Bali 

Bali Island located between the islands of Java and Lombok. Bali is considered as the most developed tourist area In Indonesia. The island is 150 km long from east to west and 80 km long from north to south, administratively it covers 5,780 km2, or 5,577 km2 without Nusa Penida District, its population density is roughly 750 people/km2. Height up to 3142 m (Mount Agung), known as the "mother mountain" which is an active volcanoBali is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. A tourist haven for decades, the province has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years. 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. There are various of tourist attractions and objects such as waterfalls, lakes, rice terraces, etc. Every place has different thing to offer.



Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Bali dwipa ("Bali island") has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 AD and mentioning "Walidwipa". It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests, and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.

The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made in 1585 when a Portuguese ship foundered off the Bukit Peninsula and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung. In 1597 the Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived at Bali and, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the stage was set for colonial control two and a half centuries later when Dutch control expanded across the Indonesian archipelago throughout the second half of the 19th century. Dutch political and economic control over Bali began in the 1840s on the island's north coast, when the Dutch pitted various distrustful Balinese realms against each other. In the late 1890s, struggles between Balinese kingdoms in the island's south were exploited by the Dutch to increase their control.



Climate and Weather 

Equatorial and sub-equatorial climate . The average temperature is around 25 C. Bali has two kind of weather, they are dry and wet. Dry weather starts on October to April, and wet weather starts from April to October.



Language

Indonesia has many kind of local languages, almost every island has different local languages and dialects. But Indonesia has one national language that everyone can speak - Bahasa Indonesia. In Bali people speak in Bahasa Indonesia and Balinese language. Most people in Bali are able to speak english.
 

Time

Bali time is GMT+8

Currency

Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). 1 USD equals around IDR 12.000, and keeps changing. Rates are constantly fluctuates markedly. Banknotes of IDR are 1000, 2000, 5000, 10.000, 20.000, 50.000, and the biggest amount is 100.000. Coins are 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 Rupiahs. It is recommended to exchange your money in authorised money changer. Credit cards are accepted mainly in expensive hotels, restaurants and shops, but not comfortable for daily expenses.

Religion 


There are 5 major religions in Indonesia, they are Islam, Hindu, Christian, Catholic, and Buddha. In Bali, Hindu is the major religion. Yet in Bali people live in harmony, there is even a Hindu temple, mosque, Buddhist temple, and some churches that are placed in one gate.
 


Visa and Customs 

All tourists traveling to Indonesia must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry and has one blank page. You can get Indonesian visa from the embassy or visa on arrival.
You are allowed to bring maximum 1 litre of alcohol per person. 

Transportation 

Public are some public transportations in Bali, they are taxis, Trans Sarbagita bus, and motor taxi. Taxi can easily be found here, they’re a;most everywhere, or just call their hotline.
If you can drive and have licence you can rent a motorbike or car.

Network 

There are many kinds of carriers in Bali. and you can find at cellular shop around, they are almost everywhere. New simcard costs around $1 (IDR 10.000). We recommend to use Telkomsel, XL, or 3 for GSM. Telkom Flexi, Esia, andSmartfren for CDMA.



Souvenirs 

Souvenirs in Bali is relatively inexpensive. As the island of art, there are tons of artistic things you can find here. From the smallest to really big ones. Bali has its own style of arts and carvings. Most of souvenirs in Bali are handmade. Painting, statue, fabric(batik), jewellery, house furnitures and many more. 



Foods 

Like in any other islands in Indonesia, in Bali everyone eats rice as their main course. Balinese foods are known by its spices. People call it “bass genep” that means lots of spices.
The most common dishes in Bali are babi guling - grilled suckling pig, bebek betutu - duck with spices, boiled and wrapped in banana leaf, Gado Gado - vegetables and peanut sauce, mi goreng - fried noodles, nasi goreng - rice, sate - meat or chicken on wooden skewers (served with peanut sauce ), Pisang goreng - fried bananas.



Working Hours 

Offices: Monday - Friday 08:00 - 17:00, some of them are open on Saturday from 8:00 to 13:00

Banks are open Monday to friday from 8.00 to 17.00 
Shops are open Monday to Sunday from 9.00 to 18.00, large shopping centres are open until 22.00

 

Electricity

 
Voltage is 220V. Most of the hotels and villas in Bali use European outlets.