A Hindu island in the middle of Indonesia.
Bali is an exception: a Hindu island in the world's largest Muslim country. When Islam spread through Java in the 16th century, the court and artists of the Majapahit empire took refuge here, and the island has kept its own religion ever since: thousands of temples, flower offerings laid every morning outside houses, ceremonies that set the rhythm of the year. The terraced rice fields, irrigated by the thousand-year-old subak system, are UNESCO-listed; the volcanoes, Agung and Batur, dominate everything.
The landscapes are truly beautiful: the Lempuyang gates facing the volcano, the Tegallalang terraces, the temples by the water. But it's also a very touristy island, and I found less art and history to explore than elsewhere, and a cuisine that spoke to me less. Nice all the same, especially once you get away from the busiest areas.
