Badung

The Regency of Badung covers less than one tenth of the island, but it is the most highly populated region and plays an important role in modern in Bali, as the seat of provincial Government is in Denpasar, Bali’s capital city. The major tourist resort of Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua form the southern constituents of the regency, and to the north it stretches as far as Mengwi and Sangeh, a mosaic of highly productive rice fields interspersed with meandering rivers that have carved many deep valleys through the landscape on their journey from the mountains to the sea.

In the centre of town there is large open Puputan Square, named after the suicidal confrontation in 1906 between the Rajas of Badung and the Dutch army. On the eastern side of this is the Museum Bali and the relatively new state temple, Pura Jagatnatha. On the opposite side is the National Military Headquarters for Bali, and on the northern side the Governor’s Residence. At the northwest corner of this square is the main intersection that leads to the major streets of Gajah Mada and Veteran street. Here a great four-faced statue stands in the midst of a roundabout, an image of the god Guru in his traditional Hindu manifestation as the lord of the four dimensions. In front of the Governor’s Residence, dominating the large grassy square, is a statue commemorating the puputan massacre in dramatic contemporary Indonesian style.

To Market, to Market ..

Denpasar actually means “north of the market” and the city has always been the bustling hub of commerce for South Bali. Just off the main street, beside the river, are the markets of Pasar Badung and Kumbasari Shopping Centre. Every night by about 11.00 p.m. women arrive from near and far with truckloads of produce and a bustling night market begins along the river embankment, lasting until dawn. The market proper, in its spacious new three-story building on the east banks of the river, begins in stages as the other is being cleared away. The large parking area starts to fill up before dawn, and the first sticks of incense are placed at the Pura Melanting for the Goddess of prosperity as the market slowly stirs itself and increases tempo to the peak hustle and bustle of the day.

Here one finds everything from fish and meat, fruit, vegetables, spices, dried goods, hardware and commodities, to clothing, weavings and basketry.

Kumbasari, on the opposite side of the river, is more of an art market. It has an extension of the daily market at ground level and then tier upon tier of art shops that display a full range of crafts from antique woodcarvings to woven materials and paintings. This huge shopping complex is open till 8.00 p.m. each night.

Just to the south of this complex, further down the river bank, is an area which comes alive in the evening with brightly-lit food stalls, and kiosks selling a variety of clothes, batiks, shoes, and other bargain-priced items. This is the night market, or Pasar Malam, a popular place amongst the locals and visitors alike to eat and shop at night.

Only two streets north of Gajah mada, on the corner of Nakula street and Veteran street, is the dealer’s art market, Pasar Satria, a sort of half-way house between artist and art-shop for woodcarvings, paintings and other craft items. Here you are bound to get a good bargain, as prices start at wholesale level, but it is necessary to have a good eye for quality, as sometimes rejects are sold alongside superior pieces, with flaws that only an experienced eye can detect. The art-market section is on the two spacious upper floors, and there is a daily produce and commodity market at ground level.    

The bird market, Pasar Burung, is just a little further up veteran street at the entrance to the Puri Satria. Parakeets and cockatoos, songbirds and pigeons sometimes-even peacocks, are sol here along with a variety of animals, puppies, rabbits, and monkeys. 

East Denpasar’s major market Pasar Kreneng is also a major bus terminal for public transportation to east  and central Bali. The large open produce market and shopping centre closes down in the afternoon just as stalls are being set up outside for the brightly lit night market. Browsing here in the evening can be great fun, and you can watch food being freshly prepared at the many food stalls and sample local delicacies.

Another popular night market is the Pasar Malam Pekambingan, just of Diponegoro street, in front of the new Kertawijaya shopping centre. Strictly for food, and incredibly reasonably priced, it is very popular amongst the local townspeople. Eating out at these tiny “restaurants on wheels”, seated under canvas awnings, provides a vignette of local life few people experience.

