The Gili Islands are becoming a more mainstream tourist destination than merely the backpacker mecca of yesteryear. Although officially the most popular tourist destination in Lombok, the islands are in fact less than two yours by ferry from Bali, and a popular attraction for tourists to Indonesia’s holiday hotspot.

The islands are characterised by an extremely relaxed vibe where laid-back beachfront shacks serve banana pancakes against the background of mellow reggae tunes. But the upmarket side to the archipelago’s tourism industry is developing fast, with elaborate seafood restaurants adding a luxurious edge to proceedings.

The beaches here are the main draw, and certainly superior to any to be found on Lombok or Bali. Plus without any motorised transport to disturb the peace and quiet, just a few horse-drawn carts bring tourists up and down the main drags. Other than just lazing on the sand, snorkelling and diving are the major draws here, although there are a few waves to catch for surfing fans.

Gili Trawangan (or Gili T) is the main backpacker destination with plenty of inexpensive beach huts and just one luxury resort. Although there are no dogs living on the island, there are around 800 cats. Gili Meno is the quietest and smallest and of the three islands with very simple accommodation options, while Gili Air is the nearest to the Indonesian mainland and the most densely populated.

As there are no airports on the Gili islands, visitors must take a ferry (around two hours) from Bali or alternatively fly to Mataram on the Lombok mainland and take the cheap 20-minute hop-over boat. And although people here are used to the medley of hedonistic backpackers partying on their beach, the local religion is Islam and so care should be taken not to cause offence with inappropriate dress or behaviour outside the beach areas.

Basic words and phrases include:

Hello – selamat

Good morning – selamat pagi

Good night – selamat malam

Goodbye - selemat tinggal

My name is … – nama saya …

What is your name? – siapa nama anda?

I do not speak Indonesian – saya tidak menerti bahasa

Yes – ya

No – tidak

Thank you – terimah kasih

Please – tolong

Sorry – permisi

Only looking – lihat saja

How much? – berapa?

Expensive – mahal

Can we bargain – boleh kurang harganya

Can I see the menu please – saya mau daftar makanan minta

Water – air

Beer – bir

Check please – tolong bonnya

Is there a room available? – masih ada kamar kosong dinsini?

Fan room – kipas kamar

Where is the beach? – dimana pantai?

Where is the toilet? – dimana kamar kecil?

Hindu Bali thrives on its festivals and festivities and there really isn’t a week of the year that passes where something is celebrated. Because the Balinese tend to split the year in two and celebrate things in six month cycles, most Balinese festivals and celebrations occur at least twice a year.

Bali is a Hindu island so the festival aesthetic here differs from the rest of Buddhist Southeast Asia. An Indian flavour takes hold with giant images of Ganesh and other Hindu deities being floated into the surf and all kinds of dramatic and colourful displays of dancing and self-sacrifice.

Animal lovers should be aware that live animal sacrifice is often a part of Balinese Hindu festivals, but at the other end of the scale is modern Balinese festivals celebrating new works of art, music and dance. These festivals are more commercially oriented and take place via commerce guilds and local groups of shops and businesses.

There is no real festival peak period in Bali since festivals take place all throughout the year. Visitors will usually stumble onto one kind of festival or another no matter what time of the year they visit, and even private family celebrations often spill out onto the streets and beaches of this most festive island.

Bali’s biggest and holiest festival is the Galungan festival. It lasts for 10 days and is celebrated across the whole island. Galungan is a holiday period marked by the fitting of decorated bamboo poles to the outside of houses and feasting and fasting.

The day after the first new moon of the ninth month of the Balinese calendar ushers in the Nyepi festival. Visitors will not have any trouble knowing when the Nyepi is on, as it is traditionally marked by silence across the normally bustling and noisy island.

The festival of Saraswati is a time to pay homage to the deities of knowledge, art and literature, mainly the Dewi Sarawasti. This festival takes place over one day and

The main caution, of course, is drugs. The Indonesian legal system may be beset with persistent allegations of corruption and bribery, but the law in Indonesia including Bali takes any form of drug use or possession very seriously. Tourist brochures and travel agents try not to mention the amount of foreigners languishing in Balinese jails on drug offenses, but the numbers are relatively high and even possession of small quantities of any drug can result in severe sentences.

Drugs are on sale on the streets and in the clubs and bars of Bali. It may seem that they are everywhere and that therefore policing of drugs is lax and even totally absent. This is not the case, and anyone looking to imbibe should be very aware of the potential outcomes if busted.

There are only four first names for each gender in Bali. The first born child will be called Wayan or Putu, the second-born Made or Kadek. Third born children will be called  Nyoman or Komang and a fourth born child will be called Ketut. In the case of more children, the naming cycle starts again, with the fifth born being called Wayan or Putu, a sixth born Made or Kadek, and so on.

