Yes, beautiful Bali will be hosting the Miss World beauty contest this year.
I recommend watching it on TV on 28 Sept 2013 – if only to get a glimpse of Bali.
However, from what I can gather, the event will be taking place over the whole month of Sept.
It will mainly be held in the south of Bali which has many top 5 star hotels and great beaches, probably in the Nusa Dua and Jimbaran areas,.
This is the 63rd Miss World and its the first time it has come to Indonesia. In fact it’s never been anywhere in S.E. Asia before.
There is another ‘first’ too… instead of wearing bikinis, this year’s contestants will use sarongs which they are calling ‘Balinese beach fabric’.
This is because, although the small island of Bali is Hindu, the country of Indonesia is Muslim.
You can easily see nice pictures of beaches anytime, so I wanted to show you the area around Jati Luwih which, the grapevine has it, will be used for part of the contest (and I’ve just heard they will go to Besakih, The Mother Temple, on the slopes on Mount Agung too).
Jati Luwih was granted the UNESCO Heritage Award last year.
It received the award not for its outstanding natural beauty, but because of the ancient subak organisational system that runs through the sawah/rice fields. The subak is fundamentally connected to the living culture within Bali.
This system dates back to circa 9th century.
It ensures that water runs from the mountains down through the valleys in a maze of channels which irrigate the life blood of Bali i.e. the rice paddies (sawah).
I’m was inspired to write this poem about the rice paddies.
The Ricefields of my Being
The shape of my heart
is like Bali
Blood flows like water
through the ricefields
of my being
My soul channels
my life’s energy
And like the subak
its essential work
goes unseen
All through the sawah
of my existence
Seeds grow
then ripen
before fading away
I can watch
detached
As my
inner rice trees
are harvested
Giving me enough sustenance
for yet another day
For more info and pics of Jati Luwih click here.
If you want to come and stay in Bali while Miss World is here, then I currently still have some availability during Sept at Rumah Jepun, Ubud