, including parrot fish, damsels, angels, wrasses, butterfly fish, puffer fish, groupers, and moray eels.

To the east, about 10 kilometers before Singaraja, is the coastal resort of Lovina Beach, where dozens of motorized ‘perahu’ go out to view schools of dolphins in their feeding grounds. These shallow, calm waters teem with a wide variety of small reef fish, crustaceans, sponges, and hard coral. In deeper waters are plankton-eating whale sharks. Two other popular, dolphin-viewing and dive locales are Candidasa and Padangbai in Karangasem. An indispensable reference for marine study is Kal Muller’s Underwater Indonesia: A Guide to the World’s Greatest Diving.

Endangered Species
It’s a common sight to see men and boys walking the back roads of Bali carrying small caliber rifles and air guns for the purpose of shooting birds for food or sport. Because it’s illegal to shoot birds without a license, if you see this say “Jangan membawa senapan tanpa ijin!” (”Don’t carry a gun without a license!”)

Among Indonesia’s endangered wild creatures are its sea turtles. The much-publicized turtle-breeding ground off the island of Serangan in southeastern Bali is a cover-up; at least 25,000 turtles per year are caught in Indonesia’s seas and slaughtered for Bali’s major festivals, in which turtle meat and turtle soup are entrenched ceremonial requirements. Really big festivals require the consumption of as many as 50 of these magnificent wild creatures.

This is an issue, which has the international conservation community incensed. To appreciate the magnitude of the problem, visit Pegok village in the eastern suburbs of Denpasar, where you can see the sad spectacle of dozens of turtles lined up for butchering, immobilized with their front flippers tied together in front of their beaks. Before you buy turtle products or order turtle sate at one of Bali’s restaurants, remember that sight. One good sign is that the number of tourist shops in south Bali selling stuffed sea turtles and turtle-shell products has dwindled considerably.
source : www.tourdebali.net