Dramas masks are used in four traditional Balinese Dramas and processions: the Topeng, which enacts stories from the times of the old Balinese kingdoms and establishes a link with the ancestor world; the Barong, which involves giant puppets and animals that serve as protective spirits enabling a village to ward off evil; the Wayang Wong, which performs the Ramayana, a great Hindu epic dramatizing the triumph of virtue over vice; and the Calonarang, which challenges local witches by appealing for the support and protection of Durga, the Queen of Witches and Goddess of Death. A chapter in this book is devoted to each of these dramas and a final chapter describes the mask-carving process.

The three types of masks used in these dramas depict humans, animals, and demons. Human-looking masks can be full face or three-quarter face, or can have a movable jaw. They are expected to resemble certain character types rather than specific people. Heroes and heroines are stereotypically handsome, with refined features matched by the movements of the dancers. The coarser a character is, the more the features are exaggerated: eyes bulge, mouths and noses thicken, and teeth are fangs. Color also reveals character.

Balinese masks and dramas have been influenced by other Asian cultures and reveal the relationships to the art forms of other countries. Javanese mask, whereas Barong Brutuk masks, from the aboriginal Balinese village of Trunyan, are similar to masks found on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Sumatra. Demon masks bear a strong similarity to their counterparts in Nepal and Sri Lanka and to the Nagales masks of Central and South America. Balinese drama is similar in style to Italian commedia dell'arte, and the half masks of the Balinese comic characters are like traditional commedia masks. The animistic Barong masks resemble the old sacred animal masks worn during certain rituals by Bhutanese monks, and the most important mask in Bali, the Barong, Ket, is believed to be based on the Chinese dragon.

Animal masks are mythological rather than realistic. Conscious of the distinction between humans and animals, the Balinese emphasize the difference by designing animal masks that seem closely related to demons, even for magically powerful and god-related animals like the heroic and delightful Hanuman, the white monkey of the Ramayana epic. Birds, cows, and even frogs have gaping mouths and horrendous protruding fangs. Protuberant eyes with wide black pupils stare from golden iries in masks that can hardly be called attractive, despite their elaborate crowns and fancy earrings.

Perhaps the most exciting masks are those of the witches and what are called low spirits. The low spirits, who can be troublesome if not appeased, are sometimes described by Westerners as demons. This is inaccurate, since low spirits also have the power to perform good deeds and provide protection. The Balinese do not separate the supernatural from the natural. The spirit world is a living force that must be recognized and appeased through rituals and offerings. Because the Balinese grant the masks powers that befit their roles in society, the masks of witches and low spirits are the largest and most grotesque of all traditional masks. The imposing wigs on most of these masks magnify the head and stature of the wearer. A basket device attached inside the construction hold it to the wearer's head. Since the arrangement is relatively unstable, dancers often hold their unwieldy masks while they perform.

The Balinese classify the masks of heroes, clowns, and demons according to their qualities. The dashing heroes (often incarnations of gods), beautiful queens, and virtuous kings are described as "halus", a Balinese word meaning "sweet," 'gentle," and "refined." Demons, animals, and brutish types, including antagonist kings, are referred to as "kras", or "strong," "rough," and "forceful." There are certain distinctions in between, which usually encompass the clowns and servants.

Possessing exaggerated expressions and dehumanized features, the clowns and rustics of Balinese drama, known as "bondres" characters, are at once grotesque, humorous, and intriguing. Portrayed as being of low caste, they manifest a plethora of deformities. Some theorists believe that the harelips, crossed eyes, hunchbacks, bask teeth, and other disfigurements mirror the genetic defects found among the people of Bali. To understand how the Balinese audience can find humor in the misery of deaf, blind, lisping, and keep in mind the Balinese custom of turning horror into humor and laughing at distress, in the early twentieth century, Western vaudeville, minstrel, and variety shows sometimes exploited physical deformities, and even racial characteristics, for humor.

The favorite clown in Balinese mask performances are two brothers who translate the archaic Sanskrit text of the traditional drama into Balinese vernacular spiced with bawdy dialogue and physical comedy. The brothers are called the Penasar, from "dasar', the people who tell the root of the story or "the basic ones." The older is the hefy, pompous Penasar kelihan; the younger is the smart-mouthed Penasar Cenikan. They move across the boundaries of time, from the ancient past to the present, to convey the plot of the drama. The Penasar, who are said to represent common people and appear in most mask dramas, serve as attendants to the central characters. After their master enters the drama, the brothers are referred to as "parekan", meaning servants to a high-caste person. As clowns, they have no social status and are free to travel between the world of the audience and the formalized drama on the stage. In he tradition of all good fools, they act as social gadflies who gently lampoon human foibles.

