BADUNG REGENCY
Bali is divided into nine kabupaten (administrative districts, or
regencies), based on the old post-Majapahit kingdoms; of these, Badung
contains the neon-lit tourist swath of Legian, Kuta, and Nusa Dua. Badung
also extends inland to the overtouristed monkey forest of Sangeh and on
to the slopes of Gunung Catur (2,096 meters), high in the central mountains.
Badung has the island's highest prices and
the poshest, most sophisticated hotels. Yet central and northern Badung
are regions of fertile rice fields carved exquisitely out of hills and
valleys, with small, densely settled villages surrounded by groves of coconut
palms. Wealthy southern Bali's temple festivals, ceremonies, and dance
performances are lavish and unending.
The drier, sparsely populated clubfoot shaped
peninsula known as Bukit ("The Hill") is attached to the southernmost body
of the island by a narrow isthmus. Here, high cliffs fall steeply into
the Indian Ocean and surf pounds stretches of isolated coast; this is among
the earth's top surfing spots. Although the soil is thin, water scarce,
and the climate arid, Bukit is fast becoming an overflow residential area
for the mushrooming population of Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, and Tanjung. Between
Bukit and southern Bali's fertile plains is Ngurah Rai International Airport,
which receives hordes of tourists from all over the world. The bulk of
Bali's tourists visit the concentrated international beach enclaves of
the south, taking day trips to sites all over the island.
History
Since it's the most accessible seaport in the southern part of
the island, the Badung region has always been an important point of contact
with the outside world. The Javanese Majapahit army came ashore at Kuta
in 1343 to conquer Bali. The first Dutchmen landed on Bali at Kuta in 1597.
In the 1830s an ambitious Danish trader, Mads Lange, established a thriving
trading post at the same site.
Once ruled by the raja of Mengwi, Badung
split from Tabanan in 1885. This historical event explains the regency's
odd vertical shape—like an exclamation point—and accounts for Mengwi being
included within its territory. The Pemecutan clan of Denpasar defeated
Mengwi in 1891, but held sway only briefly, until the incursion of a new
and increasingly powerful player, the Dutch. Though the Dutch subdued the
northern part of the island in 1849, the fertile lava-rich lowlands of
the south came under colonial rule only after prolonged resistance. Since
the northern port of Singaraja was blocked by a central mountain range,
all the trade of the south took place through the reef-sheltered port of
Kuta, the only place ships could anchor and unload. This made it an irresistible
target of Dutch expansion. One of the last areas of Indonesia to be occupied,
Badung was pounded into submission in 1906, setting the stage for the conquest
of all of southern Bali.
Since the establishment of the Ngurah
Rai International Airport in Tuban in 1969, the provincial government of
Bali has attempted to confine tourist development to the south. A whole
generation of local residents have built losmen and restaurants
in the south's tourist enclaves of Kuta and Sanur, and entrepreneurs from
all over Indonesia flock here for money-making opportunities. Thousands
of laborers from Java are also attracted to work on the new roads and hotels
of the constantly expanding economic infrastructure. Thus Badung Regency
is where Balinese culture has undergone the most radical and deepest changes.