DESTINATIONS

The neon sign on the main road into Denpasar reads 'Welcome to Paradise' but, driving through Bali's crowded capital, paradise seems a long way off. The streets are thick with motorbikes, darting through the gridlocked traffic. The skyline is ablaze with adverts for American fast food. Yet look more closely, between the billboards, and you should be able to make out something very different. The highway is lined with strange statues, effigies of Hindu gods and demons. It's a sign that there's another Bali beyond the drive-through burger bars. It was this Bali, the hidden Bali, which I had come to see.

Most holiday resorts simply offer some R&R and a dash of local colour. Bali, on the other hand, has always been billed as somewhere that will change your life. The European artists who settled here between the wars thought they'd found a tropical nirvana, and their friends and fans followed them, looking for a slice of heaven to take home. A lifetime later, Bali has become a mainstream tourist destination but somehow, despite the package trips, the old mystique remains. This isn't merely somewhere to go for a few beers and a suntan, Bali devotees will tell you. It's somewhere you go to find yourself. Personally, this was the last thing on earth I felt like doing, but I was intrigued nonetheless. What is it that makes people so passionate about Bali? How can this little island have such a big impact on your life?

For a place that's often touted as the island of the gods, Bali's first impressions can be distinctly underwhelming. The busiest beach is Kuta, a hectic tourist trap swarming with hawkers and sunbathers. Jimbaran, a sheltered bay lined with seafood restaurants, is far nicer but, with its honeymooning couples, it still feels fairly close to home. For a lot of visitors, Bali is just a stretch of sand. To find out about those statues, I knew I'd have to head inland.

It was only when we left Denpasar that I realised that what makes Bali so beautiful isn't its beaches but its landscape. From the palm trees along the coast to the paddy fields on the plains, the southern side of the island is painted a vivid verdancy. Anywhere else, you'd be happy to sit back and admire the view but here, every place you pass through, you want to stop and look around. Even the smallest villages are festooned with shrines and temples, lavishly adorned with flamboyant flags and parasols: bright yellow on the west side of the street, brilliant white on the east.

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