Bali: The Island of Paradise

Foreigners may know Bali better than our country, Indonesia. As a matter of fact, Bali is a province of Indonesia, the country in the East that comprises a thousand of islands. Bali is one of those islands, the islands that are scattered across the archipelago. This may have happened, as Bali is among those of interesting places of the world that is always charming visitors. One should not have ever visited our country unless he/she visits Bali, nor should they proclaim themselves as the real travelers without travelling this paradise. The splendid beauty of the island that has been enchanting its visitors all the times refers Bali Island to as the Island of Paradise.

Bali was discovered by a Mr. Cornellis de Houtman, during his world expedition to explore for species around the world in 1579. From Java they sailed to the east, before finally they landed on the beautiful Bali Island.

In Bali, he did not find any species thereto but the society with a unique living that he had never seen in other places during his expedition all over the word. The beautiful landscape of the island and its religious living tradition of the society were distinctive attraction that no other places of the world might offer. He reported this marvelous discovery to the king in Holland, then.

Since 1920, tourists from the European countries had been coming to this island. Hollandaise commercial vessels called on Bali during their exploration to find out resources of species and then promoted Bali Island as the Island of God.

Some of the visitors were cultural specialists and artists that visited Bali with special purpose of exploring the Balinese cultures and arts. Many publications about Bali were launched to promote Bali Island.

Writers of Balinese literature at that time were among others:

Dr Gregor Krause from Germany was sent to Wetherisnds East Idies (Indonesia) in 1921 with a special task of compiling writings and photographs of the Balinese traditions.
Miguel Covarrubias, wrote his book of the Island of Bali in 1930
Magaret Mead
Collin Mc Phee
Jone Bello
Mrs Menc (Ni Ketut Tantri) wrote her book of Revolt In Paradise
Roelof Goris, wrote a book of Prasasti Bali (Balinese historic inscription) lived in Bali in 1928
Lovis Conperus (1863-1923) wrote a book of Easwords (The journey to the east), contents of which was his admiration to Bali Island, especially Kintamani.

Arts painters who had been working in Bali:

R. Bonet built Ratna Warta museum
Walter Spies, who came to Bali in 1925, together with Tjokorde established Pita Maha Foundation. He also wrote a book of Dance and Drama in Bali.
Arie Smith, coming with style of young artist
Le Mayeur, a Belgian, married with a Balinese girl and was living in Sanur, Bali Island in 1930 with his Museum Le Mayeur.
Mario Blanco, a Spanish painter, also married with Balinese girl and was living in Ubud.

Many foreigners had been coming to Bali and made many publications about Bali, and they promoted Bali to Europeans and Americans since then. Visitors who had ever been to Bali share their experiences to others and this is a tremendous way to introduce the splendid Bali to the world. This long way of promotion which was at the first time from mouth-to-mouth that perhaps had been affecting people in other countries, up to this time being, to know Bali better than Indonesia.

Bali was getting more and more well known in the world when Legong Peliatan conducted a mission of tourism in 1932, to almost all countries in Europe and America. Bali was named as:
The Island of Gods
The Island of Paradise
The Island of Thousand Temples
The Morning of The World, by Pandit Jawahral Nehru
The Last Paradise on Earth, ect.

From any airport all over the world, visitor may fly to international airport Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, the provincial city of Bali. Since you step your feed on the airport, you will then experience the unique atmosphere of Bali: the living tradition of praying at pura (small temples for praying), beautiful Bali landscapes or enchanting seas panorama.

Guesthouses, motels, non-rated or five-star hotels are available in Bali and you may pick out one that most suit you. You may hire cars or motorcycles and enjoy exploring distinctive Bali at your preference.

The government has been unceasingly promoting Bali to other countries in many ways, such as: promoting through Embassy offices, tourism package tours to some other countries, brochures and leaflets, and other means of promotion. Now Bali has been the most visited-tourism destination in Indonesia, both by domestic and foreign visitors.

So, experience Bali! Bali Island, the Island of Paradise, it is true!

*pictures: from www.bali-pictures.com

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Thinking Career as a Travel Guide?

