The moon in Denpasar

By TOM COCKREM

Bali, as all visitors are soon made aware, is fecund with religion and with art - a fabulously exotic repository of Hindu and Buddhist cultural treasures courtesy of past refugees from Java.

Denpasar, I had imagined, would be the one place bereft of the ceremonial and artistic splendour you associate with this luxuriant little island. I could not have been more wrong.

Like most visitors to Bali, I had never been encouraged to stay in the capital - by fellow travellers, guide books or my guide. It was really just a hunch that had me defy all the pundits and give myself four days in Denpasar.

It was perhaps fortunate that my stay corresponded with the time of the full moon (purnama), a phenomenon that inspires a feast of celebrations, with copious temple offerings and boundless good will.

But ceremony aside, Denpasar clearly has one great asset to recommend it to the visitor: As much as any city can be, it is definitively Balinese, in its temples, its city buildings, its markets and in its super-friendly people. I got most of my enjoyment by cruising the markets and the streets, popping in and out of shops and stopping off to eat.

I gained an inkling of how celebrities must feel. There were exuberant greetings from most everyone I passed, invitations to sit and have a chat, offerings of food - I was given a banana and a soft drink in a shoe shop.

It's mandatory to do the walking tour. This takes in some typically splendid and evocative temples, the fabulously vibrant produce market (Pasar Badung), the handicraft market (Pasar Kumbasari), Kampung Arab with its quaint old fabric shops, and the famous Museum Negeri Propinsi Bali. These are all within the vicinity of the main shopping street, Jalan Gajah Mada.

And these are not the kinds of places you'd simply want to check out and then check off your list. Pasar Badung requires a good few hours to absorb - the colours are fantastic, to say nothing of the fragrances and the aromas of the spice. Flowers abound. They are sold as handsome bunches or as mini sacred offerings (canang sari), deftly and exquisitely arranged.

The city's most venerable temple is Pura Jagatnatha, dedicated to the godhead of the Hindu-Balinese pantheon, Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa. A towering obelisk, or padmasana, serves as its centrepiece, with the godhead at its crown.

The night of the full moon saw the temple compound thronging with the endless comings and goings of earnest devotees. All the city's inhabitants, it seemed, had turned out in their finest. A wayang kulit, or shadow puppet show, was also being staged. A simple oil lamp provided the light, a single puppeteer providing the voices, manipulating all the cast, playing percussion with his foot and conducting the orchestra (gamelan). What a guy.

Next to Pura Jagatnatha is the museum. It was set up by the Dutch just a few years after they massacred 4000 Balinese in what is now Puputan Square - the large city park directly opposite the museum.

The collection it houses is reasonably impressive, but the five display pavilions are the main attraction. They represent Balinese temple and palace architecture in different regional styles, and are set in exquisitely kept grounds.

The full-moon ceremonies were certainly not limited to Pura Jagatnatha. Secluded little temples - even humble Seni Market near the lozman where I stayed - were lavishly festooned with rows of padmasana, those monumental pyramids of tropical fruits and flowers that Balinese ladies carry so demurely on their heads. I came across several padmasana processions. They all managed to stop the city traffic.

I also chanced upon a Balinese funeral, always a monumental event. Several hundred women, all clad in matching purple tunics, marched in single file before and after the sarcophagus, which was a fantastically elaborate work of art, and huge enough to accommodate several family members under cover on its top. It, too, stopped the city traffic.

Yes, Denpasar is definitively Balinese. Shrines are everywhere, arcane-looking monuments, all carved by skilled artists who bring to their work the passion of the humble devotee.

Such artistry extends to secular architecture too. Many of the city's major banks and "office blocks" are distinctly "Baliesque".

They resemble ancient palaces, with their temple-style split gates, highly decorative columns, such as those that adorn Jalan Gajah Mada's verandas, and elaborate facades.

You almost expect to see the rajah and his entourage parade out through the gates, instead of men in business suits.

The city shops also hark back to the past - well, at least to the 50s. There is little in their windows to tempt a casual visitor, unless you are maybe in the market for a kain kamben (ceremonial wrap-around), a destar (headcloth) or a kebaya (lady's ceremonial tunic). But Jalan Gajah Mada contains several fine craft shops, and the handicrafts at Pasar Kumbasari draw plenty of eager patrons from the major tourist precincts.

And then there are the malls. Two of the most popular - Matahari and Robinson - are opposite each other on Jalan Teuku Umar, a couple of kilometres south of central.

If you are not inclined to walk, you can jump into a taxi, a bemo (shared taxi) or a dokar. The latter are the colourfully painted pony-carts that clip-clop their way anachronistically through town, defying both the traffic and the times.

Matahari especially is a great place to update your wardrobe. A sucker for a bargain, I emerged from my shopping spree a totally new man.

Nightlife in Denpasar would seem not to exist. I hardly missed it - there was so much else to do. The shopping malls stay open until 10pm, and Pasar Badung is still well and truly hopping at dawn. There are also any number of warung - Balinese-style kiosks - that stay open very late. You can stop for a beer or a coffee - great Balinese coffee - and a chat with whoever might be there.

If language is a problem, content yourself with pleasantries and smiles.

I had no trouble filling in my days in Denpasar. I certainly never felt alone. Made to feel very much at home at my garden-shrouded lozman, I also felt at home in the city as a whole.

Denpasar, I'm sure, would be a joy at any time. But a Balinese-style festival is a special bonus. So when you come to plan your visit, you might want to bear in mind the phases of the moon.

Case Notes

* Getting there

Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways each fly to Bali about three times a week. Return prices start at around $1350.

* When to go

The cool, dry season - the best time to go - is from April until October.

* Where to stay

Top end: Natour Bali Hotel, an old Dutch colonial hotel, ph (0062 361) 2256881 (Jalan Veteran 3).

Mid range: Hotel Viking, ph (0062 361) 223992 (Jalan Diponegoro 120).

Budget: Nakula Familar Inn, a traditional-style lozman ph (0062 361) 226446 (Jalan Nakula 4).

Balinesa.com

Bali Tourism