‘Island of the Gods’
Appropriately known as “Island of the Gods,” Bali is one of more than 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago and by far the country’s most popular tourist destination. Its 2,200 square miles — full of rice paddies, volcanic mountains and traffic-clogged cities — make it about the same size as Delaware.
While Indonesia’s population has a Muslim majority, Bali is a pocket of Hinduism; more than 80 percent of the island’s people identify as Hindu. The Balinese speak their own language, although most also are fluent in Indonesian. English isn’t widely spoken beyond tourist areas.
Regardless of the occasional difficulty in communicating, I found Balinese people to be welcoming, quick with a smile and proud to show off their island. Even mispronouncing the Balinese word for thank you — suksma — which I did repeatedly, brought a cheerful grin. (It’s pronounced sook-sum-uh.)
I was especially fascinated by the beauty and elegance of traditional Balinese dancing, which is not only an art form but an inseparable part of the Hindu faith.
My first exposure to local dancers came at a class at the Ganesha Cultural Center in Jimbaran Bay in the southern part of Bali. On the grounds of the posh Four Seasons Resort, Ganesha (named after a Hindu god) also is open to visitors not staying at the hotel. It was inaugurated last summer to showcase the work of local artists and preserve Balinese culture.
Expressive traditional dance