Bali is so picturesque that you could be fooled into thinking it was a painted backdrop: rice paddies trip down hillsides like giant steps, volcanoes soar through the clouds, the forests are lush and tropical, and the beaches are lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.
But the postcard paradise gloss has been manufactured and polished by the international tourist industry rather than by the Balinese themselves - who don't even have a word for paradise in their language - and it pays scant regard to the economic reality of life on Bali, which is still recovering from Indonesia's economic crisis and the collapsing currency.

Country: Indonesia
Area: 5620 sq km (2192 sq mi)
Population: 3 million
Capital city: Denpasar (pop 370,000)
People: 95% ethnic Balinese, plus Javanese minority
Language Bahasa Bali, Bahasa Indonesian, plus English in tourist areas
Religion: 95% Balinese Hindu, plus Muslim and Christian minorities

When to Go
Just considering the weather, the cooler dry season from April to October is the best time to visit Bali. The rest of the year is more humid, more cloudy and has more rainstorms, but you can still enjoy a holiday.
There are also distinct tourist seasons which affect the picture. The European summer holidays bring the biggest crowds - July, August and early September are busy. Accommodation can be tight in these months and prices are higher. From Christmas until the end of January, airfares to/from Australia are higher and flights can be booked solid. Many Indonesians also visit Bali around Christmas. Outside these times Bali has surprisingly few tourists and there are plenty of empty hotel rooms and free tables in restaurants.
Balinese festivals, holidays and special celebrations occur all the time, so don't worry about timing your visit to coincide with local events. Just make some inquiries when you arrive and be prepared to travel around the island.

Events
Apart from the usual western calendar, the Balinese also use two local calendars, the Hindu saka and the wuku. The wuku calendar, which is used to determine festival dates, uses 10 different types of weeks between one and 10 days long, all running simultaneously! The intersection of the various weeks determines auspicious days. It's impossible to work it out yourself: when you arrive in Bali, go to a tourist office and ask which festivals and celebrations are coming up. Try to get to at least one.
The Galungan Festival, Bali's major feast, is held throughout the island and is an annual event in the wuku year. During this 10-day period all the gods come down to earth for the festivities and barongs (mythical lion-dog creatures) prance from temple to temple and village to village. The last and most important day of the festival is Kuningan. Galungan takes place in April and November in 1998 and in June in 1999.
Nyepi is the major festival of the saka year - it's the last day of the year, and usually falls towards the end of March or the beginning of April. The day before is set aside as a day of purification across the island. The night before, evil spirits are noisily chased away with cymbals, gongs, drums and flaming torches. On Nyepi itself, everyone stays quietly at home, making no noise, using no lights and doing no cooking. The idea is that when evil spirits descend, they are fooled into thinking that Bali is uninhabited and leave the island in peace for another year.