Indonesia, a Moslem country and an unknown quantity for most Israelis, is made up of more than thirteen thousands islands and has a population of over two hundred million people. Its ethnic and cultural diversity is enormous, making it a fascinating country to travel through. For Israelis the possibility of getting a visa varies with the political climate and I took advantage of my newly acquired South African passport for easy access.

I flew to Bali, the tropical island paradise that I had read and dreamt about for so many years. The people are the most wonderfully friendly and pleasant people I have met in all of my travels. Reason enough to visit but certainly not the only reason.

Bali, whose population is almost entirely Hindu, is, consequently, significantly different from the rest of Indonesia. The Hinduism practiced here is markedly different to that of India and Nepal having been influenced by the surrounding cultures. Religion encompasses everyone and all aspects of daily life. Temples abound and festivals are a daily occurrence. Nothing is more majestic than seeing a beautiful Balinese woman, dressed in her finest clothes, balancing a tall pyramid of colorful fruit on her head as she wends her way to the local temple "to make puja" and to have this offering blessed. Every house and shop puts its daily offering out onto the pavement in a cup shaped piece of banana leaf and no journey is undertaken without a prayer before setting off.

However, nothing is perfect and driving from the airport to the town of Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, I was given my first hint as to why the people are so religious. The taxi driver seemed compelled to attach himself to the back wheel of every motor scooter or car in front of us and within minutes I too was praying frantically, beseeching both my G-d and theirs to allow me to reach town safely. To my amazement it worked and so, for the duration of my stay in Bali, I too adopted the custom of making a prayer before starting out on each trip. The roads are narrow and wind through the lush tropical vegetation, both wild and planted. The famous rice terraces give the appearance of a topographic map and bougainvillea, orchids and frangi pani (in shades I had never seen) grow everywhere and add an astonishing variety color to the background of green.

Ubud is a fascinating small town that I could have happily spent my entire holiday investigating. Nowhere in the world have I enjoyed just wandering around with a book from restaurant to restaurant as I did in Ubud. The food is excellent and "India" cheap and the service perfect, but what makes it all so special is neither the food nor the service but rather the setting of almost every restaurant. Sit in a tropical garden next to a rice paddy, fountain or pond, with ducklings waddling nearby and the scent of the flowers giving the air a warm sweet smell. Or sit under a covered pavilion on the top of one of the many hills and dine while looking out over the tropical valley below with the top of a volcano peeping out above the hills opposite. Take a table next to a lily covered pond in the ruins of an old temple, all lit up with candles, while up to a hundred men in breathtaking costumes entertain you with traditional dances. They may start off with the eerie chanting of the kecak dance and end with the fire dance and its ceremonial walking on hot coals. Enjoy the music of a gamelan, the bright-sounding metal percussion orchestra that accompanies just about every celebration, ceremony and performance, that is heard constantly all over the island.

In spite of my Jewish upbringing I do know that food is not everything, and so after gorging myself constantly for a couple of days (as in the Hagadah, day is day and night) I began to explore the walks and temples nearby. I was lucky enough to be there during one of the most important religious festivals, allowing me to learn and experience the excitement of the religious peak of the year. The constant stream of people of all ages to the temples necessitated carrying out the service in sessions, as even the largest of temples is too small to hold all of those wishing to pray. For this festival an intricately adorned ten-meter long bamboo pole, which had been prepared by the men of the house, was stuck into the ground in front of each house. Everyone was freshly groomed, washed and dressed in their finest. Many of the women, as I noted earlier, were balancing large bowls of fruit on their heads and looking gorgeous. In spite of the crowds there was no pushing and everyone waited patiently for his turn to go inside the temple and participate in the prayers. Within the temple grounds a team of "chefs" prepared enormous pots of spicy food to be eaten by everyone later in the day. Vegetables peeled, chilies chopped and piglets skinned.

I rented a car and driver for four days and traveled around the rest of the island visiting more temples, water gardens, beaches covered in black volcanic sand and seeing what life was like outside of the towns. The scenery is wonderful and the palm trees, rice terraces and bamboo huts all added to my feeling that this is as close to heaven as I will ever get. The temples are perched in every conceivable place, their gateways intricately carved and the pagodas rising high into the sky.

I rented a bike for a few days and joined an organized trip. A van took us part of the way up the island's main volcano and we coasted down the gentle hills back to Ubud, stopping on the way to visit various sites and enjoy contact with the locals. Our guide managed to get us invited to a wedding party in one of the villages and instead of us feeling honored to be given the opportunity to take part in this special occasion, we were made to feel that we were honoring them.

Most tourists who come to Bali come for the sun, sea and sand (Australians appear to come mostly for the cheap beer), and they hardly leave the beach town of Kuta. This is far less attractive to Israelis and, while I spent a day there, the main attraction was, as a good Israeli, the shopping. There are beautiful clothes, fabrics, furniture and lamps to buy. In short, if you are a shopper, this is a great opportunity to help you get rid of your spare cash at bargain prices.

Bali had had a suicide bomber kill a number of people a few years previous to my visit and on the second day of my stay they had a repeat performance. The locals knew the terrible effect this had had and would have again on the tourist industry, resulting in the prices of hotels and all other tourist services being greatly reduced. Twenty-five dollars a day will get you a really pleasant hotel in Ubud and $5 -$10 a great meal in one of the better restaurants. If, however, you are looking for luxury at its most luxurious, don't despair, Bali can accommodate you too and there are also places where twenty times this price would not be enough for a ‘room’, the ‘room’ in these resorts being a villa with private pool and personal staff.

There is not an abundance of museums, palaces or unique natural wonders in Bali but if you are looking for the ideal place to have a honeymoon or simply a most romantic holiday with someone really special then Bali must be high on the list of most desirable destinations. If, on the other hand, you would like to see some of the unique natural and man-made wonders in other parts of Indonesia, then do as I did, cross to the island of Java and visit Borobudur, a gigantic Buddist stupa, or Prambanan, a magnificent Hindu temple, or best of all get up at 3a.m. in order to climb up the rim of the crater to watch the sunrise over the smoke belching, moon crater view of Gunung Broma.

Be warned! Don't miss the chance of visiting this island paradise.