Badung Regency
The regency of Badung extends in a narrow ribbon from the central uplands of the island down to the Bukit or Nusa Dua Peninsula in the South. Its shape and territory - which does not comprise the city of Denpasar plus Sanur- are determined by a distributor network of rivers and streams fed from the Plaga rain catchment area in the North.
The Bukit Peninsula is strikingly different from the fertile volcanic plain of the North; it consists of a limestone plateau overlooking the sea by 70-100m. Kuta and Jimbaran are located westward of the peninsula, Sanur eastward (see chapter on Denpasar), while the resorts of Nusa Dua occupy the easternmost tip of the peninsula.
Prehistoric men already inhabited the caves of the Peninsula. But the historical role of Badung owes much to its strategic control over the central rice plain and the anchoring spots in the South. The Blanjong inscription, found near Sanur, dates back to the 10th century. It is in Jimbaran that the Majapahit attackers landed in 1343. But power really shifted to the area after the collapse of Gelgel at the end of the 17th century, and Mengwi was the dominant kingdom of the central plain until the end of the 19th century, when it was defeated and replaced by Badung, present-day Denpasar.
Trade always played an important role since the early days of Mengwi, as attested by the presence of several coastal Bugis and Chinese communities. Kuta became famous in the 1830’s and 1840’s when a Danish adventurer, Mads Lange, made it the base of its trade emporium.
He exchanged Chinese coins, opium and weapons against the copra and rice of the Balinese. Individual traders like Lange were but the vanguard of colonial rule, though. The Dutch found a pretext to intervene when a wrecked ship’s cargo was stolen off the coast of Sanur. The rest is history: the Puputan or fight to the death of the Denpasar warriors m 1906 (see chapter on Denpasar).
The beach bungalows opened in Kuta in the thirties. But real mass tourism did not start before the late 60’s and the “flower revolution”. The local government was so afraid of what it considered the immorality of young westerners-long hair and hallucinogenic mushrooms - that it decided that it was best to isolate future tourism. Hence, as much as Kuta’s growth was incoherent, the development of the next resort, Nusa Dua, was meticulously planned. Kuta thus became the place of fun and youth, while Nusa Dua, opened in the mid-80’s, hosted five-star tourist resorts and conventions. Tanjung Benoa, Jimbaran, Sawangan and Batu Pageh (Bali Beach), are only the last additions to the list. And investments pour in.
The Southern Peninsula and Neighboring Jimbaran
The Southern peninsula, known as Bukit Badung, or simply as the Bukit, is very different from the rest of the island. It consists of a limestone plateau with a micro-ecology of its own. The plateau is characterized by a lack of water, as the rain fall disappears into the interstices of the soil.
Its scrub and bushes give it a weird Mediterranean air during the dry season. No rice fields are to be seen. Perhaps for this reason, it is chosen for the place where the kings of Mengwi and Badung banished bad debtors and discontents.
The Bukit peninsula consists of a plateau which rises more than 200m above sea level. It is ringed to the South and Southwest by 100m cliffs with small beaches at their foot. The view over the white sand and breakers, as if from a plane, is best at sunset. The area is famous among surfers for its long, white rollers, although access to the beaches is often difficult.
The best surfing is at Suluban, Labuhan Sait and Bingin. The whole area is presently being developed. The Bukit inland has many caves, some of which, like Qua Selonding, were inhabited by prehistoric man. The tallest statue in the world, the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (145m), is being built in an ancient quarry on the highest spot of the Bukit. For hikers, there are paths running along much of the cliff.
Bukit’s most famous landmark is the temple Pura Luhur Uluwatu, an architectural marvel situated on a headland at the westernmost tip of the plateau. According to the local tradition, the first Uluwatu temple was built by Empu Kuturan the 11th century, as one of the territorial temples of the island. Dang Hyang Nirartha, the 16th century reformer of Balinese Hinduism, rebuilt it in its present state. He is said to have elevated to heaven from its premises. The temple is best known for its sunsets over the long breakers of the sea downward, but it has also one of the most exquisite architecture of the island.
Its carvings are made of hard coral stone which has withstood the passing of time much better than the soft stone found throughout the island. One enters the temple through a split gate shaped as a set of curved Garuda wings. Inside, as second gate is topped by a monstrous head of Kala, with two statues of Gana at its foot. The temple is well separated from the parking and tourist area, a feature one would like to see in other popular spots of the island.
