Sidemen Village Offers a Relaxing and Peaceful Atmosphere

Sidemen Village is an attractive village surrounded by many hills and beautiful rice fields that is irrigated by Subak or a Balinese traditional water system for rice fields. The village is located in the east part of Bali, Karangasem Regency. Approximately 63 kilometers away from Denpasar City and it takes about 2 hour drive to reach the village. It is precisely located on a valley on the slopes of Mount Agung, the highest and sacred mountain in Bali. Sidemen Village is situated far from the city, hustle of people and pollution. 

It has a calm and relaxing atmosphere, very suitable for visitors who would like to relax and have a peaceful holiday in a village far from the busy city. It is also believed that the village has a strong spiritual aura due to its location on the the slopes of Mount Agung, many Hindu temples are found in Sidemen Village.The population of this village is about 7000 people and most of them earn their living by farming. Sidemen Village is famous for its stunning rice field scenery and simple traditional way of life of the inhabitants. It is also famous because the village has produced masters of Balinese literature, Hindu theology and generations of skillful weavers.

There are several interesting activities that can be done in Sidemen village, they include trekking, having strolls along the village and rice field and see various types of traditional farming activities which are very rare to be seen in developed cities. Besides that, visitors also have a chance to enjoy more challenging rafting in the Tegal Waja river which has stronger current than the Ayung river. Several home stays and hotels are provided for visitor who wish to spend a night in this calm village. Sidemen Village is an beautiful village to visit.

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Kertalangu Village the House of Balinese Culture

Kertalangu is an interesting place to enjoy in Denpasar, it is located in Kertalangu Village, Kesiman, East Denpasar, approximately 40 minutes away from Ngurah Rai International Airport. The village is known as Kertalangu Cultural Village, according to the name, there are several Balinese cultural activities that can be done in this village. Kertalangu village is situated in a 80 hectare rice field which gives similar atmosphere as Ubud, hence, visitors who doesn't have enough time to go to Ubud for Balinese cultural activities, visiting Kertalangu is a great alternative. The interesting cultural activities that can be done in Kertalangu include Balinese dancing, Balinese offering making, soap making, weaving, farming activities, horse riding, duck catching, fishing, flying and making kites as well as painting. 

Besides the interesting cultural activities, tourism facilities that support this tourist attraction are also provided. There is a 4 kilometer jogging track in the middle of the rice fields where visitors can enjoy the fresh air while jogging, the best time to come jogging is in the morning and afternoon when the sun is not intense. A Handicraft Center where visitors can see the process and create various types of Balinese handicraft products. A Fishing pond completed with gazebos where visitors can relax and take a rest. Hermitage of Kertalangu Cultural Village is the place where visitors learn the Balinese Cultures. An open stage where exhibition and Balinese Dance are performed. Restaurant, Spa and Photo Studios are also provided in Kertalangu.

Kertalangu Cultural Village is a great place where visitors can learn Balinese Cultures, instructor would friendly share there knowledge to visitors, it would be a very pleasant experience for all visitors. 

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Fishing Pond	Horse Riding
Farming Activity	Jogging Track
Kertalangu souvenir shop	The World Peace Gong

Gringsing Woven Cloth - a Balinese heritage

Gringsing woven cloth is a handmade woven cloth originating from Tenganan village, Karangasem Regency, eastside of Bali island. This Gringsing cloth is made out of natural dyes which may take months even years to develop the cloth. The word Gringsing is derived from two words Gring which means not and sakit which means pain so the word Gringsing has a meaning "no pain", that is why Gringsing cloth is used on ritual ceremonies it is believed that when using the cloth, there wont be any pain and would be protected from evil spirits. The original Gringsing cloth can only be found in Tenganan village, it is also said that this kind of weaving technique can only be done by three countries in the world, they are Japan, india and Indonesia (Tenganan).

The colors of the thread are all from natural coloring. The red color originates from the roots of Mengkudu (noni fruit) trees, yellow from candle nut oil and black color is made from the mixture of indigo and red taum grass. First, the thread is soaked in a candle nut oil, minimal for 40 days, it may also be soaked for more than a year because the thread would have a better quality when it is soaked longer. The candle nut oil is exchanged every 24-29 days. After the thread is soaked, it would be dyed with natural coloring, when all the threads are dyed, the weaving process (without machine) starts which takes about one week for a small piece and 2 months for a large size.

Gringsing woven cloth is different to any other woven cloth, it shows stronger color as it gets older due to the natural process. One piece of a small sized Gringsing cloth is priced about Rp. 1 million and for the larged sized cloth is priced between Rp 5 million to Rp 30 million each. Many foreign tourists come to Tenganan village to see the process of making this Gringsing woven cloth.

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Pemuteran Beach another Beautiful Beach of Bali

Pemuteran Beach is another great tourist destination located in the northwest part of the island, Pemuteran Village, Grokgak sub district, Buleleng Regency. It is approximately 55 kilometers away from Singaraja City or about 1 hour drive from Lovina Beach and very far from Denpasar City, about 200 kilometers away roughly 3 hour drive. But the long drive would be rewarded by the magnificent view of the beach and the seaside village. 

Pumeteran Beach has a similar condition to Menjangan Island. The peaceful atmosphere of the beach attracts many foreign tourist to visit this beach. The beach is very appropriate for doing yoga and meditation, as well as sightseeing.The sea water is very clean and clear, lots of beautiful coral reefs are found in the waters of this beach. All the corals are conserved well by the environmentalist foundation, hence, colorful corals from all over Indonesia can easily be seen. Besides beautiful corals, various types of fish make this beach as their habitat. To maintain the preservation of the corals and fish, the local fishermen are only allowed to catch fish with traditional equipments. For diving and snorkeling lovers, Pemuteran beach is another great place to come besides Tulamben and Amed.

Several water sports are also available in this beach, such as Jet skiing and glass bottom boat. But the best thing to do when visiting Pemuteran Beach would be snorkeling and diving. This beach is a great place to visit when visiting Bali, home stays and hotels are also provided for visitors who want to stay longer in the coast Pemuteran.

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Penglipuran Village - a Neat and Interesting Village in Bangli

Penglipuran is a traditional Balinese village located in central Bali, Kubu Village, Bangli Regency. It is situated approximately 45 kilometers north of Denpasar and about 700meters above sea level, hence, the atmosphere is relatively cool and it is surrounded by bamboo forest and coffee plantation. Penglipuran Village is one of the Bali Age villages where inhabitants of the village are mostly farmers and have strict regulation like their ancestors centuries ago. The word Penglipuran is taken from the word Penglipur which means entertainer, it is said that in the past, all kings often come to this village to entertain themselves due to its natural beauty and peacefulness.

This village is built with three distinctive parts which is called the "Tri Mandala" concept. It describes a place based on the location, function and level of purity. Tri Mandala consists of a holy part with temples, housing part where people live and a burial ground where corpse are buried. The front courtyard is facing towards the holy mountain, Mount Agung where the family temple is located, the middle courtyard more westwards there are kitchen and housing where families live and the back courtyard is where the animals are placed. There is also a place to look after the livestock and vegetable plantation wich is called Teba.

The houses that are lined up from north to south look very beautiful with Balinese traditional entrance which are made almost the same to one another. When stepping down to this village, visitors would often see people earn their livings using traditional equipments and children playing traditional games. Penglipuran Village is famous for being different by other villages in Bali, it is a popular tourist destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.

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