BULELENG REGENCY

This sprawling, 1,370-square-km regency offers mountain hikes, rustic villages, waterfalls, hot springs, untouched marine and forest reserves, silversmiths, beach resorts of glistening black sand, a secluded coastline bordering a placid sea, and distinctive temples seething with baroque carved figures. The south end stretches across the foothills of Bali's central volcanoes while the whole north's coastal plain faces the Java Sea. This largest of Bali regencies touches all but one of the island's other regencies. The capital, Singaraja, has a cosmopolitan air with many ethnic and religious minorities existing in harmony.
     Because of Buleleng's geographic isolation from the densely populated south, it has developed distinct cultural differences in architecture, dance, and art. The district was absent from early maps of Bali—Cornelis de Houtman's 1597 map of the island showed only the land south of the central east-west mountain range. Today the fleets of tour buses seldom venture over the mountain passes, and consequently there are fewer beggars, touts, and professional hasslers plaguing the region.
     In the mid-1800s the European maritime powers established their presence on Bali here. Buleleng women were ordered to adopt the kebaya (Malay blouse) by the Dutch commandant "to protect the morals of the Dutch soldiers"; previously, the kebaya had served as a badge of prostitution. From 1854, until the international airport opened at Tuban in 1962 Buleleng had much greater contact with the outside world than the south. Singaraja was the administrative center for the whole of Nusatenggara from Indonesian independence until 1958.

History
During the 14th century northern Bali came under the rule of the Javanese nobles of east Bali's Gelgel dynasty. In 1584 the legendary Panji Sakti built a palace called Puri Sukasada where Singaraja is today, extending his rule all the way to east Java. Panji Sakti broke with the overlords of the south and established a powerful maritime kingdom, which survived through 12 generations and into the mid-19th century. In 1814, while Sir Stamford Raffles was busy founding Singapore, a British force spent several months here.
     Alarmed at the increasing involvement of the English in the region, the Dutch were next on the scene. Determined to grab all the islands of the Indies for themselves, the Dutch in 1846 sent ashore a military expedition to capture Singaraja, then known as Buleleng. The attack ended in a stalemate and a shaky treaty was signed with the ruling princes.
     Two years later, the troops of Prince Gusti Ketut Jelantik lured a Dutch force to the town of Jagaraga, killing 264 Hollanders and mercenaries while losing 2,000 of their own men. In 1849, a much larger and better equipped Dutch engaged the Balinese; a Dutch general was killed and Jelantik committed suicide by poison. Although the Balinese were extraordinarily brave, they were no match for the repeating rifles and modern howitzers of the Dutch. Another truce led to the 1855 separation of Buleleng from Jembrana, and the regency became the first on the island to fall under the direct political control of the empire-building Dutch.
     Singaraja became the district's capital in 1882, and served as a major transshipment point for Nusatenggara throughout the colonial period. The descendants of the local regent became bureaucratic officials in the employ of the Dutch. Feudal rule came to an end here a full 60 years prior to colonization of the more bucolic south. Even today northern Bali retains an anachronistic European air, the caste system ignored and the social order centering more on the family than on the communalized, institutionalized agricultural banjar of the south. Because of their strong egalitarian spirit, the cosmopolitan and well-mannered people of Buleleng are considered kasar by other Balinese.
     In 1945 Anak Agung Panji Tisna, an 11th generation descendant of the Gelgel dynasty, became the first Balinese king to convert to Christianity. Tisna was the son of Anak Agung Putu Jelantik, who wrote much of Buleleng's history on lontar. His new faith, coupled with the perception that he was more artist and writer than ruler, drove Tisna to resign as raja in 1947; he was replaced by his brother. When Tisna died in 1978 he became the first Balinese king to be buried and not cremated.

Economy
The regency is an important cattle export center and a major coffee, vanilla, nutmeg, cocoa, and clove-growing district. Since Buleleng's climate is drier than that of the south, Indian corn, copra, and fruits such as mangoes, mangosteen, bananas, passion fruit, and avocados can be grown here. The latest cash crop is red grapes, the sweetest in all Bali, cultivated on bamboo frames in the hills overlooking the coast. The island's best and stinkiest durian come from Bestala near Munduk Village. Several shrimp cultivation farms lie west of Lovina.
     Singaraja, Buleleng's capital, has been an important educational and cultural center since the Dutch were here; the education faculty of Denpasar's Udayana University is based here. Tourism is a nascent but burgeoning industry. Though not as culturally rich as the classical southern half of the island, tourists are attracted to Buleleng's cheaper prices and stretch of relatively quiet beaches, dotted with inexpensive accommodations and restaurants. Shallow reefs offshore offer some of the island's most accessible snorkeling and dolphin-watching opportunities.

Architecture
The temple architecture of northern Bali differs considerably from the stiff classical lines carved of gray sandstone in south Bali. The soft pink paras quarried near Singaraja allow northern sculptors more exuberance. Because the stone ages so quickly, carving is an art form kept constantly alive. In the north, stones are chosen for their color, white or brown, and are often painted.
     Homeowners here paint their own pura paibon to deified ancestors and saints. These temples are more prevalent in the northern mountain villages than in the south.
     Though the interior layout is basically the same as in South Bali temples, small shrines are replaced by one or two large pedestals containing houses for the deities placed in the innermost courtyard and built of elaborately carved tiered stone and covered by a single roof. Frequently, this flamelike pedestal supports a throne of the sun god.
     Steep flights of narrow steps lead to airy thrones and shrines, scale is exaggerated, and the tall, dynamic, flowing candi bentar are covered with spiky, flame-like shapes, arabesques, and spirals studded with leyak, supernatural beings, and sea creatures. On the earthy, whimsical, cartoonlike bas reliefs of Buleleng, you'll see baroque gone wild—images of plump Dutchmen cramped into a motorcar, men drinking beer and cranking cars, people copulating in the bushes, men riding bicycles composed of leaves and flowers.

Getting There
Reach Buleleng by crossing Bali's central mountain range on one of the island's two main roads, both of which pass crater lakes and offer spectacular scenery. If you have your own transport, take the fastest route to Singaraja from Denpasar via Bedugul, then return to Denpasar via Kintamani, a roundtrip covering most of Bali's mountainous backbone. Also approach Buleleng from Gilimanuk along the northwest coast and from Amlapura along the scantily populated northeast coast. A third northbound road from Denpasar crosses the mountains (Gunung Batukau and Gunung Catur) through the coffee-growing district of Pupuan, offering impressive, hair-raising views.