Bali

Bali is a small island -- measuring just 153 kilometres wide by 112 kilometres long -- but it offers a variety of landscapes and a wealth of experiences to appeal to many tastes. While rampant development over the past 40 years has seen this once quiet rice-growing and fishing community become Indonesia's tourism success story, attracting around 3.2 million visitors a year, there are still many paddy fields and pockets of traditional Balinese life to explore, as well as secluded beaches. Known as the Island of the Gods, Bali has more than 10,000 temples, most of which host at least two festivals every year. Despite the tourism that has spawned hundreds of hotels and thousands of restaurants and bars, the island's inhabitants remain deeply religious, with 84 percent of its almost four million residents practising their own distinct brand of Hinduism. Tiny offerings called canang sari (flowers and sometimes sweets in a palm leaf tray) are made every day to the gods and are found everywhere, even on the beach and on footpaths, while statues of gods and sacred animals adorn every street. Southern Bali is the most developed especially the budget beach resort of Kuta and its more sophisticated northern neighbour Seminyak. The high-end tourist enclaves of Jimbaran and Nusa Dua are just a few kilometres south of Kuta. The artists' hub of Ubud in central Bali, known for its many galleries and artisan workshops is, in fact, a collection of 14 separate villages, often separated by rice terraces. Dance is central to the Balinese culture along with the music of the gamelan -- an ensemble of percussion instruments much like xylophones -- and drums. For an authentic slice of Balinese life, it's best to head to the regions to the north and east of Ubud, where folks live in organised communal villages and still wear traditional dress such, as kebayas (traditional Indonesian blouses) and sarongs, and where there are many opportunities to see women carrying baskets of flowers and fruit on their heads to the temple. Another ceremony likely to be encountered in rural areas is the cremation procession where a huge bamboo funeral pyre fashioned in the shape of a bull is carried through the streets. Two areas where culture and tourism combine beautifully are cuisine and massage. The Balinese give the best massages, be they on the beach or in a luxurious spa, while cooking schools, many of which are in private homes, have also sprung up across the island.