Bali History

Today’s travellers may feel envious of those who visited Bali back when it was ‘untouched’, but do not realise the difficulty of not only getting to the island but also the challenges once they arrived. Sake Santema, owner of antiques dealer Indies Gallery, explores early travels to Indonesia and Bali, complemented by prints and images

Celebrated during the 20th-century as an icon in the Bali literature and art spheres, the ultra-talented Mexican Miguel Covarrubias’ witnessed and recorded the distinctions of Bali. His creative endeavours distinguished him from other foreigners. As the door to international tourism reopens, it’s significant to honour his extraordinary contributions and remember Bali’s original allure. Covarrubias’ book,

Indonesia is a nation of 273 million people, 88% of whom are registered as Muslim. Bali is the only region of the country where the majority of the population is Hindu – although Balinese Hindus, make up only 1.7% of the Indonesian population. In Bali, 90% of the population is classified as Hindu, but the

If you’ve ever wondered how Bali became a top tropical destination for globetrotters around the world, you need to look back in time and discover how the quiet village of Sanur became the gateway that introduced Bali to the rest of the world – and birthed the island’s flourishing tourism industry. Long ago, before Seminyak became known as the dining

If you explore the backstreets of Kuta enough, you’ll come across a road named ‘Jalan Tuan Lange’, dedicated to Mads Lange , a Danish man who had a colourful Denmark is about as far from Bali as pickled herring is from nasi campur, but there was a period of 18 years when these two very disparate cultures intertwined in a

A small monument known as Prasasti Blanjong, was carved from a single solid stone pillar that measures around 70 inches and 32 inches in diameter. It is one of the oldest manmade artefacts in Bali that dates back to the 10th century, only found in 1932. It commemorates the victory of King Kesariwarmedewa of Bali’s

Driving north from the main hub of Sanur to the quiet Padang Galak area, a memorial monument of a fatal Pan American flight accident nestled in quite a hidden spot behind abandoned buildings.  In 1974, a Pan American flight flying from from Hong Kong to Sydney with a scheduled transit in Bali, crashed in the

It may be interesting to the reader to see the way Islam first arrived in Bali. The reality of its arrival is a far cry from the overly dramatic prism through which today’s media tend to present relations between religions. Islam did not arrive in Bali as a religion, or rather, when it arrived, it

I was once enticed by Bali. Suffice to say, her charm has once again ensnared me. It isn’t the picturesque natural beauty and living culture that has brought intrigue to me again, and it’s certainly more than the tourist attracts, restaurants and bars, it’s the history of the island’s religion that has piqued my interest.

Most of you, dear readers, when coming to Bali, already have a certain idea of the island. An iconic idea, which encompasses, as you probably know, just a small part of reality. So you must certainly have been told that Bali is the only Hindu island in Indonesia — and you have been told so