Production Area of Textile in Bali

BALI now has one of the biggest garment industries in Southeast Asia. There are hundreds designers and exporters working out of Kuta and Legian. The clothes are ideal for casual summer wear in warm climates. The island's inherent partiality towards the shiny and the glittering has inspired a mini industry of flashy jumpsuits and dazzling footwear.

The Balinese fabric plays an important role in the lives and ceremonies of the Balinese Hindus. In the progress of time, the fabric now evolves to the need for tourists who frequently visit the island. There are items that are sacred and only worn occasionally in the ceremonies. Some items are remained sacred and you can only see them in the ceremonies.

The best way to find a store that specialize in designs to your liking is to walk along streets in most tourist area in Bali. Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak have become major centers for shops and boutiques selling chic and sophisticated Euro-fashions. Southern Bali is now one of the best places in Southeast Asia to buy the latest continental, smart city clothes, industrial-fashion designs, and contemporary beachwear.

Smith Area in Bali

ONE of Bali's main export areas, fine fashioned rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings as well as personal fashion and custom design are crafted by families of gold and silversmiths. Gemstones as well as rare metals have long been part of Bali's unique gift for fine materials and design. The silversmiths create filigree pieces and larger items to order and sell to the public from their workshops.

Silversmiths are typical Balinese work using granulation and a process of attaching gold to the surface of silver. Today the industry is very sophisticated and includes everything from classical pieces to modern designs that you would not even guess were made in Bali. Inventive Balinese jewelers smelt, cast, forge and spin delicate flowers, offering bowls and images of demons studded with semi-precious stones.

Though the traditional center for gold and silver jewelry making is Denpasar, the art has now also taken hold elsewhere on the island. The center for metal working are Celuk, Kamasan in Klungkung, and Bratan in Buleleng. These smiths produce large, delicately ornamented silver and gold betel nut bowls, chased gold krises handles, offering platters, and vessels for holy water.

Craftmen Area

BALINESE consider art as the heart of the life itself. Without art, life seem completely dull. Whatever the Balinese create it usually had a slightly contact with their faith and religion. Balinese have a wide collection of hand-made artistic crafts. From wooden material to stone and many 'unusual' material, which is Bali famous for.

Bali produces fine stone and wood carvings, superbly carved wooden masks, finely painted and beautiful enough to decorate any wall. Once you've perused a few outlets, though, you'll soon realize that original ideas are not all that common, and that certain subjects (like carved weeping Buddhas and portraits of Baris dancers, for example) recur in most commercial galleries.

This copying is as much a traditional practice as it is a commercial one, as Balinese culture has always defined a fine artist as one who replicates the work of his or her forbears to perfection; but if you look carefully enough you'll soon be able to distinguish between a crude piece of work and one that's more delicately finished.

Shopper's Paradise

HUNDREDS of boutiques and roadside stalls have been set up all over the island, and thousands of artisans, craftsmen, woodcarvers or painters, are kept busy supplying the tourist demand.

The innovative Balinese are continually coming up with wonderful new concoctions to tempt the serious shopper. Shopping could easily become an all-consuming pastime in Bali: The range and quality of artefacts is phenomenal, and although the export trade has dulled the initial impact a little, the sheer volume and price of the woodcarvings, paintings and fabric designs sold on Bali still make it a delight. In addition, Bali acts as a bit of a clearing house for the arts and crafts of other Indonesian islands.

There is probably no place in the world with such high density of craftsmen and artisans as in Bali. You name it and you can find it here: stonecarving, woodcarving, silver and gold smiths, basket-weavers, textile, paintings, etc. Shopping for art, artifact and crafts is supposed to be fun. And Bali is one of the best places in the world to find something beautiful for your self or somebody that you love.

Bargaining can be fun and is for most Balinese the only way to make a purchase. However, before entering into a transaction, it is usually a good idea to have in mind the type of carving required, a purchase price, and the type of wood required. However, in the end, the value of a work of art must be how much the buyer is prepared to pay.

Disco Scene

BALI'S main tourist areas have something for everyone. Whatever your tastes, desires and dreams, they are out there somewhere. Bali follows European approach to the night: the later, the better for night clubbing. Night life in Bali starts late, which means around midnight.

Many visitors wonder where crowds of expats suddenly come from around 1 am in the morning - even when all of Kuta has been very quiet during the whole evening, the in-places often become crowded after midnight. Bali nightclubs feature international singers and bands and are open until 4 am during weekends.

Natural hues of gold, red and deepest pink fade into the deep dark blue of the night sky when the sunsets in Bali. These gentle colours are rapidly replace with strong flashing neon and fluorescent signs as the night owls get ready to party.

Drink in Bali

MIDNIGHT is the starting time for raging in Bali. So if you have had a long day or got stuck in a few watering holes, get some shut eye and set the alarm for the witching hour. South-Bali is going nuts at night, Kuta and Legian are competing in the booze-up, no place else it will be more easy to make friends at loud music and plenty of alcohol.

At pubs and discotheques ear-rending noise rules. If you are looking for a cozy bar, you better stay at your verandah. Most people are preparing for the exhausting night with an early evening nap.

If you're looking for someplace on Bali to soak up the sun, drink beer until you're pickled, surf when you're hangover wears off, watch the hardbodies boil in their sun tan oil.

Catching up the Fun in Bali

BALI offers a wide range of entertainment from traditional Balinese dances, which are staged nightly by many of the larger hotels, to discos and pubs.

The major southern area on the island is where 90% of the action is. It's a different atmosphere at this time.

Western-style nightlife is overwhelmingly concentrated in the resorts of southern Bali, like Kuta and Sanur, that boasts the liveliest and most diverse nightlife on the island, with at least half a dozen major clubbing venues and lots more bars, many featuring live bands. The variety of nightlife possibilities is enormous and encompasses all musical tastes and age groups.

Most places stay open till at least 1 am, with several clubs continuing to churn out the sound until 3 am and at least that open till 6 am. Many visitors wonder where crowds of expats come from at around 1 am in the morning, even when all of Kuta has been very quiet during the whole evening, the in-places often become crowded after midnight.

It is really only resorts of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Ubud, and Sanur that have nightlife as we would describe it in the West: bars, music venues, clubs and discos. These grew up to cater for Western tourists but are now equally popular with Balinese and Indonesian young men who come from across the archipelago in search of a good time.

Generally, they divide a wide range of entertainment place in Bali by three categories:

• Drink

Midnight is the starting time for raging in Bali. So if you have had a long day or got stuck in a few

• Disco

Bali's main tourist areas have something for everyone. Whatever your tastes, desires and dreams.