Bali Hotels For Sale

If you are staying in a villa rental in Bali you will likely see some of the work of Indonesian artists decorating the walls. There are many Indonesian artists who are producing world class work and pushing forward creative boundaries and, in some cases, smashing them entirely.

Biasa Art Space specialise in discovering and developing ‘new’ artists and their principal, Susanna Perini, has spent considerable time and energy over the past decade travelling to various parts of the archipelago seeking contemporary  art and artists and helping cultivate their talents. Susanna, a photographer turned fashion entrepreneur turned gallery owner, has a superb eye for talent and she not only knows what she likes, but also why she does. Her choices are acerbic and insightful and sometimes brave; challenging conventional opinion and widening the appreciation of art-lovers in Bali and the wider world.

Biasa Art Space is a small gallery on two floors but it is large enough to allow visitors sufficient freedom to be able to observe larger works at a distance. It is a powerful space, reflecting Susanna’s elegant simplicity; which is also reflected in her garment business in the shop next door. They have held dozens of exhibitions since they were founded in 2005 and openings are always extremely popular. The market for high quality paintings and sculpture has been boosted in Bali by the villa rent sector. This has encouraged artists here to grow their talents and produce work for the world market; and they have been very successful in this regard. The gallery has achieved the twin successes of bringing buyers and collectors to Bali to appreciate and purchase Indonesian artwork and to have taken exhibitions to other countries.

Biasa have also specialised in bringing foreign artists to Bali, notably from the emerging new art scene in Italy. Recent exhibitions have included live creative art performance and one where a yellow faux-dynamite cluster is attached to a wall. There have been several very amusing caricatures of the seriousness of the conventional art scene and one opening by Ugo Untoro, saw the artist riding into the exhibition hall on a scruffy old horse!

Villa rental in Bali has helped the Indonesian art scene develop by providing a hungry appetite for premium artwork and providing artists with a just reward for their efforts. A typical Bali villa for rent will contain several works of art and they are worth further study, armed with the knowledge that they may be contemporary classics!

The ‘temple on the rock’ on Bali’s west coast at Tanah Lot is one of the most recognisable icons in South East Asia. It has been considered a holy site since at least as far back as the megalithic era and, to back up this assertion, menhirs have been found during archaeological investigations. The temple is thought to have been the work of sixteenth century priest Dang Hyang Nirartha, who was responsible for refashioning Hinduism in Bali; introducing some new concepts and building several temples and augmenting others. It is said that he came to Bali at a time of great plagues in Bali and upon arrival at the court of King Dalem Baturenggong he presented the monarch with a single hair from his head and told the king it would end the pestilence. This hair became the focus of a Shaivite temple.

The temple at Tanah Lot is approached from the parking lot though an aisle of trinket shops which do little to engender feelings of spirituality but which provide much needed employment for local people. Walk about six hundred metres towards the west and the temple is suddenly revealed, standing against the manifold shades of the Indian Ocean. It is a wonderful sight and evokes feelings of timeless majesty; the continuity of purpose here is astonishing and is testament to ‘something bigger’ having been felt here for millennia.

At low tide the temple is approached across a narrow strip of beach; the landward side of the cliffs contain a ‘Holy Snake’ and for a few tens of cents one can peer into the darkness and guess at its outline! The temple itself, as with all holy sites in Bali, can only be visited when dressed in a sarong and never by menstruating women; but really, the best non-spiritual experience here is from a little further away where its charismatic beauty can be properly observed. For this purpose there are many small cafes ranged along the southern cliff top which make a great place to stop for a while and drink an ice-tea or a juice in respite after a hard day by the pool of the Bali villa you rent.

There are many Bali villas for rent within a short distance of Tanah Lot and these represent an ideal place to base oneself in Bali. Villas for rent offer an exceptionally good deal for visitors and give a feeling of exclusivity which many people enjoy. The Bali villa rent can be much lower that hotel prices, especially when shared between a small group of people.

Bali villa rental is a great choice for a vacation in Bali. Increased privacy, personalisation and continuity of service and first class facilities at a very competitive price. Bali villa rental is becoming an interesting choice for investors with an expected full return of investment in five to ten years on a land lease contract of twenty five years. Many people who are new to living here and visitors who are just passing through will need to learn where they can shop for provisions on a daily basis. What’s hot and what’s not?

Bintang Supermarket in Seminyak is very popular with expatriates. They carry a huge range of mostly local products at prices which are reasonable but not quite as low as local supermarkets in other locations. It is convenient, however, and here you can fulfil most of your basic shopping needs. It’s probably the cheapest place to buy imported Italian olive oil in large cans and their fruit and vegetables section is very good. Try the Tiger Moretti Espresso blend of ground coffee (in the black bag) for a very good cup of local coffee from an Italian expatriate producer. Indonesian made Hatari cream crackers, in a yellow packet, are the closest we have found to the taste of those from the west and are a quarter of the price of imported ones. Similarly, Ayam brand baked beans are a good substitute for Heinz and, again, are about a quarter of the price.

A little to the northeast of Bintang is Bali Deli. More expensive for most items (but not all) they have an extensive selection of imported foods and drink. They have a great baked goods section and probably the best choice of imported sweet treats. Another great place to buy patisserie items is Café Moka on Jl. Seminyak with delicious chocolate and cream treats for the sweet of tooth. Of particular note are the individual Tiramisu cups. In a ridiculously opulent chocolate case, these are absolutely delicious and the temptation is to kick sand in the face of diabetes and over indulge! Great bread is also to be found at Bali Catering Company on Jl. Petitinget, just up from The Living Room. They also have a wonderful selection of ‘home baked’ biscuits, the best of which are the macaroons.

