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Place of interest: Denpasar
OverviewOverview
Once part of Badung Regency, in 1992 the Denpasar area split off and
became Bali's ninth kabupaten. In addition to the island's capital,
Denpasar Regency encompasses Sanur, Benoa Port, and Serangan Island,
leaving Badung more pencil-shaped than ever.
Denpasar is the largest and busiest city on the island. An old
trading center, its name means "east of the market." It's the
headquarters for the government, the media, the island's principal
banks, airline offices, and hospitals. Bali's two universities,
Udayana and Warmadewa, are also based here. The city's local name is
Badung, its old name, and you'll hear "Badung" sung out by bemo
drivers all over Bali. Though it's been the capital of Bali since
1958, it's no longer the administrative center of Badung Regency. In
1992, Greater Denpasar and Sanur split off from Badung and formed
their own administrative entity—Denpasar.
A hot, dusty, cacophonous, former Brahman-class city, Denpasar has
grown fifteen-fold over the past 10 years and is now home to 367,000
people. Its citizenry consists of Badung's landed gentry, the priest
class, and the new Balinese techno and bureaucratic elites, as well
as Indonesians drawn from other islands to this economic magnet.
Denpasar is one of Indonesia's most fully integrated and tolerant
cities, with separate kampung of Bugis, Arabs, Indians, Chinese,
Madurese, and Javanese. Without doubt it's the richest, most
important city in eastern Indonesia.
Unless you've got business here, the city has few charms, other than
those quiet back alleyways where people are quite friendly. The most
important government offices are located in a tree-shaded
administrative complex of handsome reddish brick and gray stone.
Industry is low-tech and non-polluting. Denpasar is actually best at
night, when it's not so hot and the individual kampung resume their
normal rhythms. It seems the whole population is either directly or
indirectly involved in the tourist industry, and you can easily
engage people in conversation.
Denpasar's main one-way east-to-west shopping street, Jl. Gajah Mada,
is crammed with chauffeured cars, noisome putt-putting bemo, roaring
motorcycles, and smelly, spewing buses. The city's limited
attractions include a spacious alun-alun, tourist information
offices, the island's main bus stations and best-stocked markets,
some good Chinese restaurants, a spirited night market, dance and
drama academies, a major art center, first-class museum, and five
big cinemas heralding the coming of the next kung fu epic.
Bali Museum
The largest collection of Baliana in the world is located on the
east side of Taman Puputan on Jl. Mayor Wishnu just south of the
tourist office. The Bali Museum was established in 1910 by the
conquering Dutch, who sought to collect and preserve artifacts they
felt were disappearing overseas or succumbing to the elements. In
1917, an eruption of Gunung Batur and subsequent earthquakes
destroyed hundreds of Denpasar's buildings, including the museum.
Rebuilt in 1925, it was used as a storehouse for artifacts and
temporary exhibits until 1932, when it was established as an
ethnographic museum. The German painter Walter Spies helped assemble
many of its original treasures from private collections and
donations.
The grand, well-kept complex consists of a series of attractive,
grassy courtyards containing all the archetypes of Balinese
architecture—bale agung, candi bentar, kulkul. The main structure,
with its many pillars, is built in the manner of Puri Kanginan in
the eastern regency of Karangasem. Standing next to it is a
reproduction of Singaraja Palace on the north coast. With rich
ornamentation both inside and out, the museum's architecture
combines the two principal edifices of Bali, the temple (pura) and
the palace (puri).
The museum's four buildings contain a splendid collection of
Balinese art—Neolithic stone implements, a hoard of Buddhist clay
seals excavated near Pejeng, Balinese folk crafts, carved and
painted woodwork, cricket-fighting cages, dance costumes, textiles,
masks, weaving looms and fabrics, agricultural tools, musical
instruments, furniture, scale models of ceremonial events,
ethnographic exhibits. The first pavilion is a two-story building
containing high-quality, early traditional, Kamasan-style paintings;
classical Balinese calendars; modern Batuan and Ubud-style
paintings; and work of the Academic and Young Artists (or Naive)
schools. Another pavilion displays carved media—wood, stone, clay,
and bone—including sculpted windows, doors, pillars, ceiling beams,
friezes, old guardian figures, demons, and specimens of Bali's
extraordinarily earthy and vigorous folk art. The building,
dedicated to prehistoric artifacts, displays Bronze Age implements,
including the famous Gilimanuk bronze spearhead, the largest ever
discovered in Southeast Asia. Also see ritual objects, priestly
accoutrements, and a veranda lined with old stone statues. One
building is devoted entirely to masks, weapons, and costumes of the
performing arts, including rare barong pig masks and primitive dance
masks from remote villages. There's also an incredible display of
topeng.
A good part of the displays are annotated with English explanations,
and clear maps in the central building show all the important
prehistoric and historical sites of Bali. The museum also has a
library and a shop selling postcards and books in English. However,
there's no ground plan of the museum nor is a guide available to
show visitors around. Open Tues.-Thurs. 0800-1700, Friday 0800-1530,
closed Monday. Admission Rp500. Wear long pants.
City’s Local Dinning
Jl. Teuku Umar, which eventually joins Jl. Imam Bonjol, the road to
Kuta, is a location of well-established warung, rumah makan, and
restaurants serving Indonesian specialties at very reasonable
prices. The city's densest concentration of Indonesian-style eating
establishments.
Kumbasari Shopping Complex, just off Jl. Gajah Mada by the river.
Open 1800-2400. Dozens of stalls under plastic covers serve Chinese
noodle soups, fried rice, sate, excellent martabak, babi guling,
nasi campur, pangsit mie, chocolate donuts, and hot.Other pasar
malam include the Kereneng bus station (the Asoka Night Market),
serving excellent babi guling (only Rp4500) and other native dishes;
opposite Tegal station (where you catch minivans to Kuta); and on Jl.
