Bali Reporter

A glimpse into the colorful performances at the annual Bali Arts Festival. Every year, communities from all around Bali gather in the capital city of Denpasar to show off their artistic creations to the public; in between June and July, visitors to the island are spoiled to a monthlong festival of performances, parades and exhibitions that highlight the traditional elements of Bali and Indonesia as a whole. 

As the highest peak and most sacred point on Bali, Mount Agung is an active stratovolcano standing at 9,944 feet, tempting the craziest of travellers to reach her summit before sunrise. At the bottom of the mountain stands the holy temple of Pura Besakih and Pura Pasar Agung, a site that is located some 200 steps up from the parking area and serves as the first gauntlet of the trek.

If you're ever planning on coming to Bali around the month of March, be sure to look out for the exact dates of the holiday, Nyepi, so you can witness and participate in one of the most unique new year's celebrations in the world. Similar to other cultures, the Balinese Hindus celebrate the end of the year with lots of noise and music and parades and lights. Not so similar is how they celebrate New Year’s Day, the Day of Silence.

Bali is home to some of the most beautiful villas in Southeast Asia, not to mention the world over. Depending on your travel style and activity preference, there are a variety of areas in which you could stay on the Island of the Gods. Close to the beach for easy access to surfing waves or up in the rainforest for river rafting, the choice is yours! 

Eco-tourism is an ideology quickly gaining traction amongst environmentally concerned businesses and globetrotters alike, and Bali is no exception. With some of the most stunning landscapes and cultural traditions in the world, it is no wonder that visitors to Bali continue to increase at an astonishing pace.

When arriving in any foreign country, transportation tends to be the number one area that trips up travelers. Besides renting a motorbike or hiring a personal driver, taxis are the most convenient way to travel short distances around Bali. After many questions from friends and newcomers to Bali about costs and reputable companies, I decided to write a detailed guide highlighting the do's and don'ts when catching a ride. 

For an island so rich in resources and capital alike, it is remarkable that poverty in Bali is currently on the rise with more than 186,000 people living on less than $2 (USD) a day. Gender inequalities in income distribution, access to credit and employment, and control over property make women in Indonesia even more vulnerable to chronic poverty than men.