Blessed are those who stay at one of the many peachy Bali Villas
Article by Nigel Fine
Whether you are on a holiday or on your honeymoon with your sweetheart, if you are at Bali you are just too good at selecting the perfect place to spend quality time with your loved one. Bali is an Indonesian island which is currently rated high on the most favored tourist destinations of the world. With its exotic beaches and breathtaking landscapes there is no denying that this place is a true heaven on earth. As if this were not enough the Creator has also blessed Bali with picturesque rice terraces, towering active volcanoes, fast flowing rivers, deep ravines, pristine crater lakes, sacred caves and lush tropical forests full of exotic wildlife.
So to start your wonderful trip to Bali you must first decide where you would share this exotic experience of nature all around with the perfect place to relax and spend your lovely nights in. Luxury hotels and resorts are plenty in Bali but the thing with these accommodation styles are that they are just about as boring and as predictable as any other hotel around the world. The thing with hotels is lack of privacy and a not so special feeling of being amongst the others who are treated the same as you. Also you are confined to the four walls of a room and it is not any different from living in an apartment back home.
Instead of all these predictably outdated form of living it is not a bad idea to explore something new. Holiday Villas in Bali are proliferating like a forest fire. You have a wide range of exquisite Bali Villas to choose from to experience that once in a lifetime stay in a place that is a replica of home but situated on heaven. Bali Villas offer privacy and spacious settling. It’s your own private hub with your own private garden and swimming pool. So you have privacy not just in the villa but also outdoors with no annoying neighbors in the form of next door guests like in hotels.
The costs of renting a Bali villa is not different from booking a luxury hotel in terms of you being availed of other facilities like a private butler, a Balinese maid, houseboys, gardeners and security staff all included in the villa rent rates. Moreover, you may also opt for a 24-hour air conditioned car for rent with a driver who is well versed with the places in the island. You can also avail of spa and beauty treatments with therapeutic massages at nominal charges or may be even free of charge depending on your package. If all these are not tempting enough, you also can choose to have a private Balinese dance performance at your villa as well as other activities like tennis lessons, music, painting, pottery, yoga, meditation and/or cooking classes. So go ahead and book your Bali villa now for that unforgetfull and blissful experience of opulence in God’s own paradise on earth.
About the Author
The author of this article has great knowledge about the Bali villas. He has helped many people out there to get the best Bali villa deal at affordable prices. He well knows the fact that there are several things to be considered while choosing the Bali villa. He has written many articles on choosing the Bali holiday villa.
Are there many types of gamelan in Bali? Which ones are the most common?
Article by Vaughan Hatch
Unbeknownst to many, there are in fact more than forty different types of gamelan in Bali. This is saying something for such a small island.
The most common type is called gong kebyar (exploding gong) which is overwhelmingly dominant at festivals and competitions. Originating in Buleleng in the early 20th century, it emerged as a secular gamelan for flamboyant, fast-paced music and dance performances held usually in the market place outside in temple. In the space of only ten or twenty years, this ensemble and its capricious music swept the island by storm. Smaller than the stately ceremonial gamelan, gong gede, it was quickly adopted into religious ceremonies and soon replaced it in all regencies outside of Bangli. Now in Bali there are more than 10,000 sets of the versatile gong kebyar. Almost every banjar and every temple own at least one set and large numbers of wealthy Balinese have commissioned sets for themselves as well. Kebyar music is characterized by its loud sound and lightening pace, and its emotional music tends to both attract and deter curious tourists.
The next most popular gamelan is angklung which has four keys in South Bali and anything up to seven keys in Buleleng. It provides cremation music all over the island and in Central and East Bali it is also used in temple anniversaries and private ceremonies. Angklung is high-pitched and highly rhythmic with note intervals resembling that of the Western major scale, and to the occidental ear sounds lively and jolly. To the Balinese, with its close association to cremations, it evokes melancholy and sadness.
Another common ensemble is the pair of bamboo xylophones called rindik in South Bali and grantang in the north. Heard playing restaurants and hotel lobbies across the island, these instruments and their cheerful and airy music were created by farmers in their breaks between tending to their crops and livestock.
©2009 Vaughan Hatch
For further articles about Balinese gamelan and dance, see http://www.balimusic.org
About the Author
Vaughan Hatch is a writer, musician and ethnomusicologist who lives in Bali. He has written extensively on rare and endangered Balinese gamelan music, and his work has been published in numerous newspapers, magazines, and books in Indonesia. To read more of his articles, visit http://www.balimusic.org
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