Have you ever heard working or even thinking of a career as a tourist guide? If you are proficient in any foreign language, enjoy working with people, and like taking journeys, this kind of career may best fit you. Anyway, as this position is much dealing with people and most of them are foreigners, you will have to meet the standard of performance, language, techniques, and knowledge of culture and objects. It is the way of how to make visitors enjoy their whole visit with satisfaction, security, and great impression.

According to the Constitution No. 10/2009 of the Republic of Indonesia about the Tourism, a tourist guide is anyone with certain requirements who serve guidelines, information, explanation and any other assistance that may be required by the tourists. Thus, a guide is an intermediary between the local tourist attractions and the visitors. Their main responsibility is unveiling the icon of local tourist attractions, traditions, arts and cultural particulars to them so that they may take certain values from what they have been visiting upon their coming home. They are acting like a conductor that is transferring electricity from one point of power supply to a point where an apparatus may require it to operate.

Tourist guides take a strategic position in the tourism industry as, extending to their main duties, at the same time, they are acting as the agent of marketing and public relations. They are not just ‘transferring’ but also selling the value to the same people for the next coming, or to the new visitors to whom previous visitors may have been referring. For this important role, a comprehensive coverage of knowledge, skills, and attitude should be owned by anyone who is willing to make a career as a guide.

From the point of visitors, they would like to have the whole visit enjoyable, secured and impressing. They would expect a guarantee of what they may have to pay is comparable with the values they experience during their visit. In this context, they would prefer to take assistance from a tourist guide to whom they may rely on their necessities.

Qualified trainings of all the aspects of guiding, such as the knowledge of the objects, the guiding techniques and how to treat people is also the urgent agenda. The local Travel Guides Association usually arranges all the programs required and provide adequate training schedule to all guides in the area. Upon completion of the training, participants should acquire certificate as a formal ‘fits and proper’ certification. A tourist guide should have a membership identity card from the local association, since with it he will ensure his guests. Visitors will also feel free from the worry of being abused.

The exciting aspects of serving as a tour guide that not all people have a chance to explore are, among others:

1. Experiencing more aspects

Since serving as tour guide will have wider places to visit, more various people to meet and more things from which secrecy of the past living to be uncovered, a travel guide is compiling more experiences of living. They know more things in the line with their adventurous daily works.

2. Learning more things

The role of a travel guide is to unveil the reverse side of all the objects in the resorts. Let say, visitors pay a visit to temple, externally they will see easily that it was constructed of integrated small units of stones, relief and mortar but do they know who, when, why and how it was built? It is then the task of the guide to unclose and explain the secrecy to visitors. With the assistance from a guide, they not just gain physical appearance of the object, but they will also experience ‘the souls’ as a unity. To do this, a guide should learn first about the particulars.

3. Improving languages

It is obviously undoubted that guiding is requesting someone to be talkative. In explaining the object or answering questions, principally it is how they make their guests understand comprehensively. The guides must have adequate proficiency of the spoken language. As most of them are having specialty in English, and those of other languages are still in finger figures, it will be much advisable if a guide is proficient in more than just one foreign language.

4. Obtaining wider relationship

As taking a career of a travel guide is not as that of working in a chemistry laboratory, but much dealing with people, guides will certainly have wide relationship. If guides are working in such a way, and with their service visitors think the visit is impressing, it means that good relationship has been tied together. How you entertain and color the whole visit will determine the scope of relationship. Imagine if a guide makes this good relation to each person related in this industry, what a wide relationship it is!


Now, what are the thinks that travel guide should evade in relation to the closed-relationship with people:

1) Do not sell anything to visitors or ask commission
2) Do not dispute about the faith, religion, tradition, culture, social life or
political system of the country of visitors
3) Do not tell personal affair to invite a sympathy from visitors
4) Do not blame colleagues or any party of the surroundings
5) Do not ask tips

Are you interested in this entertaining-travelers world? Please contact the local office of the Travel Guides Association, as they usually provide assistance to both of their members and the visitors.

Mojokerto, 18/07/2009
the site keeper

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