This is another beautiful temple located at North Bali, somewhere in the Pulaki village. If you travel from Denpasar, you will arrive in three hours. If you go to the west via Negara ( a town in West Bali) you will pass the Bali Barat National Park which is ideal trekking place.

Another tourist spot is Labuan Lalang, which located close to Menjangan Island, a popular diving site. The Melanting temple is located further north. You actually need to go away from the normal route to reach the temple. If you stay at Matahari Resort at Pemuteran village, you can tour around in nearby villages such as Pulaki Temple and Melanting Temple.

Many Balinese visit this temple especially traders as the Goddess Melanting is popular among the Balinese traders as the one to turn for good trade. Although it is popular among traders, all the Balinese, regardless of their profession actually can go to this temple. The god or goddess is merely a manifestation of the One Almighty God. And because of His function, The God is called by different names.

Once known as the Siberia of Bali, Nusa Penida was formerly a penitentiary island of banishment for criminals, undesirables, and political agitators fleeing the harsh and unyielding reign of the Gelgel dynasty.

The people have their own 'adat', dances, puppetry, weaving arts, and architecture. The dour and cheerless people of the central plateau live in austere one-room huts built of jagged limestone blocks, surrounded by rustic stables, storage sheds, the family shrine (sanggah), and terraced dry fields.

Most festivals and religious events are devoted to appeasing, deceiving, or exorcising the black-faced demon-king Jero Gede Mecaling and his white-skinned wife Jero Luh. Personified in giant puppets (barong landung), these terrifying deities dance and strut through village streets at festival times. Another popular exorcist dance is sanghyang jaran, held during times of catastrophe in the Sakti area of west Nusa Penida.

Dance costumes, body ornaments, and gestures are less elaborate than on Bali. In Cemulik (near Sakti) and Pelilit (in the southeast), the 'gandrung' is performed on Purnama, Tilem, and Kajeng Kliwon. In this dance two adolescent boys dress as women. The group 'baris gede' dance is staged during 'odalan' at Batunuggul, and the archaic 'baris pati' is performed in graveyards during cremations, and the 'baris jangkang' is occasionally trotted out to welcome officials to Sekartaji.

Nusa Penida's most lucrative export is edible seaweed, grown in submarine pens along the northwest and northeast coasts, off Nusa Lembongan and in the channel between Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. After drying on the beach and along the roads the seaweed is exported to Hong Kong for processing into agar, a thickening agent used in cooking, and carrageenan used in cosmetics and in crackers, sauces, condiments, and other food products.

A small-scale fishing industry catches mostly sardines and Bali's largest and most succulent lobsters. On the south coast fishermen descend paths to the sea, where they fish from platforms protruding from the sheer cliff walls.

Road from Batumadeg takes you across a plateau for seven km to Batukandik, which possesses 'male' and 'female' shrines. This unique temple also has a prehistoric stone altar, a heavily eroded woman with enormous breasts supports a stone throne on her head, two roosters standing on her shoulders. The Holy Forest of Sahab hides a temple, said to be the exit of a mythical tunnel connecting Bali with Nusa Penida. The hole apparently starts in Pejeng.

Water Sport
As a dive and snorkeling locale, Nusa Penida is at least as spectacular as Bunaken in North Sulawesi. But it's a long and expensive ride, and, once there, cold, strong, unpredictable swells and currents up to four or more knots make conditions challenging and even hazardous. Not the place for beginners.

No dive operators exist on Nusa Penida so finding a well-organized dive outfit on Bali, a knowledgeable guide with plenty of experience in the area, a reliable craft, skilled boatmen, and a good engine are all necessities. The best dive sites, in the channel between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan, are close together and you can move to alternate locations as conditions dictate.

Two of the most convenient sites lie off the 'dermaga' east of Toyapekeh. Fish life, particularly pelagic, tuna, jacks, and reef sharks are common; manta rays collect on the southwest end of the island. The variety of coral along the drop-offs and steep slopes is incredibly rich, but because of deep upwelling the water can be uncomfortably cold, dropping to below 19° C during the Balinese winter. Visibility, up to 15 meters, is quite good.

