Package-deal travellers to Bali seem pleased to stay in the Fort Lauderdale–like region of Kuta or to isolate themselves in Sanur's toney hotels, but it is in the rural area — where Bali is lively with the theatre of dance, prayer, and secrecy — that you will really be able to absorb the island's magic.

Luck will lead you to the lingering rhythms of a practicing village gamelan orchestra, past a march of agile women carrying unbelievably high baskets of fruit gifts on their heads to the local temple, to arrangements for a celebration that turns out to be a cremation. Bali's people are polite and gorgeous, a mix of Malay, Polynesian, Chinese, and Indian believe they are the selected guardians of the Pulau Dewata, the Island of the Gods, whose mountainous terrain is peppered with temples and punctuated by regular temple celebrations.