Kuta Bali

Kuta is a town in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia's major tourist destinations. It is known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, many restaurants and bars, and substantial Australian population. It is located near Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport.

Kuta was the site of the October 12, 2002 Bali bombing (202 killed) and the October 1, 2005 Bali bombing (26 killed).

Kuta is now the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighboring towns. Legian, to the north, is the commercial hub of Kuta and the site of many restaurants and entertainment spots. Most of the area's big beachfront hotels are in the southern section of Tuban.

Legian and Seminyak are northern extensions of Kuta along Jl. Legian and Jl. Basangkasa. They are somewhat quieter suburbs with cottage-style accommodations, where many of the expat crowd live. Also to the north are Petitenget, Berawa, Canggu, and Seseh - new and quieter continuations of Kuta's beach. They are easy to reach through Abian Timbul or Denpasar and Kerobokan. Several large hotels are located in this area: the Oberoi Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, the Intan Bali Village, the Legian in Petitenget, the Dewata Beach and the Bali Sani Suites in Berawa.

To the south, Kuta Beach extends beyond the airport into Jimbaran. Other nearby towns and villages include Seseh (6.4 nm), Denpasar (4.5 nm), Ujung (1.8 nm), Pesanggaran (2.0 nm), Kedunganan (2.9 nm) and Tuban (1.0 nm).

The Balinese Provincial Government have taken the view that the preservation of the Balinese culture, natural resources and wildlife are of primary importance in the development of the island. To this end they have limited tourist development to the peninsula on the extreme southern aspect of the island; Kuta beach is on the western side of this peninsula and Sanur is on the east. To the north of the peninsula no new tourist development is supposedly permitted.

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Kecak Dance - Bali

Painting, woodcarving and dancing reflect the soul of the Balinese. Traditional dances are performed especially on Hindus holiday and also to welcome visitors. The one you see below is ‘Kecak Dance’ which was performed on Galungan, the biggest Hindus holiday, at Pura (temple) Luhur Ulu Watu, up on a cliff at the most southern part of the island.

The Kecak Dance tells the Indian story of Ramayana. Rama, a warrior and rightful hier to the throne of Ayodya, is exiled with his wife Sita to a faraway desert. There, an evil king spies Sita, falls in love with her, and sends a golden deer to lure Rama away. Sita is captured, and Rama rounds up his armies to defeat those of the evil king and rescue her. Rama is the man in green dancing in the center of the circle, the golden deer is in yellow in the back.

What makes the Kecak such a fascinating dance to watch are the fifty or so men in the checkered pants. They are both the choir and the props, providing the music for the story in a series of constant vocal chants that change with the mood of the actors. They don't sit still, either, they wave their arms to simulate fire, and reposition themselves around the stage to represent wind and fire, prison cells, and unseen hand of protection from the gods.

The dance is played in five acts and lasts roughly 45 minutes. Weekly (in some places daily) performances of the Kecak abound around the island, but the most well-known Kecak theater is in the town of Batubulan just north of the Balinese capital of Denpasar. The dance company provides transportation for a nominal fee to and from the resort.

Attending a Kecak recital is a must for any visitor to Bali. It is a wondrous experience, and a window into the musical and artistic culture that make the Balinese a special people.

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1st Asian Beach Game in Bali

1st Asian Beach Game in Bali

Emblem

The Logo of the 1st Asian Beach Games Bali 2008 represents the water element that embodies the sporting event.

The shining sun comes from the emblem of the Olympic Council of Asia and represents its vital role in Asia's sport development and spreading energy created by the solidarity of the OCA.

The selection of the light and deep blue effects the color of the Balinese waters at the beach.

The two vertical lines represent two "pura" (Balinese Hindu temple), an image of the gate to the Balinese house of worship which is signifies the ultimate hospitality of the Bali society in honoring and welcoming people from all over Asia.

The two big waves represent the commitment as well as the enthusiasm of the host city to run the 1st Asian Beach Games.

The letters "BALI 2008" are red to show the spirit of sportsmanship and that typeface selection emphasizes the pride of all athletes competing in Bali.

"hospitality, commitment, enthusiasm, sports spirited"

Mascot

"Djalak" is the Mascot of the 1st Asian Beach Games Bali 2008.

The Concept of the Mascot is based on the Djalak Bali (Bali Starling), a bird that can only be found in Bali.

It symbolized that Bali, with its uniqueness will organize the Asian Beach Games to the best of standards.

An endangered species, the mascot serves a reminder to the world that the bird is beautiful but yet sacred.

The Bali Starling, Leucopsar Rothschildi, is a medium-sized, up to 25cm long bird, which is almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail.

In 1991, the Bali Starling was declared as the fauna symbol of Bali.

The Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony for the 1st Asian Beach Games Bali 2008 will be held on October 18, 2008 at the GWK (Garuda Wisnu Kencana) in Bukit in Jimbaran . The GWK Covers 239 hectares of land and boasts a statue that was planned to stand taller than the Empire State building in the USA, how ever due to economical reasons, the statue construction was halted in 2003. Wisnu or Vishnu is the Hindu God who is the protector-part of the Hindu trinity, which is Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.

