Down Under Australia

When the early colonists began building Adelaide they built with stone, constructing a solid, dignified city that is civilised and calm in a way that no other Australian state capital can match. The solidity goes further than architecture, for Adelaide was once regarded as a city of wowsers and was renowned chiefly for its disproportionately large number
of churches. But there is no denying that the city has a superb setting-the centre is surrounded by green parkland, and the metropolitan area is bound by the hills of the Mt Lofty Ranges and the waters of Gulf St Vincent.

Accommodations
Ranging from camping grounds to up-market hotels but whatever your budget make sure you book well ahead if you intend to be in town during the Adelaide Arts Festival. Most hostels are in the south-eastern corner of the city centre; Hindley St in the city has mid-range options, North Terrace has the top-end hotels. Adelaide is famous for its focus on food and wine and has more restaurants per head of population than any other city in Australia. Its huge variety of cuisines and wide range of local wines make dining a culinary adventure. Rundle St, Hindley St and North Terrace are the main food centres.

Environment
The streets of Adelaide’s central business district follow a grid pattern which makes it very easy for visitors to find their way around. Victoria Square sits in the centre of the grid. The River Torrens separates the city centre from North Adelaide, and a green belt of parkland surrounds both areas. Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate with maximum temperatures averaging 28 degrees centigrade between November and March. In winter, temperatures can fall below 10 degrees.

Attractions
The South Australian Museum, which has a huge whale skeleton in the front window, is one of Adelaide’s landmarks. The museum has a good collection of Aboriginal artifacts, including an Aboriginal Dreamtime exhibition. Looking uncannily like a squared-off version of the Sydney Opera House, the Festival Centre is the home of the Adelaide Festival. Inside, there is a variety of performance spaces and galleries, and there are free rock concerts in the outside amphitheatre on Sundays
during summer. One of the most pleasant aspects of the Festival Centre is its riverside setting; people picnic on the grass out the front and paddleboats can be hired nearby. Tandanya is an Aboriginal cultural institute containing galleries, arts and crafts workshops, performance spaces, a cafe and a gift shop. On Friday nights there are performances of plays and traditional music in the cafe. The East End Market is the place to head for alternative clothes and jewelry. The Orange Lane Market is Adelaide’s answer to Petticoat Lane, with Indian fabrics, second-hand clothes, tarot readings, antiques and even massages on offer. Glenelg is one of the most popular of the beaches which stretch in a long chain south of Adelaide. It is also one of the oldest parts of Adelaide, so there are a number of places of historic interest. A vintage tram runs from Victoria Square in the city centre to Glenelg Beach, taking about 30 minutes.

Bali is the festive face of Indonesia, the jewel in its crown. “Island of the Gods” and “Morning of the World” are two of the names commonly used to describe this island, which is believed by its 2.7 million people to be on loan from the gods.

Profoundly influenced by its rich Hindu culture, Bali has 20,000 temples, 60 annual religious holidays, and 2,000 dance troupes. Hardly a day goes by without a celebration, a procession, or some other festivity.

Westernmost island of the Lesser Sundas, Bali is the most visited island in the Indonesian archipelago. It possesses the country’s most developed infrastructure. The island, which is 150 kilometers (93 miles) long, is known for its beaches some with crashing surf, others with placid waters framed by multicolored coral reefs. Bali’s interior is characterized by an east-west range of volcanoes (Mount Batur rises to 1,720 meters/5,643 feet and Mount Agung to 3,000 meters/9,842 feet) and deep north-south ravines where rice paddies fall away to emerald-green terraces. Bali is characterized by volcanic soil and tropical rainfall that make it an extraordinarily green and fertile land.

Bali alone of the Indonesian islands is predominantly Hindu, and that heritage is largely responsible for the island’s unique character. When the Hindu Javanese Majapahit Empire conquered Indonesia in the 14th century, their artistic and cultural influence profoundly changed Bali, although vestiges of the island’s indigenous culture survive in isolated villages. When Muslims prevailed in Java, the entire Hindu cultural body moved its customs and practices to the smaller island, where the prevailing animist traditions were incorporated into the religion. As a result, Hinduism in Bali has its own flavor, different from that of India.

Paradoxically, given its many blessings, Bali survived the incursions of colonizers and invaders that plagued the rest of Indonesia because it lacked what other islands possessed in abundance: spices, precious metals, and woods. Thus Bali’s culture flourished more or less undisturbed until 1908, when the Dutch took control.

In Northwest Australia on the Indian Ocean, where the desert meets the sea.

Melbourne, (mèl´bern) city (1991 est. pop. 3,153,500), capital of Victoria, SE Australia, on Port Phillip Bay, at the mouth of the Yarra R. Australia’s second largest city, it is a commercial and industrial center with such manufactures as ships, automobiles, farm machinery, textiles, and electrical equipment. The city was settled in 1835 and named (1837) for the British prime minister, Lord Melbourne. It was the seat of the Australian federal government (1901-27). The population,
once primarily British, has changed since World War II with immigration from E and S Europe. Melbourne was the site of the 1956 Olympic games. The Melbourne Cup Race is run annually.

Sydney, capital of New South Wales, is Australia’s largest city, chief port, and main cultural and industrial center. Manufactures include ships, refined oil, chemicals, textiles, and automobiles. Sydney Harbour and Port Botany are the main ports. Founded as a penal colony in 1788, Sydney is Australia’s oldest settlement. Its population surged during the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s. Sydney replaced Melbourne as the nation’s largest population center after World War II. Landmarks include the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932); the Gladesville Bridge (1964); the modernistic Sydney Opera House complex (1973); and the Centrepoint Tower (1981), Australia’s tallest building. The city has several universities and museums, including the National Gallery of Art and the Australia Museum.