A recent addition to Denpasar’s market collection is the modern supermarket at the northern and of Jalan Sudirman known as Pasar Swalayan. Previously a youth centre, the huge hall has been converted to a modern shopping centre with amusement facilities for children’s playground and bird park.

South Denpasar has its  Pasar Sanglah, a bustling  morning market which  starts early, reaches  its peak at about 6.00 a.m., and is quiet again by mid-morning, with the  odd late shopping wandering through. There’s  also a Pasar malam just around the corner, much frequented by the university students from the nearby campus.

The Ubung Bus Station in Northwest Denpasar, terminal for public transport to west Bali and Java, is also a bustling market, an ideal place to stop and pick up fresh fruit on any westward journey.

Scattered throughout the city are many other early morning markets that materialize in public areas, at the side of the road and under banyan trees in the wee small hours of the morning. These markets are short-lived affairs, serving the daily requirements of the local populace with fresh fish, meat, vegetables, fruit and the all-important offerings of delicately woven palm leaf and flowers. One has to be early, as they begin at daybreak and by eight or nine o’clock all that remains is a solitary sweeper cleaning up the remains.

Sanur main market is the Pasar sindhu, which also has a little Art Market associated with it. Kuta also has a bustling market just off the main road to the airport, and in behind this is a popular night market where one can find excellent seafood and satays. Right down at the beach, at the and of jalan bakungsari is a large Art Market, full to the brim with attractive souvenirs, colourful T-shirts and a range of local handicrafts.

A Wealth of Handicrafts

If you are interested in Bali’s handicrafts, a visit to the permanent Trade Display exhibited at the Regional Trade Office of Bali at Kamboja Street No. 8 Denpasar, is a must. This centre offers information on all Balinese handicrafts, and has a representative display well worth seeing. 

The Department of Industry also has a special project for the Guidance and Development of Small Industries { BIPIK }, with a Display Room in Tohpati, east Denpasar. Here one can obtain information on all the small home industries, including textiles, woodcarving, metalworking, bamboo and ceramics, scattered over the entire island of Bali.

There is also an Art Cooperative, the Sanggraha Kriya Asta, in Tohpati. Supervised by the Department of Industry, this attractive centre has five buildings, each displaying a major craft. Prices are fixed, and very reasonable. There are weavings, garments, batik, carvings, silver, and some paintings can be purchased here-between 8.00 a.m. and 16.13 every day except Monday.

Gold Jewellery

Denpasar is the place to buy gold. Many of the shops specializing in gold jewellery can be found near the central mosque at the intersection of Hasanudin street and Sulawesi street. Balinese traditionally keep much of their wealth in gold jewellery, which is sold by weight, and these shops do bustling trade with the local populace.

Antiques

Antiques shops are also common in the inner city. The Arts of Asia Gallery, hidden at the rear of a shopping complex just off Jalan Thamrin has perhaps the widest collection of items from all over Asia. There are old Gringsing weavings from Tenganan, Ceramic, wayang kulit puppets, and some priceless krisses with jewel studded golden handles. A number of excellent collections of local antique statues, wooden carved doors and beds, and pieces of old furniture can be seen in the antique shops scattered along Jalan Arjuna and Jalan Gatot Kaca, just of the main street of Denpasar.

Gamelan Instruments

For those who are interested in Balinese musical instruments, but don’t have time to visit the village foundrys, pay a visit to the showroom of U.D.Gema Kencana in Tohpati, which belongs to the smiths of Tiingan, Klungkung. They the island of Bali is one of the 27 provinces that make up the republic of Indonesia, the third smallest in area after Jakarta and Yogyakarta. The Governor of Bali, who is elected by a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives, is the head of local provincial government, responsible to the minister of home Affairs.

