 GENERAL INFO (Jump to Diary)Bali is an island and a province of the huge Indonesia. It covers 5,590 square kilometres and is roughly 153 kilometres wide and spans approximately 112 kilometres. Bali's central mountains include several peaks over 2,000 metres, with the highest point; Mount Agung is 3,031 meters. Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia,  with 86.9% of the
4,400,000 citizens adhering to Balinese Hinduism. Its History is long: Bali was inhabited around 2000 BC by Austronesian people who migrated originally from the island of Taiwan to Southeast Asia and Oceania through Maritime Southeast Asia. The Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. The nation with various kingdoms became  independent for up to 386 years, until 1906 when
the Dutch subjugated and repulsed the natives for economic control and took
it over. Imperial Japan occupied Bali during World War II, and it was
liberated by the British in 1945 and handed over to the Dutch in 1946. They
gave it to the State of East Indonesia, a rival state to the Republic of
Indonesia, in 1949. The flora is rich, with almost desert to hilly tropical rainforests, where most of the 40,000 species of flowering plants, including 5000  species of orchids are found. I am not really sure, which
caudiciforms I can encounter, but Indonesia have quite some, both epiphytes
and in the more dry areas. Here are several interesting caudiciforms: Lecanopteris crustacea, Medinilla scortechinii, Neoalsomitra podagrica, Secamone elliptica, Bulbophyllum concinnum, Abelmoschus manihot, Momordica cochinchinensis, Tinospora crispa, Adenia penangiana, Cearia amboinensis, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Merremia peltata, Dioscorea pentaphylla, Myrmecodia beccarii and there might be more.  The fauna was rich ones, and here are still at few tigers, rhinoceros, elephant, orang-utans and tapir left. There are around 280 species of birds, and a lot of insects, some giants. The reptiles are represented by several skinks, monitors, geckos, lizards and a lot of snakes. I would like to see the little Flowerpot snake; Indotyphlops braminus, but do fine without the Javan spitting cobra; Naja sputatrix and other of the many poisonous snakes.
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Time to head on in Diary 2. |
