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Capital: Jakarta
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"Java man", a precusor of Homo Sapiens, lived in central Java some 500 million years ago. Several waves of migrants from South-East Asia followed of which some reached New Guinea and Australia 50 000 years ago. Fertile Java was one of the first places where a man abandoned hunting and gathering in favour of farming in this part of the world. Wet rice farming created a need for social organization to manage collective irrigation. Hinduism was introduced around 400 AD by traders and pirates from the Champa Kingdom (now part of Vietnam). Several small kingdoms finally merged under king Sanjaya into the Hindu kingdom of Mataram which controlled central Java the beginning of the 8th century. Buddhism was introduced by the Sailendra Dynasry who built Borobudur in the late 8th century. Hinduism and Buddhism coexisted and fused in an unique Javanese religion which spread to Bali around 1000 AD and to most of the Indonesian archipelago under the powerful Majapahit Kingdom in the 14th century. 
Islam gained a foothold by opposing the Majapahit Kingdom which started to disintegrate in the 15th century. By the end of the 16th, all of the archipelago had become Muslim except for Bali.
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Moving north from Kuta along Legian street, the dense fabric of hotels, shops, restaurants and bars becomes Legian-Seminyak.
Legian Street would normally be crowded with tourists all year round but now, all the businesses here are hurting because of 9/11.
I have always enjoyed traveling in Indonesia because of the colorful and varied cultures, the kindness of the people and the low prices.
On my previous visits I had found Bali overcrowded with tourists but this time it is quite pleasant. I stayed at the Sayang Hotel in Legian were I had a fine room with bath for only 8 $US.
After a hot day's sightseeing there's nothing better than a cool dip in the Sayang's pool.
This was my unit, it had two beds, a bathroom and a ceiling fan.
The service in the restaurant was okay and the food was excellent.
Kuta beach empty, this is a measure of how severely tourism dropped all over the world after September 11th.
All the fancy shops on the fashionable Kuta Square were open but there were no shoppers.
No photo album of Kuta can be complete without a picture of the famous Bemo Corner where Legian and Pantai streets meet.
Several roundabouts are decorated by elaborate representations of Hindu myths like this one in Pesanggaran.
Even the Grand Bali Beach Hotel which is one of the best in Sanur was almost empty.
Here is a small traditional garden at the entrance of a theater where I went to see a Kecak Dance show in Sanur.
Most dances in the Hindu influenced cultures represent some aspect of either the Mahabharata or the Ramayana, the two great Hindu epics.
The Kecak Dance tells the story of the Ramayana The chorus chants "Kecak, Kecak, Kecak" in a wild hypnotic rhythm while swaying and waving their arms in unison. Very impressive!
At one point, the divine Prince Rama is in the forest with his wife Sita and his brother Laksamana while the evil demon Rawana lurks nearby. Rawana tricks Rama and Laksamana into leaving Sita alone with her maid servant.
Then, Rawana kidnaps the terrified Sita and takes her to his kingdom.
Sita is very unhappy in Ramana's palace but the monkey general Hanuman visits her secretly and gives a ring from Rama to prove it is a friend.
Informed by Hanuman of Sita's whereabouts, Rama arrives in a fighting mood and challenges Rawana
Rama fights Rawana and kills him in battle.
Finally, there is a happy ending demonstrating that virtue always overcomes evil and Rama returns to his kingdom with his wife Sita and brother Laksamana to live long and prosper. Just like a Hollywood ending.
It was a good show, don't miss it if you get a chance to see it. If you liked these pictures, you might enjoy some I took of a Kathakali show in Kochi, India in 2002. The story is similar but it comes from the Mahabharata. Naturally, virtue overcomes evil in the end, as it should!
