Indonesia > Bali

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Bali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java at the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. With a population recorded as 3,151,000 in 2005, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia's small Hindu minority.

It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

Quick Facts

Capitol: Denpasar
Currency: Rupiah
Area: 2,175 sq mi
Language: Indonesian, Balinese
Religion: Balinese Hinduism
Electricity: 220 volt, and mostly 2 pin plugs
Calling Code: +62 361
Time Zone: UTC + 8

Regions

Bali has eight districts which follow the boundaries of the former regencies:

• Badung
• Buleleng
• Bangli
• Gianyar
• Jembrana
• Karangasem
• Klunglung
• Tabanan

Major Cities

Denpasar, which is near the southern coast, is the present provincial capital and largest city. Its population is around 300,000 and
is Bali's second-largest city and is the old colonial capital. It is located on the north coast and is home to around 100,000 people.

Climate

Bali has a tropical climate all year. There are dry and wet seasons - dry from April to September, and wet from October to March.

Geography/Terrain

The island of Bali lies 2 miles east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. East to west, the island is approximately 95 miles wide and is approximately 69 miles north to south. It's land area is 5,632 km². The highest point is Mount Agung at 10,308 ft high, an active volcano that last erupted in March 1963. Mountains cover the center to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Mount Batur is also still active; an eruption 30,000 years ago was one of the largest known volcanic events on Earth.

In the south the land descends to form an alluvial plain, watered by shallow, north-south flowing rivers, drier in the dry season and overflowing during periods of heavy rain. The longest of these rivers, Sungai Ayung, is also the longest on the island (approx. 75 km).

The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand.

Airports

Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar is the only international airport in Bali.

Getting Around

Bali does have public bus transportation within the major populated areas. When traveling outside of these areas, it is advised to use pre-paid airport taxi service.

Eating

Dining is generally a highlight of visiting Bali. Whether it be at a five-star restaurant, an open-air cafe, or a snack cart, there is a wide variety of excellent food to satisfy every budget. The staple is rice with vegetables with a small amount of fish or meat. Almost every restaurant will serve nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice with a fried egg on top) and mie goreng (fried noodles with egg). These basic dishes are generally the favorites amongst tourists and locals.

Some other local favorites include;

• Satay (spicy marinaded thin slices of meat, threaded onto a skewer, barbecued, and served with a spicy peanut sauce)
• Martabak (a fried roti bread, filled with meat or vegetables).
• Nasi campur (steamed rice with some vegetables and meat).
• Nasi rames (rice with vegetables, meat and a fried egg),
• Opor ayam (chicken cooked in coconut milk usually served with white rice [nasi putih]).

Safety and Disease

Bali is generally considered a safe destination. However, there has in recent years been an increase (probably because of the still very bad economic situation) of petty crimes such as pickpocketing. In general, no special vaccinations are required for travelling to Bali; however, tetanus, polio, and hepatitis vaccinations are recommended nevertheless for any travel in Asia.

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The information on this page was copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali page was last modified on 10 April 2009, at 16:41 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity