Street Art in Bali

Art has always been an integral part of Balinese society. It is an art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom. This was during the expansion of the kingdom into Bali in the late 13th century. The advent of western artists early in the 1900’s proved a turning point in the direction ands style of Balinese painting, however, the traditional essence remained. The two main centres for art in Bali are Ubud and Batuan and renowned worldwide for this form.
As tourism grew to the point where now Bali is practically the number one destination for westerners in South East Asia, so did the influence of another form of art; urban art. Travel anywhere across the archipelago of Indonesia and you will notice in the major cities creative art sprawled across walls and underpasses. Some is purely political and evolved during the Soeharto era. I don’t mean your stupid ‘tagging’ or un-arty scribble that to my mind is pure vandalism.
Expressive art is the art of youth and is in itself just that; art. Of course you will see a lot of vandalistic tagging in the streets of Kuta and Denpasar, in fact most places you go across the island. But, there is that expressive art that can be found and pleasing to the eye. A lot of people merely look at expressive art, or as it is known; urban art, as being grafitti and a pure of vandalism. I totally disagree with this path of thought. Urban artists are artists in their own right. It is just another art form using a different canvas.
Besides the street urban art that can be found in Bali, there is also the form of urban sculptural art. The best two pieces of this I have seen on Bali are located in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) in Jimbaran. These are two statues of bulls creatively painted and in my thought, stunning pieces of urban art.
Imagine a tropical land filled with ancient art and deep rooted traditions, hidden in the Indonesian islands. A place filled with ornate statues and temples, intricate and detailed. This place is the island of Bali, a haven of perfect waves and tribal history. Bali is well known as being one of the top destinations for tourism with it’s beautiful beaches and great hotels. But what about street art? In a country renowned for amazing statues, and elaborate hand carved pictures, is there any room for this new form of art? The answer is yes, but it’s not quite what you would expect.
The Balinese have a real respect for their temples and buildings, they do not spray paint on them or deface them in any way. Hinduism is deeply ingrained in their culture and they believe that every object, even a wall, has life and power in it. But there is a real sense of freedom there, no police chasing after you to slap you with a ticket for vandalism. So in the developing cities of Kuta and Sanur, is where you will find some local street art. Usually located down a side street or alley, graffiti artists tag Bali style. There is a broad spectrum of style in the street art, from abstract portraits, to typical urban style lettering. While there is Western influence in the tagged lettering, the real Bali style is in the tribal art.
Once vilified, street art now carries a vast amount of cultural cache. Gone are the days when spray paint on a wall signified blight; today you’re as likely to find a wheatpaste or woodblock inside a gallery as outside. Pieces by renowned artists like Banksy and Swoon fetch thousands of dollars and are collected by rock stars, actors, and museums. Street art has always been cool, but in the twenty-first century it’s become an art.
Nevertheless, the best place to see street art remains the street. Around the world, street artists express emotion, give voice to the marginalized or downtrodden, protest, or simply create beauty. They use a variety of tools, including yarn, stickers, magazines, found objects, tiles, LED or laser displays, and brooms, as in the case of “reverse graffiti,” in which a dirty area is cleaned such that the removal of dust or detritus forms an image. Most of the time, street artists don’t have permission to put their work up in public spaces.
The following cities are noted for their art and artists. Any city likely has some street art, if you know where to look. Spying a poster or tiny mosaic is a reward for anyone who begins to really interact with his or her environment. So walk down those alleys and peer behind those signs; you never know what you might see. The here-today-gone-tomorrow emphemerality of the pieces is part of their charm.

Bali Street Dogs

Indonesia is home to hundreds of stray dogs that are struggling to stay alive. David Verrall follows rescue groups on a relentless mission to end the suffering of Bali’s dogs. Linda Buller, Aussie artist, doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and animal lover, makes her home in a valley at the back of Ubud, the fashionable retreat for westerners in Bali, Indonesia. Stumbling down a dirt track to her house, the scent of frangipani wafting overhead, we are greeted by a pack of incessantly smiling, barking Bali dogs, a crossbreed of Asian Dingo, Kelpie and Blue Healer. A young brown Dobermann stands with his feet against the fence rail, his yellow eyes peering over the solid steel gate. “Hello love,” greets Buller through the noise, as she opens the gate that screeches on its rusty hinges. Puppies and dogs swarm around our feet as we enter her small handmade studio house overhung with trees and huge stands of bamboo. A small river bubbles in the valley beneath us. Bali Adoption Rehabilitation Centre “Ten years ago, I started picking up Bali street dogs,” Bulla tells me. “The first was a bitch, struggling to stay alive on the streets here. I called her Wang. I brought her here and gave her a chair and a pillow and a blanket. It made her smile. There were no vets or help and she was too depleted; she died three weeks later. “Hinduism regards dogs in Bali as an unfortunate reincarnation from their previous life, with little more respect than a tree or a rock. Their karma holds them totally responsible for their life. With a population of about one dog to five humans, they are only valued as food or something saleable.” etting dogs free “Did you bring a car?” Buller interrupts. ”We have to go, as my workers are with the dogs we found yesterday. They have been waiting for us all morning.” We load dried food, wire cutters and claw hammers, before setting off on the road up the mountain to Kintamani. As we climb the jungle road, we eventually stop alongside a pile of 50 wooden boxes holding live dogs. “We received a call yesterday from Serina, an English girl living in the area, telling us about this dog shipment. Normally they are very well hidden, but not these lucky dogs,” Buller says. A few forlorn, exhausted dogs strain out from some partially broken boxes, all stacked on top of each other. “We heard they were on their way to Java as live dog meat for crocodiles, or who knows, maybe restaurants selling RW [pronounced “air way”] for sate and soup,” she says. “Together, we had to wait overnight for permission from the police to free them. There is an ownership dispute, but the couriers didn’t have the appropriate papers.” Increasing concern Cool air rises around us as we cross shadowy river valleys beneath the jungle’s leafy branches. “The Jakarta Post, the national newspaper, wrote tacitly the other day about how people are starting to care about local dogs, mostly as a result of our actions here in Ubud!” Buller says, as we veer sharply off the windy road into the Rehab Centre. “Otherwise, the only attention we get is from the ex-patriot community, who are familiar with the value dogs can bring into a human’s life. The locals customarily don’t read those papers.” Squeals of delight come from the dogs inside the refuge as we arrive. Men are busy concrete rendering individual kennels, designed to isolate disease, while puppies stare delightfully up at us from their “rooms”, treading in their water bowls. Buller gives a few assertive instructions to the men working there and warmly says to me, ”These young men working for the dogs are so egoless.” Two young Balinese men are shepherding and isolating the dogs into various play areas in the yard. They are busy maintaining water access and giving individual attention to dogs recently vaccinated and injected for mange and other sicknesses. It is a crèche for dogs, until they are healthy enough to be adopted out. Local justice There are no laws for the protection of dogs in Bali and their wellbeing is dependent on increased public awareness. “Yesterday, local Balinese caught some dog baiters and beat them before giving them to the police,” says Buller with delight. “This sort of action was unheard of in the past, and the police hold the robbers, often finding them responsible for other offences to do with private property or motorcycle theft. The offenders are then repatriated to their homes again, even back to Java.” A small van arrives with three new cabinets purchased with enthusiastic donations to the refuge. The young Balinese men discuss the assembly instructions as we talk. “All I want is for visitors to Bali to come to my refuge and pat one of my dogs. I am encouraging local government to instigate animal-protection laws here, which are currently non-existent,” Buller says. “It has taken 20 years for this dream to become a reality. We have attracted vets from around the world to help here and are receiving some limited funding from a few enthusiastic supporters.”

Bali Traffic

Driving in Bali
I earlier wrote a hub about ‘Live in Bali, but before you go’ explaining a bit about what you need to think of before you go. I am going to follow up with a series of hubs about Bali, from hotels, ceremonies, night life, snorkeling and other activities that include life in Indonesia, in particular Bali. Here my hub about driving in Bali.
Driving
Driving in Bali is not for the faint hearted. There are many dangers on the streets of Bali that are unseen on any other (western) road. Let me enlighten you a bit so when you come, you come prepared!
License and tips

• Bali Travel Tips, Tourist Bali Visa, Bali Time – advice, useful information – visiting Bali
• Travel Tips – Asta Bali
  What should do or shoudn’t do while you stay in Bali Island and some useful information.
• International Driving Licence
  When you travel the world, carry an International Drivers License. You only need a valid driver’s license in order to apply.

First things first, whenever you drive

When you come to Bali as a tourist and before you even set foot on the island, prepare a driver’s license. This is very important! If you even begin to think about driving a car or renting a motorcycle, prepare this before you go. This will prevent you from any possible hassle with the police. Your local travel agency or the links given in this HUB will give you information on how to acquire an international driver’s license.
Roads
The roads in Bali are not all well paved. Unlike a touristic island where one might expect some decent roads, aside from trash, this is another issue that should be sorted asap. However, it seems to be something that is hard to realize. There are holes in the street, a couple of inches deep that might trip even the most avid driver. When you are a bit of a dreamer on the street, it might cost you an arm and a leg. It has been on more than one occassion that I literally had to jerk the wheel to avoid driving in a hole!
Rules
Remember when you went for your driver’s license? Theory class, exam and of course an examiner that was sitting next to you watching your every move? I remember my examiner that flunked me for following a truck. The light when green and the truck I was behind was first in line. I followed the truck, not too close of course, but was STOPPED by the examiner. Why? Because he thought I could not possibly have seen the green light because it was a ‘high’ truck and therefore the visibility of the traffic lights was nil. Failed.
Animals
You will sooner or later come fast to fast with some two or even four legged creatures on the street. Stray dogs are a notorious for causing accidents. On the main roads it is not that common that a dog will try to cross the road, but on the little streets dogs some to literally wait to give you a little bite. This can sometimes turn into hilarious situations with people trying to balance on their scooter and with one leg trying to kick away the dog..
Snakes or not very common although you occasionally see one in the sawa’s/ rice paddies. Rats are common as well but they will only shock you for a moment, just drive over them. I say that not because I hate rats or anything, but it’s better to drive straight over them than trying to avoid a crossing rat and get into an accident yourself.. ‘what happened?’ ‘yeah, this rat you know’.. Nope, not cool!
Fellow road users
I already mentioned it a bit. Fellow road users and by them I mean the local people. They are ‘capable’ to drive very weird and annoying, yet seem to be non-aggressive. They like to horn and do only to give little ‘warning’ signs. I know for a fact that when you horn in The Netherlands, you might end up in a fight because it is VERY impolite. Here it is something very ‘normal’ to do.
Be careful, try not to drive as locals or even like me. I drive like a nutcase as well.
Weather
The weather is hot. Before I mentioned the average tourist will go in a bikini or with a bare chest on their scooter. If you do so, you will get sun burned. I always think it is funny, because Indonesians will always cover up with something like a long sleeve or even a jacket. This is to protect themselves from the sun, they don’t like to have a very black skin. Just have a look at the picture at the top of the page and you’ll notice everyone is covered up, except for… Although I must agree, a leather jacket with 30+ degrees is too much. Either case, if you do go pec show, where some proper sunscreen.. Like, factor 40 or something.
Please wear at least a shirt, going on a scooter with a bare chest just looks silly.
Traffic jams
Road tend to get clogged up very easily. Especially during high season, it is almost impossible to drive around the Kuta area. If you are coming out here during Christmas, be warned. A trip as little as 2km through Kuta, might take you up to an hour in a cab. This is because most ways are one way streets in Kuta.

Road map for exploring Bali

Bali is a criss crossed with roads of varying quality. Many tourists as well as expats stick to the main roads and sometimes miss out on some spectacular scenery. It can be tempting to get off of the main road and go exploring, but also worrying for someone not familiar with Bali and on a short time frame. The thing you have to figure out is what roads will lead to great things, but are also navigable and suitable for cars. Fear not, help is at hand in the form of a widely sold map.
The Periplus map of Bali is one of the most common maps used here, easily identifiable by its yellow and red cover. With a single map covering the whole of Bali, Area Maps of South Bali, Kuta Area & Legian Area, Sanur, Ubud Area, Nusa Dua & Tanjung Benoa, Lovina, and City Plans of Denpasar, Klungkung, Candidasa, Singaraja and Gianyar, the map covers a lot. Roads are detailed using different colors on the main map (thick orange for the Bypass Ngurah Rai, light orange for main roads connecting towns, white for secondary roads and grey for the tiny local backroads. Looking at the white colored roads one thing stands out to me, they are all great routes with lovely scenery, not heavily touristy and driveable with good road surfaces. Some of these white roads are my favourite routes in Bali. They include:
•Klungkung to Selat via Sideman
•Kintamani to Rendang via Suter
•Candi Kuning to Kintamani (Pura Tegeh Koripan) via Petang and Catur.
•Ubud to Kintamani via Sayan and Payangan.
•Rendang to Bangli via Bangbang and Tembuku
•Kintamini to Bondalem via Dausa
•Lake Buyan to Mayong via Munduk
All these routes are awesome, easy to find and to drive. There are others too marked in white and they are all winners. You can pick up a Periplus map at Bintang supermarket in Seminyak and bookstores including Periplus at Made’s Warung Seminyak, Carrefour and Discovery Shopping Mall.
One of the most pleasant rides I did recently was a trip to Kintamani via Ubud, Sayan, Payangan. This fairly straight route is a 40km shot up to the crater. Stopping on the way to get my fleece on, the blue skies and cold mountian feeling refreshing, I passed rice fields, fmaily temples and an array of village life in action. At the crater rim a right turn circled the SW edge, with magnificent views of Lake Batur, Gunung Batur and the sweeping scenery outside the crater. Following the route around led to Penelokan, site of the highest density of tourist restaurants. Bright sunny weather meant this Sunday was busy with Balinese locals, the scene at Penelokan obviously the place to be seen if you are from that area. Looking at a map of the area one will see many main roads leading south from the Batur crater, but by passing Penelokan and hooking a sharp left, one will immediately be on a lovely narrow, forested route affording views of the inside of the crater overlooking the southern part of Lake Batur. This route leaves the crater rim after 4 kms and heads south to Rendang. The whole way is forested with views of Gunung Agung, clear this last weekend, off to the left. Several kms south of the village of Rendang, there is a right hand (westward) turnoff for Bangli. This little route is super cool, with twists and turns, hairpin brends and unspoilt landscapes. You will reach Bangli after another 12kms. Road conditions on this entire rooute are good and an SUV will have no trouble making it, although my preferred mode of transport would be a slow cruise on motorbike.

The Roads to Kintamani

Everyone that has visited Bali has, at one time or another, travelled up the mountains to Kintamani. The area there affords some spectacular views of Gunung Batur and Danau Batur and, on a good clear day the Bali Aga village of Trunyan can be seen. It is an area of late that has received some bad press and rightly so and the hawkers can be rather annoying and pushy. It appears, however, that things might be on the better for the Kintamani region. There are four major routes you can take to get to Kintamani and each road has its own surprises and great places to visit along the way. These might be temples or other place of worship, museums, and towns that are renowned for their specialty in arts or crafts. Once in Kintamani you have a choice of restaurants with a high price tag if you fancy a feed whilst enjoying the view. My best advice is to have a drink in one of these places and indulge in the panorama. There are many decent warungs around the area that serve great Indonesian fare as well as Western tucker.
The routes are listed below in no particular order and are ex-Kuta. Take note that upon reaching the crossroads at Kintamani you will have to pay a fee to enter the area at Penelokan.