Diponegoro near the Kertha Wijaya Shopping Center. All are good,
cheap, entertaining night eateries that are so inexpensive only a
glutton could possibly spend more than Rp6000.
Jagatnatha Temple
Just east of the big alun-alun on Jl. Mayor Wishnu, next to the
museum, is a Hindu temple, Jagatnatha Temple, built in 1953. In the
afternoon, people from the surrounding kampung come here to pray;
the temple's especially busy during the full moon. On a towered
throne of white coral sits a bright, gold statue of Ida Batara
Sanghyang Widhi in his typical pose. This is the supreme god of
Balinese Hinduism. The padmasana rests on the back of the sacred
turtle, clasped by two naga on plinths carved with scenes from the
Mahabharata and Ramayana. The central courtyard is surrounded by a
moat containing gigantic carp.
Maospahit Temple
is an important temple for its a unique and archaeologically,located
in a small alley in the middle of the city off Jl. Sutomo. Enter
through a door in the alley. This temple, one of the oldest on Bali,
has its origins in the great 14th- and 15th-century Javanese
Majapahit Empire when Hinduism was first introduced to Bali. The
massive statues of Batara Bayu and Garuda guard the split gateway.
On the imposing facade is a pantheon of carved demons and deities,
including Yama and Indra. Heavily damaged in the 1917 quake, the
earliest, now-restored buildings are in the back. Look for the
terra-cotta statues.
Melanting temple
in the midst of Pasar Badung, is a market temple where vendors make
offerings on their way to their stalls.
Pemecutan Palace (Puri Pemecutan)
Puri Pemecutan near Tegal bus station on the corner of Jl. Thamrin
and Jl. Hasannudin, built in 1907 to replace the original palace of
the raja destroyed by Dutch artillery. Pemecutan, which shares the
complex with Pemecutan Palace Hotel, houses old weapons and a
renowned gamelan mas which survived from the original puri. Don't
miss the handsome, four-tiered kulkul diagonally opposite the palace
with its eight small raksasa statues. Chinese porcelain plates
decorate the topmost tier.
Puputan Square
A great place for families to hang out in the evenings is the huge,
well-kept park in the middle of town, named for the bloody 1906
extermination of the island's ruling class by the Dutch. An
heroic-style monument facing Jl. Surapati commemorates this tragic
event. Note the woman with the kris in one hand and jewels in the
other. Eyewitnesses of the time reported that female members of the
court tauntingly flung their jewelry at the Dutch troops before
being mowed down by rifle fire.
On every side of Taman Puputan are the traditional symbols of the
power elite. North of the square is the Governor's Residence, built
in Javanese pendopo style. Facing the Bali Museum is the stolid,
modern military headquarters complex. Just south of the square in
the middle of the city's busiest intersection is a five-meter-high,
four-faced, eight-armed statue—Mukha, representing Batara Guru, "God
of the Four Directions," who is even-handedly blessing all the
cardinal points simultaneously.
Sanur
Sanur area is the oldest tourism village in this area, where the
first five star rated hotel was built. Its know for its luxurious
and quiet area for tourists. It beautiful beaches and sun rise view
make Sanur becomes one of the popular tourist destination in this
world. Even you can see the memorable Le Mayur museum in its beach
side.
STSI and SMKI
More advanced students attend Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia
(formerly ASTI), the Institute of Arts and Dance on Jl. Nusa Indah
near the Art Center in Abiankapas, tel. (0361) 272361. Classes are
0700-1300 daily except Sunday. STSI director Made Bandem is
responsible for a virtual renaissance in the Balinese arts. Tourism
revenue is recycled into larger and grander ceremonies for the gods
that, inevitably, include Balinese theater, music, song, and dance,
and thus contribute to the development and preservation of Balinese
art.
SMKI is the Conservatory of Instrumental Arts and Dance (tel.
0361-975180, fax 975162), for high school students in Batubulan.
Opened in 1960; all Balinese dances are studied here. Visitors are
welcome in the mornings to watch teachers train their pupils.
The Art Center
Also called Taman Werdi Budaya, the Art Center is on Jl. Nusa Indah
in Abiankapas, a suburb of Denpasar in the direction of Sanur, only
a 15-minute walk east of Kereneng station. Set in a restful garden
with lotus ponds amid richly carved baroque Balinese buildings, the
Taman Werdi Budaya houses exhibits of modern painting, masks, and
woodcarving. Both Balinese and Indonesian artists are featured.
You'll find a car park, museum, and small, fixed-price handicraft
shops.
Visitors can view dance and music rehearsals in two open-air
amphitheaters with modern lighting. Dances are also regularly staged
for the public, including works incorporating modern Balinese
choreography. In the kecak performance, staged each night 1830-1930
(Rp5000), traditional flickering oil lamps are still used. Eerie and
powerful.
The Art Center also hosts a summer art festival each year from
mid-June to mid-July, with competitions for costumes, dance, drama,
sendratari performances, music, woodcarving, metalworking, and food.
Every year is different, with each of Bali's regencies sending its
best teams. Also see art events, crafts exhibits, and an extravagant
production of the Ramayana Ballet. If it's the high season, be sure
to book your hotel in advance. These entertaining and exciting
cultural shows draw tens of thousands of visitors from around the
world.
The Balinese Art Development Center Program, Jl. Bayusuta (in the
Art Center), is open 0800-1700 daily except Monday. This
tertiary-level institute offers work on the undergraduate through
master's degree levels. Besides staging dances, plays, and pop
concerts, it houses permanent exhibits offering handicrafts,
paintings, carvings, and silver. Student discounts available.
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