Stocking your Bali villa rental can be a delight, rather than a chore and needn’t break the bank; and with the money you save selecting a Bali villa rental stay over that of a hotel, you can afford to splash out a bit.

One tip: if you are a fan of salt and vinegar crisps but don’t want to spend $10 on a bag, try buying a family pack of Yellow Lays and adding a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar; not quite the taste of home, but almost!

Bali is a great place for a holiday. Lovely beaches, compelling retail therapy, mind-blowing bars and clubs, set against a background of magnificent rice terraces, towering volcanoes and colourful spiritual and artistic culture. It’s an island of activity and, inevitably, sometimes things go wrong and people get hurt or fall ill. Bali has some world class medical facilities and some dedicated and caring staff. It is easy and cheap (compared with the west) to buy non-restricted pharmaceuticals in Bali and these range from the common to the obscure. Some medicines require a doctor’s prescription but this is straightforward to obtain if you actually have the condition you are seeking relief from. Indonesia is not a country to come to if you are seeking controlled drugs for recreational purposes.

Ibu Robin Lim’s clinic is the best choice for the health needs of women and children in the Ubud area. Her Bumi Sehat Bali Clinic is the best place in Bali for gentle birthing and her team do home deliveries as well. She offers ‘Louts Births’, where the umbilical cord is left attached to the placenta until it falls away naturally. This is considered by many midwives to be the gentlest birth possible for your baby. Australian nurse, Kim Patra, is part of a practice on Jl Dewi Sri (the road from the large intersection half way along Jl. Sunset and Ace Hardware). She is also an excellent first contact for women’s and children’s issues, has a full range of vaccines (including rabies serum) and also arranges medical insurance.

The BIMC Clinic on Jl. Bypass, just after Simpang Siur, has full hospital facilities and is western standard. It is expensive if you don’t have medical insurance but if you do it should be your number one stop for accidents and acute illnesses. Kasih Ibu Hospital is also recommended for a western hospital birth experience but like all Indonesian birthing centres, they have a high rate of caesarean section deliveries.

Prima Medika Hospital, also in Denpasar, is another good general hospital as is the Bali Royal in Renon. Good, clean facilities and a modern approach with caring, competent doctors. Sanglah Public Hospital in the middle of Denpasar is good for general medical issues but if you stay there, better to ask for a private room. This hospital is still in need of modernisation but they treat thousands of patients per day and they were the main hospital treating patients after the 2002 bombing. The nearby Surya Husadha Internatioanal is also recommended.

Bali villas for rent have changed the landscape in several ways, the main being that they have increased the quality of accommodation, competing against each other and the hotels. With the rise in the quality and number of Bali villas for rent has come an increased demand for high quality ancillary services and we are pleased that medical facilities have been part of this ‘upgrade’. Bali villas for rental are the informed choice of smart visitors to Bali. Villas rental has become an industry in its own right – which attests to a success born from word of mouth recommendations of satisfied holidaymakers.

One of the reasons that Bali is as colourful and joyful as it is, is the almost complete adherence of the island’s population to Balinese Hinduism. When one thinks of Bali, apart from villas and beaches, it is the ceremonial practices which really give the island its flavour. Processions of hundreds of people, dressed in immaculate, brightly coloured clothes, endless ceremonies and temples and offerings everywhere; every private house, hotel and villas of Bali has at least one temple.

Hinduism came to Indonesia in the First Century, and spread throughout the archipelago. There were several kingdoms during this time and these reached their zenith in the Majapahit Empire which ruled between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Majapahit Empire was enormously influential in the region, conquering much of South East Asia as far as Thailand and The Philippines in the north and West Papua in the east. The territory defined during this time largely defined the boundaries of modern Indonesia.

With the rise of Islam in the sixteenth century, Bali became a refuge for the Hindus who refused to convert. Balinese Hinduism is a combination of animism, whereby all objects, plants and animals are seen as being inhabited by spirits, ancestor worship, the worship of Indian-Hindu gods and deities and Buddhist luminaries. Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa is considered to be the Supreme Being who gives rise to the other gods; Shiva, Bramha, and Vishnu. After that, the hierarchy continues to minor deities and down to spirits and demons. These spirits have the capacity for either good or evil and it is seen as important to make offerings to these spirits in order to maintain a healthy balance and so the scales do not tip towards evil. The spirits of departed ancestors are still very much a part of  the lives of every Balinese Hindu and it is important that offerings are made to them as well.

One of the primary concerns is of purity and ceremonies are performed to ensure this; they are many and often. Ceremonies to dedicate and re-dedicate temples (odolan), tooth filing to mark coming of age and ceremonial days such as Galungan, Kuningan, Pagerwasi, Saraswati and Melasti and many others. The Balinese staff in the hotels and villas of Bali seem to require time off every few weeks to fulfil religious obligations and to deny them this is a violation of their customs.

Hinduism has created the modern Bali and makes it distinct amongst the other Indonesian islands. The villas of Bali are a relatively modern occurrence and have become more sophisticated and more competitive over the past decade and the hotels are rightly concerned that they are losing ground to the villas. Bali is unique in that it exists as a fiercely independent state within a sea of homogeneity. Balinese Hindus number some three million people in a country of nearly three hundred million and it is this diversification from the mainstream which makes Bali such a magical place to visit.