What do you want from Bali? Choose your option

This tiny island has it, in abundance. The south offers the most developed tourist areas, with accommodation ranging from luxury hotels to budget rooms in The men, and lively, gay, straight, and mixed nightlife to complement the usual attractions of sun, sea, sand, and surf. These, of course, can be pursued around the Balinese coast, and some of the best spots are a long way from overdeveloped Kuta. Inland, meanwhile, you can head to Ubud, the cultural hub, which offers traditional music, dance and a fantastic range of art to view or buy; It’s also an excellent base from which to explore the stunning Balinese landscape, or historic sites such as the beautiful water garden at Tirta Gangga, my personal favourite, a little gem of a place. Built in 1948 by the King of Karangasem, it is a simple courtyard garden, structured around a series of connected pools: a place to sit back and relax, or to wander around for an hour or so, inspecting the statues of gods and goddesses that They spread out over the water.

Looking up the hill, banyan trees dominate; looking back, you look across the valley to the mountains beyond. Of course, there is no part of Bali that has not been touched by tourism; The development has brought great benefits to the island, but it has certainly transformed it from the tropical island paradise that it still presents as in the imagination. However, there are places on the island, especially to the north and east, where the transformation is less profound and tourism is a second industry, rather than the mainstay of the economy, and where it is possible to stay and simply enjoy the tranquility of the island; And if there are fewer entertainments, so are the street vendors and transport offers that arrive every second step in the more commercialized center and south.