Large families are managed by older children being put in managerial charge of younger kids. The Balinese love children and family life, and very large, extended families are common here. Often, several generations along with in-laws will live under the one roof. People living alone are considered sad and suspect.

Village communities are tightly-knit and all members of the local community have a role to play. Privacy is fairly low on the priority scale for most Balinese since in most parts of the island, everyone communicates openly and everyone knows everyone else’s business.

Because Bali is a Hindu island, Indian dancing has a big influence here. Animism too along with provincial folklore and even family histories have informed other traditional dance styles. Most Balinese are instructed in local dance forms while still very young, usually by mimicking a teacher who dances in front of them, or just other adults who are dancing. There are three main types of Balinese dance, but common across all is an expression of the common spirit of the dance – individual expression is unheard of.
The Wali are the Sacred Dances and are only performed in the grounds of a temple. The Rejang is performed by women and features slow and steady processions towards an altar, often with fans twirling dramatically or thrown into the air. The Baris Dances are warrior dances performed by men dressed in gold headdresses accompanied in their dramatic routines by a boisterous orchestra.

The Pendet Dance is performed only by married women and is a quiet dedication to important dieties, like the Sang Hyan Dedari, the famous Trance Dance that is used to appease the spirits in times of local or individual distress. Getting ready to perform a Trance Dance may take months, with visits from priests and long periods of medititation required to induce the correct trance-like state. It is beleived that the gods and goddesses will transmute into the bodies of the dancers if they are deep enough into the trance state. Sometimes, dancers will collapse at the end of extended performance periods, and this reaction is

The Bebali Dances are the Ceremonial Dances, and are also performed inside a temple. The Gambuh Gambuh acts out long stories of Balinese history, usually the tale of a Javanese prince courting a princess.

The Balih-balihan Dances
 are entertaining and not temple based. They are perofrmed all over the island particularly for tourists. The Janger Janger is performed by younger women in peacock shaped crown headdresses and the Kebyar
 Kebyar features two beautiful women dancing with fans.

Art has flourished in Bali since at least the 13th century and the art scene in Bali continues to evolve and expand. While there is no shortage of traditional arts and crafts available for sale, and being produced on a daily basis, it is the modern art scene of Bali that is most electrifying. There are a number of Balinese artists aged in their twenties who are winning deserved acclaim at home and abroad.

Bali’s most recent leap forward, arts-wise, occurred during the 1960s when a number of artists from North America and Europe moved here and established their own schools and programs. The young Artist School was developed by Arie Smit, a dutch artist who came here after WWII.

This school continues to operate today and over the decades has produced some very fine local painters who create along a wide range of styles. Smit originally took his inspiration from local children drawing in the sand, and he encouraged them to transfer their imaginations to canvasses using oil paints. The School’s first major international exhibition took place in Malaysia in 1983.

The galleries and art houses of Ubud thrive with the continuing work of hundreds of local artists. Classes are held, courses are taught and regular openings and exhibitions give the hill town of Ubud a cosmopolitan and international feel. Art overs from anywhere in the world will be enthralled by the activity here, as well as the dynamic sense of enthusiasm and energy,

Elsewhere, the ancient traditions of Balinese art are more than upheld by dedicated artists who paint in the old style. This classical Balinese art concentrates on realistic depictions of the local landscapes and buildings, as well as the activities of the local people. Pastoral paintings of rice paddies, bamboo fields and pastel pagodas should be quickly recognisable as typically Balinese. These are the paintings that are widely copied in prints and t shirts, even, ad decorate Balinese and Indonesian restaurants all over the world.

For an island that has heaved under the weight of international mass tourism for at least four decades now, Bali does a very good job of holding onto its distinctive and idiosyncratic local culture and traditions. Most visitors to Bali are enchanted by the unique vibe here, since Bali is quite different to not only most tourist destinations in the Southeast Asian region, but is quite an anomaly within Indonesia itself.

Bali is a Hindu island and as such is the only non-Islamic part of the Indonesian archipelago. This means that people live differently, look a little different, and celebrate their own festivals according to the local Balinese calendar, which usually splits the year into two six month halves – doubling the opportunity for celebrations!

As a beach island, with high humidity and a crashing wet season, clothing is fairly casual island-wide. Locals are used to seeing scantily clad tourists wearing their beach clothes in town, but most local Balinese wear simple batik wraps over clothes that can survive a dip in the ocean and which transform casually from night into day.

Weddings are a big deal in Bali and family celebrations will go on for several weeks, spilling over onto the neighbourhood and open to all comers. Brides follows centuries of tradition in their dress, preparations and grooming. Similarly, funerals can be spread over a period of many months, with a burial followed sometimes months later by a huge extended family commemoration with guests from all over the world.