The unique statue of half man half bird will one day be a national landmark. In front of the head of the garuda bird which has already been completed is an open air stage and amphi-theater for various events and ceremonies. The area will comfortably fit about 5000 invitations only guests for the opening ceremony of the 1st Asian Beach Games. "The Opening Ceremony will be a grand opening to the 1st Asian Beach Games. We will present entertainment that will be uniquely Balinese and Indonesian", hints Mr. Ervan Ibrahim, Director of events and ceremonies for Babgoc. The Closing Ceremony for the Games will also be held at the GWK Venue

Pictogram
The same design objectives that was used to the logo are being applied to the pictograms, which resulted in a more modern and sophisticated look. The traces of brush symbolizes the liquid form while the different background colors represents the nature of the sports: green for sports to be held on the land, blue for sports to be held in the ocean, while tangerine reflects the sandy soil on which the sports are being performed.

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Besakih - Mother Temple in Bali

Pura Besakih is not one temple but a vast complex of temples sprawling across the mountainside. For most visitors, the first impression is of the literally hundreds of delicately towering meru, their many tiered roofs of black palm-fiber thatching pointing skyward like a fleet of rockets awaiting the signal for lift-off. Pura Besakih is not a launch pad but a landing field for the gods.

The central temple in the complex, Pura Penataran Agung, is dedicated to the god Siwa. Pura Batu Madeg is dedicated to Wisnu. Pura Kiduling Kreteg is dedicated to Brahma. There are nineteen more temples spreading up the mountain slopes, each with its own purpose and ceremonial season, but the three dedicated to the Hindu Trinity are the most important.

Their orientation in relation to each other and the mountain is reflected in the three raised lotus-thrones, or padmasana trisakti, in the second courtyard of the Pura Penataran Agung, with Wisnu, Siwa, and Brahma sitting from left to right, though some say seats are not assigned.

History:
This temple was intentionally built in a holy village named Hulundang Basukih, which is known today as Besakih village. The name of Besakih was derived from the word "Basuki" or in some old manuscripts written as Basukir or Basukih. The word Basuki itself was taken from the word "Wasuki" on the Sunskrit, which means "salvation".

While in the mythology of Samudramanthana it is mentioned that Basuki was the name of a dragon that coiled around the Mandara Mountain. The old remains say that the BesakihTemple was built by Rsi Markandya and his followers in the 11th century. At that time, Rsi Markandya intended to go to Mount Agung to build a residence. However, the construction was troubled by the spread of disease which caused the death of his followers. For the safety of his followers, he then constructed a veneration to worship God for a salvation. The veneration was called "Sanggar Basuki".

Location:
The location of Besakih Temple or Pura Agung Besakih is at Besakih village, Rendang district, on the south west of Mount Agung. It is about 44 kms from Amlapura and 62 kms from Denpasar.

Facility:
Some facilities are available in this area to support the tourism activities in Besakih, like food stalls, fruit stalls and art shops. There is also a quite large parking lot and local guides who will always be ready to give their best service.

Description:
Besakih Temple is one of tourist objects which has its own uniqueness compared with other places. It becomes famous because of complex of temple established here, also known as the Mother Temple in Bali. Besakih which offers religious atmosphere was built based on the four directions.

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Gebogan - Traditional sesajen in Bali

There are various forms of sesajen offering ingredients according to localities and its functions producing various nomenclatures. One of the forms frequently found in Bali has been what is popular among Balinese as gebogan or pajegan, looking out as a cone. Material components used to prepare it are mainly fruits so as to create beautiful offering composition in accordance to the functions and the kinds of rites differentiated in those aimed at being used in temple ritual known as Dewa Yadnya or just at home (Manusa Yadnya: wedding, cremation, etc.). Even much gebogan cones, made of flowers or young coconut leafs, function to decorate ceremonies in hotels.

Gebogan in general consists of various leafs, mainly carved and composed in such a way as to render it attractive lookout, while colorful flowers and fresh fruits or fruits processed in form of specific Balinese cakes. Even rice is certainly an essential component part of the gebogan.

Hindu adherents (in general those of Balinese community) do not miss to include visualization of upward looking roasted chicken within zest to glorify visualization of the gebogan as one of ritual implements of religious traits in this Island of Gods. Growing up to three meters, it would not quite easy to install gebogan, especially for those people not yet acquainted with the job. Skill and experience would be a needy prerequisite for such workers, who could not even neglect the importance played by the role of aesthetic character. Such deployment of personal capabilities has been a prerequisite in realizing a complex process of making a gebogan implement.

Such complexity of work of producing gebogan could clarify why the job deployment needs female fingers in general to express not merely spiritual quality in the work but also to herald its ethics, aesthetics, grounded philosophy, as it has been represented Desa Adat traditional village in Bali, inclusive the village supporters. Villages having affluent crop of fruits or flowers would have dominant show of fruits or flowers of all sorts, etc.

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