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BESAKIH: There are an unbelievable number of temples in Bali, it really is quite breath-taking. The Mother Temple at Besakih, or Pura Besakih, in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Agama Hindu Dharma in Bali. Probably dating back to the fourteenth century, it was built on the south slopes of Mount Agung. The temple is actually a complex made up of twenty-two temples that sit on parallel ridges.
Annually there are at least seventy festivals held at the complex since there is a yearly anniversary celebrated at almost every shrine. It has been nominated as a World Heritage Site since as early as 1995, but remains unvested.
It is a very impressive and deeply spiritual place for many people. The biggest problem is the sheer volume of people; a combination of sightseers, worshippers and temple attendants mean that at peak times it is quite stressful. If you can make it in a quieter time however its breathtaking scale and importance are certainly worth the effort.

AMED: We refer to Amed as the stretch of coast centred around Amed village, not just the village itself. There are problems with Amed; it is underdeveloped, it is difficult to get to from the major toursit locations, some of the reefs are damaged and roads are poor.
That said, we love it. Amed offers a real insight into Balinese life away from the hussle and bustle, whilst still tending to the needs of the traveller. The waters off Amed are crystal clear and teem with life and there are many easy opportunities to snorkel or join one of the diving groups based in Amed. Beaches are not perfect, but remember these are working beaches where the majority of boats are used for fishing not tourists. In addition to fishing, sea salt production is a key industry and it is worth seeing the effort required to flavour your food. The scenery is spectacular, we always think of Jurassic Park. There are a number of accomodation options from $5 a night homestays to $600 a night villa options; eating is similarly varied.

Sea Salt Production

Rarely a month goes past without a significant festival or cultural event. It would be easy to think of this as cultural tourism but in reality the majority of the events would take place irrespective of tourism. We think that this is one of the wonderful aspects of visiting Bali. What you see is not an act, but a true and real cultural and religious reflection. The events are too numerous to list but we will single out the 2 week Bali Arts Festival as one to try and see. The event opens with a procession whereby villages adorned in traditional costumes walk and dance their way through the throngs, thus the opening has a real carnival atmosphere. It takes place in July/August and is a real treat that seems to be missed by tourists. The festival itself showcases local art, music, dance and theatre and is is a wonderfully vibrant occassion for participants and vistors alike.