Nusa Dua
Nusa Dua and nearby Tanjung Benoa, although technically part of the Bukit, are a world of their own. It is where the idea of tourism as having to be insulated from its Balinese environment has been implemented. The resort consists of a dozen hotels set in a manicured mark run by a government-controlled company. Initiated in 1971, it contains the most famous names of the Hotel Industry; Sheraton, Hilton, Hyatt, Club Med. It is a laboratory of neo-Balinese architecture: giant split gates, huge statues and hall. White-sand beaches, pristine water, and coconut trees, it has all the ingredients of a tropical paradise, and some of its hotels are among the most sumptuous in Asia.
The Nusa Dua strikes one as being different from the rest of the Bukit. Instead of limestone cliffs, there is sandy alluvial soil reaching down to a long white beach stretching from Nusa Dua to the harbor of Tanjung Benoa, five km to the North.
The beach is protected by a reef. Nusa Dua is thus a perfect family beach, while Tanjung Benoa has specialized in water sports. The village nearest to the beach area, is one of the ancient ports of Ball, open to inter insular trade. It has a Chinese temple on the beach and a mosque for its Bugis seafarers.
The Bukit is connected to the rest of Bali by a narrow isthmus, occupied by the resort of Jimbaran bay, which has one of the quietest, and safest white beaches in the island. It is possible to rent outriggers from local fishermen who can take you along the cliff. To the west of the isthmus are the marshes of the Benoa bay. Until the last century, a channel led to Kuta through these marshes, now being redeveloped into a marina. Jimbaran is famous for its barong trance. It has also a beautiful brick temple, the Pura Ulun Siwi.
Kuta
To the North of the Bukit is located the beach resort of Kuta. It gained fame, and, some say, dishonor, in the six- ties as a hippies haven. Marijuana, long-hair and laziness, all draped in a counterculture dis- course, the hippies came from Europe, the United States and Australia for a try at a two-dollar a day paradise. Some stayed for years.
Kuta soon boomed. The bamboo beach bungalows became losmens and then star hotels, while the T-shirts sold on the beach were being replaced by a thriving garment and handicraft industry. The hippies left, or struck it rich, and Kuta is now, to some, a place of all sins and pleasures -Indonesians come there from Jakarta and elsewhere to get a look at the “decadent” West- while to others it is one of the most dynamic place of Indonesia, a place of all encounters, ideas, and life styles.
Kuta’ s original claim to fame owes much to its beach, Bali’s best, and the sunset. The beach front is now mainly occupied by star-hotels, except .to Legian and Seminyak, where much of the social scene has now moved. The main shops are located all along Legian street.
To the South of Kuta is located the resort of Tuban. Originally part of Kuta, it now claims its own status as an independent resort, perhaps to avoid the scars attached to the image of Kuta. To the West, the resort of Kuta is now extending to the new resorts of Peti Tenget which has a beautiful temple- Canggu, Seseh and even Tanah Lot.
Mainland, Northern Badung
Most of the places of interest in the northern part of the regency of Badung are located along the main roads leading out of Denpasar to the North and West.
Just out of Denpasar on the road to Tabanan is the village of Kapal, home to a small industry of earthenware; you can also buy ready-made Balinese temples. But Kapal is also better known for its Pura Sadha temple and in particular its multi tiered prasadha shrine. Its Pura Puseh temple has also interesting reliefs of the Ramayana epic.
Aerial View of Taman Ayun Temple by R. HelmiFurther West, after the road forks northward to Buleleng is the little town of Mengwi, which has one of the grandest temples of the island, the Taman Ayun temple. Until the end of the last century, Mengwi was one of the main kingdom of the island, and the temple was built as its territorial temple by Cokorde Munggu around 1740. The Pura Taman Ayun is a water garden temple, therefore symbolizing the cosmic union of sea and mountain. It is possible to row around the moat in rented boats. The architecture follows the usual “kaja / kelod” tripartite structure, which duplicate the order of the cosmos: nista (impure/demon- ic), madia (middle/human) and utama (godly), correspondmg to three successive yards, the most sacred ones being in the inner court. Its shrines are made and decorated in the finest fashion of Balinese carvers.
From Mengwi the road heads northward to Buleleng. The curious visitors may leave this road and opt instead for a parallel road to the right running through the village of Baha. This is a village whose architecture has been restored in its original shape. It has some beautiful mud gates.
Not far from Baha, is the famed Monkey Forest of Sangeh, set in the midst of the only patch of primary forest still preserved in Southern Bali. It is also made up entirely of the pala (nutmeg) trees. The monkeys are considered sacred. The sacredness is associated to the story of Ramayana, when prince Rama allied himself with the monkey hero Hanoman to attack Alengka. The monkeys here are quite a nuisance, though. But the atmosphere at the end of the day has a primeval charm unique in Bali. Some of the trees of the forest, considered sacred, are used for the making of some of the most potent barongs. After Sangeh, the road heads North to the Kintamani area through Plaga and beautiful landscapes.