Bali is a province of Indonesia and is the western-most part of the Lesser Sunda Islands (with the Nusa Tenggara island chain to the East, and the island of Java to the West). It is in fact made up of four islands – the island of Bali and another much smaller three off the southeastern coast, called Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningen.

The prehistoric island of Bali has many volcanic mountainous peaks that reach over 2000 meters in elevation. Cherished by so many, Bali is known by several different names, such as The Island of Love, Morning of the World, The Island of Peace, The Island of Gods, and The Island of Hinduism.

Although Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, Bali slot bet once again sings to a different tune. Along with Nepal, it is the only place outside India where Hinduism is the primary religion.

Being a Hindu country, it adheres to a caste system (a system of social hierarchy). However, unlike other Hindu societies, this is not quite as strict, and it is not uncommon for people of different castes to socialize and intermarry.

The Balinese system has four castes. These are Shurdras (the lowest rank and common people, comprising 90% of Bali’s population), Wesias (merchants and business people), Ksatrias (warriors and nobility), and Brahmins (priests and teachers).

The death ceremony is called Ngaben, and considered the most important of all because it marks the departure of the soul from the body. Cremation is an expensive affair. Often, the body is not immediately cremated but will be buried until the family can afford to perform a cremation ceremony.

The coming-of-age ceremony is also a very important moment in a Balinese person’s life. This is often called the tooth-filing ceremony, and the six front teeth are filed down in order to control the six human evils (greed, anger, desire, confusion, jealousy, and drunkenness).

Time in Bali runs at a different pace – quite literally! The Bali year is only 210 days long, with a ten week system. This is known as the Pawukon Calendar and can be a little confusing – although Balinese people use this old calendar to give their birthdays, they use the Western Calendar to judge their age!

Bali is one of the few places where you can purchase the most expensive coffee in the world: Kopi Luwak. This is a coffee bean like no other – collected from the droppings of civet! A civet is a small cat-like creature that eats coffee cherries but does not digest the bean. These beans are then gathered and treated like normal coffee, but have a unique taste! One single cup can cost as much as 50 dollars.

Developed way back in the 9th century, Bali is famous for its complex water management system known as Subak. This sophisticated system of terraced rice fields is UNESCO World Heritage-listed, and sites like the Tegalalang Rice Terrace are visited by tourists all year round.

Although Bali is known worldwide for its gorgeous white beaches, it is also home to unique and remarkable shores of black sand. These unusual coastlines (found especially in the North-West) are a spectacular sight. Formed by the cooling down of lava from Bali’s volcanoes, this sand has become an attraction for visitors from all over the world.