Customer Reviews

Periplus Guide to Bali: The Island of the Gods (Periplus Adventure Guides)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this is an exceptionally good quality guide book for those who travel to Bali not just to lie on a beach or surf, but also for its amazing cultural and historical heritage, where every village and temple have their own story. The closest I can compare it with is Eyewitness Guide on Bali, but there is definitely more information in this guide. There is also an abundance of beautific pictures but they don't take full pages so you get much more text not sacrificing the aesthetics. This is a book for people who want to feel in a new place not like stupid foreigners but rather informed observers, understanding their performances, rituals, lifestyle, etc. You'll know exactly what village or place you want to stay in and why.
For practicalities you'll have to get Lonely Planet or Rough Guide though.

This book contains excellent background information and descriptions of obscure attractions written by a team of expert authors along with photos of stunnning quality.
Practical information is found separately in the back of the book, and is somewhat dated. However, with Bali well set-up for tourism, you will easily find accomodation/transport of your choice anyway.
Highly recommended, even as a 2nd guidebook if you already have another guide stronger on practical details like Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.

Periplus doesn't publish "places to shop" or "places to stay" or even "things to see" guidebooks. Others, particularly Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, are better bets on these topics. If, however, you want a solid, relatively short, well-written overview of the culture, history and art of Bali, you can't do much better than "Guide to Bali". Fully two-thirds of the book's 332 pages are dedicated to these topics, first in an island-wide overview and then by region and major town. The last third does a decent job covering travel practicalities, again island-wide and by region/town.

The first two-thirds is why you buy a Periplus guidebook (the last third is why you don't absolutely have to carry another guide on your trip): to have a collection of two page single topic essays that, together, gives you the background you need to decide what you want to see and where you want to go in Bali. The writing is clear, informed and, more often than not, highly opinionated in a "been there done that" sort of way. It is fun to read and in-depth enough to be helpful without being overwhelming.

What you won't find here are reviews of restaurants and hotels, thousands of stock photographs or sn overly optimistic (or pessimistic) view of Bali and its people. Rightly enough, you may get the sense that the editors are not overly fond of tourists that demand Ubud be an "indigenous" version of London or Los Angeles. This is also not a guidebook for people that tend toward guided tours and cloistered hotels, though it is certainly not "Bali On Five Dollars a Day".

If I re-read just two guides on Bali before my next trip, this will be one of them. I highly recommend it for the travelers that like to know just enough to strike out and explore on their own.

This book is the best possible option for those visiting Bali for anything more than a week of lying on the beach. The authors, many of whom are world experts in their field, illuminate this fabulous multi-faceted island almost as well as the splendid photos from the Periplus image collection. I'll never recommend another guide book about Bali now that I've found this one!