The eight administrative districts of Bali are the regencies of Badung, Gianyar, Bangli, Klungkung, Karangasem, Tabanan, Jembrana and Buleleng. Each Regency is administrated by a Bupati { Regent }, hence his know us a Kabupaten. The Bupati is elected at a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives at the Kabupaten level, Whose members, as well as those at the Provincial level, are elected during General Elections.

Each Kabupaten is devided into further Administrative Districts or Kecamatan, each under the responsibility of a Camat liason officer appointed by the Bupati. These Kecamatan are further divided into a number of Desa or Administrative Villages, which in turn consist of a number of Banjar. The Banjar is organization of a number of families based on a communal system.

A system of spiritual and family affiliation exists simultaneously and in harmony with this administration system. This is known as the Desa Adat or traditional village, which can be traced back to the teachings of a Javanese Hindu priest who visited Bali in the 11^th Century. Each Desa Adat has an elected chairman, the Bendesa Adat, a man who is responsible for all religious and traditional affairs amongst those people who belong to the particular trinity of temples that he is in charge of have a large display of modern Balinese gamelan instruments, the gong, gender wayang, and cengceng that give Balinese percussion its unique sound.

Pottery 

Ceramics were first brought to Bali by the Chinese, almost a millennium ago, and yet the art was introduced here much later, and in a much simpler form. Traditional pottery is unglazed and fire-baked, very pure in form, and rather brittle, but it serves a multitude of household purposes. Kapal, just north of Denpasar, has a lot of small home industries where pottery is thrown on foot-operated wheels. They produce decorative garden pots of all shapes and sizes, drinking flasks, water urns, decorative roofing tiles, vases, ashtrays and satay stands. The Bali Ceramics Institute, B.P.P. Teknologi, is a centre for research and development for ceramics and porcelain. This is situated on the Nusa Dua Bypass, in between Sanur and Kuta; a picturesque building built on reclaimed land on the seaward side of the road. The institute has an exhibition of work produced by its students as well as ceramics from Kapal and Lombok. Some items are available for purchase at very reasonable prices.

Sanur has also a large pottery studio, U.D. Jenggala, which produces more refined pottery, fired at high temperatures, with a limited range of very attractive glazes. They sell their wares in an attractive little shop, the Sari Bumi, on the main road at Batu Jimbar.

Weavings

Perhaps the most popular cloth in Bali is the locally made Endek, ikat weaving made on simple hand looms in which the weft is tied (ikat) in prearranged patterns and dyed prior to weaving. Up to five colours are obtained in a lengthy process of retying and dyeing in a series of different designs and colours.

The most common thread is the locally made rayon and cotton, or a combination of both. In the most expensive materials pure silk is used. Multiple hues are used from rich dark browns and blues to pastel shades of yellow, orange, green, gray and red. The resulting cloth is both colour fast and durable, and makes attractive formal and casual wear. Traditionally it is used in religious and formal attire as a wrapped around “kain” which hangs beautifully, falling in folds according to the style favoured by the wearer. On official occasions it is now fashionable attire for both men and women, adapted to the latest designs of shirts and evening gowns. Small endek weaving factories are scattered all over the Denpasar area, and it is worth a visit to see the women at work on their simple looms creating vivid patterns. Most of these home industries have sale outlets through local dealers in the markets and art shops, but some will make direct sales, depending upon the stock they have accumulated. One of Denpasar’s larger weaving factories is the Pertenunan AAA in Veteran No.9 street, just north of the Bali Hotel. The material is available in 2 ½ meter lengths for “kain”, or can be purchased by the metre. Here you can watch the entire process from the preparation of skeins of thread, the tyeing and dyeing, to the actual painstaking weaving of the cloth. Another attractive locally produced material is the songket, a brocaded material that has a design of gold or silver threads woven into the weft on a plain-coloured background. Generally worn on special ceremonial and religious occasions, they are woven in 2 ½ meter lengths to be used as “kain”, as well as in narrower, shorter pieces for men’s “saput”, the standard hip cloth that men wear over the sarong. Scarves known as “selandang” are also popular for the requisite temple costume, and “udeng”, triangular head cloths for men. This delicate material needs special care, and should never be washed, as the warp colours are not fast, a factor that guarantees permanent market demand. 

