Tropical Bali: An Island Oasis

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by: George Pettit
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Word Count: 496
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 Time: 5:01 AM
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Beautiful Bali, located in Indonesia, is a top vacation destination. Its rich spiritual culture, tropical weather and lush mountain views are an oasis seemingly separated from time, yet it offers dining, shopping and entertainment as elegant as any modern-day city.

Bali is an island situated mere degrees south of the equator, making for predictably hot and sunny days year round. Bali?s seasonal climate is divided equally between the monsoon season, which is typically from May to October, and the dry season, which is October to April. Even during the wet season, however, much of Bali's day is sunny and warm, with temperatures averaging between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The locals are a unique people. They believe in a caste religious system, meaning that the people are divided into distinct classes. The lower class is the peasants. Slightly elevated from them is the warrior caste, followed by the king caste and finally the caste of priests and holy men. Each caste speaks their own separate dialect, and there is one general dialect to use when one isn?t sure what caste member one is speaking to. The Balinese believe that benevolent spirits reside in the mountains, whereas the sea is home to evil spirits that must be appeased in order to continue reaping a harvest of fish from it.

Amidst this interesting backdrop of culture are the spectacular views of the ocean and mountains, and an interesting variety of food and entertainment. Restaurants range from Italian eateries to expensive cafes to cheap dives that serve native food in abundance. Spas and resorts abound. Beautiful Bali villas where you can enjoy your Bali staying. Many of the hotels offer their guests private huts to retreat to, and traditional dances are performed during the evenings to delight visitors. Families may want to take their children to visit the Monkey Forest, though you should take care not to allow the monkeys to come too close. They are notorious for grabbing items that catch their attention and running off with them.

The currency in Bali is the rupiah, and is issued in large denominations that are easily confusing. Notes range from 1,000 rupiah to 100,000 rupiah and coins are rarely used. In fact, if a retailer is unable to make proper change during a sale, the balance is often paid in peanuts and candy, a practice that is traditional and friendly, and is not meant to cheat customers.

That said, be careful of money changers. Some are honest and reputable and others are not. Dishonest money changers thrive off tourists who don?t understand the rupiah. Go online and print out a currency exchange sheet and keep it with you to refer to. Never release your own money until you have counted the rupiah and have calculated that it is an accurate exchange. Never give the rupiah back once your own money has changed hands.

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