Emmanuel, F5LIT will be active again from Bali Island, IOTA OC-022, 28 January - 18 February 2025, as YB9/F5LIT.
He will operate on HF Bands.
QSL via home call direct, LOTW.
Ads for direct QSL:
EMMANUEL GIDON, 2 Chemin des Longs Champs, BLOSVILLE-STE MERE EGLISE FRANCE F-50480, France.
Bali Island - the territory of sacred places
The island of Bali is a resort with a unique cultural atmosphere and unusual religious and cultural traditions. The island's rich volcanic soils remove any restrictions on germination of crops and allow for colossal harvests of rice and coffee. It is included in the structure of the Lesser Sunda Islands of the Malay Archipelago and is the territorial property of the state of Indonesia. It is populated by about 4.3 million inhabitants and it should be said that they are settled very densely, an average of 740 people/km2. The administrative center is the city of Denpasar with a population of half a million, where cultures and architecture of different times and styles, including Javanese, Chinese and Dutch, are intertwined. Despite the onslaught of civilization, the city is in no hurry to turn into a super-modern metropolis, but retains the attractive features of the provincial East: rice fields, gardens, temples, priests' houses, palaces, and others.
Bias-free dating
Bali has an area of 5780 km². At the same time there is a pronounced extension of the territory from west to east by as much as 145 km. From north to south in the widest part the length reaches 80 km. Those who have a developed imagination when looking at the relief map will certainly notice the similarity of the outlines of the island with a circus fish, leaning with its fin on a small extended base. And this "fish" has a well-defined nose, an open mouth and even an eye. Turned her head to the east, and the tail is almost resting on the coast of Java, from which it is separated by a strait with the same name as the island itself. Nature has arranged it so that from west to east almost the entire territory runs through a mountain range, forming a kind of fish ridge, which has several powerful bulges in the form of mountain peaks. On the ridge is the highest point of this part of the land - an active stratovolcano Agung, 3142 meters high, which has no less active counterpart - volcano Gunung-Batur, only lower in height - 1717 meters. Both peaks are shifted to the northeast. Curiously, Agung plays the role of the very fish eye, which has already been mentioned.
An invisible natural boundary
Specialists call it the Wallace Line. It is a conditional notion, as it has no visible marking. It is an imaginary biogeographical boundary or transition zone between the nature of Asia and Australia. In other words, Bali lies in the zone of separation of Asian and Australian flora and fauna, so there is an extensive species assemblage of plants and animals, some of which live in both regions. In the past, islands west of the Wallace Line such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java and Bali are thought to have been connected to continental Asia, while maritime areas east of the divide, such as New Guinea, were connected to Australia.
Trees as sanctuary
It is rare to find so many different types of forests growing within a small area as is expressed in Bali. We are talking about tropical evergreen forests, deciduous forests, mountain forests and savannah forests. Interestingly, banana trees are not simply touched as they have a special sacred status. The leaves of borasso palms are also used for sacred purposes. First they are dried, then pressed, and then get material for writing religious texts. Sugar palm cultivation is also associated with spiritual moments of life, and its leaves are used to form bouquets for ritual ceremonies.
Religion of Life
It's hard to pinpoint exactly where Bali's people see the end of everyday life and the beginning of religion, as the latter is a fundamental part of the local culture and has a powerful influence on the whole way of life. It cannot go unnoticed that 88% of the population of Indonesia are adherents of Islam, while in Bali the picture is completely opposite. Balinese mostly follow Hinduism (83.5%), which is historically determined. In former times the island belonged to the prosperous India, so this state of affairs, although atypical, is quite understandable. Only about 14% of the islanders are Muslims, and adherents of Christianity and Buddhism are even less - 1.7% and 0.5% respectively.
Perhaps the Balinese themselves do not think so, but their pagan traditions are so strong that they continue to possess the minds of millions of people, and not on an ad hoc basis, but on a daily basis. The role of the supreme power is assigned to nature, ruled by the spirits of various elements. The mountains in the eyes of the local population are nothing but the dwelling place of divine personalities, so it is not customary to start doing anything without certain spiritual procedures. Any work is preceded by communication with the priests, who reveal the favorable and unfavorable circumstances of each moment of life and thus indicate the probable outcome of any decision or activity.
Tourism Outlook
Active development of tourism in Bali began only after independence, when the government began to introduce programs to attract investment in tourism. The situation began to level out in the 70s of the last century with the support of the UN and the World Bank. One of the most significant events was the reconstruction of the local airport Ngurah Rai, located near Denpasar. Today more than 4 million tourists visit Bali per year, which is almost as many as the number of permanent residents on the island. The growth trend of the tourist flow is steady and shows an annual increase in the number of guests by 10%.
On foot or on wheels
Tourists love Balinese transportation - bemo - which are minibuses that can be stopped with a wave of the hand, and wherever they want, despite the fact that there are stops for them. But the routes between popular resorts are served by comfortable buses with air conditioning and Wi-Fi. There is an opportunity to order a cab or rent a car, but you need to take into account that the traffic is left-handed, and the roads are very winding. The most common means of transportation in Bali are scooters and mopeds.
To Visit
Most visitors choose Bali because of its beaches, where the sand does not cool down almost all year round, as the average temperature is 26℃. However, from June to October it is more comfortable to relax, as there is less rain.
Conditions for windsurfing are favorable all year round, only because of the monsoons, the places are chosen differently by season. Surfing is the main sport, as evidenced by the world-class sports forums held in Bali. Diving and ecotourism are also among the most popular vacation destinations.