Crafts
Nusa Penida's weaving style is called 'tenun Bali ikat cagcag', or by the local names 'cepuk' or 'capuk'. Goods are woven by hand on backstrap looms in the plateau villages of Tanglad and Karang. Distinctive blood-red, brown, and yellow traditional cloths with plaid and rough checkered designs are worn by participants in life-cycle ceremonies. The per meter price depends on the quality of the material and the intricacy of the design.

Getting There
Kusamba is a small Muslim fishing village on the southeast coast of Bali, a six-km bemo ride east of Klungkung. Turn in at Jalan Pasir Putih about 1.5 km east of the town of Kusamba and walk 500 meters to Banjar bias, where you'll see small, bullish outboard-powered outriggers taking on cargo. Boats usually leave twice daily, but only when there are enough passengers.

Another departure point, preferred by Nusa Penida residents, is from Kampung Kusamba about 100 meters from the 'pasar'. These motorized outriggers carry passengers to, among other places, Toyapakeh on Nusa Penida. Make sure you're on the right boat. The 10-km passage takes 45 minutes to one hour, depending on the wind and the choppiness of the water. When you arrive in Toyapakeh, there are frequent bemo to Sampalan. Boats must return to Kusamba by 1400.

From Padangbai the charge is the same. Buy your ticket in the 'loket' to the north of the main Lombok ferry ticket office. The first express ferry departs at around 0630, but you have to wait for it to fill up. And you might wait awhile, what with its 45-passenger capacity.

The crossing takes just 30 minutes, docking at Buyuk just east of Toyapakeh. From there you can hop a bemo east into Sampalan. From Jungut Batu on the northwest coast of the neighboring island of Nusa Lembongan, small 'jukung motor' shoots over to Nusa Penida (45 minutes). Landing at the charming fishing village of Toyapakeh.

'Perahu' sail from Sanur to Toyapakeh (25 km, 1.25 hours) very early in the morning. Check out the day cruises offered by Bali International Yacht Club, tel. 62361-288391, in Sanur, Bali Intan Tours and Travel, tel. 62361-752005 or 752985 in Tuban, and many other outfits that visit the south coast of Nusa Penida. The charge includes free transport to the boat, drinks, packed lunch or Indonesian buffet, and fishing and snorkeling equipment.

Getting Around
Roads cover the island. Good roads run from Toyapakeh to Sampalan and on to Karangsari, and from Toyapekeh to Klumpu. The roads from Klumpu to Batumadeg, Tanglad, and Pejukutan are winding and bumpy but asphalted and traversable. Because of the island's rocky, undulating topography, only motorcycles, trucks, or tough canopied bemo can manage the bumpy, dusty roads of the outlying areas.

Bemo run irregularly between the main villages, connecting north coast towns and inland settlements. From Sampalan, 'bemo' begin carrying passengers out to the villages early in the morning, but by the afternoon the terminal is all but empty.

The best way to get around quickly is by motorcycle. As soon as you get off the boat at Buyuk or wander into the Sampalan terminal you'll be approached by motorcycle owners or drivers. You can either drive or be driven. It's cheaper to drive yourself, though the drivers know all the best places, can introduce you to people, and speak better Indonesian.

Expect a per diem price reduction if you take the motorbike for more than a day. Or wait a few days to meet someone, and convince a newfound local friend to drive you around for free (give a 'donation' to his younger siblings afterwards). Make sure your rental agreement makes it clear who pays for gas and oil.

Try to negotiate a free drop-off at your embarkation point back to Bali or Nusa Lembongan. Two good, cautious drivers are recommended: Nyoman Soma Arsana, who can be contacted by telephone through the Kantor Camat (tel. 62366-231.885), and Made Latoni, at Banjar Sental Kawan, Desa Ped.

Getting Away
Take boats to Padangbai (30 minutes) and Sanur (1.25 hours) from Buyuk, one km east of Toyapakeh. Get there by 0700 to buy your ticket at the Departemen Perhubungan office near the pier. Each boat holds about 30 people. If there are enough passengers, a boat sometimes leaves for Padangbai in the afternoon.

From Mentigi Harbor, one km west of Sampalan, hire boats to Banjarbias, then a bemo into Kusamba where other bemo pass by to Amlapura or Klungkung. The Balinese operate an organized transport cartel that fixes all fares to and from Bali-and there's really no way around it if your skin is white. To their credit, most boats offer life-jackets, hard wooden benches, and double 85 hp outboards.

Located north of Nusa Dua, this is a beautiful white sand beach area where visitors can enjoy many types of water recreation and sports such as snorkeling, parasailing, diving, boating, sailing, glass bottom boating and more. This area is an extension of Nusa Dua Resort, with easy access to its luxurious hotels and other tourism facilities.