The history of art in Bali is an esteemed one and most Balinese will fashion artworks from anything and everything they find. Balinese homes are usually filled with altar spaces for Hindu deities and are decorated with woodwork and stone work that has usually been hand crafted by the family members.

It can be hard for visitors to break into an authentic sense of Balinese culture since so many locals are actively engaged in the tourism industry. This means that hospitality and the money made from it comes first, and so as a result many people can feel like the locals are hiding behind a business like, profit driven mask. Repeat visitors to Bali, however, almost invariably count dozens of locals as friends and promise newcomers that under the swells of tourism is a vibrant and friendly local community that is very open to foreigners.

Balinese woodcrafts are best displayed at the Mas Village, a wood carving centre of the island that is now a large outdoor exhibit, museum and also, shop. All kinds of practical and decorative wood carvings can be found here and you can also see local artisans working with wood as their families have been doing for generations now.

Stone carving is also very popular in Bali. Soapstone and volcanic rock is often favoured by the local stone workers who operate all over the island but who have a thriving centre between Denpasar and Ubud, in the village of Batubulan. Here, thousands of carvings are lined up for display along the roadside and like the woodcraft centre of the Mas Village, visitors can observe artisans plying their trade.

For something lighter and of quick convenience and souvenir value, hit the day or night time markets that are all over Bali, especially in the crowded tourists areas of Kuta and Seminyak. Here, you can buy imitation sunglasses, jeans and leathergoods as well as DVDs and CDs. A lot of the time these goods are of variable quality and some are obviously fake but you may want to consider the legalities of purchasing counterfeit goods.

How do you make Nasi Goreng, the world’s most famous Indonesian dish, and one that is eaten by tens of thousands of tourists every week in Bali? Nasi Goreng is Balinese fried rice and you can serve it with other dishes such as satay meat or jazz it up with sweet chilli or tomato sauce.

The recipe is very easy to learn and you can modify it to your own tastes.

Nasi Goreng recipe

Ingredients:

• about 2 cups of rice
• 1 tbs oil
• 2 chicken breasts or meat of your choice, cut into 2cm pieces
• 3 or 4 bacon rashers, finely cut
• 5 spring onions, finely cut
• 2 crushed and finely diced cloves of garlic
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stick of celery (not a bunch), finely diced
• small handful of cooked, peeled prawns
• 1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tbs fried shallots
• 2 tbs kecap manis

Method:
1. Cook rice as normal then spread in 2 baking trays and leave to cool for two hours.
2. Heat half the oil in a wok and stir fry the chicken, then the bacon. Both should be well browned. Set aside.
3. Add remaining oil and stir fry the garlic, spring onions, carrots, celery and prawns.
4. Add the cooked bacon and chicken with the cabbage and stiry fry all together then add the rice, bean sprouts, most of the shallots, the kecap manis and the soy sauce. Heat and stir through then place in a big bowl.
5. Fry the eggs.
6. Serve the nasi goreng in bowls and top each serving with a fried egg and a sprinkling of the shallots.

Serves 4

Balinese celebrate festivals together, or individually, when families celebrate and worship their personal house deities, for example.

Religious festivals in Bali include odalan, a festival that mark’s the anniversary of a temple’s opening and this festival can run for an entire week and are signified by flowers, flags and lots and lots of music and noise.

Another common religious festival is melasti. This is a festival of purification and many will dress up in their very best clothes and head towards the waters edge where they will bathe and play music. After this festival, a period of silence or at least general quiet, follows.

Nyepi is the festival that follows melasti and it falls at the beginning of the new lunar year which tends to occur each Spring in early April. Even holiday makers are expected to observe the calm and peace that is called for on this day and most businesses including hotels will be closed or at least, non-staffed.

Galungan is observed over the eleventh week of the Balinese calendar and marks creation of everything visible in the natural world. This is a family oriented festival and is marked by feasting and drinking (not alcohol, necessarily).

This major festival is followed by Kuningan which marks the end of the festive period. Water temples and most expecially the water temples of Ubud are centres of this very popular festival.

Many other Bali festivals have nothing whatsoever to do with religion. The Negara bull races take place between July and October and feature decorated bulls harnessed in chariots ridden by festive local jockeys. Watch out if a couple come barreling around a street corner in your direction.

The rice harvest festival is marked with dolls made from rice and a general sense of happiness and feasting, and Indonesian Independence Day is marked in Bali, naturally.

Balinese welcome foreigners into their festivals. The more the merrier, but be sure to dress appropriately – there is no need to dress up or follow festive costume, but flip flops and beach attire would be considered inappropriate.