Other Souvenir Items

Die-cut wooden fans are made from ebony and sandalwood in many places around Denpasar. They are available in delicately carved shapes with “Bali” cutouts on the leaves, or can be ordered with name cutouts for personalized gift items, a 24-hour wait being required for the finished product. There are several workshops in Thamrin street, just south of the corner with  Gajah Mada street, as well as in Sesetan, South Denpasar. These fans also make ideal promotional gift items, and the larger producers will prepare special logo cutout dies for large orders.

Finely carved name plaques, also ideal as personalized gifts, are made from ebony or cheaper woods. The name is etched out in relief and highlighted in gold, with a surrounding detail of typical Balinese wood carving. There are several places in Sanur where these can be ordered at 24-hours notice, and a very reasonable price. Just ask at your hotel or travel agency where the nearest workshop can be found.

The art of umbrella making in Bali has nothing much to do with rain! The beautifully painted, fringed umbrellas one finds in Bali are strictly decorative, used more in the ritual, religious processions and ceremonies. These exquisite gold-painted, tasselled pieces are thus in continual demand, and workshops can be found in six out of the eight regions of Bali. In Denpasar there’s large umbrella studio on Patimura street and most markets have an entire section devoted to ceremonial paraphernalia with brightly coloured umbrellas of all sizes and colours, some painted in bold design with gold “perada” paint. Huge decorative fans painted in a similar style are a recent offspring of this craft, attractive items for interiors.

Batik

Perhaps the most popular Indonesian handicraft is Batik, the national cloth, which originates and is generally produced in Java. This is in fact the everyday wear of the local populace, who skillfully wrap a simple piece of this material about themselves in various styles, creating the most elegant item of clothing for both men and women.

Batik cloth is decorated by hand in a dye resist process by applying designs in wax and dyeing the material in a series of different colours, a laborious process involving many steps. The finest designs available are called batik tulis, which means “written” batik, as the hot wax is applied with a tiny pen known as a canting. Then there is the batik cap which is made by reproducing repetitive designs in wax with large copper stamps, a much faster and therefore cheaper process. Both these categories are usually waxed and dyed on both sides with the same designs in order to promote uniform colour intensity, a prerequisite of high quality batik. A cheaper cloth is now made with imitation batik designs reproduced by machine or silkscreen process. This cloth is sold by the metre rather than in lengths, and is generally considered second-grade, often passed off as genuine batik.

There are a number of reputable batik showrooms in Denpasar, some of which have demonstrations set up to show the entire batik-making process, with a wide range of styles, lengths and ready-made items for sale.

Educational Institutions

Badung is the major centre of the island of Bali for tertiary education. The State University of Udayana has faculties of law, medicine, economy, architecture, literature, languages and sciences as well as tourism, and there are a number of private universities and Colleges that offer similar professional courses. The Hindu Dharma Institute, just north of Kesiman in east Denpasar, has an undergraduate programme for degrees in religion and philosophy.

Courses in Hoteliery and Tourism are provided by the Balai Pendidikan Lembaga Perhotelan, the Institute of Hoteliery and Tourism at Nusa Dua, which employs foreign language teachers and has an exchange programme with other countries in the ASEAN Region. Graduates from this school, which offers training up to the managerial level, are placed as trainees in hotels throughout Indonesia to gain their practical experience. Educational programmes are often arranged for the public also, in correspondence with government projects to develop a better understanding of tourism in the private sector.

