True religion in Bali, Indonesia

It’s safe to say Bali has been given a bit of a bad rap by Australian tourists. The small island in Indonesia is filled with beautiful scenery, nice people and some of the most picturesque coastline you’ll see in this lifetime. While it has so much to offer, it has become a party haven for the down under youth.

Kuta is completely ransacked, Ubud is a shopping haven and the parties are even starting to move up north. While this is shocking, for the trained eye, one can still see Balinese culture blazing through the forest of western influence.

While the obvious examples of the culture are remaining temples, dances and cultural shows, there is more to Balinese culture than meets the eye. While waking up early one morning to jog before the heat set in, I noticed something I had overlooked my first day.

A woman working at my guesthouse had a small tray made of banana leaves, filled with incense and small plant offerings. She went to a statue of Ganesha, laid the offering down, did a series of bows and then continued on with her day. On my run, I saw this performed in nearly every building on the route.

Each morning, in multiple places I went throughout the island, I saw this ritual done over and over. The trays were left on the ground throughout the day, then picked up at night and used again. I was astonished because, in my travels thus far, I hadn't seen many outward portrayals of religion in most of the Southeast Asian countries. This came as a bit of a shock given the party image of the entire island.

What makes the daily rituals in Bali standout so much, in my opinion, is that tradition and culture is still standing true regardless of western influence. While many places in Southeast Asian have seemingly given up their culture to appease tourists, often times at the cost of religion, Bali is still keeping up the battle. It does come down to a matter of opinion, but seeing incense and offerings presented each morning makes this traveler believe Balinese culture isn't going anywhere fast, regardless of what influences are present.

Photo courtesy of Hindu Human Rights