The beach is renowned for its calm clear waters, ideal for swimming and snorkelling, whilst the outer reefs are great for surfing. Being fairly isolated and some 30 to 40 minutes drive to Kuta, the region is removed from the frantic pace of Kuta and subsequently free from the crowds.

Whilst the atmosphere is relaxed, you will not be short of things to do and the Galleria shopping complex will keep you occupied for hours.
Once upon a time, the Balinese giant and master builder Kebo Iwa decided that the Tanjung Benoa marshes should be transformed into rice fields, so he went to the Bukit and picked up two scoops of earth. While shouldering them along the coast, his pole broke, dropping the earth into the sea. Two islets appeared: the "Nusa Dua."

The marshes were never to become rice fields the bay remained a bay with a long cape, Tanjung Benoa, jutting into it. Nevertheless, Kebo Iwa, who created the area, is now engaged in a new venture - luxury hotel development.

Making Nusa Dua into a tourist paradise was a consciously implemented government policy, designed with the help of the World Bank. Two main concepts underlay the project: to develop an up-market tourist resort, beautiful, secure, easy of access, with the most modern facilities, while keeping the disruptive impact on the local environment as low as possible.

What is it about Ubud that one should visit this beautiful village? Because Ubud has much to offer; from its stunning panorama of Ayung River valley and the terraces rice filed, its most talented artist, its typical traditional market and myriad of shops that line the road is a heaven for shopping, its undying culture, its serene environs and plentiful of nice small hotels and restaurants and many more.

Ubud has no great beaches to speak of, no mountain lakes, and no grand hotels. Yet it has the richness of soil and it is the center of Bali’s art and culture. If you don’t stay in Ubud, or you don’t have much time during your Bali Holiday, a visit is worth because it would offer you a memorable stay in Bali.

Driving out of bustling Denpasar, the tranquil green of rice paddies contrast sharply with the boisterous sounds of the city. Palm-leaf carvings of Dewi Sri (the Rice Goddess) guards over the crops, and small thatch huts dot the rice fields, giving shade to those who work them. Temples and small shrines can be seen along the way, women lay out offerings of flowers, rice, incense and holy water to placate evils spirits and please the good one. Even with the great influx of tourism, village life basically goes on the same. Almost every village on the way up to Ubud specializes in some kind of art form. You can stop off and see the artisans at work in their studios.

Many places near Ubud make beautiful side trips. Morning walk through the villages lead to out-of-the-way retreats. The route to Tegalalang offer beautiful views of terraces rice field and myriad of art studios, Mas, Penestanan and Peliatan, the centers of wood carving and painting, Sayan offer a stunning panorama of Ayung River valley and still home to spectacular view of gorges and palms and rice fields. Campuhan , the place where three rivers meet – a sacred site. There is a very beautiful temple called Pura Gunung Lebah is worth a visit.

To the north is Petulu village is known for many things but the most spectacular is the kokokan or white herons. Every morning at dawn and the afternoon around three or four o’clock, you can see them circling the trees in droves.

To the south a short walk you will arrive at Monkey Forest. To visit it, one must by a ticket. There are hundreds of tame monkeys and a temple stands in the middle of the forest. In the center of town the interesting places to see are the Puri (the court of palace of former kings), here every Sunday morning at 10 o’clock dozen of young girls study traditional Balinese dance. Ubud main market just opposite the Puri offer varieties of merchandises; Produce, dry goods, linens, T-shirts, paintings, wood carvings, even traveling medicine men appear here. Closed to market you can visit Puri Lukisan (Museum of Paintings). Established in 1954, it is dedicated to showing the works of local painters. It is the excellent place to get an overview of the stylistic differences between artists.

Ubud is a picturesque township and visitors have been attracted by its charm and beauty for decades. If shopping is your interest, Ubud has a myriad of shops which line the road to Monkey Forest and the Museum Puri Lukisan. Don’t forget to bargain!!! If art is your interest, in Ubud, Mas and Peliatan, one can study dance, music, painting or a number of other art forms. The best way to meet a teacher is to find a style that appeal to you (by going to galleries and watching performances) and than approach the artist directly about lessons.

So Ubud has many attractive objects can be seen for your Bali Vacation. And do not hesitate to choose beautiful Bali for your holiday. Bali is a small, beautiful island in Indonesia, the ultimate tourist destination in Asia.