The arts are extremely well catered for in Bali by two large institutions, Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia (ASTI), the national dance academy, and Konservatori Kerawitan (Kokar), the Conservatory of the Performing Arts, which is a lower level institution. ASTI was first established in 1967 by the regional government of Bali, to train a new generation of artist and scholars to help preserve, study and develop the performing arts of Bali. It became a national institute in 1969, and since then has been administered by the Directorate General of Higher Education and Culture. The curriculum offers dance, music and shadow puppetry. Undergraduate students can attain a Sarjana Muda Bachelor of Arts degree, and there is a graduate programme that awards a Master of Arts degree, Seniman Seni Tari. A new curriculum is being prepared for the future incorporation of the academy into the Art Institution of Indonesia, (ISI) which will result in the elevating of this school to the level of a State University.

A key role in the annual Bali Arts Festival is played by the students of ASTI, who create extravaganza dance dramas each year that are extremely popular with Balinese audiences. Performing groups from the Academy are often called upon to give presentations for visiting dignitaries. Strong ties with institutions in other countries. The Ford Foundation and The Asian Cultural Council among others, have led to a number of opportunities for study courses in the United States for M.A. and Ph.D. levels.

Foreign student programmes are also available for dancers, musicians and musicologists wishing to study Balinese choreography and music, and in 1986 ASTI had a record number of 30 foreign students, some on scholarships and government programmes, others pursuing private interests.

Visits to both STSI and ASTI can be extremely worthwhile for music and dance lovers, offering an opportunity to watch classes in action and witness the discipline involved in perfecting the many complicated aspects of Bali’s performing arts.

Temple Trips

Badung Regency is dotted with historic temples, and for those interested in archeology, traditional architecture or just the discovery of atmospheric reminders of Bali’s rich heritage, there are a number of fascinating spots to visit.

Pura Sakenan

This sea temple is linked to the visit of Dang Hyang Nirartha in the 16^th century, and has the specific pyramidal “candi” shrines of that period. Accessible by perahu from Sanur, Nusa Dua or Benoa, the temple is on the tiny island of Serangan. It draws crowds of people during its yearly festival on the day after Kuningan Beautiful seashells are for sale here and there is a large enclosure where turtles are raised for release into the sea to replace the dwindling population of certain rare varieties. The trade winds of July-August provide perfect kite flying conditions and the children of Serangan fly huge kites, sometimes tying them to their outrigger sailboats.

Pura Uluwatu

At the southernmost tip of the Badung Regency the clifftop temple of Pura Uluwatu soars majestically above the waves, with a sheer drop of at least 100 metres on three sides. This most sacred temple is said to have been the place chosen by the saint Dang Hyang Nirartha to attain “Moksha” or spiritual enlightenment. The architecture of the temple is particularly striking, and a tribe of monkeys in habits the surrounding cliff faces.

Pura Peti Tenget

Just past the Oberoi Hotel, up the coast from Legian, is the temple Pura Peti Tenget, also founded by Dang Hyang Nirartha, who is said to have defeated an evil horde of demons in this spot. Known as a particularly “tenget” or spiritually powerful place, it is referred to in the ancient “lontar” books as the place where the Holy Scriptures from India (Vedas) were first landed in Bali.

Pura Sada

This state temple of the Old Kingdom of Mengwi, just 14 kilometers northwest of Denpasar in the village of Kapal, was first established under Majapahit rule. It has an unusual tall shrine or “prasada” dedicated to the deified royal ancestors, and an imposing main gateway with a massive demon head carved in fine detail.

Pura Taman Ayun

Just a few kilometers inland from Kapal can be found the official state temple of the Mengwi Dynasty, Pura Taman Ayun. Established in 1634, it is a fine example of Balinese temple architecture, with three ascending levels of spacious courtyards containing rows of shrines and pavilions. The entire temple complex is surrounded by a wide moat.

Pura Bukit Sari

In the midst of the Sangeh Monkey Forest is can ancient temple, Pura Bukit Sari, which dates back to the 17^th Century, when it was a sanctuary for meditation. The stand of towering nutmeg trees is home of a tribe to monkeys, and its popularity as a tour destination is in great part due to these inquisitive.