Route 1: This one I call the ‘tourist run’ to Kintamani mainly because it passes through several towns worthy of note – Batubulan for its marvellous stone carvings, mostly of Balinese Gods, Celuk where you will find the streets lined with galleries and shops selling gold and silver to the markets at Sukawati, the two-storey art market where you can buy goods at almost half the price you pay in Kuta. From there you pass through Batuan renowned for its many talented artists and it here you will find several art galleries and studios, then onto the large textile town of Gianyar famous for its Endek weaving and then through the sleepy town of Bangli where you will find one of the finest garden temples on the island – Pura Kehen – and finally onto Penelokan.

Route 2: Probably one of my favourite routes taking you through the archaeological centre of Bali often referred to as the holy land. Here you will find temples and artifacts dating back to the Majapahit period in Bali and several antiquities dating as far back as the 11th Century. The interesting part of this route starts at Blahbatuh where you will find Pura Gaduh and inside the temple the large stone head of Kebo Iwa. Further along the road is located Pura Dharma Bukit Durga Kutri. This is an interesting temple as it has superb carvings of elephants guarding the outer gates and oddly enough, pigs at the inner gate. Its main feature is the statue of the Goddess Durga perched on a sacred altar at the top of a steep flight of stone steps. Not far from here near the town of Bedulu is located Yeh Pulu, a sheer 25 metre cliff face that has been carved and depicts a five-part story of which the meaning is unknown. This 14th Century artefact is well worth visiting as is the nearby Goa Gadjah, also known as the elephant cave. Heading north from there on the left-hand side is located Pura Kebo Edan with its massive four meter statue. Although in a state of disrepair, this place is interesting for budding archaeological enthusiasts. A stone’s throw from there is Pura Penataran Sasih, home to the Moon of Pejeng. The bronze gong is said to date back to the Dong dynasty of Vietnam and the Balinese Bronze age. Twenty kilometres further north near Tampaksaring you will find the sacred springs of Tirta Empul. It is well worth spending an hour or two here simply for the stunning experience of it all. Probably the most sensational experience in the holy land can be found at Gunung Kawi sitting on the banks of the nearby Pakerisan River. The tombs (Candi’s) are of Anak Wungsu and his queens and are superbly stunning. From here it is a straightforward run up to Penelokan at Kintamani.

Route 3: An interesting and straight run north to the volcano with a few interesting places along the way. Firstly would be the artistic centre of Mas with its array of small galleries. The town is also home to some of the finest artists on the island. An interesting centre for wood carvings is the village of Tegalalang. Several workshops and galleries here are worth a look-see. Further along the road heading north you will come to another village known for its fine wood at Pujungkelod. From there it is only a few kilometres to Sebatu. The Pura Gunung Kwai Sebatu is an interesting temple. Sebatu is also a connecting point to Tampaksaring and the sacred springs or you can carry on further north to Kintamani. Nearby Sebatu is located the Elephant Safari Park at Taro. Actually, the village of Taro is home to the lowland Bali Aga and in this village you will find some unique longhouses. After visiting here it is only a short ride north to Kintamani.

Route 4: Without a doubt the most straightforward and fastest way to Kintamani and the route that I often take when heading to the north-east of the island thus passing thought the area around Kintamani. The road takes you through the outskirts of Ubud and continues through areas of rich ricefields and some stunning panoramas. The further north you travel the richer the flora and the mountain views are a delight. Along the way there are several warungs worth stopping at for refreshments as are the numerous fruit stalls along the side of the road. Interestingly enough, the closer you get to Kintamani it seems as though the fruit for sale has a richer taste and definitely infinitely more delicious. Must be something to do with high altitude! At the end of your drive you come out on the Kintamani road at Kertabuana. There never used to be a collection point for access at this T-junction but there is now!